Today, I am thankful for the tall wooden fence around the backyard.
OK, that's an old pic before the underbrush grew back and I improved the yard a lot. But it's the best pic I have.
I built it myself. Had some fence interns to drill holes and cement in posts, but I did all the rest of it. And I had a good reason to build it.
A couple of years after I moved here, a couple walked their dog along the street. We struck up a conversation and they seemed friendly enough. Then my cat Tinkerbelle came out front. The guy immediately unleashed the dog and said "sic her". I was stunned. I wanted to beat the guy to a pulp, but Tinkerbelle's safety was more important. I ran to the tree she climbed up, kicked the dog a couple times (just enough to drive it away).
When I ran back to the front yard, the couple had vanished and I didn't see the dog around either. So I calmed Tinkerbelle enough to climb down the tree and get inside. But there were other larger and meaner dogs loose in the neighborhood.
So I decided to build the fence. My yard slopes slightly, so I decided on a 6' tall step-down fence. That means every 8' section was level at the top but a diffent height from the adjacent sections. And it was a shadow-box fence. Which means boards alternating on each side so that wind could pass through. This a clearer example of one...
Took all Summer... 400' feet of it. But it meant a place where the cats could wander, free of threats from dogs. I have always been glad I built it. Some of The Mews have been able to get on the top. All have recognized it as the border of our territory. Very infrequently, some have hopped over, but they didn't stay out for long. They knew where "safe" was. Mostly, just sat on top.
Sad but sort of funny story. The first time my parents visited after that, Dad (mechanical engineer and wood-worker) looked at the fence for a few minutes. He finally pointed to one section and said "That one isn't level". No comment about the effort to build it. No "nice work". Just a single criticism.
He was always like that. I suppose he thought that a word of approval would have discouraged me from "trying hard". Oh well, he's gone now and I'm still here. 😄
Anyway, I'm thankful for the fence. I've seen large dogs up against it barking at The Mews. But they can't get in at them, so it was worth the effort.