new and improved

Last Halloween was not kind to my graveyard fence. Wind and rain and neighbourhood children checking to "see if it was real" took their toll. Not surprising for a fence constructed mostly from plastic venetian blind slats, leftover wood scraps and styrofoam. Once Halloween night had come and gone, I slid the remains under the deck, hoping it could be salvaged for at least one more season. After all, there were still plenty of venetian blind slats left in the shed. It would be a shame to waste them.



Clearly, the fence had its weaknesses. Because it consisted of only two sections stretching across the front of my yard, the biggest problem was a lack of support. In an effort to withstand the howling winds of October, I attached both sections to upright wooden crates, reasoning that I could pile rocks inside the crates for support and also use the crates as a base for fence columns. The rocks worked beautifully. Once I had added enough of them. That wind is stronger than it looks. The fence columns, however, disappeared into the land of incomplete projects. Which is not a bad thing. In retrospect, columns wouldn't have suited this fence anyway. And by the time I had dragged the rickety old fence pieces out from under the deck/workshop this week, I had a whole new idea.

I built two additional fence sections to extend a few feet down each side of the front yard. To give the fence greater stability, I thought of an alternative to crates of rocks. I turned instead to that amazing invention. That marvel of construction. That beacon of simple brilliance. The hinge. By attaching two sections of fence with hinges, they were able to be placed in an L-shape and actually remained upright without a mountain of rocks for support. Incredible. And instead of using upright crates at each end for extra support, I've decided to place them horizontally (the way nature intended). Maybe fill them with some dead vegetation. The possibilities are endless.

Don't know why this didn't occur to me last year. But it didn't. Sometimes inspiration takes the long way around. And with temperatures reaching 30C for the first time this summer, this was enough inspiration for one day. Time to put down the hammer and head to Chickenburger for a vanilla milkshake. Time to let the new and improved fence rest quietly in the garden beside the deck/workshop and patiently await new slats and a fresh coat of black paint.