Doggie Deterrent no longer needed???
It was in this freshly mown area on the right of the gravel road, where I was planning to install the new doggie deterrent (fence).
Who would believe it?
After spending all those hours (and days) constructing fence panels in the backyard (and neglecting my garden), I arrived down at our property yesterday afternoon with our Suburban loaded.
I had my pepper spray in hand, ready for the usual barking, growling, snarling, snapping charge at my car, but the dog was no where in sight.
Come to find out, in the space of a week and a half, my neighbor had built his own fence and even installed a very long gate to keep his canine contained.
What!? That's EXACTLY what I had told him he needed to do after his dog charged at me the last time I was mowing my grass. He told me, in no uncertain terms, that he wasn't going to pen up his dog and that his dog was free to roam wherever it wanted.
Hmmm...I guess he had a change of heart after our exchange of words, which weren't always pleasant.
Well, arrived with our Suburban loaded with fencing and my posthole digger. With my daughter's help, I unloaded my fence sections and chained them to a 20-year-old cherry tree so they won't "walk away".
That's our camping firepit in the foreground. I moved most of those rocks single-handedly. I was younger, once-upon-a-time.
I did buy some pressure-treated posts in town and some ABS plastic pipe in 12-inch lengths for mounting the posts,
However, now I'm torn between going ahead and installing the fence as planned or rethinking that plan. What to do with all those new fence sections? Maybe I can use them somewhere else on the property (like to surround the garden area?) instead.
I think this calls for two heads and I'll wait for my wife to return from her kayaking trip to decide on our next course of action. We may still need a doggie deterrent, I just don't know for sure. The odious dog didn't bother me once--how NICE! No dog roaming my property. No fresh calling cards.
For now, I've opted to wait and see.
Enjoyed a nice campfire after dark before retiring for the night.
Guess what? There was a deer on my lawn this morning when I got up (8:30 in the morning). [What can you expect? I'm retired and I didn't have a "schedule".] Normally, the neighbor's dog would have chased that deer into the woods and I wouldn't have seen it.
That was nice, a good thing, seeing that deer. Not a great thing, because as I was watching the deer and the deer was watching me, she ambled over to my wife's 1-year-old flowering quince and bent down to take a nibble. I clapped my hands and she changed her mind and ambled off down the freshly mowed path I'd made the afternoon before. (Mental note: buy some chicken wire and "fence in" the quince until it gets a little bigger and can handle being munched a bit by the local venison.)
So we drove back home without having installed a single section. Now it's time to take a shower, then maybe watch a movie (The Long Hot Summer) I got from the library on Monday.
Who would believe it?
After spending all those hours (and days) constructing fence panels in the backyard (and neglecting my garden), I arrived down at our property yesterday afternoon with our Suburban loaded.
I had my pepper spray in hand, ready for the usual barking, growling, snarling, snapping charge at my car, but the dog was no where in sight.
Come to find out, in the space of a week and a half, my neighbor had built his own fence and even installed a very long gate to keep his canine contained.
What!? That's EXACTLY what I had told him he needed to do after his dog charged at me the last time I was mowing my grass. He told me, in no uncertain terms, that he wasn't going to pen up his dog and that his dog was free to roam wherever it wanted.
Hmmm...I guess he had a change of heart after our exchange of words, which weren't always pleasant.
Well, arrived with our Suburban loaded with fencing and my posthole digger. With my daughter's help, I unloaded my fence sections and chained them to a 20-year-old cherry tree so they won't "walk away".
That's our camping firepit in the foreground. I moved most of those rocks single-handedly. I was younger, once-upon-a-time.
I did buy some pressure-treated posts in town and some ABS plastic pipe in 12-inch lengths for mounting the posts,
However, now I'm torn between going ahead and installing the fence as planned or rethinking that plan. What to do with all those new fence sections? Maybe I can use them somewhere else on the property (like to surround the garden area?) instead.
I think this calls for two heads and I'll wait for my wife to return from her kayaking trip to decide on our next course of action. We may still need a doggie deterrent, I just don't know for sure. The odious dog didn't bother me once--how NICE! No dog roaming my property. No fresh calling cards.
For now, I've opted to wait and see.
Enjoyed a nice campfire after dark before retiring for the night.
Guess what? There was a deer on my lawn this morning when I got up (8:30 in the morning). [What can you expect? I'm retired and I didn't have a "schedule".] Normally, the neighbor's dog would have chased that deer into the woods and I wouldn't have seen it.
