Here we are almost into October. How the summer has quickly passed by us. The weather is starting to feel more and more like fall weather. One of the things I like about the area of Nebraska where I live is the distinct seasons that last at least a couple months. Some years certain seasons might be longer or shorter but usually they are evenly divided which makes each one very enjoyable. This could be the year that my grandson, Bradley, will be able to sled the school house hill by himself without his old grandpa riding down the hill with him. The issue is not going down the hill but climbing up the hill afterward. The first year, four years ago, Gramps had to pull him back up the hill on the toboggan. That ended a couple years later.
The reconstruction work has begun at Terra Nova Gardens. You would think that September would bring nice cool weather to work on such things but noooooo. This day was approaching 100 degrees. So this day a little work and allot of resting in the shade and drinking water was the plan. Two of the five post stubs were removed that day which I counted as a good day’s work.
When first putting the posts up for the Terra Nova Garden panels, I wanted to make sure they were not going to be blown over by wind. I mixed up two 80-pound Quick Crete bags of concrete for each post. That made the total weight for the in-ground base about 200 pounds. That’s good for stabilizing the post but not so good for digging it out. I never thought just a couple months after planting the posts that I’d be digging them out of the ground. The lesson learned here is that one bag is quite enough. This baby here was quite a struggle to get up out of the ground and into the wheel barrow.
The sad news is that the rail fence will not be rebuilt. It was almost totally destroyed in the accident and what wasn’t was removed by the rescue squad and tow truck to help the driver out of the van and get the van towed away. Folks from the neighborhood still stop by and ask about what happened and shake their heads in disbelief. They say that some days they take a special trip just to see my progress on the garden.
The decision was made not to dig this post out but to repair it.
Some old-fashioned ingenuity for a makeshift clamp and a few 3 1/2-inch screws made this post as sound as it was before the accident.
Now the real task of filling up the dug out post holes so new holes can be dug for the new posts begins. The soil has to be tamped down hard before the post holes can be dug. So far, two post holes and two panels are in process of being put back in place.
This board is from the last panel. It was busted up pretty good. Several more will have to have the same glue process to put them back together. Hopefully, in another week I’ll have this whole section repaired so I can get back to fence building instead of fence repairing.
Never a dull or boring moment around the Urban Ranch or Terra Nova Gardens. Until the next time stay busy enough to stay out of trouble but not so busy as to be able to enough what you do.
Have a great week, everyone.
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