The solution was to install a modest fence that would help contain my home while also giving it curb appeal. A split-rail seemed a good choice.

Split-rail fence a lesson in Scouting leadership Paul Scott, left, Chad Combs and Mack Pierson, right, dig holes for the cedar beams that will support the 510-foot fence in Caspers Wilderness Park.

There are more than several styles of rail fences, too, some more time-consuming to construct than others, but none really insurmountable.

Robbie Cochran carries a black locust tree split rail to be added to the "snake rail fence" that he is building in front the the Old Stone House. Photo by Wayne Hinshaw, for the Salisbury Post ...