That was nice, a good thing, seeing that deer. Not a great thing, because as I was watching the deer and the deer was watching me, she ambled over to my wife's 1-year-old flowering quince and bent down to take a nibble. I clapped my hands and she changed her mind and ambled off down the freshly mowed path I'd made the afternoon before. (Mental note: buy some chicken wire and "fence in" the quince until it gets a little bigger and can handle being munched a bit by the local venison.)
So we drove back home without having installed a single section. Now it's time to take a shower, then maybe watch a movie (The Long Hot Summer) I got from the library on Monday.
Comment
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Comment by Harry Larsen on July 16, 2009 at 3:39pm -
Terri,
I'd love to use your bobcat not just to spook, but to EAT the neighbor's doggie! LOL. Just kidding. I have a dog myself and generally like all animals (well...maybe not rattlers, scorpions, tarantulas [not poisonous, I know], black widow spiders, coral snakes, gila monsters, etc.).
As for building the fence out at Mossyrock, well...I'm trying to avoid it, if possible. What will happen is my wife will say..."Harry, you put so much time and effort into it, let's not let it go to waste...it'll look very nice...why don't you put up a few sections and see how it looks...if you don't like it, we can put it somewhere else... (yeah, right!)...well, you know the drill...it won't go to waste.
I have only a few more sections to make to complete the 340 feet that's required. Probably only take an hour, or two at the max. I'm practically resigned to the idea.
We recently drove down to Carson City, Nevada for a sibling reunion (my side) for a week and then drove over to Union City, California to see my step-Mom for a couple of days. Just got back last Sunday evening. Glorious weather the whole way down and back until we got to the northern Calif/Oregon border. First it drizzled, then it rained continuously for at least a hundred miles through southern Oregon. It finally more-or-less dried out by the time we got home. Then more rain on Monday in Federal Way (no gardening for me). Now it's back to VERY pleasant weather, great to be back outdoors! My new clematis seems to be done blooming. My vegetable plants are growing, but not real signs of fruit--yet.
Sorry, I can't accept your generous offer to supervise my installation of fencing at your place in California. My excuse? We're done traveling for a while. Our kids missed us (or maybe they missed Mom's home-cooking?). One of the four aquarium goldfish died. I suspect there was some overfeeding in our absence. Of course, our cat could care less that we're back home, but our dog definitely appreciates that I'm frequently petting her once again.
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Comment by Terri Penman on July 16, 2009 at 3:01pm -
Harry, I have an idea for your fencing, why don't you pack it up and come to California? I have lots of space for YOU to build a fence, and I will be happy to supervise the project!! This is a good story to follow. Maybe you could use my bobcat to spook the doggie?
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Comment by Harry Larsen on June 25, 2009 at 7:10pm
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I spoke to my wife this morning. It is stormy and windy where she is kayaking, so she and her sister are taking the day off (to rest?) from kayaking. They saw eagles up close and porpoises within 50 yards. No whales so far, though they've been kayaking in the vicinity where whales are often seen.
I told her about the dog situation and she said we should probably put up the fence anyway. The neighbor might get a "relaxed" attitude about his dog in future and we'd have the same old problem all over again.
Oh well...I thought I might get out of some work (ha-ha). Looks like it's a go for when I next travel down there.
If I can take 20 more sections down, and I already have 19 of them built. Twenty is an arbitrary limit I set for myself. The individual sections are not heavy, maybe 30 lbs each and our Suburban can easily carry 32 sheets of sheetrock, because it's a 3/4-ton vehicle. However, in case I have to stop suddenly, I don't want even a lightweight fence section sliding forward and banging me on the back of my neck/head and I need to save some room inside for my camping gear.
As for the marshmallows, yeah...sounds good, but I only had the mini ones (for decorations?), I wouldn't be able to fit them on a stick, and I didn't think about stopping at the grocery store on the way down. Oh well...I don't need all that sugar anyway. I had two cavities repaired at my last dental visit. My sweet tooth gets the better of me.
Harry
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Comment by JANE BELL Z4/5 IA on June 25, 2009 at 1:43pm -
Maybe someone on the other sides of him started complaining tooo!! Some can be really inconsiderate..Glad your prob got solved easily....Now for the supples you have well the wife will help ya there!! lol
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Comment by Janice Dugan z5/6 PA on June 25, 2009 at 10:52am -
Anybody need a large trellis? I think you could use these as decorative dividers(to hide unsightly views). To keep out the deer? If you don't ever use them you could sell them on Craigslist. PJ bringing the mash-mellows, I'd bring the Graham crackers and chocolate if I lived closer. Beautiful property. have fun sitting around the camp fire. Happy Gardening also.
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