Takin' the Blog for a Walk

mending fences

Posted by Brien Lee on Nov. 1, 2010

Had some great weekend weather. I spent many outdoor hours making the last cutting of the grass while gathering leaves with the Toro, and repairing a section of privacy fence the wind disconnected last week. A neighbor was out splitting wood, and fired up his outdoor wood furnace which filled my lungs with fresh, clean woodsmoke while I worked.

I picked up four treated four by four posts at Home Depot with the Toyota before yesterday's Sunday mass. All went well. No having to drive around back to the lumber yard and wait for or get signed out by anyone. Sunday mornings at Home Depot there's plenty of friendly assistance. The price of the wood was even lower than shelf price, and it all fit in the Toyota. I was in, out and on my way in just a few short minutes. I was happy.

Got started on the fence around 1:00 with a goal to be done by trick or treating, or dark; whichever came first. Fortunately, the neighbor on the other side of the fence loaned me a spade narrower than the ones we had, or I'd still be at it. Some joker had sank the old posts four feet down into heavy, wet clay and rock. It would've been easier drilling through rock in Chile . . .

It was well after 3:00 when I got the first post out, though I quickly realized I couldn't use the same holes. I had purchased eight foot posts. If I sank them four feet into the ground there'd be just four feet above and I needed six for the fence. So I work with what I have and it looks good for the time being. Trick or treating had started by the time I was done, but I did finish, and that's the main thing. Not a lot of good weekends left to work before the ground freezes.