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There was another reason we just sat with the house and yard that first year, 2017-2018. For many of us, gardens become an extension of ourselves, maybe even of our very souls. They represent our hopes and dreams, our deepest wishes and yearnings, and even our sorrows and losses. That first year was one for the books, and in the aftermath, I turned my energy toward that quarter-acre expanse of lawn, invasive plants, and exotic ornamentals, and the vision that came to me was clear: We needed a fence. One that would cordon off the entire backyard perimeter.

What happened, exactly, to warrant fencing? I alluded to it when I said the job I’d taken that brought us to St. Louis turned out to be “challenging.”

That’s an understatement.