Fencing Woes

Dave -

I am a pretty even tempered person. In fact, I daresay that most people would say that I am a pleasant person to be around. Well, today was an exception. Several things happened that even ‘mellow Dave’ was not able to let slide.

My goal this morning was to put up a fence for the chickens. Shirley and I had already agreed that the purpose of the fence would be to keep the chickens in, not the predators out. Wouldn’t you know it - as soon as I had finished hammering in the last peg to keep the chicken wire down, the design requirements changed. And, I might add, they changed unilaterally...without my input...without my vote...without my "hey how about if we...."

When the fence was up, Shirley and I stood back to watch the chickens enjoy their new home. All was good with the world until we spotted Mr. Darcy walking along the wooden fence that makes up two sides of the fenced area for the chickens. Obviously, if the cat could walk along the fence, he could just as easily jump into the yard and kill our dear chickens. Our cats have always walked along this fence so I could not understand why Shirley was so shocked to see Darcy doing so today. Well, the short story is that Shirley insisted that I needed to erect another fence within the fence. I ignored my body’s cries to take a break, plastered a smile on my face, swallowed a few choice words, and tackled my second fencing job of the day. As the afternoon faded, so did my energy, but I finished putting up the fence and again all was good with the world.

After dinner, Shirley went outside to check on the birds. To her surprise, there sat Mr. Darcy INSIDE the new fence watching the chickens. I want to point out three things: (1) Mr. Darcy is a sweetheart and while he might give chase to the chickens, he has never maimed one, so I am inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt; (2) the second fencing project was to keep the chickens safe from Mr. Darcy and from the looks of things, this extra effort was not warranted; and (3) fencing with chicken wire is a huge waste of time insofar as Mr. Darcy figured out how to slip into the chicken enclosure in less time that it takes Shirley or me to open and close the gate.

I don't know what Plan B will be...or if there will even be a Plan B. Of course, even if Mr. Darcy doesn't chase the chicks to death, we have three other cats which might give it a try. At this point, I am just tired of the whole mess. Hopefully I will view this situation with a more positive mindset in the morning.