The Fence

When we got the landscaping plan, the designer thought we should put a fence along the driveway.  It was low on our priority list; we wanted to do a number of other things in the yard first.

Well, this was the first year we really didn't do anything in the yard; the bulk of the landscaping plan has already been executed.  I've already dug enough holes to last a lifetime...

These arborvitae looked pretty good when we moved in, but the rabbits have really taken the bottom few feet apart over the past couple of winters.  So it seemed like this fall would be a good time to finally pull the trigger on the fence.

Here's another "before" view from halfway down the driveway.

And a final one from the end of the driveway to give perspective.

I was busy with other things, both work and house projects, so we got bids from several fence companies.  It also took a while to get things hammered out with the Historic Preservation Commission.  Eventually everyone was happy with the design.

It didn't take them long once they got started.  One crew did the layout, dug the holes, and set the posts in a day.

A different crew then built the fence over the next two days.  The bottom, "solid" part of the fence is roughly 4-feet high.

The lattice at the top is 16-inches high or so.  So the fence as a whole is not overly tall.  The post caps add a little decorative touch.

Here's a shot from halfway down the driveway.  The lattice-work stops part-way down the fence line.

And the final shot from the end of the driveway.  The fence ends behind the front facades of both our house and the neighbors.  It's what we'd planned anyway, but is also required by the HPC.

It turned out really well.

I just wish it would still smell like this  a year from now...

And Part 2 of Big Trees:

All the leaves are finally off the trees this fall.  We spent a day last weekend raking the lawn for the second and last time.  Today I finished all the flower and perennial beds.  We ended up taking about 30 60-gallon bags of shredded leaves to the county compost site.  The last couple are visible on the lower right of the last picture.

A few years ago when I was travelling on business, SWMBO raked the leaves with the kids.  They didn't know how to use the shredder and ended up with 90 bags.

That's right, 90 bags.