The ranch backyard had been fully fenced with a 4 foot high chain link fence, which worked fine and was functional. It kept the dog in and delineated a space, but was fugly and provided no privacy. Solicitors and canvassers would walk down the driveway when they could see us in the backyard, which was super annoying.

There was also a cooky flagpole in the middle of the most prominent area of the chain link, which we used a few times to fly old (gay rainbow) faithful, as well as the Portland Thorns flag. But then the flag pole (in the middle below) broke, which made that area look even more busted.

The chainlink was in decent shape, but started to drive me crazy. It was an eyesore, and I knew that as soon as it came out, the ranch would look a billion times better in the backyard and from the street. There is a house down the street which had been flipped, and one of the first things they did to make it look better was to remove the chain line. It was a huge improvement for a very isolated task, and a bit inspirational.

Behold: a new horizontal cedar fence which Mrs. Strubgrass had installed for me as a noteable anniversary present. We love it! It creates a whole new space for the backyard, which is becoming the cool place to be.