The meaning of Robert Frost's ‘good fences make good neighbours’ seems clear enough: having a clear boundary between your house and your neighbour’s, and respecting that boundary, helps to keep the peace between neighbours, and thus good relations between neighbours are partly dependent on fences as a marker of said boundaries.' A quote from interesting literature.
Unfortunately, this idiom is not always true and thus begins my story-
I was born a middle child, and like most middle children, my role in the family was that of peace-keeper, which is my natural tendency unless faced with injustice. Complementary to this role are a pair of very thick rose-coloured glasses which enable me to see the world the way I wish it to be - kind and caring. Reality can sometimes be so overwhelming. By way of an excuse for me, my adult children describe, or perhaps excuse me, as an old flower child, "peace, love and rock 'n roll".
Several years ago, my family and I moved into a house on a beautiful piece of property within walking distance of schools and town. We had planned to live there for many years. As we were moving in, the male neighbour greeted us with his two larger-sized dogs tied to his belt. Odd, I thought as my alarm bells began to fire off. He said 'hello' and let us know he was not employed due to some disability that was not discernible to us. My internal alarm bells rang louder.
To add character to the house's entrance, I painted the front door a rich Tibetan Red. It garnered some positive comments from various neighbours. However, in retrospect, perhaps painting the door a lush, rich red might have been a step too far for our immediate neighbours. Who knows for sure, but something had set them off.
A large, tall, lush evergreen hedge separated our property from the neighbour's (neighbour being a generous description of them). A second large hedge provided a boundary between the yard and the street as it curved up a hill. I loved the beauty of the natural growing fence, plus it attracted wildlife such as quail, deer, etc. Shortly after we took occupancy, the neighbours on the other side of the hedge-fence emphatically stated that they valued their privacy. The hedge provided ample seclusion. Who knows what prompted the comment, or perhaps it was a warning. Maybe I was meant to avert my eyes when I pass by their house!! These same people complained when I pruned the hedge, which was on my property, mind you, down to 7 feet tall and tidied it on my side. There is no way on this green earth that anyone in my family is 7 feet tall and can peer over the hedge, thus jeopardising their need for privacy. Yet a complaint was launched.
