The first farm rule I learned from my then fiancé (now husband) was: “Always leave a gate how you found it”. An open gate you can leave open or closed, but a closed gate must always be closed after you pass. This keeps farm animals from getting out or in the wrong areas . There are other rules about gates too: “If you climb over a gate you do it on the side secured to a post”. My husband doesn’t need to climb over though, because he is able to jump most -if not all, the gates on our farm. This always impresses me especially since I can only jump 1.5-2 feet high (#futurefitnessgoals).
The first skill my husband wanted to make sure I knew was how to tie a square knot. Most gates around our farm are closed with a piece of chain or rope and all the rope ones use square knots. The square knot concept isn’t hard, you cross two strings and loop one under like you are getting ready to tie your shoes and then you do it again making sure to cross the strings the same way as the first time. If you do right over left the first time you do right over left again the second time. The only problem with this is that I instinctively switch the order the second time making what’s called a granny knot. Granny knots don’t stay tied quite as well, but if they do get tight they can be a bit harder to untie, plus they don’t look as neat as a square knot. I have learned what a square knot should look like so now I catch myself if I do it wrong.
