Taking down fences

I bought a house in March this year. It's the first house I have ever owned and I suppose I dont actually own much of it yet, but for all intents and purposes it's mine. When I first looked at it it felt right. It's not a fancy house, in fact it's quite ugly in places, but it's simple and easy and it feels good. It has quirky features like a 'sewing room' off the main bedroom.
The previous owners had a 'minimalist approach to gardening - there were maybe 3 living plants on the property when i took possession. Friends would come over and look at my yard and say 'a blank canvas!'
The one the the house had in abundance was fences. There was a high green fence along the front of the property - so that no one could see in and no one could see out. It also had another fence closing in the front lawn meaning that I had to go through a gate to get from my front door to the letterbox. For the first month or so it drove me crazy. Then I realised that everything on the property was mine so if I didn't like something I could take it down, change it, put something else there that I liked better.
I took down the internal fence first and what a difference just doing that made. I could walk freely around my front yard without having to navigate fences and gates. Retrieving the mail had never been so easy!
The front fence posed more of a challenge because i was not only taking down a fence but needed to put something in it's place.
I changed my mind a few times. Finally the decision was made easier by a friend giving me a roll of fencing wire. It was simple, waist height, recycled, free - perfect!
So one weekend, not long ago, a couple of friends and I started taking down my front fence. The panels came off remarkably easily and before I knew it I had invited the world into my front yard again. Little did I know how true this would become. In the course of the weekend working on my fences in my front yard I basically met my neighborhood. First there was the woman in the 4WD who drove past and gave me a smile and a nod. Then there was the couple with the baby in the pram who walked past a number of times before the husband and I finally made eye contact and he simply said 'Nice'. Then there was Meg across the road who took the opportunity to come over and introduce herself. 'Love what you've done. I'd love to get rid of our high fences' she said. 'Oh and by the way my boys are having a party in a few weeks time. It'll be really loud. When you hear the music come over and have a beer with us'.
The next day when we got to the harder tasks of hanging and wiring the new fence in place I wondered if I had bitten off more than I could chew. But the universe sent me Alan. 'Do you ladies need a hand?' came the voice from the other side of the road. 'I know a bit about fencin'. I do alot of work out bush and I can give ya a hand if ya like'. In the blink of an eye, with Alan's expertise and a few tricks of the trade the fence was up and in place and ready to be wired. As Alan and I sat back with a beer and admired our handiwork, another voice from across the road called out "looks great". Cath, an older lady from around the corner who was out walking her dog, stopped by for a chat. 'We were all so disappointed when that big green fence went up. I mean I understand, what with the neighborhood and all, but it looks much better the way you have it now.'
Over the next couple of days I even noticed a couple of cars slowing down to have a look. People in cars continued to wave hello when they saw me in the front yard. Children riding past on their bikes called out 'hi' or 'I like your fence'.
It seems i hadn't been the only one bothered by the fences and the simple act of taking them down brought the people of my street into my life and brought me into theirs.