My birthday present

[Dee Dee and Hallie]

At least that is what my Mom says! But I sure hope I get something better than this for my birthday which is this Thursday. We were going to have another big party when my 12 yr old cousin Rachel comes to spend the week but she won't be here until Sunday so we're having a smaller party on my birthday and the big one on Sunday.

My fence in my back yard is 15 yrs old and is starting to rot. Two panels fell down last winter during a wind storm and were being held up by a 2 x 4. My Mom is very neurotic about the fence being inpenatrable so no more patching time for a whole new one. She's been out there hammering and nailing for 2 days now and I've been snoozing on my blankies in the shade watching her.

Here are some pictures of our old fence. The grass is yellow because Mom says we're conserving water  but really she doesn't want to mow it and it always gets lush and green again in the fall.

[Dee Dee and Hallie]

Here is how the fence looked yesterday and again how it looks now. One side almost done. Mom says it's more private and taller! I would rather not have a fence at all myself.  :thumb:

[Dee Dee and Hallie]

And here I am with my first look into the neighbors yard. I couldn't believe it I've always wanted to see over there! I was very bad my mom says because I walked very quietly and stealthily into the neighbors yard and when she called me, I just slowly turned my back to her and sat down in the shade. I got away with it til I saw a skwerrel and took off after it then my neighbor backyard priviledges were revoked and I found myself back in my own yard. Hurumph.  :thinik: I guess a new fence is an OK birthday present but there better me more than that!

[Doxherding Karen]

  Tell you mum there's this thing she can buy - it looks like a clear plastic bowl.  You cut a round hole in the fence, then attach the bowl on the opposite side.  Then YOU can stick your nose in the bowl and look around!!

Auntie Karen wants to buy one for each of us and put them at our height.:

        O          O Merlin and Beau
                                               O Miss Ima Dora-Belle
     
                                                                O Guess Who?

Cute idea!

Merlin

[cheryl186]

Wowwie Dee Dee...you have been working really really hard....isn't it HOT where you live???  I think the idea about the clear plastic bowl is GREAT!!!!  Hallie should have one

[Dee Dee and Hallie]

You guys just keep talkin' to my Mom! She sez I can't have a head bubble because part of the problem she's trying to fix with the solid fence is when I see a dog or kitty thru the old fence boards, I...well I lose my head a little and run along the fence and bark. Mom says seeing thru the fence = running and barking = hurting myself! She's no fun. You will also notice my yard is FLAT...with nothing in it. Mom says cuz that way I can't run into or jump or eat or otherwise hurt myself on anything. Borrrring!!! At least she does sit out in the yard with me every day on my stack of soft blankies and does some of her work so I can snooze in the fresh air.

Welll it feels hot to us :) in the upper 70s but very workable. We start at 8 am and I have to wear a light jacket for a bit til the sun moves the shade out of the way. My cousins are framing in each panel and I am nailing up the boards, I like to nail each board individually so I can just touch the ground with the bottom of it so there are no gaps under the fence at all and also nail them to that bottom 2x4 so when I weed eat the boards don't take the brunt. Of course the neighbors aren't as careful....

[papbouv]

Nice fence hubby is a welder so he put up a all steel fence 6 foot with cement curb at the bottom still looks nice on one side other side neighbors stupid tree is growing into the fence and tearing it up.Hubby put the fence up on the inside of the existing fence so this tree is growing on our property nothing we can do about it not unless we want to go to court. Like your fence should last along time I saw one of those bubble thing on a gate they have a Great Dane he was looking out the bubble when I drove by.

[Roberta]

Tell uz mum when she is finnished she can come do ours all approx 400 metres of it, but it can be wire with chook wire to keep us in.
Ollie and WeE amY

[Teresa]

Great looking fence! We still need to do one side. It has chain-link, but I want to do a privacy fence on our side of it to make finish closing in the backyard (and keep some barky little one a wee bit quieter). Since the upper 70's is our low temperature right now, the fence will have to wait until fall.

[Barb]

WOW - the fence looks awesome.....that is my next years project....  :crazyeyes:

I didn't realize how huge your backyard was !!!  70's..... dang..... just a dream.......   

Keep up the good work - lookin' VERY nice !!!

