Every day the valley got a little lower, the mountains a little higher. That’s how I saw the 1×6, the middle rail, of the gate on the pole barn as the donkeys slowly ate it away.
They started chewing on it when the snow came and stayed. Even though I put three branches from the apple tree in the barn for them to munch on, that old pine on the gate is soft and easy to nibble.
Every day when I mucked out the barn, I told myself that tomorrow I’d do something about it, but didn’t. Then, this morning I knew, if I didn’t put more chicken wire on the gate right then, the valleys and mountains would vanish and what would be two pieces of wood where once there was one.
I got lucky, it was warmer this morning than it has been. So I pulled some turkey wire out of the barn and got my wire clippers, staple gun, and staples. I stapled the turkey wire to the gate where the older chicken wire had worn away.
I covered both sides, then stapled more wire on the gate leading into the barn which also had some new chew marks.
I don’t doubt that when I got back to the barn, the donkeys will have found something else to chew on. This time I won’t take as long to cover it up with turkey wire.
Or that’s what I tell myself anyway.
