Of all the necessary evils strung
across the West, mile after mile
glistening either side of every highway,
every rail, keeping cattle in and people
out: lines of wire and sentry posts
standing between a disastrous mix
of urgencies, a clash of cultures:
the timeless calm of open space
invaded and escaped at seventy.
The better ground fenced between
Frost’s good neighbors, cross-hatched
into managed pastures cowmen dream
will optimize the grass, the grazing—
and of course the breeding: a tangled
trail of testosterone enraged to war,
a crash of skulls, two tons of bellowing
bulls colliding in a storm unwinding
borders for as far as they can.
Most cowboys despise fixing fence—
ride around the long step down
to keep the evil stuff up.
Everybody hates barb wire. That’s why most people are turning to electric fencing here. It’s so easy to use and the animal can’t be injured.
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I tried Snell Fencing back in the early 80s. Constant maintenance, susceptible to shorting on a wet blade of grass. Much of our fencing is on ground difficult to access.
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I have always wondered how much money has been put into fencing. I look at the miles and think how many cows it took to pay for it. Ranchers must be incredibly wealthy. (or in debt) Another thing people don’t think about in the price of beef.
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Some of our fences are over 80 years old and still serviceable. You just don’t build or replace a lot of fence at once @ $8-10K/mile.
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I’m amazed at some of the places fencing is put and thankful that I don’t have to even climb there for anything!
janet
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It was a different work ethic in those days.
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True. I think that in the West and with people who farm or work outdoors, the work ethic is still fairly strong, just because they have to be strong, both physically and mentally to make a living.
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evil stuff indeed, reminds me of the first world war…nice minimalist symmetrical shot
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Thanks, Jim.
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