The old fencing at the Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch had to be removed because the spacing of the barbed wire is dangerous to the animals. New fencing is high enough from the ground to allow javelina (a small mammal resembling a wild pig) and other small animals to navigate underneath, but short enough for pronghorn and deer to jump. Also, the top two wire strands need to be a certain distance apart, correlating to the anatomical length of the deer and pronghorns' heels, so that, if they do catch their foot on the fence, it's much less likely for them to get stuck and hung up on the fence.
Removing the fence was definitely hard work; a few of us had to go ahead and pull wire "stays" out of the fence by untwisting them from the barbed wire of the fence. A few followed and rolled up the barbed wire into loops and tying them together as Roger clipped the barbed wire from the metal fence posts. Everything was very rusty and hard to untangle after sitting out in the middle of the Arizona grasslands for thirty years or so, and I can't tell you h
ow many times I ran into a spiny bush and destroyed my legs. Ouch.
Roger had us take a break and he
took pictures with us and showed us around the Ranch a bit. It was beautiful, we hiked for a while around a creek that he pointed out to us. I could listen to Roger talk about the plants, the birds, and the rest of the wildlife all day! He always has some interesting story to tell us about the history of a particular dried-up creek or a funny-looking plant. We've spotted white-tail deer, agave trees, lots of cacti, birds that look funny when they fly, and even a coyote on the horizon!
There's a training camp very near the Ranch near Huachuca Fort in the Huachuca Mountains where military learn to fly small unmanned aircraft called "drones". Linda told us about them yesterday. I have to say, I felt like I was in the middle of a dystopian novel when we found them flying over us. "A cold, lifeless wind stung my eyes as I fought tirelessly against the rusted barbed wire. I was surrounded by nothingness, but the drones buzzed overhead with their lawn-mower growl". Honestly, I find it kind of creepy. Linda tells us that they have some unbelievable high-definition cameras on them (so we'd better hide under a tree if we have to pee!), and some are even equipped to drop bombs. I think it's horrible that we even need this kind of technology, and it seems banal and unfortunate to say that we can travel so far away from life and civilization only to be given the constant reminder that they can monitor everything we do.
In any case, I am already starting to feel the soreness! The wire was just so thick and rusty and we only had handheld wire cutters to work with it. Even when taking stays out, the wire had pretty much been glued together with rust. Everybody seemed to do well with the work and appreciate, or even enjoy it. I think we'd de-wired almost half a mile of fence today, and it felt like such an amazing accomplishment. Multiple girls commented on how they felt like they "saved the deer" today, and they're right! I am so exhausted, though. I even took a nap at lunchtime. Tomorrow, we plan on planting sacaton (a native grass), so I'm sure I'll have a lot to talk about regarding the reasons for planting it, its benefits, and it's history, thanks to Roger! We'll see if I can still move my arms tomorrow.
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