AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION - NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT

Sometimes, the sooner the better!

I first noticed this a bit ago, and was finally set up to take care of it today, so I went for it. It may have been raining and I may have been tired, but I'd rather not have to worry about this, so I took care of it.

DISASTER AVERTED

I'm not sure if you can tell from this photo, but there is a slight problem with the landscaping in front of the new timber. I noticed this a while ago, and I am glad that I finally got around to taking care of it, as it could have lead to some serious injury.

This angle gives you a better view of the problem. When this retaining wall was first built, iron rods were used to hold the landscaping timbers in place. That has worked very well for a very long time. However, one of them finally deteriorated and fell apart, exposing four short sections of hard iron rod.

Since this is in an area where children frequently play and run around, this created a dangerous situation. It's next door to where we are staying and the Hive account@little-peppers, along with many other children, have been known to play tag in this area, or to just run around having fun. When a friend was at the store picking up some building supplies and a culvert for me, I texted him to ask if he could throw a landscaping timber on the list. He too had hoped to repair this soon, so he was glad to get the missing piece of our repair puzzle.

When I came home late last night, I found the landscaping timber lying nearby. I thought, "As soon as I get up, I'm going to fix it!" Well, it was quite a downpour here this morning, but that did not stop me. I measured the distance between the iron rods and marked the spots that I would need to drill.

It's amazing that just drilling four simple holes into a landscaping timber was all that it took, but that was really it! Plus, the wood only cost less than $5 USD! When I consider how much damage could have been done if a child fell onto one of those iron rods, I can't imagine the pain and destruction, especially if it had been the face of a child.

Thankfully, I've now successfully removed that possibility from reality for the moment. Yes, eventually this one too will deteriorate, or maybe a different one will, but for the time being, and hopefully for years to come. I share this to hopefully inspire others to take a moment to look around them and see if there are any dangerous things that could be taken care rather easily. If so, I'd highly recommend that you take the time and keep things safe for you, your loved ones, and others.