Finished Fence

We beat the afternoon rain today by getting outside early to hang the fence gate.  Rick started by adding the hinges to the gate itself.  Experience from the last gate helped us add the hinges more quickly than we did for the south gate.  Once the hinges were added, we simply had to prop the gate on 2 x 6 cut offs and hang the gate.  The latch on the other side fit fine where the hinges would not have fit.  The gate now opens to the right instead of to the left, but it works just fine that way. By the time 10:45 a.m. rolled around, the gate was finished.

Rick models the latest in work-wear as he emerges
from the back yard through the new north gate.

The side yard is wide enough to let the
garbage and recycling bins roll through.
Pavers are a future project for this area.

The fence is complete!  We never thought we would get it finished this early, but we were glad that we did.  The key, for us, was having the cement mixer which allowed us sometimes to put in three posts a day, and having a yard that was relatively free of large roots.  We ran into a few that gave us pause, but on the whole the task was not terrible at all.  We are pleased with the results as we look forward to many years of privacy in our back yard.

The southeast corner of the completed fence.

The south side and gate of the fence.

As the pictures show, our next task is to bring in some black dirt, to level the back yard, and to start our landscape plans.  That may take a year or two, but in the end we hope to have a bright, functional space that we can live in and enjoy.

Immediate plans (after the fence is inspected and approved) are to add edging and stone under the fence itself to protect the fence from weed-wackers and anything else that might damage it.

The back and northeast corner of the fence.

The north side of the fence and the new north gate.

We have three bags of cement left so that we can replace our current leaning mail box with a new, solid, cemented-in post.  I plan to edge around the mailbox post and to add both stone and flowers so the lawn service man does not chip the pain off the new post.  A black post with some red or yellow flowers around it would add much needed curb appeal to this house.

We also want to plan a backyard shed.  We are out of remodeling money for this year, but a shed might be the major project for next year.  The back yard will evolve slowly, so stay in touch for the results.