What started as a quick fence fix turned into fixing something we thought was stuck years ago.
First, I had to fix the fencing across this gate. Years ago, we put fencing about half way up from the bottom to keep Atlas and Goliath from squeezing under the gate and running off. Now we have Loki, and he was crawling through the gates just above the fencing. So I had to string new fencing across to go all the way up, to keep him in.
To the right, just out of the picture is what I call a "person gate". It's an opening in the fence section that can open for a person to go through.
9 or so years ago, we noticed that this gate was closed with a chain and a lock. The chain is actually holding the entire gate section to this wooden post. We thought, "shucks, it's locked, that stinks" and decided NOT to get bolt cutters to remove it, so we could use the gate.
Hilarious. We never looked again.
Until yesterday. I decided to take all the old and bent fence sections off the gate, to install a nice new section of fence. And I worked both pieces of the big gate by the barn. I got up and close to this chain. Indeed, it was all the way through the gate, making it unusable.
However, look closely at that lock. It isn't actually doing anything. It's through one link. What we never noticed was a clasp actually holding the chain together. Easily unhooked, I moved the chain to hold just the frame of the gate, and let the person gate move free.
Nine and a half years of living on this farm, and never once did we use this gate. Now it's fully functioning. HOORAY!