why fences make for great neighbors

fences make for great neighbors, but not for the reason you might think!  i think they're wonderful because, in my latest experience, you can literally lean on them while you visit.

while farm-sitting recently, i wandered around in my muck boots picking flowers and then down to the lower field where the neighbors were out with their dogs.  

they are the salt of the earth folks who still have all the time in the world to chat.  while our various horses grazed, we visited about everything from apple orchards to great literature and i leaned my right elbow gently atop the wire.

we bantered away about this and that for i don't know how long, only for me to turn around to discover the horse i was watching over had nudged his way into the grain bin and hay bale area and was eating to his heart's content!  it was a good thing the neighbor had an errand to be off to, or there might not have been any feed left for the rest of the week.

when i'm home i love walking up our long driveway especially in summer when my neighbors are out working in their lavender field or walking their dogs.  they also always have time to chat, or if either of us are en route, for a friendly wave and loving call across the field.  these mornings always make my day.

we all need our own space and to know where we begin and end.  that said, what do you most enjoy about the neighborhood you find yourself in?  perhaps you have a literal fence you can lean on a while while you visit or pass items over the top of to share.  regardless, how might you take steps to know and be known there?