2004-07-26 - 9:14 p.m.

A war has begun. This last Wednesday, Carolyn and Bah, the EE facilitators visited M’Bedia. They rained us with compliments on our garden and fence. However, they pointed out a weakness. Goats, though incredibly annoying are clever creatures. Once our garden starts to grow they will push or dig their way under the fence and eat our crops. We had to secure the base. The day after the visit Jeff and I gathered sticks and stuck them in at weak points in the fencing to make it more difficult for goats to push under. It was obvious that the stakes alone would not be sufficient. I came up with the idea of cutting down spiny branches from the trees that inhabit this area, and weaving them into the fencing. The next morning we set to work on the task, and after many cuts, scrapes and a few words our garden was as secure as Fort Knox; Or so I thought. On Friday (equivalent of Saturday here) I stopped by the garden only to see it surrounded by goats. None had gone in, so I decided to wait under cover of trees to observe their behaviour and see if out wall had any weaknesses. Much to my surprise the goats were eating the leaves off of the branches attached to our fence, weaving their heads around the thorns to get what they wanted. However, happily enough they could not pass the barrier.

Tables have since turned, the goats have made powerful allies. On Sunday as we were watering the garden a donkey walked up to our fence ripped a thorn branch off and started chewing away. Now those things hurt worse then the fires of Hades, but that jackass was eating like it was cotton candy.

Fortunately enough for us our philanthropist nature is going to further protect our private Eden. Our garden is held within a larger garden managed by the local woman’s co-op. The fence protecting this area is trampled in multiple places, but seems to be repairable. When we met with the woman’s co-op last week I offered to fix it for them. I was hoping to get some experience and better PC relations in the village. Now in addition it will provide a first line of defense against the goat/donkey hoards.

We began repairing the fence this morning, but progress is slower than I thought. It may take multiple weekends to finish. One thing is sure, if the situation continues to escalate a pre-emptive attack may be necessary to prevent goat/donkey invasion

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