[DeeanDave]

Great fence, DeeDee!  Sarge sezs he remembers Miss Hallie's yard!  What a great time they and we had at the BowWow in 2004!!!

[Doxherding Karen]

Hmmmmm. . .

O.K., Miz DeeDee, listen up:

I KNOW you love Hallie to death!

I KNOW you worry about her hurting herself.

I KNOW you've spent time "in the trenches" with her and her back.

I KNOW your wallet has take many a major hit ("INCOMING!!!")

BUT -

You gotta chill, girl!  You've got that beautiful yard, flatter than Kansas, nary a mole or rabbit hole in sight, no trees, bushes or anything to stumble on.  What is she gonna hurt herself on?  If you overdo the "no running" rule, you're missing a golden opportunity for her to strengthen her back muscles.  And the stronger they are, the LESS likely they are to strain, sprain or tear.

Come on, now, Momma, easy does it.  Why don't you start with ball toss?  Do a regimen like five time a day for a week, then increase the number of times or throw a little farther.  Slow increases will keep YOU calm and let her build up muscle strength.

You can do this.  You owe it to Hallie.  Be brave - we're all behind you.

Auntie Karen  

[Brekkesmom]

I like your new fence, Hallie!  But there's no garden? I sure didn't see that, and I remember how shocked Siglen and Gretl were, that they could "pick their own"!  Siglen had to be reassured several times, that it was okay to pull off her own treats.   Fencing is a slow project.  I still have two 6' x 8' panels that need replacing on the east side, and four 6' x 8' panels on the west, but I did have a new side gate done (by professionals) in March when they repaired the two sections on the north that took a tumble in a windstorm.  Luckily, we were at Brenda's, so Miss Brekke had no troubles with that.  My two have sure enjoyed supervising my varnishing of the door trim on the kitchen door, my baseboard and door painting inside, and the dressing room getting painted a luscious "Strawberry Float" (pale, pale pink).  I am still hoping the tile layers can come and do at least one of the two vanity tops before I go back to work, because I am sure the new vinyl sliding door won't get installed by then.  It should arrive on Monday, and I go back to prep my room on Tuesday.

[Kathleen]

You have a nice big yard-good job to your mom on the new fence.  I can only say, Dee Dee, that you'd have a heart attack watching my dogs.  They run the fenceline barking at anything in sight.  They wrestle and run into each other like tanks.  Murphy in particular seems to have no sense of his own safety.  I have a little odd pine tree in my backyard that's trunk goes off on a weird angle.  They CLIMB the tree!  They're still very young though, and have yet to get to the stately older dachy phase.  I'm thinking they'll hit that around 10

[Kari]

You and Drew must have been thinking the same thing! He spent last weekend replacing our fence too! Our old one had rotted and was ready to fall over, so he had to replace it! Ugh...what a process!

[Doxherding Karen]

You have a nice big yard-good job to your mom on the new fence.  I can only say, Dee Dee, that you'd have a heart attack watching my dogs.  They run the fenceline barking at anything in sight.  They wrestle and run into each other like tanks.  Murphy in particular seems to have no sense of his own safety.  I have a little odd pine tree in my backyard that's trunk goes off on a weird angle.  They CLIMB the tree!  They're still very young though, and have yet to get to the stately older dachy phase.  I'm thinking they'll hit that around 10

Listen, we dachsies got a big job!  Sarge and Looie got the Alien Mower patrol every Wednesday.  Porky Pie has the hoobrudder's funky friend who thinks he can just walk right in!  Oliver and Amy just moved to a new outpost and I hear kangaroos like to eat puppers!  (Well, that may be a nasty rumor that Guinness just started.)

You all keep up the good work - squirrels may be planning their next invasion!  But fear not!   We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, - beg pardon, I do believe I've gotten a little carried away. 


Dr. Winston Churchill Leaky

[Kathleen]

Ah, a speech from Winston's namesake.  You go Mr Leaky!

[Doxherding Karen]

Ah, a speech from Winston's namesake.  You go Mr Leaky!

AHEM. . .

That's DR. Leaky, ma'am.


("Yessir, folks, he's DR. Leaky - why?  Because he IS!!  SSLOL!!")
("Put a sock in it, Merlin.")

