Years ago one of my brother and sister in laws gave me a baby fig tree from their garden.. I originally had it in a pot on my perch. I moved it behind the electric fenced garden three years ago after stories of raccoon fig thievery at my other brother and sister in laws house. Last year the raccoons managed to “jump” the electric wire and got both my figs and pears.

We are keeping a close eye on the plums. Those raccoons will strip the tree if given one iota of an opportunity… We had some time waiting for the barge to arrive yesterday, to check why the electric wiring on the garden wasn’t working.

The California lilac, evergreen clematis and mock orange were,although healthy and thriving, touching the wire and rendering it useless. The idea is that if the raccoons touch the wire on their way over the top, they get a little zap and they go elsewhere. Nothing lethal.

I moved around the perimeter of the garden pruning branches away from the wire, while E went ahead of me checking that nothing structural was touching it. There must have been a point when he found the structural problem and I pruned the last offending branch cause I touched the wire and had quite the shock..! On the upside we are positive it’s working now…

We picked the plums on August 17th the last time we out smarted the raccoons.. So any day now…

Yes, that’s right, you heard me say it. The barge came yesterday. It came with the metal roofing.. pause for applause. Thank you I appreciate your support. A friend then came over this morning to help me pass the twenty 10 foot pieces up the ladder to E on the roof. Metal roofing is now installed just needs the ridge cap and flashing..

Although it is a great year for apples and plums and pumpkins and scallopini, not so much for the figs. We got one. Well I say we but what I mean is the wasps got one. Did I mention what a terrible year for wasps

we are having?