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2005 Arena
Restoration Project |
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Our ranch was originally designed for horses.
When we arrived in 1995 there was a nice riding arena with three-rail wooden
fence and a graded decomposed granite surface. Well, we don't ride our
llamas. So the Arena has become a sort of day-room for our girls, a
place where they can go when they tire of the other pastures. It has
also become a convenient place to park our Stuffed Ark storage containers.
Nevertheless, we are committed to maintaining
the Arena for future horse riders. So, as the posts and boards of the
fence grow old they must be replaced. This year we are restoring about
a hundred feet of fence, attending to some old drainage issues, and building
up an area immediately south of the Arena for use as an equipment storage
shed.
Here are some photos from the 2005 Arena
Restoration Project. |
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north toward Luneman Road, here is the first section of repaired post
and board fence. Note the contrast with the old boards to the
right. We use six inch peeler posts and sixteen foot five-quarter
by six inch corral boards, three rails, four feet high, with a
horizontal top board to stiffen the top rail.
Bonnie the Llama says "hello". |
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Here is the second section of fence, much in need
of repair. This section is at the south end of the Arena.
Note the Stuffed Ark containers, four of them, to left and right.
Rotten posts and cracked boards are falling over.
Only a few strands of bailing twine prevent a complete collapse.
Olivia and Snickers would be happy if the fence
fell over - they think that the grass is greener on the other side! |
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| Here is
another look at the south fence area.
Once the old fence is down, a drainage trench will be cut toward the
pasture in the background. A pipe will be installed as part of a
larger drainage project.
Then a new fence / retaining wall will be
erected in place of the old. We plan to fill the area between the
fence and the white container to the right, add a shed roof, and thus
create an equipment storage shed.
Kilara, Isabelle, Olivia and Billie are here. |
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Projects of this type are made possible by our new
tractor, a Massey-Ferguson GC2310. It is a compact loader /
backhoe with attachments for cutting the pastures (to the right) and
digging post holes (not shown here).
After ten years on the ranch, we needed a little help with the bigger
projects! |
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| The
Federals say that we are operating a fleet of vehicles. Well,
maybe so . . . Here are our two Ford work
trucks. Truck-Truck, to the right, is beginning its 31st season.
With a big V-8 and a full-size bed, it does the heavy lifting. Tax
Truck, to the left, is only seven years old. With A/C, a more fuel
efficient motor, and a smaller bed, it gets most of the routine supply
missions.
Both trucks are involved in the Arena Project. |
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-- More photos will
follow as the project moves forward -- |
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