We have privacy fences on the sides, shared with neighbors, but not the back. The back is wooded and wild, lots of grapevines, and we like it that way. We’re the only one on our street with no back fence. Our lots are a bit less than 1/2 an acre, so not big.

But … do it only if you like wildlife (we do). We have deer, armadillos, racoons, and possums coming in from the back, and we’re close to the city. Again, we love our visitors, but I understand not everyone would want that.

One day, in broad daylight, we had a procession of critters go by — an armadillo, a possum, and two racoons — all within minutes of each other, and in the same direction. We started looking around for an ark.

We have a beautiful doe and her two fawns visiting us every evening — Doey, Joey, and Zoey. They love bird seed and carrots. Sometimes, she leaves them for us to babysit, then comes back for them. :)

You can see a bit of the fence to the right of Doey:

(We are in a severe drought, usually everything is lush and green.)

Our last two houses were the same. One was wild like above, one had a beautiful view of the valley below and city lights at night. None have/had houses behind, and we don’t have dogs, so we can leave it open. Sure makes the yard feel more spacious, too.