Note from PW: Yesterday I posted a list of organizations that are helping Oklahoma tornado victims. You can see that list here if you’d like to help, or check out this page on NewsOK’s website for a regularly updated list inc...
Note from PW: Yesterday I posted a list of organizations that are helping Oklahoma tornado victims. You can see that list here if you’d like to help, or check out this page on NewsOK’s website for a regularly updated list including local organizations and drop-off centers. Please continue to pray for those who are hurting in Oklahoma.
Post by Marlboro Man. Photos by Paige.
We got a heavy rain Sunday night that completely filled our ponds, which had gotten very low over the past two years. After just a few hours of rain, this pond level raised over 15 feet.
On this pond, you could walk to the island just last week.
Here’s a pond from Ree’s post last week.
Here’s the same pond, from the same perspective, after Sunday’s rain.
Here’s another picture from last week. The cattle were crossing on dry ground between the pond and the fence.
It’s a little fuller now. It’s funny how the ponds can be so low for so long, then one night of rain can fill them up.
Because we had so much rain so fast, there was a lot of run-off. This was great for filling the ponds and creeks, but it knocked out the water gaps (the area of a fence that crosses a creek or draw.) This usually requires us to spend a good amount of time over the next day or two working on our water gaps.
So Monday morning, Bryce, Paige and I set out to check the damage. This is the first water gap we checked. The two top wires were in tact, but the rest—including some of the posts—was wiped out.
The first thing you have to do is get your broken wires cleaned off.
The dead grass and logs like to get tangled up in the fence.
Once you get the wires straightened out, you splice them together using fence stretchers.
While I’m splicing, my son is working on the next wire.
After we drive a few t-posts, we add a few wires…
And 45 minutes later, this gap is done. Better than new, almost.
Then it was on to the next one. My daughter really liked this waterfall. She wanted to get on a tube and ride it down.
But we had another water gap to fix. This one had about a 90′ area where the fence was completely taken out.
Fortunately, we beat the cows to it.
Around the corner, we found the problem. This tree had obviously washed down the creek and took the wire with it. The first order of business was to untangle the wire from the tree…
Then pull the wire back to where we could splice it back across the fence opening.
It’s a good workout, it’s just not much fun.
“I think I have water in my boots.”
“Yep.”
After getting all the wires stretched back across the creek…
We need to drive some t-posts.
To do this we use a post driver (basically a pipe with a weight on top of it.)
It’s not complicated—you just slip the pipe over the post and use it to pound the post into the ground.
Then you clip the wires to the posts…
Spacing each wire evenly on the post.
Then we drive to the other side to drive a few more posts. Instead of packing our stuff on foot, Bryce and I decided to see how the Polaris handles a full creek.
You have to have a little fun while you’re fixing water gaps, otherwise it can get pretty monotonous.
I don’t like working around brush piles like this because I just know a snake is going to sneak out and bite me.
And wouldn’t you know, just about the time I was clipping a wire to the t-post I had just driven, my daughter yelled “SNAKE!”
I just about jumped out of my skin.
But he wasn’t in the brush pile—he was down in the water we’d just been in.
It doesn’t really give you a warm, fuzzy feeling about wading around in there.
Fortunately, we were done with this gap so we didn’t have to fig
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