Choosing your battles

Well, the Maddie saga continues. I have gathered the troops and the battle begins.

This will be the first line of defense.....concrete and red pepper flakes. The act of picking out the right concrete was a battle in itself. Did you know they have concrete that expands, heavy duty concrete, fast drying concrete, concrete for thick walls, concrete for thin walls....you name it....you can get it. I had no idea. Then the act of mixing it was pretty comical. My first choice of an old piece of base board that I found in the garage didn't work out too well. 80 lbs of concrete verses a flimsy piece of wood doesn't get you very far. I had soupy concrete all over the place. Had to pour out some of the water....then it was too thick.....so had to add some water back in. I finally got it poured. Why do all of the little rocks stay at the bottom? Does this mean I didn't stir it long enough? I just scooped them out and spinkled them on top of the mixture....it looks like it worked out OK. It's not the prettiest job and I don't think I will be winning any masonry awards for the year, but at least it is done. Once the concrete pouring was complete, I sprinkled red pepper flakes along the fence and gate. Now we wait for 24 hours for the concrete to set and we will give it a try. Maddie will be let out without supervision into the back yard. We'll see if I win this battle. What will be interesting is to see who wins the war! : )