In the comments section for the post about the python (below), I mentioned how the hens are laying their eggs in the stockyard.Although the stockyard looked quite innocuous, with tall lovely grass ... (so tempting for the horses) ... on closer inspection you can see that the grass is dangerously laced everywhere with barbed wire, which would rip and tear fragile horses' legs if they ever got in.
The wire is terribly entangled in the tall grasses and pulling it out by hand is impossible. John and I considered a few options to remove it: we debated using roundup to kill the grass (rejected as the stockyard would become a barren wasteland); or burning the grass off in the winter as it dries (rejected as probably the entire stockyard would burn down). We tried using a brushcutter to cut the grass to a sensible height, but that didn't work as the brushcutter just kept hitting wire and getting tangled in it. We tried cutting the wire into shorter manageable pieces and pulling it out, but after about an hour of that it soon appeared that it would take approximately 17.6 years of hard and prickly labour to get it out using that method.
It was clear we had to devise more drastic measures to deal with the problem.
To be continued ...
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5 comments:
The barbed wire, by the way, was dumped there in massive piles by the previous owner, as he pulled down several fences and left the tangled mess in the yards (or just in the paddocks).
Actually, almost all of our 'renovation' work so far as consisted of clearing, cleaning and tidying the farm and making it a safer place for all and sundry.
A tricky job indeed. I'm currently doing battle with the blackberry in the back yard, that's bad enough, I'm glad I don't have to do battle with barbed wire. Let us know how you get on and what magic method you use. I am glad that the chooks are still laying and haven't been frightened to death by that snake.
Thanks, Louise... Actually I'm starting to see the stockyard more and more as a metaphor for some of what happens in some people's lives... On the surface all looks well, the grass is green, fronds softly wafting in the gentle breeze. If you ask them, "how are you?", they may say, "I'm fine"... But sometimes, underneath & unseen, lies a tangle of barbed wire, some of which might have been lying undisturbed for years and has become entangled and embedded in the very soil of their existence. The grass looks lovely but their yards have become less functional.
I have been reflecting upon some of the things affecting various much-loved family and friends lately (as well as some troubled students I'm trying to help) and find this a useful analogy for helping me understand what's going on in their lives.
I was reading these two blog posts and thought they were interesting:
http://smallhandsbigideas.com/friends/the-thing-about-being-fine/
and
http://diamondkt.blogspot.com/2010/04/really-im-fine.html
Hmm.. I might need to change the label of the post from 'farm' to 'philosophy & reflections' :-D. Anyway ... I'll post practical tips for removing barbed wire soon! Might be useful for removing blackberries, too ...
Oh! And there's new news about the python. Stay tuned!
Would it be possible to keep goats in the affected area? Could they browse the grasses without injuring themselves?
Thank you, Minnesotastan! We had considered goats but even these hardy creatures would have snagged their legs on the tangled loops of piles of barbed wire. I've put up a new post which shows our solution (even so, my hands are covered in cuts!). We may bring goats in to deal with the lantana in the lower paddocks though.
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