So,  way back in the beginning we suspected and then confirmed that the rails were made of  a bad batch of lumber…and we have A LOT of railing…  really.  it’s kind of ridiculous.  I was kind of reluctant to get into this rail thing….  we had other things that needed doing and i thought this could wait….  but, call me “Pandora’  i went and opened that box…or can of worms or whatever…..

We had admired the rails at a friend’s home and figured that we could start with replacing the rails around the pool….  the old rail sort of obstructed the view… and this new rail would not impede the view.

The rails are a bit higher and thinner — so if you are sitting on the deck your view really isn’t  obstructed– with the old rail  the top hit you square in the view line.  Of course this led to what i will call ‘rail mania’   (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_Mania)   and the G man was ALL about replacing rails…..until the total price tag hit  turns out this stuff ain’t so cheap……….. and then we had

somewhat-more-subdued-rail-mania…. leaving us with a bit of a design split personality  (that is making me more than a bit nuts….)   Admittedly

this isn’t the best picture of the outcome —

there is no cable installed… but the side rails have to stay for now I am going back at the end of the month and hope that this looks a bit less meh…  but at least the view from the decks looking out will not be so obscured from a sitting position!   The entry drive will also have a gate more for the goats than anything (and it remains to be seen whether that will have ANY effect on the goats….probably not…….