Our fence is covered in what everyone calls, and what might be, Virginia creeper. I like it because it's green and grows on its own and the fence isn't gorgeous, but the fence really needs to be stained or replaced or somethinged. So this weekend I ripped it all out. I meant to take a photograph of the pile of vines and of the tree-grade root structures; I didn't but they were both big and complicated and yowza. The short stretch of fence between garage and gate is in simple dirt, and that's where I got the roots; but along the rest of the back property line I have been piling all the rocks and gravel I find on the rest of the lot. This has certainly suppressed creeper and weeds, but it makes digging out the roots hard.
The next step is to talk to the spook neighbors. I say "spook" because of The Human Stain; I wouldn't say it if they were black. Which is contrary to Philip Roth's point. Oops. They seem not to exist, so getting permission to stand in their back yard and swab at my fence might be tricky.
We did brace the fence. An elm growing right on the property line broke out the curb between the lot and the alley, and is now pushing the fence into the yard. We cut out a low branch, straightened the fence as much as we could push it, and nailed a diagonal brace into place. The fence is upright and sturdier, but still needs the protection new stain will give it.
I am going to play Tom Sawyer. I am not looking to trade staining time for a dead rat with a string to swing it on, only to think of this job as play instead of work.