“A juniper post can wear out two postholes.” And a juniper-branch fence can last centuries. This one, probably built by Navajo herders, once kept stock from crossing between mesas and lowlands.
Good Fences
“A juniper post can wear out two postholes.” And a juniper-branch fence can last centuries. This one, probably built by Navajo herders, once kept stock from crossing between mesas and lowlands.
WORLD-BUILDING and WILDERNESS: 
In the back 11 acres of my Sandia Park property was an old fence-line. Most of the barbed wire had entirely rusted away, but there were some strips attached to the juniper fence-posts, which were still firmly planted in the ground. I have seen lines of uprooted cedar stumps making a fence, I may have seen a fence like the one in the photo, but didn’t recognize it as such. Fences are interesting, because they imply boundaries. I’m always impressed by how people were able to ingenuously use found materials to good purpose. Thanks for this post, now I’ll know such a fence if I see it.