Horse Fence
Terri Webster Schrandt

Sunday Stills: Don’t #Fence Me In

This week’s theme for the Sunday Stills Challenge is fences, any kind. You may also focus on a subject, for example, like a bird on a fence, but show us the fence. Tell us about the fences, and where they reside.

We arrived back home on Wednesday, weary from another 3400 miles traveled for a milestone family event. My brothers and our partners traveled to help move my 87-year-old dad and stepmom to Central Arizona.

Moving Fences

“Fear is the highest fence.” ~ Dudley Nichols

Getting my stepmom to agree to move from the Sierra foothills was a big deal as I mentioned last week. When she finally agreed in August, that it was for the best to finally move, my family put everything in motion to start the moving process.

Western States trail

This image shows the chain link fence next to the sign marking Turkey Hill Road, where their former home sat.

She did not want to be “fenced in,” by being told by us what to do and when to move. Does anybody really? Cole Porter’s song Don’t Fence Me In makes sense now.

“Let me ride through the wide-open country that I love. Don’t fence me in.” ~ Cole Porter

Fences All-Around

“The wide world is all about you, you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot forever fence it out.” ~ J R R Tolkien

How many fences can you find in this image?

Fenced dwellings near the beach
San Diego Beach Homes

These fences are designed to keep people safe!

Zigzag fence walkway to river
American River Fence View
Trail Fence Cape Meara Oregon
Trail Fence Cape Meara Oregon

Some fun fences were seen near my former home in Sacramento.

The warm morning sun caused steam to rise off my former backyard fence!

Early morning steam on fence

Artsy-fartsy park fence

Street posts in shadow

Speaking of feeling fenced in, there is nothing like a long road trip where you can enjoy wide open spaces with and without fences. Once again, we drove through seven states: Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and Idaho.

We strolled through my stepdaughter’s neighborhood in Gilbert, Arizona. A rural area complete with horse fences surprised us by how close it is to their suburban neighborhood.

man walking a donkey by a fence
It’s not every day you see a man walking his donkey!

Last April, while also in Gilbert, we visited the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch. Fenced pathways wind visitors through the various waterways, and the birds enjoy perching or walking on the edge of the fences.

Dove walking on edge of fence
Mourning Dove
two birds on a fence
Grackle and blackbird on edge of the fence

Fences Near Home

“Good fences make good neighbors.” ~ Robert Frost

Closer to home in Nine Mile Falls, we put up our own fences when our property was brand new.

Finished rural fence
Finished rural fence
Robin scanning for tasty treats
Robin scanning for tasty treats

This fence in our yard keeps the deer away from our trees, but Mr. Goldfinch cannot be contained.

Goldfinch and sunflower

What is it with the wildlife around here? We like to think we can keep the deer out of the yard…nope!

Mule Deer at the fence
Mule Deer Contemplates the Jump

“I cannot be contained, because I am the container.” ~ Jim Carrey

Last Autumn’s festival of leaves.

Rustic fence Golden Larches
Rustic fence, Golden Larches
Maple leaves
Last Autumn’s maple
Autumn Deep Red Maples
Maples lining the road

After our long road trip in the southwest heat, this was sure a welcome sight.

Horse Fence
Horse Fence at the entrance to Nine Mile Falls

“A fence lasts three years, a dog lasts three fences, a horse three dogs, and a man three horses.” ~ German Proverb

Frosty Fence
Flash Frozen Fence in One Afternoon

Inspiring Photo Challenges This Week

Each week I find inspiration from my fellow bloggers’ photo challenges. I enjoy incorporating these into my Sunday Stills weekly themes.

Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders

The Sunday Stills weekly-themed photo challenge is easy to join. You have all week to share and link your post.

  • Remember to title your blog post a little differently than mine.
  • Please create a new post for the theme or link a recent one.
  • Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
  • Tag your post “Sunday Stills.”
  • Don’t forget to create a pingback to this post so that other participants can read your post.
  • I also recommend adding your post’s URL to the comments.

This Week’s Featured Bloggers

Sunday Stills is a wonderful community of bloggers, poets, and photographers who desire to connect with one another. Below are this week’s links from bloggers who shared their photos of fences. I add these all week as new links are posted.

I hope you are not “on the fence” this week as you contemplate joining your fellow bloggers and sharing some of your favorite fences!

As always, I thank you for your support with links and comments last month while I was “away” from the blog. I love this time of year and I hope to see more of your posts as we enter the holiday season (yes, I said it out loud). 😉 Join me next week when we take a look at TEXTURES.

