Hello Everyone!
Back on track, Transplanting corn, Plotting gate post positions, An advanced 'H' brace idea & Figuring out future fence lines!
Alright, I am apparently back to waking up at around midnight again... which by and large is rather nice given how peaceful all the silence is during the wee hours of the morning. It also gives me plenty of time to spend several hours procrastinating doing any writing before diving into it... and the best part is that I seldom feel rushed to get everything posted... or miss out on being able to work outdoors during the cool early morning hours.
Yesterday, I really fumbled on that front and wound up not getting outdoors until well past the time that I intended to... which yeah meant that I just had to cope with it being baking frigging hot... and doing a heck of a lot of sweating. Timing really is everything when it comes to my entire morning routine... and more often than not if my writing routine gets skewed... the cascade effect my timing getting of throws off my planning for everything else... and basically ripples throughout the remainder of the day.
Anyways, I finally bit the proverbial bullet and transplanted most of the corn plants from the fenced in garden (and some from a nearby knoll) into the hugel mound terrace... where they will hopefully get more sun. I have yet to hike around to all the other random places that I planted corn, to see if I need to transplant other plants that are getting too much shade... but I keep making mental notes to do it soon.
All that vegetation that I planted in the hugel mound terrace last week, seems to be surviving for the most part... but the mound itself is sucking way too much moisture out of all the topsoil that the plants are in. There has not been much rain since I first transplanted everything into that terrace... and from the looks of things I will most likely need to start watering it daily until the vegetation gets more established.
On a different note, I spent some time figuring out exactly where I want to install those two big wooden gates (that came in the building) and eventually I settled on a good spot that I hope will help create some privacy. I only got one hole dug and a single post installed... because I fizzled out after spending so much time tediously digging through the hard packed clay to create that lone hole!
The digging really was not all that bad honestly, regardless of how tedious that it was... and what deterred me more from continuing was the constant lookie-loo traffic going by on the road. Which is fine and all, because dealing with it gave me the idea to turn what would have been an 'H' brace (for the uphill side of the gate) into two braces that form a triangle... where I can lean tall poles (logs) against and essentially create another privacy wall.
Given that the gates are not all that tall (they are maybe chest high) I think that once I get them installed, that I am going to build a frame to go atop each one... and affix some thick black geofabric to the frames. If all goes well, and I can figure out how to keep the frames light enough... the altered gates will create a nearly three meter tall privacy wall that will also help stop the limestone road dust due to the fabric.
Part of me wants to make the frames out of black locust... but since I do not have much of it (and due to how heavy it is) I think that eastern cedar might be a better option. The only big downside to that, is the cedar that I have (which is the right size for the task) all has an incredible amount of small branches... and it would be a real bear to get the logs smooth enough to facilitate attaching the fabric.
We will see how all that jazz turns out in the end, because I still have yet to get all the post holes dug... and get all the bracing in place to actually hang the gates. Although I do not have any strainers (or wire for strainers) at the moment for the 'H' braces... I do however have some small dogwood poles that would make for some nice diagonal braces and they would also look neat and contrast well with the more uniform round fence posts.
The location of the gates is really far from ideal... but I am very limited on where I can put it due to the codes around the power line easement. All that I could really do, is go to the very edge of where I could go... and adjust all my fence planning (for further down the hill) around that location.
One thing about that whole gate project, is that it does not need to act as an actual gate... because its primary purposes are to create privacy and possibly stop some of the aforementioned road dust. That being the case, the downhill gate's post was the most tricky to accommodate... because it starts the actual 'fence' that will eventually go much further downhill.
What made it tricky, is that there is only one little area (less than a pace on all sides) where that post can be... and it is surrounded by trees, a gulch, the already constricted trail head... and the driveway itself. Hopefully, I left myself enough 'wiggle room' to move the hole in case I hit roots or impenetrable rock because whoa... I may well need it with how things are situated.
In case the gates do not quite reach each other (due to having to shift the downhill hole) my backup plan is to attach material to one, the other or both gates until they meet again. I also have a contingency for in case they sag (or to prevent it) which involves using some of those spare wagon tires that I have as a 'roller' under the end of each gate panel.
Well, I best call this entry good enough and get on with the editing and posting before the hour grows much later. I hope that folks are doing well. Ciao for now.