Wednesday, March 25, 2009

My fence (long)

My man is working on getting insurance for our horse, and our barn. He's been on the phone for hours. Just for me and my horse habit. He got his favorite meal tonight, that's for sure: ) Homemade spaghetti. See, every horse in Germany must be insured against causing an incident. They know what horses are like here: ) He asked me how many people will ride Baasha. I said "Well, I hope you and your sisters will get to ride sometimes!" So we'll get the complete insurance, not the "Owner-to-ride" insurance.


But getting the barn insured has proven to be tricky. One company asked if we'd be storing hay in the barn, and backed away from us saying "We won't insure that, too dangerous." Whatever. Where do most people keep hay? Uh, duh, most people here keep hay shrink wrapped in the fields, and it's not hay at all, it's silage. (Pics are from today's snow.)




We're down to two competing insurance agencies who'd like our business, and I hope we get the one that promised me a brand new garbage container for storing horse feed. You know those really nice ones with wheels and an attached lid? You can never have enough of those on a farm. (He actually promised us a new one when I told him I'd steal his garbage can if he overcharged us. The threat worked. And he threw in a fancy pen.)




Anyhoo, I was looking at my old photos of our house from November and found the MS Paint picture I made of the fence I envisioned. Here it is. I tried to make those lines straight, but with a mouse, well, you know.









I was thrilled to be able to show the fence guys my drawing, "Look, you built me the exact fence I wanted!" The fence by our barn is only a two rail fence. The one by the road has three.











Here's one of the guys drilling in the screws as it was about finished.











I took a picture of the box of screws and the hoofprints where someone enjoyed riding a shod horse through my field. It makes me laugh, it will soon be me!














Here you can see all my rolls of barbed wire. Lying there inviting danger along the road. That's all of it. No more! And I only bled once the entire time I took it down. I can't wait for the metal recycling man to come by and get it all out of my life forever.

I was so worried these people wouldn't make me a *pretty* fence, but look, they did: )











Here is the exact same spot, back in November when Mr. S was showing us the property. 4, yes FOUR strands of barbed wire covered in long dead grass. I kicked its butt, I did: ) *beam*











Here's a nice shot of the "wrong" side of the fence. That is, Baasha, if you're lookin at that side, you've escaped. Right, that's not gonna happen: ) The pretty rounded side is for Baasha to look at.












Here's the inside view. I'm sorry - is this too much detail? I'm just so thrilled to have this fence!









The wood is treated and won't need to be treated again for 7 years, he says. That would be nice.













I was hoping to get pics of my new fence today when the sun came up, but instead of the sun coming out, snow poured on us all day long. It was ridiculous weather today, and I am ashamed to admit I hid indoors all day long. I mean, I fed the birds but that was it. OK, and got a few pics of my fence tonight when most of the snow was being rained on.









Here's a pic of the still-unhung gate. For those of you curious what a 5 meter long gate looks like; ) It's quite short, so it will be installed high. We're still waiting for our 1 meter long gate for the area by our barn. *tap tap tap* Waiting. Hate waiting.










Stop taking pictures of your fence! You look like a fool.

My man talked to the Tpost supplier tonight and time is ticking....we hope to get the delivery this week so we can encircle our land with electric wire and Tposts. And put a nice protective wire on all that pretty new fence: ) And warning signs so kiddies don't climb through. And the charger strong enough for all that wire. And the stall, my goodness don't forget the stall - it needs mats and geotiles outside. We ordered 40 square meters of geotiles to place outside the barn so there won't be mud there. Here's the firm we're working with, they are a small, friendly firm. In contrast to the fancy, unfriendly one we almost used!

It's slowly coming together. In April, I want my horse in my backyard!

12 comments:

AareneX said...

What a beautiful fence!!!!

Wow, your guys did a really, really nice job. I'm so pleased that you built your fence properly (i.e. Baasha, if you see this side of the fence you have escaped....hahahaha!) AND you'll be adding hotwire to protect the wood.

CHEERS and HOORAYS from the Swampland contingent!

Nuzzling Muzzles said...

That is a lovely fence. I can see why you are so excited about it.

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

Amazing! I'd be out there taking bunches of photos to show off that fence, too.

What a HUGE improvement over that ugly barbed wire. I bet the neighbors, and anyone one drives past your field, loves your beautiful fence, as well.

Will you be keeping your large gate locked? I'm sure the horse rider who visits and rides in your field will be dissapointed she/he is locked out. hehe :)

So close....so close now!!

Brrrr...snow. We need moisture here, but I don't want anymore snow...just rain. How late in the season can you get snow there?

~Lisa

Funder said...

Yaaaay what a lovely fence! And what a huge gate. I agree, it's built correctly and I think it'll keep Baasha safely locked inside!

photogchic said...

Looks great...glad that barbed wire has been put out of its misery:-) You have reason to be excited...it is beautiful.

Unknown said...

You can't take enough pictures of a fence for me.

It's beautiful!

Fantastyk Voyager said...

That fence is absolutely gorgeous! Oh, I get so excited when I see a fence done right, nailed to the inside. I wish I could afford to get my entire property fenced.

allhorsestuff said...

Oh My!!That is the coolest fence! I really like the fact you did it corectly (not pretty) having the rails hammered fopr strength on the inside! Smart!Although, it is still pretty, I do love round posts.
And how coolis it that the inside is rounded..I actually have never seen that before.

Really happy for you not to have that barbed wire anymore.. jsut look at you two go!
Sorry they seem to be backward there! Man!
Kac

Leah Fry said...

You're SO CLOSE to bringing your boy home! Gorgeous fence.

The Pink Geranium or Jan's Place said...

I love your new fence!! Good for you getting rid of that awful barbed wire, a horse owners worst nightmare!

Jan ;)

Reddunappy said...

Oh that is so great! the place is coming along beautifully!! Nice fence!!

lytha said...

I am glad to see many barbed wire haters out there on the Internet! And safety appreciators!

I'd never seen those round boards before either, but when I saw a sample fence section at the fencing store, I wanted it: )

I wish we could get the whole property done in pretty wood fence too, but I can't even imagine what that would cost!

Lisa, I don't know how late in the year we get snow here cuz I've only been here 2 years. I do notice the Germans seem very surprised and annoyed that it snowed this week!

I'm thinking, the more snow, the less ticks in my field. If that logic is good....

Hey, my frog eggs are changing! It used to be they looked like clear marbles with a black dot, then a few days ago some of the black dots turned to black lines, and now a couple of the black lines have distinct little heads and tails. Amazing. Science in a bucket!