Phased and Confused

I am happy to report that I am officially on Phase One of my Fence Build Quest.

Or maybe I should call it Phase One Point Six, since Phase One seemed to be several years of whining and kvetching about the need for a fence, without actually achieving a fence.

Phase 1.2 was attempted to find local fence builder. Fail.

Phase 1.3 was fruitlessly Googling “elk fence building in the ELC” only to have all the “results” that turned up be companies that weren’t interested in coming to this end of the county. IN SPITE of the optimistic “serving all of Lewis County” banners on their websites.

Phase 1.4 was finding a company in Gig Harbor that was willing to come build me a fence. Phase 1.4 also included 1.4 a: Take pictures of my property, Phase 1.4b: Submit measurements, Phase 1.4c: Schedule appointment and 1.4d: Show the nice man around while he repeated my EXACT measurements. Phase 1.4e More waiting for the bid to come back only to find out that Phase 1.4f would be schedule arm and leg removal to cover cost of said fence. And the fence was U-G-L-Y.  I passed. What can I say? I’m rather attached to my arm/leg.

In the midst of all this back and forth-ing, considering and rejecting limb removal, I was made aware that one of my trees near the house--and on the future fence-line--was aging and would need to be removed. Cue Phase 1.5.

I am happy to report that Phase One Point Five has been solved. Loggers aren’t thick on the ground these days, but I managed to find one and hired his expertise to come fell my troublesome tree.  He kindly even chunked it up in manageable sized pieces, including the branches.

1.5a: Pile branches. 1.5b: Drag branches to burn pile. 1.5c: Get son to drag branch piles to burn pile that I had very cleverly located in the Back Forty because it didn’t seem that far when I first started dragging branches there. 1.5d: Burn branches. I’m not going to lie, this is my favorite part. Fire is fun. Also, burn permits are a good thing.

Sadly, 1.5 still has most of the alphabet still to go. Alders are very branchy trees and I have a lot of pick-up sticks still to play. BUT—the tree is down, and fence building can commence. 

Cue Happy Dance.