When I went out to check on the lambs this morning, the fence energizer was giving a baleful red blink, and the fence was cold as the snow.

 

 

I’d been worried about the state of the battery, what with cold and the limited sunlight on the solar panel; its charge level had been creeping down over the last few weeks, though there were still enough electrons inside to keep the fence live — until this morning.  There’s nothing like a non-electrified electric fence to make me thankful (in no particular order):

  • Neither the lambs nor the dogs had yet tested the fence and discovered that it no longer had a bite;
  • The local coyotes didn’t choose last night to indulge their taste for lamb;
  • My second fence energizer was sitting in the barn, since all the other electronet enclosures are tapped off the main fence, and I was able to borrow its battery; and
  • I decided some time earlier this year that it would be prudent to have a battery charger on the farm.
battery charger-3542

 

I’m sometimes alarmed at all the various devices and machines that I already depend on to run my operation.  I’ve been lucky that not much has broken down so far, but I’m acutely aware of all the fixit skills I need to acquire.