Building a Rail with a Bench on Our Front Porch

Before

       My main reason for building this rail on the front porch was to keep the goats off of it.  For MONTHS we had the goats pretty much living on our porch and we couldn't keep them off of it.  They were given free reign to roam where they wanted and eat whatever they wanted on hundreds of acres and yet they chose to eat, sleep, and poop on our front porch. 

     Did you know that goats will eat ANYTHING; cardboard, plastic, metal, etc.!

Shane and Tanner Just Getting Started

     If we didn't figure this out soon, I was going to have to tell Emma that the day has come and we just need to get rid of these "things".  I couldn't stand it anymore!!  I think a year was long enough, don't you think? 

     As soon as we would clean off the porch, scrubbing on hands and knees in hopes that they would stay off, they would be right back in no time at all.

     Yea, we were in denial.  You can't do the same thing over and over again expecting different results!!

     So, after many many months of dealing with this problem and pretty much going against the people who we had been talking to who said it would never work, we decided to order a real electric (not solar) fencer and some more electric netting hoping that that would take care of our mess. 

First Section Attached to the Posts!  

Oh, and that's Barrett showing off his sunburn from our floating trip the day before.  Something to be talked about at a later time.  Getting on the river here in Missouri was something we should have experienced long before a few days ago.

         Yes, it was going to be an expensive experiment, but some of us were willing to try.  Soooooo many people said that it would never work and the goats would either get out of or jump over the netting and be right back on our porch.  And pretty much the only ones who said that it would keep the goats in were the people who sold the fencer.  Hm.  Not very good odds, you'd think?!

     Well, it was worth a try otherwise they were out of here!!  

     We purchased a Cyclops charger and it couldn't get here soon enough.  I wanted to get the one with the most powerful charge, because I wanted/needed to make sure that it was going to work. 

     Well.................I didn't get what I wanted.  The final decision that everyone else came to was to get the "Brute".  This was the 4th strongest, out of the seven that they had, and I was nervous.

     As soon as we got the charger the boys went to setting up the electric netting and the charger.  We made sure that the goats and the sheep had both pasture and brush and also water in their new home.  And once we got them settled we decided that it was time for Poseidon (our male Great Pyrenees) to learn to stay with the herd so we put him in the fence also.

Unbelievable!!  

Barrett Working on the Corner

     If - I - knew - how well this new system was going to work, we would have done it a long time ago!!  It's been almost a month now and other than a few of the goats and Poseidon getting out of the fence a few times, we haven't had any problems! 

     The reason some of them were able to get out for a day or two, was because when they were moved to a new paddock, the fence wasn't secured properly.  Since we've been able to figure that out, we haven't had any escapees - yet (as of this writing).

     I can not tell you how good that feels!!

     Now, the next thing we need to do is purchase two more electric nets so that we can set up the next adjoining paddock before we move the herd over.  Then when the boys open the "gate" for them to move, they won't know any different.  That will make the lives of those that move the herd so much easier! 

     With all the excitement that the new "experiment" brought, a new problem was just starting to brew and my new found paradise wasn't to last very long at all. 

     Once the goats were no longer coming on the deck, the chickens and the waterfowl moved in!  Ug.  What could be worse?!?  Cleaning up after goats or things with wings?  I don't know!!  I don't want to clean up after either one!!

     I strongly believe in the first chapter in Genesis, vs. 28 where God said to take dominion
"..................over every living thing that moves on the earth." 

     It's almost like raising a child.  If you want to love and be around your children as they grow older, you have to discipline them when they are young.  Otherwise, you will create monsters that you can't stand to be in the same room with. 

     Animals can be the same way.  We need to do our best to take care of, or discipline them when they are young or when we first bring them to the ranch so that we can enjoy them and they can bless us.  If we don't, we'll want to just give up and shoot them, sell them, or give them away.  And then what does that do for us?  Nothing.

     I'm not one to quit or give up easily, but.........and I know............there may be times when we have tried everything and we just can't get it to work and then we have to decide what to do.  But, I think that if we put into practice what we think we know and tweak things here and there and see how it goes, we might surprise ourselves by what we can accomplish.   And then, and only then, can we reap the benefits of our hard work.  Things worth keeping are worth fighting for.

Day 3 - Quitting Just Before Midnight

     Not only is our rail going to serve a purpose in keeping the animals off the porch, but it's also going to make us more living space as well.  There is still a lot of work that needs to be done on it, but we are well on our way and so far it's amazing.

     I am so thankful that our boys have had the experience of working with their dad and other people that have given them the chance to try something new.  The skills that they have learned and will continue to learn will be of incredible benefit to not only our family and their future families, but friends and neighbors as well. 

     I look forward to many of the good times that we will continue to have when our friends, family, and neighbors, "sit long, and talk much" on our new, clean, and tidy front porch. 

     Let us know when you would like to come for a visit and we'll try and have some ice cold lemonade or some creamy hot chocolate waiting for you to "talk the time away" with us. 

     And if you don't have a front porch that you can sit on when the sun is beating down or when the rain just won't quit, well, you might want to think of putting one on your house because there is nothing quite like it!!

      

The End of Another Fruitful Day!!

July 10, 2015
Sandy

As I start to sign of for the night, it's raining, AGAIN.  

You will not believe me when I tell you that it has rained EVERY DAY for the past 60 days.  

And not just a little rain, buckets and buckets for rain.