There are many good things about working in the bush on your own all day. There is, for instance, no one about to see the stupid things you do. At least not everything.
I am putting in a fence around our big block at the moment. The fence is going in a fair way from habitation. Most of it about 2 kms away, but coming closer down the northern boundary.
My dad taught me to fence in the very different conditions of the Southern Tablelands of NSW. He built good strong fences that kept the rabbits out and the sheep, cattle and horses in. They were always straight, the posts were straight up and things were done properly.
My fence needs to keep cattle, horses and (if I can convince the appropriate authority) buffalo in but needs to allow wallabies, pigs and all wildlife easy movement.
I thought the ground down South was hard but I have to say that, compared with some of the ground I am digging in here in Eva Valley, it wasn't so bad. When you drop the posthole digger into the ground and it simply polishes the surface, you know this is going to be a difficult one.
But every Wet season the ground gets very soggy almost everywhere. So the trick is, as it is with most things to do with soil up here, to add water. I am pretty sure that my dad would smile and shake his head if he heard this but standard procedure is to dig out as much as I can - you know when the crow bar bounces back up and smacks you in the ear - and then add as much water as you can get in the hole. Walk away and come back in a few hours. Repeat.;
Part of the problem is over engineering, possibly. I am putting in a fence that will be 1200 mm high. Strainers need to be in the ground 1/3 of their length. These are the rules. Thus they should be in about 600mm. I have built strainers that are 2m long, at least, just to be sure.
There should only need to be 3 sets of strainers for this job because I only have 2 sides left to fence but, instead there are 6 and I may need to put in a couple more. This requires 12 holes, at least.
This happens because, as my neighbour tells me, either the first surveyor - who marked out the blocks 100 years ago - or the one I hired at great expense to tell me where the boundary is, were drunk at the time. Possibly both. The boundary wanders a bit you see. Nice straight lines are really what you want. They are easier and everyone can admire them.
To make things more interesting, one part of the boundary goes through a Wet season creek line. This means that, although it is like iron at the moment, the ground will turn to soup during the Wet. What will happen to the strainers in there? Two sets of them. I have a plan based on bracing them to others that should be more solid but I don't know if it will work.
The location of these labours is, as I said, well away from anyone along a track that the council does not maintain.
Neighbour gives me a call to discuss shifting his cattle, 'that fence is going to be a bugger to build through that swamp'. Up at the shop to get the paper another bloke 'how many pickets will you be putting in? About 350? They'll be a bugger to drive in that country'. Yet another 'jeez mate, you have taken on a big job there. You should get someone in to give you a hand'.
My current worry is putting up a 1.6 km line, dead straight up a bit of a hill. Problem is that, when it is built, you will get a glimpse of some it from the main road, if you happen to look.
My occasional adviser on matters to do with the development of this block would say to me - I can almost hear her, - 'what does it matter if there is a little kink in the fence. People don't go round checking whether other peoples fences are straight do they? Don't worry about it.'
They aren't watching! They don't look! Don't kid yourself.
3 comments:
yes Mangoman - they will be watching - they have already got a bit of a tipping comp happening at the bar.
At the tender age of 16 I had a job on a neighbouring farm - we were doing fencing, it was the southern tablelands - the ground was very hard. The crowbar very heavy. Luckily my older and more experienced colleage knew just what to do. He got the chainsaw and cut half a foot off the posts, and hid the ends in his ute under the tarp. We put the fence up. He knew I would never tell the big boss, because he knew I knew exactly how hard the ground was!
Moral to the story - hmmm, not sure there is one. Certainly not one my Dad would have wanted me to learn. But the main thing is as long as the neighbours know how long the posts were, it may not matter how long they actually are.
None of this helps with how strait the fence line is.....I think your gunna need a fast growning hedge....or how long it lasts.......
And I suspect there is also the problem that this is YOUR fence, and you would know if you did a bodge job. SO you might need to think about getting someone else in to do the work, so that they can do a bodge job, and not tell you?
hmmm, I think this might be why government outsources so much....
I think you've hit the nail on the head! It's not so much the other people watching as the internal critic watching...
That is so ture.
I remember being out fencing on a property west of Eromanga SWQ - and there were NO roads near us - and it was not a boundary fence - an it was HOT - so hot - and we was Foofing around trying to get it straight, and I CRACKED!!!
When I asked - what's the point no one is going to see it!!! He said - no they won't but I will know.
As my Dad says - If you're going to do it - do it well, If you don't want it done well, pay someone else to do it.
Sheridies Dad - you rock!
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