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.

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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.

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.