November 13, 2008: Fencing Finale

The puppy play yard is getting closer to completion. I know, I thought we could get it finished in two days, and now we are going into our third week. It's difficult to finish projects here in the middle of Arizona's nowhere, it seems we can never find all the parts we need in one place.

The first trip for fencing supplies was all the way into Lake Havasu City, a 150 mile round trip drive to shop at Lowes. Our second trip for stuff we forgot, as well as for lumber to secure the porch, was to Parker (only 50 miles round trip), where I ended up getting the wrong color of green paint for my soon-to-be green gates, and couldn't find the right kind of latch for securing a metal gate to a wood post. Yesterday we made what I thought was to be a final trip for supplies, driving to Blythe, California (100 miles round trip). There we did find the gate hardware, called butterfly latches, but they were sure expensive for such a small piece of metal...like $12 each! We also bought some concrete stepping stones for a path from porch to front gate. It was only after I returned home that I realized I had forgotten the green paint. So that will have to wait until the next trip into "whatever" town.

Odds and ends to finish up are to make decorative caps for the wood fence posts (we found them at Blythe, but it was $14.95 for a package of two and I need four). I'm afraid mine will be very simple....whatever I can craft from leftover 4x4s and a miter saw. I was also planning to mount some solar lights atop each post, but again those were just too expensive in Blythe, so that will have to wait. We still have to clip the fencing to the T-posts and once they are all plumb and at the correct height they will be concreted in. I must lay the walkway, paint the gates and finish the painting of the porch addition, and then maybe I can take a day off. Or two or three.

Our humble "winter cabin" and the almost finished fence

Otter Dawg woke me up at four this morning, wanting out. Even though the area is now secure, I won't let the puppies out between 10 p.m. and dawn so I put him back to bed. Good thing, as not more than five minutes passed when a pack of coyotes came right through our property. A four foot wire fence is no match for a hungry coyote, and a little boy doxie is a pretty tasty morsel.

Mr. H decided the pups needed a pet door, so they could go in and out by themselves during the day. Of course, I wouldn't hear of putting one into the side of the mobile home, where snakes, lizards and who knows what all could gain entry. So I finally agreed to let him cut a hole in the bottom of the screen door. That way I can close the front door at night and keep the critters out and the pups in. Unfortunately, the hole is a bit high off the porch level, and maybe just a bit narrow. Annie gets her front half through it just fine, but her hips get stuck and her hind legs are a bit off the ground, so she has to wiggle and "swim" her way through the hole. Otto just ignores it and whines to be let in or out. Adjustments must be made.

Yesterday was watering day, and I really filled up the well around the palm tree. Annie and Otter had a real good time, they seemed to think it was their new swimmin' hole! Both of them would put their noses under water and blow bubbles while trying to pick up rocks from the bottom. I just ignored the mud they tracked onto the porch, as both were having so much fun and were very funny to watch.

Cookie has been enjoying some time outside on the porch, also. He's getting to be a very old man at seven years. The life expectancy of a Netherland dwarf is around 5-7 years, but this little guy has never had a sick day in his life, and he's still spry and seems quite healthy. We've been his people for 6-1/2 of his seven years.

"Excuse me....I happen to be on my pooper box. Sheesh, a fella can't even have any privacy around here"

Warning: Mr. H says this is the most annoying video ever taken. Yes, that is me in the background "conversing" with Annie, while Otter Dawg seems more interested in the talking frog in the corner. I was trying to get Annie to "speak" in her cute woo-woo voice, but seeing the camera in my hand the best she would do was plain old happy barking.

The Most Annoying Video Ever

I'm almost embarassed to show you my "garden". Compared to the lovely beds up north, these containers look pretty piddly. The visible greens (on the plant ladder) are the ones that came south with us, in the back of the Ranger. The large planter has three cucumber plants just barely peeking through. These were planted the first week we got here, and I'm quite sure they will never mature before we get a spell of freezing weather. I wish I had planted snow peas instead. The other containers were just planted this week and have beets, spinach, buttercrunch lettuce and green onions (from the grocery store). I did have a container of carrots, but they met their demise when I tried to transfer them to a larger planter, and dropped them on the pavement. I tried sticking a few of them into the front planter, but so far only one looks as though it might live.

This is a garden?