Like A Cow Lookin' At a New Gate

When a new gate is installed, cows will stare at it in puzzled fashion.  The old saying, "You're lookin' at me like a cow lookin' at a new gate" means simply that - you're puzzled or confused.  I've heard this saying often in country churches when a preacher says something and doesn't get an "Amen" from the congregation.

That saying pertains somewhat literally to our rumination today.  Our back yard butts up against the pasture where the cows, goats and chickens roam.  We have a large gate that you can drive through on the eastern side and a small gate that you can walk through a little west of that one on the east side of the garden.  If you want to get to the western side of the pasture, you must climb over the fence by way of a pool ladder that is placed precariously over the hog wire fence with a tight barbed wire strand running on top.  The pool ladder is rickety and I have nightmares of it falling and causing one of us to be impaled on the metal T-post!

Time to do something about it.  I purchased two treated 4x4's, an 80 pound bag of concrete and a four foot gate.  I dug two holes with my post hole digger, set the 4x4's in the hole using a level to make them true, and mixed up concrete.  I let that cure for 24 hours and then cut the existing fence, and hung the gate, using zip ties to fasten the hog wire I cut from the fence to the gate.  That keeps the chickens from getting out into the yard.  Here is the finished product:

The live oak tree has a big limb that arches over it, making a nice shady place to enter or exit the pasture.  This entry point makes it convenient to let the cows into the backyard to "mow" the grass.  I've only mowed the yard (with an actual lawn mower) two times this year!  You can see the reel for the electric fence in the photo below.

Once installed, the cows indeed looked at the new gate.  All was good.  Or was it?  After the cows looked at it closely, I did, too - with scrutiny.  Do you notice something about that gate?

This American built gate disappoints me.  It must have been quickly welded together either on a Friday, when the workers were eager to knock off or on a Monday after a hard weekend.  The three top horizontal pipes that make up the gate are not level!  Now that I've seen it, I'll never un-see it.  It still functions as a gate, just aesthetically, it leaves a lot to be desired.  I should have scrutinized it more closely upon purchasing.  It is a good reminder to inspect before buying.  It's also a good reminder to always take pride in your work, whatever it is that you're doing.  I'm not gonna sweat it, though, it works and the cows no longer look at it.  I've been running them through it daily to eat the grass in the yard.