the accidental smallholder :: diary archives

The Beautifulest Gate

If this site had a strapline it would be "If we can do it, anyone can". As a child I was officially The Least Practical Boy in the World. Anything to do with using my hands that didn't involve a keyboard, joystick or mouse was beyond me, and my family despaired. But now behold my gate, crafted this morning by my own fair hands from the raw materials. It's not perfect, and I made a couple of elementary errors, but I'm proud of myself nonetheless.

The reason I was outside at 8am building said gate is that the pigs are going to be moving in the next few days, since they've done so well in their first pen. It's only a temporary move, to allow them to get some more grazing, and they will be moving back to their current pen in a couple of weeks. But it will allow me to fork over the current pen to expose the roots of the grass, and to loosen the pan that is already developing. So I better get on. The gate was just the first step, there are fence rails to be nailed and sheep netting to be pinned before the boys can pack up their belongings and flit.