Tamping Posts

Marlboro Man has been building some new fence in various areas of the ranch, and the day after the girls and I returned from New York, he needed some help tamping posts.

The new fence Marlboro Man is building is a combination of regular steel posts and these wooden posts, which provide more overall stability for the fence. (I think they look really sharp, too.) During the time the girls and I were away, Marlboro Man and the boys dug the holes for these posts and stuck them in the ground…

And now it was time to set them.

Alex worked the level and made sure the post was perfectly straight. If posts aren’t straight, it affects not just the look of the fence, but (more importantly) the stability.

So while she held the level against the post, Marlboro Man and Paige kicked the dirt into the hole and began packing it firmly around the post—also known as tamping.

Checking the level constantly is important.

And then it’s just about packing the dirt as tightly as you can.

The result is a perfectly sturdy, perfectly straight fence post…which is a beautiful sight in the eyes of a rancher.

And then they repeat this process about thirty more times.

At least the girls had memories of New York to get ‘em through it!