So, I hadn't planned on asking Patrick for help with this. I try to limit the things for which I request his help to things wayyy beyond my ken. And, though I'd never fenced before, I assumed I could handle it. I knew how to use a circular saw, and a drill. How hard could it be?
Patrick must've been watching from a window when I attempted to attach the first board. With my right hand, I attempted to hold the end of a 12-foot-long piece of lumber in place on the fence post. With my left, I tried to simultaneously hold the screw in place, keep it upright, and pull the trigger on the cordless drill.
The screw slipped, the bit fell out, the end of the board came down on my foot. I may have said a bad word.
Patrick came out, took over the drill, and two and a half hours later, we had our fence. I took a picture this morning, with that gorgeous early spring morning sun struggling up over the sugar maples in bud:
(The shadow person is me.) I'm in love with this fence! It might not be everybody's idea of beauty, but it measures up to mine. The beauty of rustic vernacular architecture combined with the beauty of a secure and productive garden? Yes please.
We ran 4-foot-high welded wire all around the square before attaching the boards, because, let's face it, the boards aren't really there to keep anything out. They're there to make it look pretty. I can't wait for my potatoes to get here so I can put them in the ground.
My north-facing office window looks directly out onto this slice of heaven. It's a sight that makes deadline logjams (like the one I have right now) so hard to commit to. I try to write, I get frustrated, I get up and pace and stand at my window. I look at that greening yard, and those emerging daffodils (and weeds) and I decide I can spare an hour. Just an hour. So it goes.
Share with a friend
7 comments:
Looks fabulous!
Thanks dad!
Looks great! That's exactly the kind of fence I want to keep my free range chickens off my front lawn (I plant to fence in the humans rather than the birds)
Also, that is a huge garden, good luck with it!
absolutely amazing to me. I so enjoy reading your blog and seeing how much you have accomplished -- just a midwestern mom here, but I'm really proud of you!
Aw, thanks gals! For me it's like, well, when else am I ever going to get the chance to do all this? I've been waiting to do it for a long time, and now we're finally in a place we can put down roots. Thanks for your comments!
srt says: a thing of beauty is a joy forever -- the fence and the partnership that yielded its speedy construction seem equally lovely. happy planting! as to the logjam, a shower, a walk, or some other change of pace is sure to do the trick!
Thank you, oh benevolent and mysterious srt. :) Actually, right now writing is the perfect antidote to yard work-- it gives me muscle recovery time before diving into another garden project.
Post a Comment
Thank you, so much, for taking the time to chime in here. Your comments make my day. Let's do our best to keep the snarkiness at bay and be a happy, friendly place in the interwebs.