Learning to fence

I loved reading all the suggestions for our fence. We'll be going with a straight picket fence. Although I love the scalloped look, I think it is a bit fancy for our neck of the woods. The rest of our yard is fenced with electric fence and woven wire. Not the classiest, but it works. I meant no disrespect to chain link or the people who love them. No disrespect to those who have tire fences either -- you have your reasons. Looks like we have a lot of work ahead of us. Thanks for chiming in!

We are talking about fencing around these parts. Amazing what appears when you Google "fencing." All these sites about strange white clad athlete with pointy swords. No, no, I meant the type of fencing that keeps children in yards. Fencing that enhances the landscape. Fencing that keeps cows out of my flower beds. That kind of fencing.

We have a big yard here in paradise. Cows live on two sides of the yard, our neighbors on another side, and a busy road on the front. We have fence on 3 sides and that just leaves the busy road.  Cars fly on our rural road at ridiculously fast speeds. I've considered a "Slow Children Playing" sign, but that just sounds like we are advertising a handicap no matter how you word it. 

Emma and I witnessed the demise of our cat when he got run over in the road last year. I could have lived without seeing that (believe me, the cat wishes he could have lived without it too). Ever since, Emma has been extremely cautious of the road. I was watching from the window one day and Mandy was making a beeline for the road. Before I could move to the door to hastily call her back, Emma came from the 5 yard line and tackled Mandy to the ground like an overzealous linebacker. Although effective, I think a fence would be a better option.

We live in a farm house. It's white. It's a farmhouse. Now, what kind of fence would look good across the front yard?

There is the classic picket.

A fancier picket fence with a  scallop.

And this nice one with a reversed scallop.

The trouble is, I can't decide which fence I like best. (The prices are comparable to each other). The finished project will change the whole look of the property. What fence do you think would look best? Of course there is also chainlink or a row of stacked tires. I'd like the to see the young'uns try to get through those.