Lucky's New 5' Fence

NOTE: This is officially my 100th post!  Not all are published yet, some I'm still working on, but 100 seems a milestone.  I didn't know I had that much to say.

Lucky, Lucky, Lucky.  What are we going to do?  Within a few days of acquiring Lucky, we knew we had a jumper.  She could wriggle over a 2' high wrought Iron fence at 8 weeks, trying to get into the yard we were in.  At 4 months, considerably smaller still than our dingo, FoohFooh, the 2' picket fence I built around our garden to keep the dogs out, she sailed right over without thinking about it.  Within 6 months, she was scrabbling over our 4' picket fence in the front yard, and finding weak corners or high things to stand on to scrabble over our 5' wire fence.  She is amazing, but has been almost impossible to keep in.  When we leave home, we have to chain her to an overhead line.  She doesn't complain about it, but of course prefers to be free.

Not that she runs away.  She loves her home.  She also loves to chase rabbits, possums, squirrels and most especially armadillos late in the night.  She has disappeared in the darkness more than once. Whenever we leave the fenced yard she is in, she does her best to join us.

For those who aren't familiar, John and I live on 2.25 acres, most of it not fenced, but we have a fenced back yard, a fenced front yard, and a fenced side yard that together make a U shape around our house.  The back yard contains an L shaped area for the agility equipment, the long side of the L about 45' x 80', the short side about 30' x 60', the 25' x 25' vegetable garden is nestled inside the L, and a bunch more yard that I can use for weaves or other practice.

Well, before I knew the full extent of Lucky's prowess, I had already bought the wood and built all the sections of a new 4' high picket fence to replace the old wire fencing running across the back of the back yard.  All I was waiting for was for John's back to get better so he could dig 12 deep holes and help me set the posts.  But now, we realize we have to turn this into a 5' fence, meaning we have to build a 1' extension below the original sections I already spent weeks building. 

John and I figured out how to put up a temporary wire fence that would keep even Lucky in while we tore down the old rotten fencing, which we did last Thursday and Friday, salvaging what we could of pickets and posts, removing all the nails, carrying debris and vines to the road, stacking lumber, etc.  The weather was in the 60's and 70's, so it was perfect and we enjoyed ourselves.  We felt like pioneers, clearing the land, but by Friday afternoon we were exhausted.  And now the weather is back up into the 90's for the next week so I doubt we'll do more.  This gives us a week to plan how to build our extensions.  As this progresses, I'll add photos.

This hasn't given me much time or energy to practice at agility this week but in the long run it's a necessary step to having a secure yard for Lucky to be in.  I was hoping to find someone to go out to practice with me tonight, but Nedra is at an agility seminar in Monroe, Sheryl is at a festival, and I can't think of anyone else.  I'm too tired anyway.