Face the fear or buy a better ladder.

I decided to create a small enclosure for my sheep, near, the barn but not attached to the barn. This means, they will have to be herded to their " area". It will be 4 strands of electric tape fencing. If that doesn't keep them in, perhaps a concrete block wall might. In order to enclose the sheep, I needed to get the step-in posts from the loft above the barn. We are talking about 14 feet in height, not terribly high. It was cool & windy when I decided to venture out. The sun had been playing hide&goseek with my laundry all morning so I thought I best get on with it. I took the ladder from the barn and placed it below the entrance to the loft. As I put my foot on the first rung, the ladder moved. Not just a bit but quite a bit...I believe that this was the ladder that my husband fell onto when he rolled off the lower ledge of the chicken coop....another story for another time.... I repositioned the ladder & wondered if it was the ladder or the wind? The ground is never ever flat where you need to work. I try again. I go up a few rungs and the ladder seems to want to walk away from the barn. This leaves me with a gap that I don't feel comfortable with trying to gain access to a hole 14 feet above the ground.

My middle son is working on his truck in the machine shed nearby. I yell for him. Nothing. I yell again. He saunters over and says: "What?" If I could I would smack him as I believe what I want is rather obvious. "Please hold the ladder so that I can gain access to the poles up there or do you want to do it?" He rearranges the ladder. I sart to climb.."Aren't you going to hold it?" I ask. "What are you afraid of- falling, it's not that high." Yes. I am afraid of falling. I give him a look. He holds the ladder until I am partly into the loft and then he walks away. As I crawl into the opening, the ladder moves. I hasten my way- the ladder is still upright but now my issue is how to get down without killing myself?? I mutter a few curse words and set about locating the posts. I launch them out forgetting there are chickens below and I am reminded of this with hearing a few squawks. "Oops, sorry!" I exclaim to whichever chicken I may have startled.

Now I turn myself and sit on the ledge of the opening and gaze out. Nice view, would be better without some of the branches but how often will I be sitting up here... The longer I sit, the more I realize that it isn't that high, really. I think to myself that I've jumped higher on a trampoline, I've dismounted from uneven bars close to this height, I've jumped out of a window of a 3 story building...add "when I was younger" to all this and I think we all get the picture. I decide to make my way down the ladder. Before I take the first step, I see a truck driving by a little slower than normal. Great, it's my neighbour. Probably wondering what the cityot is up to today. If I don't move, will he not see me..oh please don't wave...And he waves. I've been spotted. Red plaid running shoes dangling out of the loft.

It is my fault. I always seem to give the locals something to talk about. But then again, I am quite comfortable being the crazy woman with all the critters in the haunted house...I think there's a word for it but no one dare say it.