Fencing in the Garden

Planting in the LipsYard garden is under way, so it's time to fence out all the critters who want a piece of the fresh leafy green action. We keep the chicken wire rolled up in the garage. First job is to lay out the stakes and pound them in the ground.

I've dug a trench with a hoe around the perimiter, then unrolled the fence in it. After attaching the fence to the posts, Charmaine fills in the trench to make a "bunny-proof" barrier.

Take that you "waskally wabbits!"

The Bush administration has scaled back plans to quickly build a "virtual fence" along the U.S.-Mexico border, delaying completion of the first phase of the project by at least three years and shifting away from a network of tower-mounted sensors and surveillance gear.

Technical problems discovered in a 28-mile pilot project south of Tucson prompted the change in plans, Department of Homeland Security officials and congressional auditors told a House subcommittee. This is believed to be a "classified" photo of illegal aliens attempting to cross the virtual fence.

This is a major setback for what President Bush in May 2006 called "the most technologically advanced border security initiative in American history." The virtual fence was to be a key component of his proposed overhaul of U.S. immigration policies, which died last year in the Senate. Call it another "Mission Accomplished" moment.

Boeing, the contractor that developed the flawed fence, was paid $85 million for their trouble, and sent on their way.