THE FENCE!

Ever since we moved into our home six years ago we had talked about a fence. We never actually thought that we could put one in because we're on a corner lot and so essentially we would have to fence in our front yard. We already feel like we live in a fish bowl because we're on a fairly busy street and there are lots of people that go by. But, this spring (as we were on the verge of selling the house for the lack of a yard) we decided to just do it!

Here is the final result - we absolutely love it. We feel like we added another room to our home. We can walk out of either the front door or the porch door and the girls (and Dolly!) are totally safe. (Take note of the post on the corner - I'll explain that in a minute.)

Here is a before picture.

This is a shot of the process. It was really fun to watch the guys put the fence together. Eleanor would often go outside and talk to Brad (the owner of Liberty Fence Co.). He was a really nice guy. OK, so here is the story about the random post in the front and the cut out corner that had to be made. We had a neighbor (no idea who) call the city when they saw the fence going up. There was a lot of curiosity with many of our neighbors about this fence. Brad said he had many people go by and ask questions. Well, one afternoon a city councilman showed up at our door. He was looking for violations. The neighbor who called was concerned about the fence being on the corner where the stop sign is - like it would be an obstruction of view to the street. The fence is only 4 ft. high and it's a picket, so you can see through it pretty well. The councilman said that that wasn't a violation, however, since 1992 all fences have to have clearance if built by a driveway. If we are backing out of our driveway there could potentially be a small child coming along on a bike and we might not be able to see them. So, there has to be a 10 ft. clearance on the corner by the driveway. Unfortunately, Brad had already cemeted in the post on the corner. We were really irritated that someone had called the city on us, but I guess we would rather have the fence built correctly the first time instead of having to go back and fix it. OK, enough about that! :)

We can now finally enjoy our yard with friends! Anne & Grant, Siri and their kids came over the first official night the fence was complete for ice cream treats. Eleanor now asks me every day if she can invite friends over for popsicles!

Eleanor loves to go outside and play with her barbies. Miriam also likes to crawl around out there and is getting more used to the grass. (She was taking a nap when I took these pictures.) Also, let's not forget Dolly! She hasn't played in a yard in six years. She now loves to run out the door and roam around. We're working on her not barking at everybody, but she seems to be getting used to it now.

Here is another shot of Eleanor chillin' in the yard and a final picture of the side of the fence looking down our busy street. We no longer have to worry about traffic anymore. We couldn't be happier with this fence and should have done it 2 years ago! :)

On a side note: Brad is going to be coming by to take out that post. We are then going to put a post closer to our house, but outside the fence, for a new mailbox. That way, the mailman & paperboy won't have to come into the fence for their deliveries.