Buffalo Dan's Bison

Things have been progressing slowly, but steadily with the fencing.  The main reason for the slowness is that Jess hasn't been able to join me to work on the ranch for the last few weekends.  In spite of this, though, I remain optimistic that enough of the fencing will be completed this fall that we will be able to introduce our first bison.  One has to remain optimistic.  The first 800 feet are done, the next 800 foot section is half done, and another 2,000 feet have been nearly completely cleared.  Also, another important fact to consider is that the first 1,600 feet of the fencing was probably (hopefully) the most difficult because of the dryness and higher clay content.   Below are some photos of the more tedious tasks I've been engaged in. I staple each horizontal wire to each wooden post.  The staples are not hammered all the way down so the wire has space to expand and contract during temperature changes.  I use a staple holder to get them started, which prevents

This past weekend was supposed to be dedicated to completely fencing the first 800 feet of 6 foot high bison fence, but an unexpected event diverted me from fully realizing that goal.  As part of a self-emposed break from the exhausting routine of fencing, I allowed myself the chance to test out a new chisel-tooth blade for my Stihl FS 310 on some young trees crowding the edge of a field.  What started out as only a ten-minute break turned into a several-hour gleeful cutting spree.  I have never seen a tool that could so quickly and easily cut through young trees. With one swing several 1 to 2 inch diameter trees can be effortlessly swept aside.  The stumps can then be cleanly trimmed down with precision.  Trees between 3 and 4 inches can also be felled easily with one or two strokes and, with slightly more prolonged application, I've cut through trees six inches in diameter without too much difficulty.  The only problem I experienced is when I, on two separate occasions, accidenta

Early last week I had a two-day break from my insane schedule, which wasn't really a great length of time, so I decided to spend the two days at home finishing my remaining welding projects.  I first finished fabricating and installing the mount for my winch.  It's a a simple, but  extremely solid mount, assembled from a half-inch steel.  It probably causes the bumper to jut forward more than most winch mounts, but I'm fine with that.  The other project I finished and installed, was a sturdy rack for transporting an oxyacetylene setup.  The rack is a permanent fixture bolted to the frame and stablized to prevent excessive vibration.  The tanks are fastened to the vertical angle iron via nylon straps (not pictured) and further secured from upwards ejection and potential theft by chain loops and a horizontal steel band. During this last weekend I had three nights off and used them to work more on the fencing.  I finished all but one H-braces in one 800 foot section.  I