My weekend got off to a really crummy start.  My schedule on Friday gets me home around 8.  Before I got home I got a call from my wife warning me about a new bad development there.  Oh Good Heavens!  What has happened now????  Roof problems? (Why is it I fear roof problems first?  The idea of not being able to keep the weather and the critters outside scares me!)

Low and Behold the roof was safe and sound!  There was nothing wrong what so ever with our home.  Nothing, other than the privacy of our backyard and the privacy of our family room having been destroyed.  My life is very public.  I work in the public eye, I share things going on in my family on a regular basis.  When I am home, I like my privacy.

My backdoor neighbors built their kids the Taj Mahal of play structures!  This thing is so cool I want to play on it!  It’s got 2 kinds of slides, a rope ladder, a rock wall, a rope swing, 2 other kinds of swings, flags, canopy tops, and soft ground rubber bedding underneath.  The really cool thing is, it rises 2 stories off the ground.  The view from that second story portion takes in a stunning view of the Sutter Buttes, the peach orchards just to the north of our division, the Foothills, and . . . . . my backyard, my family room, and the master bedroom.

Poof goes the privacy.

I don’t begrudge the building of the structure, I already said I would love to play on it.  I wish I had been able to afford something so stunning for my kids!  I know as a parent how nice it must be to be able to shoo the kids outside to play to get a little peace and quiet.  But, now what?

I’ll be honest my first thought was not build the fence higher.  To be high enough aircraft warning lights would be required!  Noooooo, my first thought was, “I wonder what kind of tree or bush can I plant . . . . . . (not to block the view and add beauty of my back yard) . . . . . that will attract bees.”  Of course a non bee attracting tree or bush would have been equally effective, but not nearly as educational.  And it would have been really mean.  I would never want those kids to be stung by bees.  They didn’t build that play structure, they were just being kids and enjoying it!  My hope was their parents might get stung by the bees!  But chances are the kids would have been stung and I couldn’t live with myself knowing my actions had injured a child.  As luck would have it the location isn’t open to a tree or a bush planting of any sort due to the fence and a preexisting concrete patio pad in that portion of our backyard.

My next thought was to take a walk around the block and introduce myself to the parents.  To tell them what a beautiful new playground they had built for their kids.  Tell them how much I would have loved my kids to have had something like that to play on in their time.  Then I was going to tell them that my wife & I are practicing nudists, and we sun bathed in our backyard regularly.  Just a fair warning what their kids might see over the fence.  “I understand not everyone is as comfortable with the human body as my wife and I are.”

Great idea right?  No one get stung by bees, There is a certain amount of privacy returned to my home.  Turns out I’m a big chicken.  I couldn’t bring myself to do it. And I was worried about webcams.

So, my wife & I went and bought a giant Gazebo Canopy.  It took 4 hours to erect, and with a little handiwork from my wife we have a large amount of privacy returned to our home.

If only I had the guts to take that walk . . . . . . . . .