We had just finished up several years of work on our Natick fixer-upper, including a new addition that added badly needed space and a total makeover of what had been a scraggly, overgrown yard infested with poison ivy.

So with the arrival of summer, we finally had a yard we wanted to spend time in, but for the neighbor next door.

Let's just say "George" is not a bad guy, but his idea of fun is a little different than ours.

For starters, he doesn't have a yard - it's completely paved over with a rotating stable of cars and motorcycles.

George may be running a backyard business or he may just like working on cars, I really don't care. But the end result is that we had an unwanted front-row seat to his constant mechanical tinkering, often punctuated by the revving of various engines.

So we took the plunge - I let my wife Karen, who is much more charming than I am, to handle the negotiations. We worried about the reaction - after all, the new fence would basically go right up alongside George's driveway in a no-man's land between our two yards.

To our relief, the idea was well received - probably in no small part due to the fact that we were going to pay for it.

Three weeks later, I am here to report that our new fence was worth it. Yes, I can still hear George revving his engines, but I can't see him and he can't see me.

And frankly, I think we both like it that way.