Dear Curiosity Journal,
Rufus and I are working on building a large block of pasture for the sheep, which we can split into smaller paddocks for rotational grazing. In our scrappy farmer way, we’re recycling, repurposing, and readjusting what we already have. Today, we’re rebuilding a relic from the dairy days, a barbed wire cow fence that is actively being swallowed up by the earth. I remove and re-pound T-posts, clip and reweave the razor-sharp wire, and remember why barbed wire is my least favorite. I console myself with the mantra that fixing this fence is less labor and cost than starting from scratch. I joke with Rufus that one of the reasons that “dairy kids” are so resilient is that they grew up working with barbed wire. If you have the skill and patience to work with this jagged bramble, you are well-equipped for the world. By the end of the fencing tussle, we were whipped, like making a pizza and going to bed kind of exhausted. Laying down after an exertion like that just hits different.
~Joy
