My mom says that my grandmother Hester used to say that what you do on the first day of the year foretells how you will spend the rest of your year. Â If that’s the case, 2014 will be a year of unexpected tears in fences and figuring out how to fix them.
The Culprit:
Curious jumping Indy puppy
Apparently 6 months is the “terrible two’s” of puppyhood. Â Indy has entered an incredibly destructive phase of intense curiosity, increased mobility, and the ability to jump over 3 feet high, as evidenced by her Great Escape through a relatively small and high hole in the fence line.
The Fence:
Wiring mesh to the old fence
My mom and I put in a split-rail fence last spring, which is still beautiful and amazing, but the very back edge of my property already had chain-link fencing, so we didn’t do anything with that, even in the SW corner where there was a gap. Â It was such a small gap and so high up, it didn’t seem like a worry. Â There was also a low spot where a tree had fallen down and bent the fence. Â This was just the opening Indy needed to test her new spring-loaded jumping skills to escape through the fence into the neighbor’s back yard.
The Fix:
Janey fixing the fence
We hand-sawed through the tree trunk to get the weight off the fence, and  zip tied new mesh that extended about 7 feet up from the ground.  Even Indy can’t jump over that!
Fleep fixing fence
Zip ties solve so many problems!
The Lessons:
Indy safely back at home, enjoying the mud and commotion
Curiosity pokes holes in what we thought was secure and established.
Ignoring the gaps and procrastinating on fixing obvious problems might be at your own peril.
Asking for help makes solving every problem easier.
Zip ties really do solve so many problems!