A beautiful sunny day at the farm proved to be the perfect opportunity to put some final touches on the perimeter fencing at the farm site at Brookside Elementary. The two main jobs for this afternoon were to put latches on the newly hung gates and to close off 18-inch sections on the southwest and northeast ends of the perimeter. By the time today’s projects were finished there was only two methods of entering the farm site—through the gates or over the fence.

David and Jason worked to install the latches on the aluminum gates. This project required the use of drill to make a small hole in the gate frame and one hole into the steel post. Then David used a dye to create threads inside the steel post in order to insert a machine screw. This machine screw was not inserted too tight because it was intended to be a hinge point for the “levering” aspect of the latch. The hole in the gate was used to connect the locking mechanism of the latch. The mechanism is a ringlet that is lifted to open the gate or allowed to fall which locks and acts as the closure.

Kristen Bradford and Christoffer worked on sealing the open sections located in the corners. Three six foot tall cedar planks were used to close each gap. Kristen engineered a clever way to weave the wire so that the planks would not be able to be jostled out of place and would remain supported.

Later in the day Christoffer and Jason created the arm that will be used to support the weather station. An arm was created in order to hold the weather station off a wooden pole in hopes that the pole will not significantly influence accurate collection of rain or wind. Each piece of the arm is made from salvaged redwood. The plan is to install the weather station tomorrow afternoon.

Using a Dye to Make Threads in the Steel Post 

Close-Up of the Latching Mechanism

Kristen and Christoffer Securing Planks in Northeast Corner

The Weather Station Support Arm Ready For Installation