The Electric Fence

    I have a love/hate relationship with our electric fence.  Seems like sometimes it works well and other times it doesn't.  Usually when it falls into the doesn't category that's because I've let weeds grow too tall under it or I've leaned something up against it without thinking that's dampening the charge.
    I noticed Tuesday one lamb in particular was walking through it with ease.  You know, the grass is always greener on the other side theory.  She was using the fence as a guideline and not the law...Sharon's law.  When I put up the temporary fencing strands in the back yard yesterday morning I dug out Hon's handy dandy charge tester and saw that it was barely blinking at the 1000 volt mark.  Yeah, that explained the total disregard for fence laws around here.  The voltage running through the fence was a nuisance tickle on wool, if that.  
    This morning before Hon went to work he went out fence walking and found where the short in the wire was.  While he was doing that I was, uh, sleeping.  Yeah, that's it.  I have a good explanation though.  I was up real late working on my knitting project for class.  Besides, it was still only 7:15.  Anway, he flew into the bedroom like a whirlwind.  I vaguely heard something about the electric fence, a popping sound, and then something about plugging it in, as I was in a sleep induced haze.  Then he was off and running while I was fumbling around for where I stashed my senses the night before.
    I decided to go outside and fumble around with chores while waking up.  Deacaf coffee could wait.  I thought while clearing away the cobwebs in my mind Hon said something about plugging the fence in, so in my mind I though it needed to be plugged in still because he was rushing around like a chicken with his head cut off trying to get out the door for work.
    Quite frankly, since the fence had been carrying such a low voltage I had become a bit lax in stepping waaay over the temporary fence strands or pushing them down with the plastic whiffle ball bat to get over.  I left enough of a gap in one spot so the geese and turkeys can duck under and get to the pond so I'd go to that spot and low crawl under, too.  Well, I found out real easy this morning what Hon was saying about the electric fence.  He didn't tell me to plug it in.  He told me he plugged it back in after fixing the short.  Now you're wondering how I figured that out.  Well, you know in the movies where someone hits an electrified wire and they get thrown back the span of a football field and sparks fly out in all directions?  Yeah, I always laugh at that part, too.  Well, after I did my mind numbing spine tingling I think my body is still radiating voltage that can power up a small city crawl under the temporary electric fence strands it became clear to me what Hon had said.  I dizzily went to the garage to get Hon's current tester and see what it was registering now that it is clearly fixed...locked and loaded...a law, not a guideline.  It went from that paultry barely registering 1,000 volts to a bright and blinking 5,500.  
    So, to all friends and family that come to visit, the electric fence is in full working order now.  I highly suggest you walk around...use the pasture gate...simply don't touch it.  I should have taken a lesson from the kids and just pretended it had always been working just the way it should.  I didn't feel pictures were necessary for today's blog.  Now if you'll excuse me, I need to google the best way to get rid of the singed hair smell and how long it takes to grow eyebrows back.  Ju  Smiling & Waving, Sharon