Progress...

I woke up to a bit of progress yesterday:

The fence had been removed.  The bush had been removed.  And the massive stump had been removed.  That was it for yesterday, though.  More time to swim in the waters of anticipation!

Today, there was more progress:

The posts started going in, which is actually very exciting to me.

Then the panels started going up!  I am LOVING how the back corner, rife with the site of garbage/recycling bins, is changing!!

When Firewood Man and his friend turned the corner, I got a little misty eyed!  Just darned lovely!  However, do you see that post behind the tree?  That was the back corner of the fence.  From there it angled back toward my garage.  Only the there there is over just a bit to the left since Firewood Man decided to pull the back line of the fencing in from the alley about two feet so as to protect it from any wild traffic or snowplows.  Neither of us realized it would shift left.  We thought it would shift right.  Looking at it, I thought it might be better to push the fence out to the right by creating another, slightly skinnier panel.

This change would make the right corner of the fencing into a right angle, back to the house.  It means that I will need to take a bit more care with pulling into my garage.  It means the brick pad I made for my garbage and recycling bins needed to be dug up and moved.  And it means we need another post and more materials for the additional panel.  So, my little haven is not quite finished.

It was dark when they called a halt, having dug the remaining holes and gotten all but one post set.  Here you can see the edge of the chain link fence was re-set, using a new post and clips, and the tension rod and cap from what was removed.  I think it looks just great.  Clean.  The variegated maple tree that I had to move out of the full sun location will sort of anchor this edge of the haven.

My neighbor has a gate, which can be seen in the first photo.  It is just a gate, not proper fencing.  So, the gap between it and my fence was just some chain link attached to my fencing with ties.  I had every right to ask that she remove that and put it in with a post, but I just lived with this u-shape of extra link on the fencing.  I mean, I inherited the situation.

I did ask her to remove it because my fencing was coming down.  She did not.  So, Firewood Man had to do that.  Then, thinking about how difficult things can be with my neighbor at times, I asked him to use one of my old posts and two of my old tension rods and more of the new clamps that I paid for to create proper fencing for my neighbor in the 18 inches or so between her gate and my fence.

When my neighbor saw the new/old fence repair Firewood Man did, she was not all that happy.  I will admit that I just hate this whole idea of changing something on my property (the fence is inset approximately six inches on my property) being ... I don't know ... so affected by my neighbor.

I really, really, really want a privacy fence all around.  My other neighbor actually has a gate attached directly to my fence.  No pole.  Just jury-rigged to my chainlink.  Plus, that neighbor regularly leaves her dog outside.  So, switching to the privacy fencing all around the yard means dealing with someone who's been actively aggressive (very, very, very angry about her divorce) and telling her that that side of the yard would be without fencing for two to three days ... no containment for her dog.

Fencing might make good neighbors, but it can also cause lots of upsettedness.  The first neighbor, flat out doesn't want me to have the privacy fencing.  She wants to be able to see into the yard.  I want to be able to go outside unseen and be outside in just my back yard, not the whole neighborhood.

Today, whilst Tim was working, I broached the topic of eventually, as is sometime much, much, much later in the future, converting the rest of the fencing to standard size (8 feet) panels of what he created.  That means he would have to make them ... I think something like 20 of them.  He said that the worst part would be getting me to agree to how much pruning all the things I have planted along the fencing would need.  He's right.  That would be a tad painful on my part.  But it was great to hear that this lovely, lovely look for my yard could be expanded.  And I think it would be just fine to have keep the back corner in smaller segments since there will be pavers there.

The funny thing was that Tim would like the fencing as much as I would because that means he would get to make my gates as wide as he wants them so his larger mower could fit through them!  I wouldn't mind that, even though the change would affect my raised bed a bit.  Actually, the fencing would affect that.  It would have to be narrowed, width-wise to accommodate the fencing.  I could also live with that.  Dreams to dream, eh?

In any case, in a few days, I shall have a lovely spot for resting in the corner of my yard.  And, in a few weeks (or months), when the pavers go on sale, it will be even more lovely.

I should finish by admitting that both Firewood Man and I were tickled that someone already stopped by to say how  lovely his fencing looks.  He's pretty excited that he figured out how to turn what I was thinking of into a reality.  I'm pretty excited that he did, too!