THE NEVER ENDING CHORE....

Spring is still a ways off for us here in the Pacific Northwest, but one sunny day found me pulling on my boots, donning my gloves and diving in to what seems like the never ending chore list.  This tree use to be a beautiful red leaf maple, but it died last year.  I decided to trim it up and leave part of it as a sort of "art" piece.  Plus it holds our bird feeder quite well.

This is another maple, a twin to the deceased one.  Each held a prominent spot on each corner of our patio.  This one is showing the same signs of decay as it's fallen sibling.  Hopefully we will be able to save this one.

Messy, messy, messy.  Lots of work to do on this little snippet of our property.  I have grand plans for this area.  Since the dogs cannot be out with the chickens when they free range, I needed to find a spot where I could let the dogs enjoy the outdoors without being able to attack the resident fowl.  After repairing the pickets that fell off when a branch hit them, I will line the fencing with chicken wire (yes, the chickens might be dumb enough to slip through a slat and right into the mouths of the terriers).  That way both dogs and chickens will be able to see each other but not touch each other.

These beds will be removed and some grass will replace them.  The dogs will love the grass to keep cool in the summer while penned in at "chicken time."

Savannah doesn't appear impressed with the idea of being penned in while the chickens have free time.

Sasha doesn't care as long as there is food in the enclosure.  The hens will only get around three hours a day to free range, so the dogs won't suffer long in their new area.  Hey, it's better than having to stay in the house while the hens are out.  Right girls?.......girls?.......like I said, they are not impressed.  Their motto is: seeing is believing.

The hens had a meeting and they are very pleased with the arrangements for the dogs.  Turnabout is fair play.