A fence seems to be the topic of the month…
Friends and I headed for Bendit early this past Saturday morning with the goal of a warm campfire, solitude, and a bit of fence work.
Mission Accomplished!
I arrived in the RV-4 first and got the fire going. Friends in their Carbon Cub arrived a short while later.
The campfire is always a wonderful thing in the chilly morning air. Tossing some hot coffee, warm breakfast burritos, and muffins into the mix really makes for a great time!!
My recent experience with using the tractor bucket to set the fence posts encouraged me to continue.
We were able to set another 23 posts without breaking a sweat.
However; two of those posts hit rocks. We quickly learned how to convert a $4.25 steel fence post into a $4.25 pretzel. Clearly, that is not going to work.
I also wanted to try setting a 10′ tall, 3″ square tubing post using the tractor. This heavy duty post is for a 12′ wide livestock gate – the kind that is made out of round tubing. The plan is to have one of these heavy posts on each side of the gate. Each is supported with an “H-brace“. That is another significant post several feet away with an interconnecting post and wire together so the top of one is pulling on the bottom of the other. It makes for very stout posts.
It actually worked pretty well. Without actually measuring, I think we got it at least 3′ into the ground. Not sure if that is enough though. I have some more ideas that I’ll try next time I’m there.
Getting it reasonably vertical is really tough with the tractor. I can imagine a bit of pushing (with the tractor) and tamping will be required. We’ll see…
It’s all one big experiment – right!?!?!
The airstrip cinders are a bit soft after all the freeze/thaw cycles of the winter months so some maintenance is required with the roller.
The departure was uneventful but was the highest density altitude takeoff that I’ve made from Bendit. I forgot to note the exact temperature but think it was about 52 degrees which makes for a density altitude of about 8,600′.
Glad you are getting things done both there and at the new house. Wish you were here…Kristin just bought a townhouse and your valuable skills could be put to good use!! By the way, when are you coming up????