One of those days…the fence blew down at the corner…again.

I’d patched it for a south wind. Lucky us, the prevailing flavor is north. It broke the corner again.

So I went looking for a patch: nail/screw a board so the boards from the front-of-you fence can’t slide past the beside-you fence or [patch #2] fall backward.

Found it in that luxury of home ownership, the bits of construction pieces pile in the garage corner. I get the drill, choose a couple of long screws (thank GOD for no-cord drills!) to get Jane, tripped over the extended foot of the exercise equipment, and took a fall—hit one knee, both hands and rolled. [Old skater’s maxim: if you’re going down, don’t fight it, just fall smart, and the only unsmart part of that fall was the knee, but, hey, it was padded carpet, and I had the telly cabinet on one side and furniture on the left.

And apparently Shu…but more on that later.

So Jane and I got the pieces and went out in the alley and patched it. It’s screwed—the fence, that is: the holding braces are bent and trashed, the paint is peeling, and we are due a new fence…this spring.

I go back in and Shu attacks me. I mean a flailing, squalling all out swatting attack about knee high, which proves that he can fly. It took some soft words, several more hiss-slap fits, and some kitty treats to get him calmed down. I don’t feel at any point that I actually hit him as I fell, though we’re watching him for any sign of injury. I think he was in front of me when I came down like the biggest meanest cave bear ever to attack a kitty, and he was spooked. I shook the floor right solidly when I hit (boards under carpet) and I think I just scared the whey out of him.

He is still suspicious I’ll become a were-bear again but he let me give him treats and pet him. He may remember this sporadically and have more hiss-fits, but we think he’s ok.

Meanwhile we’re going to have a bill on that fence, no question; but we can do it, thanks to no-interest on that car: we still have the car fund. And I’m ok. I think even the knee is. The wind, she still blows, but the fence, he stands.