Garden Drapes – Exterior Decor?

We’re having a couple of problems with Shuggie in the garden. It would be nice to able to leave him down there on his own for a while. Not while we’re out of course, or in the rain or anything, just to let him potter around in the garden, minding his own (and doing his) business.

But because our cheapo fencing is made of thin poles of bamboo-like wood, he can see through it. And that means he can see next-door’s cat, and the cat from the house at the back, and people in their gardens, and so on and so forth. And this drives him crazy. As soon as we’ve let him out into the garden, and settled down to read or whatever, he’s barking and skittering around, annoying the neighbours with his yipping. And being the solidly lower-middle-class folks we are, we care what the neighbours think.

Mairi thinks, and I tend to agree, that the fencing needs to be changed. It’s old and tatty, and badly fitted (not by me). But before we pay for new stuff that may not stop the barking, she suggested draping the nasty sheets and duvet covers that I keep for dustsheets when decorating over the fence and pegging them in place. So now we have some garish paint-spattered 80’s duvet covers decorating our garden. I can’t help thinking garden curtains might be the next big thing.

Anyway, it seems to work! Shuggie was in the garden, sniffing around, and I looked over the fence to see next doors cat, Monster, sitting in their garden. The two animals were oblivious of each other.

Shuggie still barks at the cat over the back, because we didn’t peg sheets there, but the Technical Proof Of Concept is in place, pending further trials.