New corral

Sorry for the blog silence! We've had a lot on our plate now that the house is officially listed. Funny, we seem to be busier now than ever before, trying to get all kinds of last-minute projects done.

One such project was our corral fence.

Our corral, right off the back of the long barn, is an integral part of our homestead. It's been a nursery for endless baby calves.

It's sheltered pregnant animals about to give birth.

It's held animals about to be transported to new homes. It's provided winter quarters for our dear old Matilda.

In short, this corral is a necessary part of the livestock infrastructure of our farm. And -- it was falling to pieces. In many places, the rails had fallen down and we tied them back in place with baling twine.

So in mid-May, Don ripped off all the rotting boards. The uprights were in great shape so he left those in place.

Soon all the rails were down.

The cows obligingly cropped down all the vegetation.

That's all we did with the corral until last week, when Don and our young helper CJ went in and rebuilt the corral fence.

They used stout 2x6s...

...secured with bolts.

The result is a splendid and sturdy enclosure.

Hopefully the new owners will have calves in it someday, or use it to offer shelter to a much-loved elderly Jersey cow.