Outdoor Bench

The first thing that caught my attention before we bought the home was the lake. I envisioned how an outdoor bench would look, it will surely add an elegant and aged style to our back yard. Finding the right spot would take some arranging until we got the perfect spot, but I knew the first spot I wanted to place the outdoor bench was by the dock.

Several years ago my husband and I bought a lake home. Our home is on one side of a street and the lake is on the other. We own one hundred and sixty feet of lake shore and a one acre lot.

The street that separates our yard from the lake is a scenic drive that is mainly used by the other people that live along the road. Many bikers and walkers use the road to exercise along the lake. There are several resorts within four miles of our home.

When we first bought our home we purchased a dock that has a bench on the end of it. We also purchased an outdoor bench to set by the lake shore. Our property faces east, so the outdoor bench was a great place to sit and watch the sunrise.

Our neighbors also have lawn furniture, fire rings and other things on the lake side of the road. None of us had ever had property stolen or damaged.

When our insurance agent came out for our annual inspection he asked us to move the outdoor bench away from the lake. He was concerned that someone could stumble and fall into the water while getting up from or sitting down on the bench.

We thought this was an odd request, but we moved the bench into the yard. We have a large rock that sits on a small hill in our front yard. There was room next to this rock for the outdoor bench. Having the bench on the hill offered a better view of the lake and sunset than when the bench sat by the lake.

One day as I was setting the table for dinner I looked out the front patio doors and saw a young couple sitting on the outdoor bench in our front yard. They did not look familiar to me, but I walked outside to see who they were. They told me that they were just enjoying the view of the lake.

I did not know how to respond, I did not want to appear rude, yet I did not want strangers sitting in my yard either. I simply said that they should enjoy the view, but that they were on private property. They were very surprised.

Our outdoor bench is a classic wooden park bench style, so they thought this area of our yard was a park. They apologized and left. Throughout the summer we would notice people sitting on our bench, taking a break from their exercise.

We decided that this was no big deal, if people wanted to enjoy the view. Then one day a friend of ours that is an attorney was visiting. Our dinning room window faces the lake and the outdoor bench. As we were eating dinner he noticed two people sit down on the bench.

We explained that people use it to rest on. He told us that we should either place a sign stating private property or no trespassing because if someone got hurt on our property we would be liable.

The outdoor bench now sits further into the yard. We chose to move the bench rather than litter our front lawn with signs. We have decided that insurance salesmen and attorneys like to take simple pleasures out of life.

So we listened because we would not like to be liable for anyone if they got hurt on our property. We chose to carry it further inside our yard because we enjoyed the use off our outdoor bench so much.