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121 comments

  9. These were great fence choices Terri. I love the birds. I’m glad your trip went well and you got them settled.

    Here’s my link. I’m probably going to miss the next few weeks due to being out of town and a crazy schedule. Hopefully be back by the end of the month. We’ll see. I’ve been struggling a bit with keeping up and really struggling with commenting, which I hate.
    https://troyerslovinglife.blogspot.com/2023/10/taking-in-life-around-mesundaystills.html

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  17. Hi Terri, what great collection of fences you’ve shared with us and also fabulous quotes! I like the man walking his donkey shot for its quirkiness and the autumnal shots over the fences. Great photos and great stories that tell us about your thought processes and what you see. It’s always interesting knowing what people are thinking and seeing when thye take photos. I’m glad the move went well, and like you, we’ve just got home from our road trip to Brisbane (2 days drive). I wasn’t going to write a post but share a photo then it got the better of me and I put mine together super quickly! Hope it’s OK 🙂

    The view through the fence – #SundayStills

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  22. You must be wrecked, Terri! I hope they settle in and realise it’s for the best. I have to admit, I don’t look forward to anyone making the decision for me. Unless I’m too soft in the head to know better – and that’s not far away! Love the shot of that smoke rising off your fence. Take it easy now, hon.

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  23. Welcome back from your long road trip. I’m glad everything went to plan, Terri. You must be ready for some relaxation in the autumn colours and mists now. Enjoy! And I don’t mind you mentioning the ‘Holiday season.’ Bring it on!

    I counted six fences in that photo where you asked how many we can see. But I bet I’m wrong, aren’t I?

    Fences can be such interesting objects, especially when you see faces and animals in them.

    I never expected to see a donkey in this week’s post. But I do love the name Turkey Hill Road. Those white fences against the grey skies look amazing.

    Have a great week.

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    • Thank you, Hugh! Everything mostly went as planned thanks to the team efforts of the entire family. Autumn colors are on track this year, as are cooler temps, although a warm up is in order this week.

      How about that donkey? Isn’t that hilarious? I’ve snapped many an odd photo in Arizona! I would say you are right on about seeing 6 fences. The top right shows a balcony with a plexiglass “fence.” Sharp eyes you have. I love the fence you shared–many folks like that look for their flooring as well 🙂

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      • Yes, I agree about folks liking that type of look for flooring, too. I’ve also seen tables made out of old fences and furniture for the home. I like the idea of upcycling, Terri.

        The only place I ever see donkeys is at the beach. I remember there being donkey rides when I was a kid. I often felt sorry for them, but they got plenty of treats.

        Glad I got the answer right. The plexiglass is cool unless it marks in the rain. Living by the sea means those types of fences show the salt from the area air. A nightmare to clean, unless you got somebody to do the job for you.

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  24. After your trip to the desert, I’ll bet those autumn clouds and colors and coolness were welcome sights, Terri. I’m glad the move went well. And great photos of fences. It’s interesting how many varieties there are, and how some say “stay away” and others say “come and stay.”

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  36. You sure were a travelin’ woman Terri and got some nice shots while doing your good deed. These were some unique fence situations and some very picturesque. I like your Robin, Goldfinch and Deer pondering life at the fence.

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  37. Sigh. WP once again wouldn’t let me comment, saying I wasn’t logged in, which I was, so my comment was lost. I’m going to have to start copying each comment just in case. Anyway, glad things have worked out relatively well (pun not intended but not minded) and it was great two see both of you again. The Riparian Preserve is a treasure, even more so for being in the desert. Gilbert really is an interesting combination of rural and urban. I often think that when driving around. P.S. Loved the fences.

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    • Thanks for being diligent and leaving your comment, Janet. I’ve had the same issue on other’s blogs too, on one I can leave a comment, and others I can’t, but only using jetpack on my mobile. So weird. We enjoy the preserve when we go. We just feel relief that everything got done and they can feel safe and enjoy their new life, which they are! It was fun seeing you as well!

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  38. So nice that your and your brothers were able to help your dad and step mom settle in. Payson is a nice area, and they will enjoy 4 seasons up there. I agree, nice to travel and see so much space without fences, but you certainly show us how pretty they can be as art. I missed you as well. As you know…family first. We have a 5th grandbaby on the way at the end of the month. Grateful we are all here, but they do take my time.

