"MY" New Gate

Last week we had a lot of rain. (is it me, or are a whole lot of posts starting out this way?)

Tom decided that since it was too wet to work in the gardens, he would repair the gate out back. Okay, he was probably also tired of my whining about it. The gate was becoming a constant topic of conversation.

Back in October 2009, “DUDE” the ram, took out the fence. You could read “when rams are bored” for details and a picture. Some repairs were made at the time, with the hope of getting it fixed “right” sometime in the future..




In the time since, the gate dividing the feed area from the rest of the paddocks has only deteoriated. As part of the original equipment around here, it has had a hard life. Once part of a pig pen, it was cut to accommodate something. The cut allowed bees to get inside of it during the summers, so one had to be somewhat cautious in hand placement during operation. Years of use and abuse had led to rust and that led to difficult operation.


I was afraid that either I would get hurt because the gate was so difficult to open and the sheep would push against it so hard. Or, the sheep would get hurt because the gate was beginning to fall apart. Both sheep and shepherd have been injured in the past due to equipment issues. I don’t want to repeat those experiences.

So, after a trip to Lowe’s and a bunch of work, I have a new gate.
I don’t really know why Tom insists it’s MINE. But, here it is….and it works great!

Thanks, dear….it’s what I always wanted…a new gate! (although, it doesn't look like "Ethel" appreciates it!)