gates and fences

And of course with a new puppy, there is the compelling need for containment. We have been very busy building fences and gates. This is the south side of the dog run:


I designed the gate, and Al designed the fence to go with it. It's particularly fun with light coming through it at night. Kinda like pumpkin carving at Halloween.

Al as Zeus:

And inside the dog run:
The dogs don't like it nearly as much as we do - just another place to poo and chew. Al created a little acequia to channel water from the downspout in back out to the the street. Fortunately, there's lots of rocks to work with.

The front yard needed some fencing, so we used the limbs trimmed out of the Elms to start a coyote fence along the south wall. This is just the beginning. The fence will drop down to about four feet high for the middle span.


Al created the gate for the archway. Inspired by the New Mexican Zia, it also has a bit of a catholic feel to it, very appropriate for a parsonage, though Al insists it's just a zia. Elmo's trying out his escape route.

This gate is also taking on some of the deflector shield's function. Here's the inside view:

I gotta say, it is so much nicer having some barrier from the street in front. These houses are so wacky they generate a lot of looky-loos driving by in their diesel powered gigantor trucks and trailers.
Although, Al's gate is so spectacular, I think we get even more traffic.

Well, I hope the picture show today catches folks up. This is pretty much all we've been doing for weeks and weeks. I do have some more stories to post, hopefully I will be able to organize my time a little better now that things are slowing down.

My best to one and all, may the dog days of summer be biteless and blissful.