Guess who is home?
(Gosh, she does look ferocious in that photo!)
Our fence is finished and I hate it. Hate it. Not that there's anything wrong with the materials or workmanship. No, it's the sense of enclosure - claustrophobia even - from having a solid fence running the length of our property.
It feels like a prison.
Or worse.
Because our garden has also been trashed. First, there was the large mature tree that had to be removed before it came down on our neighbours' driveway or our house. I still hadn't come to terms with that when we had the visit from our neighbour which resulted in Nehlie going into a kennel and us madly searching for a fencing contractor.
The contractor came and built the fence but as a result, several more trees lost limbs and whatnot.
(No close-ups of the fence or gaps. Just photos from a distance as I still get upset whenever I look at my garden.)
And then there was yesterday. Early morning DH noticed that our neighbours were sawing at our walnut tree with a small tendon saw. Not maliciously, mind you, and perfectly within their rights since there were branches overhanging their side of the fence. DH, ever helpful, got out his chainsaw and went to cut the branches for them.
For Jules, grieved and saddened at the destruction of her garden and the ruination of another mature tree, it was the last straw. It seems that wherever I look, whether inside or out, all I see is ugly. My garden is wrecked, and, yes, while we can plant trees again, they will take a long time to grow and to fill in all the gaps. From inside, I no longer see tops of trees, but tops of houses. I had no idea we were surrounded by so many houses. Crazy I know when we live in town.
What was a haven from the stress of work and life is now a place I want to avoid.
(This garden is mainly unaffected but we're not sure for how long since planning is already underway to replace the boundary fence.)
To make matters worse, our back neighbour was aware how upset I was yesterday, and while he responded graciously (telling DH not to cut the plum tree as well while I was upset) I felt really bad and made an apple cake today to take down with a good dose of humble pie. In other words, I apologised for my appalling behaviour and promised that the overhanging branches on the plum tree would be removed.
I'm struggling to see the positive in all this: in that we get to recreate a garden that had became unwieldy in places. Perhaps if the trees we didn't like had been removed rather than the ones we did, it might be easier. Still, for my own peace of mind, I need to come to terms with it all. After all, they are only trees.
As for Nehlie, she seems happy to be home.
(Gosh, she does look ferocious in that photo!)
Our fence is finished and I hate it. Hate it. Not that there's anything wrong with the materials or workmanship. No, it's the sense of enclosure - claustrophobia even - from having a solid fence running the length of our property.
It feels like a prison.
Or worse.
Because our garden has also been trashed. First, there was the large mature tree that had to be removed before it came down on our neighbours' driveway or our house. I still hadn't come to terms with that when we had the visit from our neighbour which resulted in Nehlie going into a kennel and us madly searching for a fencing contractor.
The contractor came and built the fence but as a result, several more trees lost limbs and whatnot.
(No close-ups of the fence or gaps. Just photos from a distance as I still get upset whenever I look at my garden.)
And then there was yesterday. Early morning DH noticed that our neighbours were sawing at our walnut tree with a small tendon saw. Not maliciously, mind you, and perfectly within their rights since there were branches overhanging their side of the fence. DH, ever helpful, got out his chainsaw and went to cut the branches for them.
For Jules, grieved and saddened at the destruction of her garden and the ruination of another mature tree, it was the last straw. It seems that wherever I look, whether inside or out, all I see is ugly. My garden is wrecked, and, yes, while we can plant trees again, they will take a long time to grow and to fill in all the gaps. From inside, I no longer see tops of trees, but tops of houses. I had no idea we were surrounded by so many houses. Crazy I know when we live in town.
What was a haven from the stress of work and life is now a place I want to avoid.
(This garden is mainly unaffected but we're not sure for how long since planning is already underway to replace the boundary fence.)
To make matters worse, our back neighbour was aware how upset I was yesterday, and while he responded graciously (telling DH not to cut the plum tree as well while I was upset) I felt really bad and made an apple cake today to take down with a good dose of humble pie. In other words, I apologised for my appalling behaviour and promised that the overhanging branches on the plum tree would be removed.
I'm struggling to see the positive in all this: in that we get to recreate a garden that had became unwieldy in places. Perhaps if the trees we didn't like had been removed rather than the ones we did, it might be easier. Still, for my own peace of mind, I need to come to terms with it all. After all, they are only trees.
As for Nehlie, she seems happy to be home.
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