Horse Fencing 101: Post Hole Digging Edition
Do you ever find yourself looking over the “how-to’s” of a project only to watch everything that can go wrong, do so, once you’ve already thrown yourself into the heart of it?
Well my friends, that’s what this continuing experience has become…the seemingly “easy” part of the fence construction process that was estimated to take us a few days, give or take, working a few hours a day on digging holes.
Must not laugh, must not laugh, all work and no play make Christy a … no, too far.
Back on point! So! Twenty-three days later (Whose counting?) I have two-thirds of my post holes dug and our horses arriving to the farm in six days (Seriously NOT counting, …honest!). Being that this is the south…and spring…one might assume the weather became an issue. You would be wrong, so very -very- wrong.
The miser- …adventure*** began here…
Not afraid of rolling up our sleeves, we enlisted the help of a friend who works in construction. His knowledge and access to equipment and proper usage have been HUGE time-savers. (Note: We did consider renting equipment at first but then I remembered I will somehow always find a ditch and drive right into it. Enough said.) I wanted 3′ deep post holes dug that were at least 8″ wide so he chose a Bobcat with an auger attachment and brought it over.
It started out simple enough, Bobcats are so compact and easy to maneuver in the field that he and the Mr. had two sides of the pasture holes dug in a day. I was one happy little farmer. Now the acreage had begun to look as though a gopher with insane accuracy had taken up lodging but I knew it was only temporary. No biggie, right? Wrong again. Just so wrong…
The next time our friend was able to come out, we managed a total of five post holes before the Bobcat broke down. Now I’ve come to learn a bit of lingo from the menfolk and it seems there are varying levels of ‘broken down’. There’s “ah hell”, translation – this could be a minute, or the popular “C’mon man!”, translation – prepare to get your hands dirty, and of course “No no no…you best cut back on! …sonuva…!”, translation – just chunk it, it’s dead Fred!
This is when I learned we were in a, ‘…sonuva!’, kind of situation. The auger wasn’t moving…my drill had stopped while submerged three feet into the soil. Reason? A belt had broken. Being late into the afternoon on a weekend there was no hope of getting a replacement and the following day was Easter Sunday. …crap.
Fast forward another week and our friend returned with a few more friends to swap out the belt. Success! We could get back on track at last…only two weeks till horses were coming home after all. The Mr. and our friend got to work and managed another ten holes before fluid started spewing all over the place and soaking into my soil. A hose had broken and the only option was to get another replacement part. I wish I could tell you that he got the part, replaced it, and we were back on track but I would be lying…but hey, at least I didn’t trip in one of these suckers right?
Over the next week and a half he went out and found a replacement three different times. The first time, he bought the part that was not broken and so was returned. The second time, the store sold him the wrong part. At present we are on round three, where he has taken the defective part with him to make certain the store sends him back with the right one. To say that I’m frustrated is an understatement. He’s been a complete trooper throughout the entire process and the Mr. has helped however he can.
Now…will my fence be up and ready by Friday so I can pick up my horses from where they’re currently stabled? Heck, will our post holes even be dug by Friday let alone the fence up? Doubtful…but I’m going to be optimistic.
When faced with adversity, it’s really the only hand you have to play!
…to be continued.