The Fence is Finished and Other Things

Bees, Chickens, Chicks, Fencing, Reflections, The Farm

Last week we had, what my husband referred to as, the soft opening. He had completed fencing the perimeter of our property. The only thing left to do was put up the gate across the driveway. Until he could get that done, he made a makeshift gate by using a piece of the fencing to extend across the driveway and clamping it closed.

Difficult to see but there is fence across the driveway.
Front of the property looking east
Front fence looking to the west from driveway.

Putting up the grate took a few days. First my husband rented a post hole digger to make the holes for the wooden posts. Then he had to measure the depth of the holes while putting the posts in and filling in around them with quickcrete (cement). On top of the quickcrete he put stone then topped it with soil. He used a level to assure that the posts were straight. Once they were in place he left them for a few days to let the cement set up. On May 2 he attached the gate to the posts and the project was complete.

From the inside looking out.
From the outside looking in.
The fence in this photo surrounds the front garden. It is not part of the perimeter fence.

All of the rain that we have had in the past week has the ground saturated. We now have pooling water everywhere.

We have a bumper crop of dandelions this year.

Even though we have been wishing for the temperature to hurry and warm up there are some good things about the cooler temperatures.

The apple trees have not blossomed yet thus reducing the likelihood that they will suffer damage from heavy frost or freeze when in bloom.

The forsythias have enjoyed a long bloom time because of the cooler temperatures,

as have the daffodils.

For years my primrose plants have struggled just to survive. Last fall, after learning that primrose like wet soil, I decided to move my plants to a lower area in the prayer garden.

Already this spring they are thriving.

Our old chicken coop is still standing. Tearing it down is on our to-do list but has not yet become a priority. My husband had leaned the old gate from the chicken yard up againt the front of the old coop.

Earlier this week he noticed that a bird, most likely a robin, has built a nest on top of the gate.

I couldn’t see inside the nest while standing on the ground, but I was able to get a look inside by holding my camera up above the nest and taking a picture. This was two days ago, maybe I’ll take another picture today.

On April 23 our bees arrived. We had lost all three of our hives over the winter. We decided to start just one new hive this year.

They have been very busy this week – enjoying the dandelions.

Our old hens are enjoying springtime. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that at least six of the nine are laying eggs. I really only expected that four were still of laying age, but somedays we find six eggs. 🙂

Here’s a cute story: last week while working in the barn my husband found, in a dark corner, a nest with seven eggs in it. One of our black hens has been sneaking in there and laying her eggs. Apparently, she was getting ready to brood some chicks. Sadly, he had to get rid of the eggs because we haven’t had a rooster since last November, so none would be fertile. Perhaps next year, when our new roosters are mature, she will try again.

Our young chicks are enjoying life at the farm as well.

We are experiencing a lovely day today as it seems like are warmer temperatures have finally arrived, so I’m heading outdoors to get some things done. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Thanks for visiting.

20 thoughts on “The Fence is Finished and Other Things”

  2. That’s a big job your husband did and I wish you luck for it serving the purposes you detailed in your post before – that wide gate looks like it was a lot of work. Now it is time to have a short breather and enjoy tomorrow’s nice Summer-like day. Your chicks are so cute – amazing how quickly they grew!

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    1. It is definitely serving its purpose. It’s so nice not have to worry about the dogs running off or getting into the road. We are so happy to have it done. The chicks are so funny. They are always finding something to play in or on. Yesterday there were three or four sitting on a low branch of one of our spruce trees. 🙂

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      1. Ranger and Ruby are free to roam now – it was a great idea. I thought the picture of them perched on the handles of the farm equipment was pretty funny!

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  3. Nicely done. That was a huge undertaking so I’m sure it’s a relief to step back and see it finished. We are enjoying the return of spring too ( other than the return of sinus troubles. But a few nights of sleeping with vicks on my feet is a small price to pay for the glory it brings)

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    1. Such a relief especially not having to worry about the dogs. Stinging nettle is my go to for allergies and I finally have a couple of patches that are coming up nicely. 🙂

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  5. Well that is a great accomplishment well done. I did enjoy some outside time yesterday getting a late start to hanging hummingbird and oriole feeders , but it is done now so they should visit soon. A little overdo attention to flower beds ( my happy place ) much more to do. And enjoying my first of the season coffee on the porch this morning so many birds serenading me. I would love to learn the all by voice. And maybe someday I will get better about taking pictures. I really enjoy yours and everyone else’s.

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    1. I would love to learn the birds sounds as well. Yesterday was bull frog mating day at the farm so we were serenaded by the chorus of frogs. It was a great time to get out and get some things done before the rain returns this morning. Looks like it will move through pretty quickly though so we can spend some more time outdoors this afternoon (probably not cutting grass though). My husband found that the greenhouse down the road was open and stopped in and picked up some verbena (his favorite) so I potted up our (barn) porch pots. It’s really seems like spring is here. 🙂 ❤

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    1. Thanks! Robins tend to build their nests in odd places. I hope this one is safe there. I forgot to check it out when I was out there today. This warm and sunny weather were having makes everybody happy. 🌞

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