Sometimes it seems as if we tackle too much at once. Overlapping tasks, always starting something new before we finish something else, like a chainsmoker sparking a new cigarette from the stub of a still unfinished butt. But tonight, instead, a quick celebration. Progress. A story told simply with a before and after sequence. A glimpse of our front fence. A rotten rail. Now and then.
The image above, recorded from the south side lawn, looking towards the boathouse, documents the lower rail in a sorry state of disrepair. Rotten rail. Deflecting. Failing. Gravity winning.
But we wove fence mending into a long list of summer projects — overlapping and interwoven “chain” tasking in evidence, as always — such that half a year later we can enjoy this updated view of the same perspective.
Mending fencing is complete. For now, though never forever. As I’ve suggested previously (ie. “Fences & Neighbors” and “Mending Wall”) — and as Robert Frost’s “Mending Wall” articulates with righteous rhythm — the business of mending fencing, indeed fencing at all, is a never-ending commitment. And, as often in the endeavor of historic rehabilitation, there’s a mysterious ebb and flow between the demands of today and the preservation of once upon a time. (Source: Mending Fencing Complete)
Thank you, Tony and Glen, for remedying rotten rails, replacing balusters, re-tuning, rejiggering, and repainting. Rosslyn’s fence looks great!
What do you think?