September 14, 2012

Firewood Storage & Privacy Too

The fence is up and firewood is being stacked.
I'm pleased to say that we've made great progress on our privacy fence / firewood storage project. The fence is up and Dan is working on installing dividers for stacking the the firewood. Each section is the width of a fence panel (8 feet). We fill them as he gets them up, starting with the cured wood first. Looks like we'll have to add a second row in front of the one you see. Still to do is a roof of some sort to protect the wood from rain and snow. And of course there's still plenty of wood to cut and chop.

Here are a few shots to show the difference the fence made. Here's the public side from the street ...

Street view of our yard before the fence. When the brush isn't
there, you can see all the way to the chicken yard  & goat shed

After. I'm hoping it helps buffer our barnyard sounds

And the other side, looking toward the street from the yard....

Before.

Previously our neighbors had a view of our entire yard and beyond from their dining room window. I might not have thought anything of it, except he was often commenting on what we were doing. I'm sure it was meant as polite conversation, but it made me uncomfortable to know I was being watched. I do know what it's like to be interested in what the neighbors are doing. I know what it's like to want to report the neighborhood news, to comment, to analyze, to criticize, i.e. gossip, when really, it's none of my business. I'm not saying all this is the case, but there were other incidents. Remember the guy who stopped by to tell Dan his wife thought we were a couple of hippies? Anyway....

View toward the street with the fence.

Now I no longer have to worry about being spotted in my bathrobe or nightgown at first light, when I need to check on a ruckus in the hen house, or a doe due to deliver at any minute. But besides providing privacy and a place to store firewood, we now have a sense of a defined back yard. I like that.

Right now the fence stops at our driveway. Eventually we'd like to finish it to the house and add a gate. If we fence off the other side of the house, the entire yard would be fenced, perhaps for another dog. Or to keep wandering chickens from getting too close to the street. That won't be anytime soon however. In the meantime, I'll enjoy what we've got.


28 comments:

Meg said...

Oh, much better! It must feel so much nicer now, having a bit of privacy. We have a neighbor who likes to comment on every little thing he sees us doing too... So we hide out in the backyard a lot. ;)

Sherri B. said...

Very nice, what a difference it makes. I know just what you mean about people being able to see everything. The Little House is in a fish bowl.

I love looking at all of your wood, doesn't it give you a safe feeling to know you will be warm and cooking up a storm on your stove this winter. xo

Bernadine said...

I can totally relate to wanting privacy from the neighbors. I'm a very private person. As nice neighbors may be, it's equally not nice to have someone watch, examine, and comment on your going's on. Such was the case in our previous home. When I was looking for a new house, privacy was the number one criteria and we found it. I love you're creative solution with your fence and wood stack. Very nice. Very practical. Now, you'll be able to enjoy the outdoors, attend to your chores and go about your business in a totally carefree way.

Tombstone Livestock said...

Congratulations on getting the fence up and on the large stack of firewood.

Doug Pitcher said...

Being a hippie is not all that bad. I'd like to be one one of these days. Do you get your own firewood off of your property? We had several trees blow down this year so we'll have lots of wood when we finally move into our place come October 1.

Laura said...

How cool is that!! Boundaries are a wonderful thing, and it's functional too!

The Cranky said...

As Robert Frost said: 'Good fences make good neighbours.'

It looks very neat and tidy, I like it a lot and I'm sure it's a huge relief to you.

Unknown said...

The fence looks wonderful! It is nice to have a sense of privacy, especially when you don't feel like being a spectacle all the time. I don't mind neighbors, I just don't want to be their source of entertainment!

Dani said...

Looks terrific, and should help with sound / noise too.

I'm also an early morning dressing gown wanderer... :)

Leigh said...

Meg, that's how I felt except there was no place to hide! I still feel shy about doing anything in the front yard. I like to wait until all my neighbor's cars are gone. :p

Sherri, when we first moved in, we had folks stopping by who say something in the carport and wanted to know if we were getting rid of it. They didn't want to buy it, they wanted it for free. The creepy thing was that the carport wasn't even visible from the road! And yes, the wood is wonderful. Won't be long before we'll be able to start using it!

Bernadine, actually privacy was on my list too. After three years of unsuccessful looking though, that requirement began to drop lower on my priority list. The first thing we put in though, was the row of Leyland cypresses. This is like the icing on the cake. :)

TL, thanks!

Doug, well, it depends on the assumption of what a hippie is. ;) Having been one in my younger years and having grown up, so to speak, I find it an odd label now. Dan, OTOH, was a military man. The very opposite of what hippiedom stood for, LOL

The firewood is from one of our two ancient oaks we had limbed out. Most of it was already dead, but the trimmer took it down to live wood, so we have some for next year too.

Laura, thanks! I'm really happy with it.

Jacqueline, so very true too. We have so much construction and remodeling going on as well as wood cutting, that it's nice to keep our mess out of sight.

Jaclyn, that's it exactly. And for retired folks like some of our neighbors, other neighbors are the best source of entertainment around.

