Saturday, December 17, 2011

Protecting the Greenhouse

What you ask does the greenhouse need protected from?

From Thing One...


...and Thing Two


What did they do this time?  The heathens chewed off a window flap and the mesh window and then had a feast on my succulents. 

Their entrance is taped up now, but they snapped a few branches of my 'Red Bird' Cactus and the non-variegated Jacob's Ladder...they're really the same thing, but one's variegated and the other's not.


My Kalanchoe 'Fantastic' is minus a few babies that were growing at her base.  We won't discuss the nice fat leaves that got chopped.


This one made me the most irritated.  They were cuttings that a blogger friend sent me that were doing quite well until they got plucked and thrashed about!  I think I salvaged most of them, now to just wait and see. 



The didn't eat any of the Kalanchoe 'Pink Butterfly', but they did snap one of the branches in half.  This is my most finicky Kalanchoe and they really need to leave her alone!



There was more damage, but the pictures didn't come out like they should. 

They're coming very close to being strung up by their not so little necks if they don't knock it off!

I thought about what to do while out Christmas shopping with my oldest and decided on fencing it off.  A quick call to my friend who lives across the street and it was settled...we'd build a fence around it when we both got home. 

The trip to Home Depot proved to be less expensive that I'd originally thought and the guy that helped me was a great help in getting me exactly what I needed without any overkill.  I think he felt sorry for me when I explained what I was doing and why. 

My youngest helped me get the posts where we wanted them and then covered up the damaged window.  Needless to say, that window won't be getting opened.  We also have an issue with this awful post from the phone company next to the greenhouse.  They've been working on it and some nincompoop left a ton of exposed wires, one that the dogs helped cut in half, so I decided to just fence off the whole space.  Amy got home just as I was bringing the fencing back, and we got right to work.  She taught me how to use a post pusher inner...it's amazing how easy things work when you do them right!



The cinder blocks help hold the covering down so the wind doesn't pick them up.  It's also come in handy to to keep out heathens.  It's classy I know, but the upturned laundry basket is covering the electrical outlet post that is there for the pool and my heater.  If they don't see it, they're less likely to want it.  I can untie and fold back the fence to get in and out.  Thankfully I don't go out everyday unless it's cold and I have the heater or lamp on.  


This should keep the heathens out and keep me a little more sane!  I'm not so sure how happy my husband will be tomorrow when he gets home from the deer lease, but sometimes a girl's got to do what a girl's to do! 


 Everything is tucked back in and we should be able to keep it this way.

Mandy



4 comments:

  1. If those two get into this you should call them Antelopes! Boy those two are the devil. I wonder what they find so facinating about your plants. Maybe they know it bothers you! LOL Well all I can say is good for you honey it looks great! Very sturdy. Good luck!

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  2. Oh hey maybe you ought to get a few prickly cactus to teach them a lesson! Mooahaha!!

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  3. Believe me, Candy, I've thought about it and threatened to do it. Only someone reminded me that I'd be the one pulling out the pricklies, that would really put me over the edge! You should see the fit he throws when I'm trying to wipe mud off his and Molly's paws. I don't know why, but he has a real thing for the fuzzy kalanches and sedum of any kind...crazy!

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  4. I would love to see Bob's face when he gets home from hunting. When I first saw the picture I thought yes, she still has alittle bit of Alabama in her. Good job. I also would have loed to see you with the post digger, Thank the Lord for AMY!

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