We moved into this strange house in the middle of the summer, knowing that the house had been beautifully flipped but the yard was a travesty of epic proportions. I pulled cactus and dead rose bushes for months. Almost five years in the making, and the front yard is looking decent. We haven’t touched the back yard, except to put in two raised beds amongst the weeds so I can have tomatoes.
Although we have had the funds to do small projects, the fence has been beyond us. Every time we think we’ve finally saved for it we get some sort of a disaster. The car needs a whole new transmission, and the stove broke, and, and…
I think now this was probably fate.
In the week long rains of two weeks ago, the world softened. The rusty nails holding the fence together slipped free, and the fence collapsed – revealing a rather beautiful hedge of cypress trees that the neighbors had erected.
Brian and I looked at the glimpse of elfin style we had beyond the weeds and decrepit fence and saw potential. It looks like we’re just going to take down the back fence and enjoy the trees, since the hedge is a solid screen and we don’t have to worry about keeping any pets in. It will help us when we go to replace the rest of the fence too. That back stretch was the longest and most expensive. Bonus!
Now to find the time to take the old one fully down… Which I’m sure I’ll manage in a fit of tomato longing in the next month or so. This year, now that I don’t have to spend 20 hours a day holding a baby, there is produce in my future. I’m determined. And the baby can dig in the dirt with me. Just as long as I get the fence down first.
Casey E. Hamilton 