Although on principle I’m not a fan of cutting up land with artificial boundaries, before I plant seeds this spring there’s an obvious need to keep my dog out of the garden. It’s time to figure out what sort of fencing makes sense here.
While I work out the dull details of material and installation, here’s a more meaningful meditation on the subject of fences, courtesy of Chumash cultural educator Tima Lotah Link:
So the Spanish came, and then the United States, and they swept over the land, and when they were done it was cut into tiny little pieces and they put fences around those pieces. We live in a world of fences today. And those fences are boundaries between us and the landscape. I respect boundaries, I think we all do in this world today, but fences—borders—dams—some things were never meant to be.
(On the other hand, dog poop was never meant to be in my food garden...)
Journey further with Tima as she explains her relationship to the land and fences in episode 3 of KCET’s program “Tending the Wild.”