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Saturday, December 30, 2017

Instead of buying you gifts...

'We've decided to all get together and build you and dad a back fence', so said DSD 2 a number of months ago. Despite misgivings from DH that it was an impossible job, the family were undeterred. The 5 daughters and 4 husbands/partners got planning. After all, when one son in law is a builder, another is a landscaper, one is a construction engineer and one is a grazier with a multitude of skills, we must count ourselves fortunate. 
The first working bee was to clear the fence line of saplings etc and try to dig out tree roots. The second working bee was a big one! Our wonderful builder worked out the supplies that would be needed and these were delivered just before our second working bee.

On the day the  girls worked hard...preparing the timber for the posts and the horizontal pieces...

The quickset concrete was amazing and meant a lot of progress could be made in the one day.

There were large trees growing on the fence line but the builder son in law had it all in hand...the fence would be built incorporating those trees.

At the end of the second working bee, the back boundary of our property looked like this...

The third working bee was held last Thursday...DsD2 and her husband were in NZ but DsD1 and Dan who live 6 hours away were staying with us, so Dan had his turn at helping...
Early in the morning DH and Dan laid out the palings ready...

A bit more concreting was done around the base of the fence posts...Dan took charge of that...

DH trimmed some more of the trees...

Adam and Cam started nailing the palings. Adam's work truck had the compressor for the nail gun...

The boys worked quickly...

And then there was the gate...

Ta dah!


And one last photo...the foreman who worked tirelessly to ensure everyone did things correctly.

So our new fence should ensure that grandchildren can't get out on to the road behind our house. And I'm hoping that it discourages the bush turkeys who walk into our yard to trash the veggie patch. They can fly but I've noticed they rarely do; preferring to strut/walk.
What a special Christmas present! But best of all was watching the family all work together. 

15 comments:

Susan said...

So much better than normal gifts - what a team effort!

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Wow, what a blessing!!!

Great family effort, much appreciated by you and your hubby.

Enjoy and have a wonderful 2018 ~ FlowerLady

Dorothy said...

What a huge job - they certainly knew what they were doing and got a magnificent result. A lovely family gesture/gift. Eduardo was probably hoping for a special treat as his pay for doing a great job too. Happy New Year to you Maria and to all your family. Hope we get lots of crochet time in 2018 eh? xox

Carol- Beads and Birds said...

Just WONDERFUL !! A perfect gift. Your kids are great.

Happy New Year.
xx, Carol

Denice Barker said...

Wow!

Cynthia said...

What a wonderful gift! You have a very talented -- and cooperative -- family.

Gail said...

Oh lucky you! Having all those lovely children (and I'm including all those significant others here) work so hard to finish a huge project for you. I'm hoping nothing jumps the fence into your garden!

mamasmercantile said...

Wonderful and thoughtful, it doesn't get any better than that.

Vireya said...

A practical gift, that took time and effort all round. Excellent!

Sue said...

What a great team effort and an extra special Christmas present. That explains all the photos on Facebook previously. :-)

Brigie said...

What a wonderful gift. This is so much better than anything cluttering the house. Well done to you all.

angela said...

Wonderful!
And it looks fabulous
Fantastic family you have there xxx

Jackie said...

That is a great gift to be given!!! Love the fact that the entire family (including the furry one) helped with the building.

God bless.

Jindi's Cottage said...

Great present...and a wonderful job done by all (including Eduardo, every job needs a Foreman). I wondered about half way down the post about those pesky bush turkeys and then you answered the wonder...hope it works and they are kept out.

Nanette said...

All fenced in, a wonderful job everyone! I love that the trees were incorporated asart of the fence. You could make a very nice vertical garcen there now :)