Dani, thanks! Yes, hopefully it will help with some of the noise. I always think our rooster is too annoying when he carries on. I hope this will help.

Anonymous said...

Great solution! Privacy and a place to store the wood, good plan :) I know what you mean about privacy...I am desperate for it.

Cat Eye Cottage said...

It looks great, very organized and funtional! The roof will make a big difference too.

Renee Nefe said...

my first comment got eaten. :(

The fence looks great. Of course now your neighbors are going to be wondering what all you're up to behind that fence. ;o)

DebbieB said...

As always, Dan (and his helper, you!) has done a great professional job. I love that the fence has multiple functions. Yes, pile up that wood - soon you'll be using it not only for heat but for cooking on your great wood stove!

Leigh said...

Stephanie, I think everybody needs a little privacy.

Candace, thanks! It's coming along but I just couldn't wait to show you all.

Renee, boo on Blogger! I'm sure our neighbors are really curious now, "what are they hiding!!!" Of course, we don't fit the neighborhood mold, so we can't help but make folks wonder.

Debbie, thanks! Night time temps are dipping, so soon we'll get that first fire going. :)

Theresa said...

Good fences make good neighbors. How true!

Ruthlynn said...

Once,I was asked if I was a witch by a visiting neighbor, because I canned all my food and stored it around the kitchen. My family thinks I have become a hillbilly since I live off my land.You can't get away from labels. I find it best to just be who you are and enjoy the where you are planted.

Leigh said...

Theresa, we actually have good neighbors so I can't complain. We should probably focus on fencing the side of the pasture the rental house is on though. Our goats are pretty much too attractive otherwise,

Ruthlynn, very true.

Ngo Family Farm said...

What a difference that makes! Much better.
-Jaime

Mama Pea said...

Omigosh, what a difference that fence makes. I don't even live with you and it makes ME feel so much more secure and safe and private!

We've never been called hippies. Just nuts for living the way we've chosen! (And that's mostly by family members.)

Tami said...

When I first moved into my home I refused to have a fence. Thought it would make everything seem small. Then after living here a few years I came to respect the desire for a defined boundry. So up went the fence along with strategic shrubs and trees. I love it now. If I want to see my neighbors, it's because I've walked over to the fence to chat with them. Most times I can see them but THEY can't see me. Hee Hee...

It looks GREAT, Leigh.

* Crystal * said...

Fence looks great!! As someone who has been the unintentional neighborhood spectacle a time or two, I appreciate privacy ;)

Nice wood pile, but ya know only hippies have wood piles :)

bspinner said...

I don't blame you at all for wanting privacy. I would have hated for some man commenting on my life and etc. Fence looks great Dan did a great job on it.

Thistle Cove Farm said...

YIKES! Now that's why I HATE the thought of leaving the farm...I'll never have the privacy somewhere else I have here. Never! This is the smallest farm in the valley, the other farms are several thousand acres and we have a national forest as well.
Good for you on the privacy fence and the woodpile. Now the neighbors can guess! -lol-

Dragonquillca said...

It's a creative, and handsome solution, and a pretty good way to see how much wood you have at a glance too!
Very inspirational, thanks for the post!

(And being a hippie isn't all bad I would think)

Leigh said...

Jaime, thanks. I really like it!

Mama Pea, mostly we're just called weird, LOL

Tami, thanks. I agree, the boundaries do help. I think we all need to respect one another's space and fences do help.

Crystal, LOL. Thanks.

Barb, I think it made me uncomfortable partly because I'm home alone so much. With Dan on the road so much, the fence is a sense of visual security.

Sandra, oh how I sometimes wish we were more rural. But this is where the Lord put us. And I'm sure the neighbors are doing a lot of guessing, LOL

Carolyn, we probably wouldn't have installed the fence if it couldn't be dual purpose like that!



The Stay @ Home-Gardener said...

Thanks for the back-links! I've enjoyed your 'hippy' article. Being thirty-five nights consecutive camping, i am really starting to find interest in backpacking. Your comments about living simply for a few years only to have aggravation amongst your land peers makes me think. Regardless of simple living, as much as you make it, the human aspect will never leave the equation. The other day, while at Starbucks (i go for the internet) a gentleman in his high 40s ( im closing in on 33) chatted me up. We were talking about financial planning, tiny houses, and the inherent worth of things. He was a fiscal conservative while im rather liberal. It cracks me up to think that two radically different viewpoints could end up being neighbors. One for not wanting medling government and the other for eco tree-hugging reasoning. Anyhoot, interesting back story!

Leigh said...

Cloud, now you know why I appreciate what you're doing. :) Interesting about your conversation with the gentleman at Starbucks. I read a lot of homestead blogs, by folks from both ends of the spectrum, liberal to conservative and in between. It seems to me that no matter their persuasion, folks are coming to the same conclusions about the direction of our nation, our economy, and our government. It's as though things are coming full circle. Only the politicians and the media seem to want to keep us distracted with political division.