Chico, Sustainable

In some parts of the country, and in some parts of Chico, there are no fences between the houses, and folks get along just fine.

It becomes so much easier for a kid to retrieve and errant football.

Yes, we know the cliche that adversity brings the community together, but I would argue that downed fences do this too. And in the wake of the storm, plenty of wooden fences succumbed to wind, tree branches, or both.

For a few days I have had a casual view into the backyards around my neighborhood, where I have gazed in admiration of fruit trees, errant orchards, and even a cute family of pigs in the midst of an urban farm.

I have not felt threatened by the lack of barriers between me and my neighbors.

We only had a 7 foot section of back fence topple, and yes, I did rebuild it--Even though I might be able to retrain myself to live without a fence, I can't say the same for our 9-year-old dog--But I did get a chance to meet a new neighbor in the process.

I hope that when other folks go to fix their fences, they have the opportunity to team up to create a community-building experience as a well as a fence-building endeavor.

Perhaps some people will even choose to leave the fence down.