Man, I should have worn gloves for this one!
Yes, this was yesterday morning, and my hands still hurt. In fact, they kind of feel like sandpaper right now. Anyway, here is the vlog for you folks who watch videos first.
VIDEO: HERE'S WHAT I'M UP TO AND WHY
AND NOW, THE PHOTOS AND TEXT
Part of keeping us and our animals safe includes fencing in the perimeter of our property. Since we do not have a really large plot, I've chose to make the fence extra-secure. With coyotes, wild hogs, and wild dogs frequently in our area, it is not just important to keep our animals on our property, but also to keep unwanted animals off of our land.
Since we are dealing with raw land, a variety of things exist that must be dealt with as the fence goes up. These wild blackberries were one such case. The previous photo was taken after about half of this cluster was already trimmed back. I did not want to fight the bushes to get the fence up, so I had to cut them back.
Many of these branches are quite impressive, reaching lengths over twelve feet long. For me, evaluating each and every thing on our land is important, since everything can potentially be a resource. You've probably heard me speak of desiring to grow large amounts of food on our land, and blackberry bushes can help produce just that.
That is why I have only trimmed them back at the moment. The trimmed bushes will all regrow from the roots, so I haven't really lost anything permanently. At any time in the future, I can dig up the roots and move these plants to a better location. While wild blackberries may not produce in the same way that domesticated varieties will, they will still produce an edible berry. Moreover, these are obviously very well suited to my specific area, as evidenced by both their presence and their size.
The cut sections of the plants will also serve a purpose. For one, our goats will nibble on them. Actually, blackberry leaves can help goats that have scours (diarrhea) and some people feed them to their pregnant animals to help prevent miscarriages and for a number of other beneficial effects. Also, if you've ever heard me talk about the "soil" here, you know that we are trying to build it up. Chipping these branches and turning them into mulch can help with that process as well.
So far, I've still got a long way to go as far as fencing and other tasks are concerned, but each day is an adventure and I am making progress step by step. Thanks for all of your encouragement and support, and I am glad that many of you enjoy us sharing our journey! Steem on!
As always, I'm 
and here's the proof:
proof-of-blackberries-and-fencing