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  39. Hi, terri,
    So glad that your journey went well and that your folks are settled. I really enjoyed your very creative post. The quotes are perfect and the pictures are great. Nice Work! My contribution is an HDR image taken in Edisto Beach, SC. The fence has the dual purpose of stabilizing the dunes as well as preventing beachcombers from walking on them.

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  42. Fences do two things……….keep things in and keep things out but they also injure many wildlife!
    I saw a moose trying to jump a fence yesterday and it got snagged on the wire. It ran off but I’ll guarantee that it had damage to its legs.
    Even horses get tangles from time to time.
    Ask “Little Donny Two Hands” about his fence.

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  47. Wow, you’ve managed to include so many wonderful quotes and fences in this post, Terri! I especially love the birds and wildlife! That was quite a lot of travel you fit into September to help your dad so hopefully you can rest now and settle down for the coming winter! (It’s already starting to feel like winter here.) I’ve been busy unpacking photos of our cruise to Alaska, but I’ll look to see if I can find some interesting fences for this week’s theme. 🙂

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  49. What a great post. Lots of reasons to have fences. Ours–we have a pool in the yard. ‘Nuff said. My sis in rural Indiana has no fences. I like knowing the boundaries.

    3400 miles of driving! Yikes and kudos! I will remind my kids what you did when my day arrives to move.

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    • Haha, Jacqui! Thank you! My daughters know what we did, too. I would stay here. Isn’t that what we all say? I’m glad that long road trip is over and that we were available to take the time to do it. Yes, a fence around a pool is a must.

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  50. What a great collection of fences, Terri! I love the white painted ones particularly, and the look of the Oregon trail. Those maples are spectacular.
    Did the Mule Deer make the jump? I cant imagine having deer so close, I think I’d like it though.

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    • Thank you, Cathy! The maples are putting on a great show here now. Yes, the deer hop over the fence like it’s nothing. While we were gone, we discovered they helped themselves to one of our apple trees, but no long term damage. It’s always fun to watch them congregate at our neighbor’s property this time of year.

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  54. Congratulations on completing the long journey. I hope they’re still doing well in their new home. You have a wonderful collection of fence photos. As I scrolled through them a couple of times I couldn’t pick a favorite, they’re all great – I felt like I was walking with you noticing all the fences as though I’d never seen one before. Thanks for the fun kick off to October!

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      • That’s funny you say that, I wasn’t ready to say it was October yet either! We’re having a short stretch of August like weather so I’m even more confused.
        So…do you have folders of categories where you store photos or do you just remember when you took them and go back to find them that way? 🤔😉
        I hope you have a great week!

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      • I use premium Dropbox. I have folders of edited and watermarked images. The camera upload folder is embarrassingly large but catalogued by date from oldest to newest. Every once is a while I go through and delete dupes or fuzzy ones–I admit that I need to do it more often.

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      • I wanted to mention that Dropbox is on all my devices and all images auto upload to the Camera uploads file. Once I edit them (I use PicMonkey premium), I can download them to the WP media files and back to my phone for other uses. I like to watermark all my public images. It would be interesting to learn what other bloggers do.

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      • Thank you for sharing your procedures Terri! I’ve never heard of PicMonkey. I definitely agree, I’d love to hear what other bloggers do and what software they use. I’ve never done the watermarking, but I do see many bloggers do. Is that an easy step?

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      • Sure! I’m no expert but I know what works for me. I was paying for Lightroom but found it too complicated even after taking a class. I use Picmonkey to edit, add a watermark which is super easy, and resize the image to KB size so it doesn’t take up too much room in my WP media files.
        Do you follow Hugh’s Views and News? He always shares great blogger tips.

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  55. Wow, these fences are so compelling, Terri. I’m so glad you got back safely, and that your dad and step-mom are doing well. It was a great decision for everyone. (Especially for us who will get to see you more often!) This topic will mix perfectly with weathered and rustic. How fun!

    Your shadowy fence and the white fences were my favorite fences. Then you added wild life to several and that made them perfect. It looked like you were besties with the mule deer and he was dying to come over for a cuppa. (or maybe some of your sunflowers) I’m going to have to dig out my Sony and Rebel and start taking better pictures.

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    • Thank you, Marsha! Did you recognize the one image of the fence by the ocean at Cape Meares? I was trying to capture fences along the road on our return trip but I couldn’t get a decent pic and we didn’t want to stop. And speaking of cameras, I forgot to bring my little Canon Sureshot which does a better job than the phone most times. I’m looking forward to your theme this week.

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