[Delia and girls]

That new fence looks fantastic! I don't remember your yard being that big, either. I like the color of the stain.

[Dee Dee and Hallie]

It's interesting to hear what kinds of fences people have here. Julia I was standing in the garden (aka the neighbor cats litter box  ) when I took one of those shots, I didn't happen to get one with the garden in it but it's still there. Hallie loves to go out and lay in the dirt in the sun. 

Come on, now, Momma, easy does it.  Why don't you start with ball toss?  Do a regimen like five time a day for a week, then increase the number of times or throw a little farther.  Slow increases will keep YOU calm and let her build up muscle strength.

LOL there is still much for you to learn about me young grasshopper!  My last name don't rhyme with "worry" for nothin'!
My heartburn can't take watching any activiites involving accelerated running, heavy breaking, twisting, jumping, rough playing or ramming.  :crazyeyes: I have seen too many little weeners get hurt partaking in such, and more than one that went running across a yard after a skwirrel or cat and let out a yelp halfway there and was down (I think that happened to Mack's Hannah too??). But I do think it's very important to keep the back muscles strong and we do go on regular walkies at the park, school, senior community, etc pretty much every day where she sets her own pace on the flexi. We used to go at least 30 every single day and she would spend most of that time running, but now we go about 15 and she alternates between snooping and trotting but on a cool day she still will do a lot of it at a run. We also play with her squeakie babies when she's in the mood. So she's not too deprived exercise wise just within my comfort zone.

Auntie Karen it's like talkin' to a brick wall I swear!! ~ Love, Hallie

LOL Kathleen I am sure I would need oxygen watching your guys play! I have to admit though, I never worried with my first dogs, all this worry has been born from experience over the years with their health stuff.  Although doxie back problems usually don't rear their ugly heads until around 4-7 yrs old. My last doxie girl had her surgery right at age 4.

Dr. Leaky you are killin us!  This little missy is my last hurrah, and greatest love of my life, when it's over for her it's over for us both so I am just a leetle over the top with her. 

[Doxherding Karen]

Dr. Leaky you are killin us!  This little missy is my last hurrah, and greatest love of my life, when it's over for her it's over for us both so I am just a leetle over the top with her. 

Fear not, Mistress Hallie!
We shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,
we shall fight in the hills;
WE SHALL NEVER SURRENDER!

DR. W.C.L.

("I say - break out Auntie Karen's rum and once Auntie DeeDee is good and lit, we break Miss Hallie out!") :thumb:
("Moron, Merlin, can you say '15 to life in the federal pen?'") :verdict:
("Is that like an X-pen, Ima?") :scratch:
("No.")

[Dee Dee and Hallie]

ROTFL!
Hallie will rest easy knowing she has the troops fighting the good fight for her. DD might be in trubble! 
Hmmm Auntie Karens rum might just be the answer to all our ills! 

[Leslie]

You gotta chill, girl!  You've got that beautiful yard, flatter than Kansas, nary a mole or rabbit hole in sight, no trees, bushes or anything to stumble on.  What is she gonna hurt herself on?  :heart: 

yeah, dag girl, "Beautify America; plant a tree, a bush or a shrrrruuub."
               
                  Mrs. Lady Bird Zuzu      (who likes to chill out under the forsythia)
What Mike, Julia and I could do for that yard! We are all droolin'.  Nothin' to rip out, lotsa sun and a brand new sturdy 20 year fence.  I'm thinking lace leaf maple, some ornamental grass, a bazillion "Shirley Temple" pink peonys, larkspur, "Beauty of Moscow" (pink) lilac, some maryjane (Guinness! stop that!), witch hazel, a bronze beech tree....

[PattyInAK]

NICE fence!!! 
We have something neat for our horses, its called Electro-Braid.  It comes from Nova Scotia and it looks like a white rope, about the size of clothes line rope, and it has a wire going thru it.  It packs a whallop, and is moose-proof and bear-proof.  Two people can put up a corral in a couple of hours, and its easy to splice and add on to.
For the boys (Willy and Alex) we are considering an invisible fence for next summer, to give them lots of acces to the back yard but keep them away from the corral.

[TerriLS]

What a great fence AND a great huge yard!  70's??????  I'm ready for that!  We are boiling down here.  The pool is now officially a hot tub.