Please fence me in

We are getting a new backyard fence. We've needed one for, oh, about five years. The only reason the one we had remained standing is because my Daddy Extraordinaire patched the thing together on a regular basis while we lived overseas. Since we got home more than two years ago, I've been expecting the thing to fall down in one of the many North Texas wind/rain/hail storms we've had, but it was the Little Fence That Could and only one part of it fell in against the shed. Both the gate closures are inoperable...the wood around them having rotted out so much the clasp won't stay put. I've been using bandanas to hold the gates closed in the wind. Yes, we have become the Clampetts:

So Wednesday, the fence crew arrived. Notice I referred to our dearly departed fence in the past tense above? It no longer exists. They tore it down along with a hideous slatted contraption about to fall down over our concrete back patio, and hauled the wood off to the dump. (They left those four corner posts for you, Daddy.) They left for the dump around noon...after I left for my workout, but before I got home. Then they didn't come back that day. OOOOOkay.

So then yesterday they showed up and dug out the holes for the new metal posts. About the time they were done with that and weren't too far away from mixing concrete to put said posts in, DH and I decided, on the phone and while talking to the fence guys, that the retaining wall beneath the back part of the fence needed to be replaced as well since if we waited, it would be much harder to do with metal posts in the way. So the two fence builders stopped what they were doing and left. That was about 10:30 yesterday. They had the fence wood with them, but not anything for the retaining wall since we had just made that decision at 10am.

So then this morning they took down the retaining wall and dug a bit back there on the retaining wall. Disappeared around 1:00 or so..at least that was when I noticed they were gone. Thought they had gone to lunch. Guess not. They didn't come back. There is a big pile of half-rotten wood in my backyard that used to be my retaining wall.

These guys get here about 8-8:30, work until noon or 1pm, and then head off for the day. At this rate, it will take all next week to get a new fence. And we don't know if they are coming tomorrow or not. Corey is supposed to call today and find out. I don't know whether to water the yard or not...haven't watered it all week since we usually water in the very early am via a sprinkler system and I didn't want to mess up the fence building. Now I don't have a retaining wall and am afraid water will muck it all up. I get that it is 96 degrees or so here today, and I don't mean to be heartless, but aren't these guys more or less used to that? We have trees, too, for shade.

Sigh.

I'm getting more used to looking out the window while I am on the PC and seeing my neighbor's driveways and fences, but I would very much like to have a fence again sometime soon. Or at least a retaining wall. Something.