Building Fence: A Link to Memories

 

I lifted my foot from the accelerator and did my mental, "one little second, two little second, three little second ... " all the way to six little seconds.

Randy and I were building fence. Well, Randy was building fence while I drove the pickup to carry the fencing supplies. My life on a farm truly has come full circle. I was probably 6 years old the first time I drove a pickup for fence building.

Kim - May 1965 - Almost 8 years old

My dad was the guy who hopped on the back of the pickup between fence post intervals way back when.

It was a bit like looking in a rearview mirror to see where you've been, I suppose.

During this latest fence-building expedition, Randy initially was telling me when to start and stop. But after awhile, I started counting the seconds between fence posts and we developed an unspoken rhythm for the work. (Hence the "one little second ..." chant.)

The fence building isn't just a deju vu experience for me. There's plenty of Randy's past tied up in the tools we use. That's especially true for the Ford 8N tractor.

These days, we have a wire winder on the back and use it for rolling out electric fence so we can move cattle to stalks for grazing.

The wire winder itself is homemade from a Model T frame, adding to the longevity of this farm workhorse.

 

 I think the rust is the only thing holding the tractor together these days.

But there is something about tradition. That tractor seat has been occupied with five different generations now. 

Melvin and Clarence bought the tractor back in the 1960s, when Randy was in grade school.

Clarence (Randy's Grandpa, seated), his Dad Melvin and Randy holding Brent in 1988. 

Clarence and Melvin used it to load silage for feeding cattle. Randy remembers using it to pull a two-row John Deere planter when they planted milo. He also cultivated milo with it when he was junior high age.

Now he uses it to roll out wire.

That wire also tells a story. There is about 1 1/2 miles of wire on each spool. At one time, Randy says they had 12 miles of wire and posts they used for temporary fencing projects.  Over the years, he's had to discard some of the rusty sections of fence that have fallen victim to inclement weather and age.

Randy says that he used to find splices in the wire that he could attribute to his dad. Melvin twisted the wire a bit differently than Randy does. So the farming legacy stretched between the two generations even after Melvin's death.

And who knows how long that tool has been called into service for fencing projects?

But all those tools - and yes, the aging people - are still getting the job done.

The fence went around sudan fields and milo stalks. Many years, we bale sudan. This year, the crop wasn't very abundant. Randy did swath the edges of the fields to make it easier to put up fence.

Last week, after the "ladies" got their OB/GYN checkups with Dr. Bruce, we moved them to the stalks for a little winter dining.

They were ready to check out their new "digs."

Now if only the deer would quit crashing in to the fence.

Messy Eaters

It's always good when you see your guests are enjoying the buffet, don't you think?

While waiting for the vet to arrive one day, I imagined this conversation among our feeder calves:

 

Our current feeder calves are the "baby" calves born this past January and February. 

 

As I took a look through the "family album," I felt a little like that aunt who always says, "My, how you've grown!" (Below, I did find 7106 which was "talking" with its mouth full during the imagined bovine conversation. Sorry for the blurry photo, taken after we worked the calves in mid-March.)

During their time in the summer pastures, the calves bulked up on mother's milk and - just like human babies - they began adding solids to their diet . (Below photos were taken during a pasture check in July.)

We brought the calves and their mothers home from the Ninnescah pasture on a foggy day in early November.

The calves were weaned from their mamas when we brought them home. If their messy faces are any indication, the calves are thoroughly enjoying their daily buffet of silage and hay. Actually, they are kind of like toddlers, in that their food ends up on places other than their faces. (Read about our silage harvest at this link and all about alfalfa at this link.)

 Some of the mamas are now cleaning up sudan and milo stalks.

 

Others were initially on wheat stubble, eating volunteer wheat (below).

Last week, we moved those cows onto an alfalfa field to graze. (After looking at the photos, I realize that we've had a lot of overcast days while moving cattle this fall. Unfortunately, that didn't lead to any rain, and our part of the state is now in a moderate drought.)

 

It seemed we interrupted this mama in mid-chew during the cattle move last week. But just like the rest of us during the holidays, she'll find plenty more food on the buffet.