Personally I wouldn't want a boulder or brick wall because I don't wan to kill anyone even if they are stupid and talking on a cell phone while digging around on the floor for change. To save your house and front lawn a long term solution you might try is putting in what I think of as a tire trap. Dig in 2 to 4 rows perpendicular rows of 8 x 8 treated landscaping timber. See if you can get it pre-drilled somewhere so you can pound rebar down the holes into the ground. Bury them a few inches. Anyone coming off the road's front tires will, hopefully, bump up over the first one, go back down and not have enough energy to buck over the second, if they are at higher velocity, they will hit the third one. You might want some cop traffic expertise on spacing. They will look kind of weird, you could try hiding with some shrubs because weeds will grow inbetween, but you cant fill in with anything like flowers and mulch because that would defeat the purpose. Maybe some heavey duty weed barrier and dark colored gravel? As for the mailbox, I've seen some country people put their mailbox's out on a long long long horizontal pole, the base is set way back. Paint it a bright color and put reflectors on it. May not stop people from hitting it but would help in court if it ever comes to that.

The article below comes from the U.S. Postal Service web site. http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/localnews/tn/tn_2008_0826_DR.htm Tips for erecting and maintaining your mailbox NASHVILLE, TN The U.S. Postal Service wants to remind customers that in addition to maintaining a nice looking lawn and mulching the flower bed this fall, donÂt forget that the mailbox may need sprucing up as well. After all, your letters deserve a clean, safe place to stay, too. Here are some helpful housekeeping tips for your mailbox: Curbside mailboxes should be placed so that they may be safely and conveniently served by carriers without leaving their vehicle. Boxes must also be on the rightÂhand side of the road and in the carrierÂs direction of travel. Boxes must be placed to conform to state laws and highway regulations. Generally, mailboxes are installed at a height of 41 to 45 inches from the road surface to the bottom of the mailbox or point of mail entry. Mailboxes are set back 6 to 8 inches from the front face of the curb or road edge to the mailbox door. Because of varying road and curb conditions and other factors, the Postal Service recommends that customers contact the postmaster or carrier before erecting or replacing their mailboxes and supports. If your mailbox is mounted on a pole or post, check its stability and make sure it is properly anchored. Heavy metal posts, concrete posts, and miscellaneous items of farm equipment, such as milk cans filled with concrete are examples of potentially dangerous supports. The ideal support is an assembly that bends or falls away when struck by a vehicle. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has determined that mailbox supports no larger than 4 inches by 4 inches, or a 2Âinch diameter standard steel or aluminum pipe, buried no more than 24 inches, should safely break away if struck by a vehicle. Your mailbox identifies your address, not only for the letter carrier but for the police, the fire department, emergency workers, other service providers and visitors to your home. We recommend that you put your address on both sides of the mailbox, and that the numerals and letters be at least one-inch tall. Check the door and its hinges. Make sure it closes properly to keep your mail in and the wind and rain out. Do you see any sharp edges or nails sticking out? Protect your hands and those of your letter carrier by filing off dangerous points. Also sand and repaint or replace your mailbox if itÂs rusty  you donÂt want to have to get a tetanus shot, and neither does your letter carrier. The Postal Service requires "USPS Approved" curbside mailboxes whenever a mailbox is newly installed or replaced. You can find them at most hardware stores. You may use a customer-built curbside box if the Postmaster gives prior approval and if the mailbox generally conforms to the same specifications as approved manufactured mailboxes. Contact your local Post Office before erecting a custom-built mailbox.

I was reminded by this thread of this Meryl Streep classic from The Devil Wears Prada: "This... 'stuff'? Oh... ok. I see, you think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and you select out, oh I don't know, that lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you're trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue, it's not turquoise, it's not lapis, it's actually cerulean. You're also blindly unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves St Laurent, wasn't it, who showed cerulean military jackets? And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers. Then it filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic "casual corner" where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin. However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs and so it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you're wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room. From a pile of 'stuff.'"

Can I just say this? After reading all these wonderful posts, perhaps the so-called 'trends'... aren't. Perhaps the real trend is doing what you love, doing what fits your region, you home, your lifestyle and needs, your aesthetics. This seems to me to be the prevailing trend here on GW. I saw a tiny glimpse of a kitchen on GW with a 4" backsplash that I thought divine and totally perfect with the cabinets and fixtures I could see - and felt others would think so, too. It was really quite beautiful, IMO. Merriam Webster definition of Trend: a prevailing tendency or inclination; a current style or preference. Seems, at least here on GW, the prevailing trend is to do what is right for each individual/family, and current styles and preferences are what each of us likes and in the end, chooses, not what is dictated to us. Whether it be trendy with designers/design writers, or not.