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I grew up on a farm. My experience tells me that when you grow up on a farm, you never really leave the farm and the farm never really leaves you.

In many ways, I lived the life every kid would want to live. I got to ride motorcycles at a really early age, I drove to driver’s ed, I learned how to fix things, how to grow things, how to run any type of equipment, and how to solve any problem with whatever happened to be on hand no matter how long it took or how hard it was to do.

Much of my life as an adult has been away from the farm, somewhat sadly. 

I tried to stay. 

I quit college after my freshman year and worked on the farm with Dad, Grandpa, Juan, and my cousin, John. But that year confirmed to all of us that I needed to leave. 

I wanted to stay.

But I had to go.

So, I left. 

And that is another story. One that will be published in a book someday. Because it’s one of those stories that brings rooms of people together and reminds us why we’re here and how good it is to be on this journey together. 

Tonight, though, as I sit under the stars next to our 100+ year old crabapple tree that is in full bloom and our plum tree that is also in full bloom, I’m looking at the work of my hands that I couldn’t have done but for growing up on our farm.

For years, I have been fussing around with our back fence. 

5 or 6 years ago, it blew down in a wind-storm.  In fact, I just happened to see it falling and ran across the yard and caught a huge panel on my back just as it was going to crush Noah. It would have severely injured him, if not killed him.

That day, I disassembled the entire back fence and stacked the lumber on the side of the yard.

It would go untouched and our back yard had no fence at all until Spring 2022 when I designed and built a new fence for the purpose of keeping in our new puppy (Iris) and then again in Fall 2023 when I built a sweat lodge and a little shed next to it. 

Since January 1st of 2024, I have been doing ice baths every morning. Until the last couple of weeks, it has always been really dark when I head out to get in, but recently it is much brighter out and people are out walking earlier and earlier. This means that I have had several instances where I stand up out of the ice bath and because of the low height of our fence, it appears to the walkers-by that I am quite naked and quite close to them in my nakedness since the alley-way is not far from the ice bath.

None of us have enjoyed these moments. They’re odd at best. Just imagine walking along and, all of a sudden, rising up from the other side of the fence next to you is a wet and apparently naked nigh-unto-50-year old man. Not the worst thing in the world. But if we can avoid this, I’ve begun to think we should.

All that to say that I have been trying to figure out how to build a “movable” and “adjustable” section above the part of the fence that is behind the ice bath. 

There is a 10’ span between the shack and our garage and the current fence is about 4’ high. 

I spent a lot of time over the last few weeks dreaming about different approaches and ideas and finally, earlier today, I decided to use the last bits of our old fence, a bit of bailing wire, and a 10’ 2x4 to create an accordion-like “wall” above the fence that can be raised and lowered as preferred. 

I’ve never seen anything like what I built. 

I just figured out what I could make with the materials I had on hand. 


For me, this is so much more fun than going out and buying all sorts of supplies. 

In fact, I think I just like re-using things because it simplifies what I can do. I don’t have to think about nearly as many options because most of them are not going to work with what I have to work with.

The only supplies I had to buy were two 1/2” bolts that were 8” long so I could secure a 4x4 vertically to the garage above the other post. And, I needed a 10’ 2x4 to run lengthwise above the fence and provide the support to wire the boards to. 

Noah went with me on the supply run and we were back to the house by about 5 p.m.

By 7:30 p.m., I was putting away the tools and admiring the work.

There are a couple of things to be fine-tuned, but the idea that was in my mind is now a real thing in my yard.

I’m looking at it right now. 

It’s a lovely addition. It cost less than $20 to build. And tomorrow morning when I get up, I will have the pleasure of seeing and using it as I sit in the backyard in my ice bath and others will have the pleasure of not seeing me. 

Peace