Family Roast over Firepit

Today all four of us headed out to Die Weide with two projects in mind - build a fire pit to cook lunch over and finish the short side of the fence.

First, Dig, Dig, Dig

Now it's time to transport stone.

Laying out the Pit!

Strenuously Gathering firewood (okay, she was asked to get some kindling.)

Fire! (Third time was a charm)

Roasting sausage & Hot Dogs over the Fire Pit

First Fire & Fencing

Sunday, Inge, Melissa, and I went out and with the 12 1/2 gauge wire tackled the post bracing and we stretched the long stretch of fence. Following a suggestion from Kenneth, our NE neighbor, we used the come-along with the bolted 2x4 (Thank you Kenneth!) and two chunks of chain to stretch a short section around the curve, then we pulled the long straight section from there. Everything came out very well, but we did find out that the rain Friday loosened some of the posts.

Monday, after getting a couple bags of gravel from HD, I picked up my brother for more fence work. Using the gravel and tampers we reinforced all the posts, installed a new post, and on the curve, following a diagram I saw online, reinforced the weakest post with a diagonal brace post. It looks great and the fence is very taut.

We also installed the gate, though one of the top bolts was missing washers which I'll have to install Thursday when we get out there next.

When I arranged for my brother to come out and help with fencing, I mentioned that we'd need to bring sandwiches for lunch. However, as we drove out there he suggested, instead of ham and cheese, why not stop at the Taylor Meat Market and get some of their green onion sausage. He then suggested we build a fire and roast the sausages up for lunch. Well by any measure, that idea beat ham and cheese sandwiches so we stopped at Taylor and grabbed the sausage and after we got to Die Weide we dug a fire pit with a generous border to protect against grass fires. I gathered a bunch of dead mesquite limbs and for the first time, we built a fire on the land. For our cooking forks, we grabbed and trimmed a couple of green branches and made sausage-on-a-stick. And let me tell you, those Taylor Meat Market onion sausages are supremely delicious when roasted over a fire built on your own land.

Another Spectacular Bird!

As we drove away from Die Weide, we saw a large bird standing next to the road. Thinking the usual vultures, we saw it fly off and realized it had markings I've never seen. Large and distinctly black and white! We wondered if we had seen a bald eagle, but I never heard of a bald eagle with white tail and wing tips and the head wasn't solid white. As I drove on, I saw in the rear-view mirror that the bird landed again next to the road so I impulsively made a U-turn and headed back where we got a good look at the bird and its mate. It was a large, eagle-sized bird with a white head with black cap on top and red around the beak. When it flew off again we saw white markings on its tail and wing-tips.

On our return home, I went to identify whatbird dot com and chose the bird features that lead to the identification of the Crested Caracara (Mexican Eagle).



Two totally new and awesome birds spotted near our land. A person could get addicted to birding like this!

Posted! Fencing Continues - and more Nice Neighbors!

Two more days of fencing work. First, my brother and a friend, Tyrone, joined me in another day of hole digging. With three men and a sharp auger bit, we knocked out the dozen post holes and drove the steel T-posts for the fence. I only took one picture because I was so busy I didn't think of the camera.

The next day we set out to install cross bracing at the ends and gates. However, I found out that 14 guage wire isn't strong enough for cross bracing. So we were left with little to do but unroll the wire. Here's Inge and Melissa unrolling wire.

We also had the good fortune to meet more of our Neighbors. I went around to the property south of ours to ask permission to tie into his fence. I was greeted by a small, very happy black dog escorting the property owner. He was very nice and offered to loan us a fence stretcher when I get around to putting up the barbed wire.

Later, we saw an SUV plowing through the tall grass across the road and he stopped and we had a nice long chat. He has a cabin that sounds similar to what we want to build and has worked livestock, horses, and appears share an interest in hunting. I can't believe how incredibly friendly all our neighbors are. I have in mind a plan to build a permanent smoker so I can whip up some briskets and ribs to invite neighbors for a welcoming feast.

Fencing Begins

Our sometimes green pasture isn't green at all in December. But, it is a pasture best used for grazing animals and thus regain our agricultural tax status. To do this requires fencing around the entire property and although three sides are fenced, the front is open. So, to put the property into working order, our project over the Christmas break is to install the fence across the front.

We rented an auger with a 6 inch bit and took turns riding the beast into the hole. Here is Melissa and Inge taking their turn. Because it hasn't rained since September, the soil is very dry and hard, which means a lot of grunting and straining to get it going. Fortunately, we didn't encounter any rocks. These augers don't have diamond bits for drilling through rocks.



After dropping the post into the hole I work to make sure it's seated. Then we back-fill dirt and tamp the dirt to compact it next to the post to make it firm. Farm fence installation doesn't require concrete if the dirt is thoroughly tamped and packed in next to the post. Melissa asked for a turn tamping dirt.









Here we are, after four hours of work with two posts installed and two holes dug about half-way. We were too worn by the shaking, twisting power auger to dig any more.