Wednesday, June 15th
This morning, we woke up (some more restfully than others) and ate breakfast of biscuits, sausages, and gravy. Afterwards, we drove to Banner Elk to work on Patty the Pet Sitter’s fence. It was on a very steep hill and had been hit pretty hard during the hurricane. The fence was nearly falling over, with just a few sticks supporting some of the posts. The main group tore out the chicken wire and took down the old fence while we raked up the leaves that had been caught there. To put the new fence in, we needed to move it about 5 feet up the hill to a flatter section where it would be more stable. Everyone helped move the new boards of the fence into place, whether by making sure the post was level, or holding back branches; we all had an important job to do. After the fence was set, we had to replace the chicken wire. This was a hassle as the wire shifted around a lot, and the roll was heavy and hard to hold on the steep hill. Sadie and Ellie used an impact (Sadie’s favorite power tool) to screw the fence posts in. Micah and Esmie trimmed the chicken wire to finish the job. While Julene hammered nails, balancing precariously on the hill. We had a couple of close calls of people almost sliding straight into the house, but we persevered.
Inside the house were four very cute dogs. There was an older toy poodle who loved to stick his tongue out, an older beagle who watched us build from the porch, a spotted white and black dog who was a bit shy at first, and the group favorite, Coco, who was very social and loved attention and pets! After a very rewarding day at the last work site, we headed back to the camp, where we ate some amazing rice with stir fry and apple crisp. Afterwards, we drove to the Pisgah National Forest and hiked to a beautiful waterfall spot with tons of swimming pools and rocks. We had fun climbing to get higher up the stream and sliding down the flowing water that skimmed over the rocks. On the drive back, we had a surprise ice cream stop sponsored by Milt! We all laughed together and had an amazing time. Can’t wait for tomorrow and are grateful for our three days of service here in North Carolina!
Allons-y!!! Ellie and Sadie
