I kinda like doing these "Legacy" posts, they give me a chance to look at the changes at 173 over the years and reminisce about times gone by. This one is a little different though. You see, the back yard fence project was already written about, way back in 2011. That's another fun thing about these posts, they become a look back at this blog - I don't often look very far back in the posts. So, why am I posting about the fence again at this time? Did another fence project get done? No - although the fence is on the list for some repairs and replacements. No...I'm posting this one because I came across a bunch of old progress pictures that I had forgotten existed, and they were fun to run into so here they are!
This is one of those opportunities I love, a chance to pay homage to the only other family to own 173 - the Moshers. This picture is of my friend's father, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Mosher, who lived here since 1927. I'm guessing that this picture was taken sometime in the '50s, maybe the '60s.
There's a shot towards the garden, which of course looks altogether different now!
And here you can see how I sloped the fence as a was to meet up fences of two different heights. Of course if I knew I was going to build a shed in that corner, I wouldn't have bothered! And I have to say this - HA! - look at the old chicken wire fence around the garden!
Here's a shot from outside the back yard. The lilacs were rather newly planted, and we still had blueberry bushes on the other side of the fence. When I replaced the fence, I put the new fence about four feet closer to the sidewalk, which is actually city property, but almost 20 years later it's still there. Before I move on though, I want to point out that big rock. We were driving back from a friend's house in Connecticut when I spied a large brook sprinkled with all these beautiful rocks. I hauled it out of the brook, up the bank and put it in the trunk of the car. When we got home I carried it toward the back yard, but it was so heavy I sat it down where you see it in the picture. It was then that it was decided that the flower bed would spill through the fence to the outside, and the rock would be the anchor of the bed. Anything was better than having to carry it again!
And here's a little wider shot of the back yard from the side. As a matter of fact, I think in the very foreground you can see the lilac bush as just a twig, still with the nursery tag on it!
That shot also shows the back porch way before I changed the windows and the lower part of the porch:
And there's the front fence that goes from the corner of the house to the sidewalk. Originally spirea was there...
It's tough to see there, but it's visible in the lower left of the picture. I hated taking it out, but we had a different vision for that line...essentially, a place for more flowers:
And finally, a couple more recent pictures:
This is one of those opportunities I love, a chance to pay homage to the only other family to own 173 - the Moshers. This picture is of my friend's father, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Mosher, who lived here since 1927. I'm guessing that this picture was taken sometime in the '50s, maybe the '60s.
In the background are two things I want to point out: obviously, the old wire fence, and the pole. The pole seems like a huge flagpole, but in fact it was a pole for a clothesline. You can see both in this next picture:
The pole was still here when we took possession of 173 in 1997:
And there's the old Jetta, our very first band-new car! In that picture you can also get a sense of the condition of the old wire fence. Nonetheless, sometime early on I decided to replace the pole. At the time, I thought it was pretty nice, but looking back I'm not so sure!
You can even see the clotheslines in that shot! In the far back corner, we had put in a couple blackberry and raspberry bushes - I miss those things! But, in the fall of '97 I had the romantic notion of planting a tree that we could watch grow over the years. As it turns out, I put in a tree that would grow to be humongous and cover the entire yard if it was left to grow to full height. A few years after this picture I cut it down - I don't miss that one.
There's a shot towards the garden, which of course looks altogether different now!
Here's a couple shots in the middle of replacing the fence by the garden:
As you can see below, the back fence was already done by this point. I think I did one side of the yard at a time, probably because that was all we could afford to do back then. Interestingly, and I don't remember this, but the car port had already been remodeled by the time I got to this!
Here's a shot from outside the back yard. The lilacs were rather newly planted, and we still had blueberry bushes on the other side of the fence. When I replaced the fence, I put the new fence about four feet closer to the sidewalk, which is actually city property, but almost 20 years later it's still there. Before I move on though, I want to point out that big rock. We were driving back from a friend's house in Connecticut when I spied a large brook sprinkled with all these beautiful rocks. I hauled it out of the brook, up the bank and put it in the trunk of the car. When we got home I carried it toward the back yard, but it was so heavy I sat it down where you see it in the picture. It was then that it was decided that the flower bed would spill through the fence to the outside, and the rock would be the anchor of the bed. Anything was better than having to carry it again!
But as I said, I moved the fence out and the rock is still there!
And here's a little wider shot of the back yard from the side. As a matter of fact, I think in the very foreground you can see the lilac bush as just a twig, still with the nursery tag on it!
That shot also shows the back porch way before I changed the windows and the lower part of the porch:
Of course that picture is outdated now too...because there's a new stoop on the back:
Okay, let's get back to the fences. Here's a couple more shots:
It's tough to see there, but it's visible in the lower left of the picture. I hated taking it out, but we had a different vision for that line...essentially, a place for more flowers:
And finally, a couple more recent pictures:
Just a little different from the old wire fence I think!!
And just a thought from Robert Frost:
Before I built a wall I'd ask to knowWhat I was walling in or walling out,And to whom I was like to give offense.Something there is that doesn't love a wall,That wants it down.' I could say 'Elves' to him,But it's not elves exactly, and I'd ratherHe said it for himself. I see him thereBringing a stone grasped firmly by the topIn each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.He moves in darkness as it seems to me,Not of woods only and the shade of trees.He will not go behind his father's saying,And he likes having thought of it so wellHe says again, 'Good fences make good neighbors.'