Hello, I'm Liz Zorab and this is Byther Farm and on this channel you can follow
our life on our very very small homestead, here in south east Wales. I live
and work here full time on our 8/10ths of an acre plot and my very patient and
loving partner Mr. J helps me out with jobs that I just can't do on my own.
Actually our friends help too, but today I have Mr. J with me.
And we are replacing some of the fence posts which, over the years, have got
rotten at the bottom and rather than taking them out and putting new ones in,
you replace them by putting another one next to it and then fixing the fence to that.
Now probably this post should go on that side of the fence, but there isn't
really room to put it in there without taking all of this windbreak fabric down,
which I really don't have time to do right now. But we do have time to get the
posts in, so with not the greatest post thumping skills, we are putting the
posts in. I will then come through fix this fence to these posts and over time
I may well undo the clasps that are holding there the wire to these posts
and get them out because actually they're not doing us any favors being in here.
So we got, we've done a bit of, having put those ones in. Yeah. It's a little bit
more solid. Yup!
So do you think for this one we could get it down right in between. We could try!
My only thought with this is if they're on this side when the wind blows...
it's an additional layer? It's an additional layer, yeah. I don't know, are we stealing some
land by putting them on the outside? I don't know is the honest answer to that.
I think there is probably a slight no-man's land border area, where you've got
that leeway. If the council, who owned the field, come and tell us that they're in
the wrong place then we move them. So it doesn't need to go down, I think it
should go on the outside. Well it's going in nicely to start with. Oh is it?
Well then let's have it in there, exactly there!
And I'm going to lean it that way again because of the wind. Actually I'll start
off leaning it this way to help you put that in and then we take it that way.
Keep going, there we go!
This ground is incredibly wet because it's at the bottom of the slope of our
land, it's also downhill from our water runoff from our reed bed water
purification system. So along here is really very soft and boggy and although
they're going in really quickly, the chances are they're going to rot as
quickly as those ones did. Yeah. And we've just been talking about maybe replacing
the missing fence posts with metal posts. I think the idea is, that what we'll do
is we replace further posts in the future, (other than the ones we've got the
replacements for already) will be to use metal posts. They're not, as I said, you
know they don't look as good, they're not as pretty, there not as 'oooh
nice country look innit?' But chickens don't care,
weeds don't care, fences don't care and we don't care. And sheep that come into this field don't care.
So I think that's the answer in the future. Yeah I think so. I might need to
get a smaller one of these. Yes or a sledge hammer or something. Well you can
get smaller ones of these for putting in metal posts. Can you?Yes!
What? With little things inside to stop them sparking? I don't know but I've
watched many a video. Maybe it's a fence post whacker and firestarter!
Possibly yes! Got the word Prodigy on it?
Alright so I'll move this out the way again.
It's on very jaunty angle, but it's solid and this one wasn't. So I think it's alright.
A lot of our life is quite wonky, isn't it?
I don't know what you mean my dear! Yeah okay, so it could have been a tree
growing at a funny angle. What's your angle man? Yeah it's got to be better than that!
Probably. Well, the sheep will
test it out, won't they. I mean that's a large part of the issue,
Isn't it? The sheep don't care.
Well actually, when we get the metal ones, we could put the metal ones on that
side because otherwise what's going to happen is the sheep are going to push
this fence over. I mean I will fix this to this, but it's still.... Yeah I think the other thing is
with the metal ones is, if we if we put the combs on the right side we'll get
the free wool as well!
But the sheep have bent the fence quite a lot
And left some wool behind. Lots of wool, well you know that's okay because the birds
will take that to line their nests in the spring. I think that's all right.
I'm pretty happy with this!
Okay so last one for today. I think so. Now how much
of a nuisance is that.Once that thing's on this won't matter, will it? Not so much, I mean
it's gonna be a bit higher than the existing one isn't it? Yeah but I
meant this it won't matter in terms of getting in your face? Is more what I'm
worried about. Oh with this? Yeah. No I should be alright.
Banging myself on the leg with this, of course, is another matter!
Okay so how about I try holding that for you to feed. Oh I see!
And then take that sort of to there.
Yeah. I'm just going to move some of the brambles. This little hedge,
we planted when we first moved three years ago and it was just, they were
about 12 to 18 inches high. They didn't seem to do anything for year or so
but last year, even in that very dry weather, they've done very well. Shall I do some?
If you want, I think we're pretty much done actually.
Oh okay, well I'll do the last bit then. Do you want to hold the
fence and that out of the way? Watch your face on that! It's not how the big
muscley guys do it, is it? This little, little tweaking of it. And the other
thing that I've done is I've tried to lean all the fence posts, well towards you! Which is into
the wind because everything here ends up leaning this way. So if we start with
the posts going towards the wind, hopefully as the wind blows them and
inevitably, even though they're into the ground by a foot or so, they will get
moved this way. Usually at least then they'll get moved up right.
Yeah, ducks are going to bed,
chickens are thinking about it. Sun is starting to go down. I could do with
a coffee. I could so with a tea. Hasn't been a bad day, has it? Considering how
miserable and wet it was.
Got four wobbly fence posts replaced. We've identified the next load of wobbly
fence posts to replace. Yeah! Let me guess what I'm gonna be doing at the weekend!
Another positive day, not bad for a Wednesday!
And so wherever you are in the
world and whatever you've got planned for your day I hope it's a positive one.
I also hope join me again next time. Bye!