New Planter Box, Bear Inspection.

   I was persuaded recently into putting some thought into building a planter box. I thought about it right up until planting season then went out and dug around in the lumber pile to see what I could come up with. Foremost on my mind was to do it without costing me any money of course. There was a pile of 2x8 around I had been keeping to build an outdoor stage from some day, but hauled a wagon-load of them over and proceeded to dream up a planter box. It had to be somewhere that the bears don't have easy access, right up front of the deck seemed to be the right choice.

I notched all the joints to save on nails.

And it all stacked up and interlocked as planned.

It was still a bit wobbly so I tacked on some end braces.

I put some discarded old decking from the hot spring on the bottom and tacked on some of the old garden fence I still have around.

 An application of linseed oil and a couple wheelbarrow loads of leaves and I was ready for dirt.

Apparently you can't use any old dirt, and if there is one thing this country is short of, is good dirt, so I headed for town in search of store bought super-dirt.

"Say what?!" I remarked when the young fella at the topsoil place told me the going rate for dirt these days.

"That's for one cubic yard" he tells me.
I asked him if he could get that cubic yard into the back of my truck without scratching his machine.
"I'll be careful." he assured me.

By the time I arrived back here the high priced pay-dirt had settled down to about a half load, and I was wondering if I should have brought home more. It took every last crumb swept out of the back of the truck to fill, and I wish I could take credit for factoring all that in there, but I really didn't know how it was all going to work out in the end. 

 While I was shoveling I looked up and noticed the first bear of the season, grazing away down the field.

 

One vegetable planter box, ready for the planting crew.

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So I go out this morning with a tea and the cats standing around admiring the planter when I noticed some strange marks on one brace that were not there the night before. Well bugger if that bear didn't come back later, when no-one was watching and checked out the new planter. Attracted by the scent of linseed oil wafting down the airstrip I assume, he (her) had a good look at my engineering, then bit down hard on one brace, leaving four tooth marks in the wood.  

I hope he (her) has satisfied their curiosity.