We have begun to realize that not having any prior "real" farming experience is at times a blessing and a curse. It is a blessing because we are more likely to research, take advice and use best management practices because we don't have a preconceived knowledge of how it was once done. At the same time it is a curse because...well...we just don't know any better. Often jobs are completed by pure stubbornness and refusal to quit. I recall our final week of fencing when Jim was digging post holes with an iron bar because the tractor auger wouldn't work because the ground was too hard. Jennifer was helping by scooping the hole with a post hole digger. The temperature was around 97 degrees. Rusty (local NRCS official) stopped by and seemed puzzled by our lack of sanity. Steve walked up saying it was "just getting hot enough to get some work done" Rusty just laughed and shook his head.
Fencing
During the months of June and July over 26,000 linear feet of barbwire was installed. This installment also included driving T-post, digging and installing line post and H-braces, clearing brush, trees, and log piles and fighting off ticks and bumble bees. We found (thanks to Thomas Kail) that talk-a-bouts worked real well and saved many steps on long fence pulls. A local dog would come help and we nicked named him Maynard (1). Steve is renowned for his unique ability to lose things and demonstrated this skill by losing a brand new talk-a-bout in a high grass portion of fence line. 
Before even discovering the talk-a-bout was gone, Maynard came up to Steve with the talk-a-bout in his mouth and dropped it at his feet. From that point on, we assigned Maynard as Steve's service dog for finding his lost items. We would like to thank the following people for helping out with the fencing: Ben &Jennifer Newton, Thomas Kail, Tony Jordon, Dad, Beth and the girls & Chuck.
Equipment and Repairs
A major challenge for the year has been mechanical issues. Jim over-hauled the engine on the John Deere 110 lawn tractor. On its first weekend at the farm, Jim was driving it across a field
and it threw the gen/starter belt. Without thinking Jim turned the engine off which resulted in the engine being unable to start. The non-starting tractor had to be left in the field. A rain storm occurred that night and filled the carburetor and part of the crankcase with water. A new lesson learned....the hard way!The head mechanic (Jim)has learned a tremendous amount of trouble shooting and problem solving skills while involved in the repair and maintenance of the equipment. Most of the equipment used is 40-60 years old and each has their own unique engineering quirks. Gas tanks are metal with gas flowing to the engine by gravity. Engine electronics are the old points and condensers of yesteryear. Most
engine issues are addressed by the "Fuel or Fire " troubleshooting method. Currently Fergie 2 is undergoing an engine rebuild for her debut at farm.
