The Neighbors...

[67ChevyRedneck]

Unfortunately, I think I'm the one my neighbors talk about.

I've remodeled my house top to bottom, so it's probably one of, if not the nicest, home in the hood, so I don't care what they would think anyway.

[special-K]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

Unfortunately, I think I'm the one my neighbors talk about.

I've remodeled my house top to bottom, so it's probably one of, if not the nicest, home in the hood, so I don't care what they would think anyway.

That's a common reason to not like you even if you do nothing else that would bother anyone. Envy breeds contempt. I feel that from the clan that is my neighbors. They don't take care of their place. It seems they resent someone bought the old shack that their land surrounds and made it nicer than their houses when they were hoping it would fall down so they could consume the lot. I have a little to back that up. Not just a hunch.

[1976gmc20]

Well, apparently some folks don't like me because I won't tolerate them running their stock on my land or letting their dogs run loose to kill and harass livestock. I can be the nicest guy in the world or else I am the guy that you really don't want to piss off. I am also the guy that several people say they will call if they have a "problem" before they call 911.

We have and have had some nice neighbors. The people who lived on the place just west of us for about 8 years were fairly well off. They acquired a bunch of animals (cows, horses, fowl, pets) over time but they still liked to travel a lot so we traded taking care of all of their stuff several times a year for them taking care of our place once or twice a year plus using their Kubota pretty much any time I needed. Then her RA got really bad and he got tired of commuting to the city so they sold out and moved to town. The new folks are "okay" but she is something of an uppity snob.

There's some more new folks beyond them but we haven't gotten to know them much yet, just talked a couple times and waved.

The folks to the southeast have almost a quarter section and they raise sheep but they build tight fences and keep their stock confined as required. If something does get out then it is a total accident and they will be right on it as soon as they can. Only "complaint" is that they are always ready to help folks but it is hard to find something to do for them in return that they will accept. Their son and new daughter in law now live in the problem place behind us that has the easement across our land.

There's a 20 acre piece to the east that has always been vacant, just a well and an outhouse and not even power running up there. To the north is the guy that lives on another road. He is no problem but the few times I've talked to him, I find him to be obnoxious and annoying. His "partner" died a year or so back, if that gives you any idea

There are big ranches 1/4 mile to the south and 1/2 mile to the east, so really the only problem right now is the previously described drug addict across the crick to the NE who threatened to kill me in September. The rest of the subdivision to the north and west of our little corner are pretty much far enough away to not care about.

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Originally Posted by 1976gmc20

So I guess y'all are speechless or just can't top that last one!

LOL........That one is tuff to beat. Was the dog a Caucasian Ovcharka?

Originally Posted by TwoFiftyShifter

My neighbor is 90 years old and his yard is so immaculate if you toss a pine cone onto it before you head to work it will be gone before you get home.

That's why he's 90, he doesn't let up

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by 71CHEVYSHORTBED402

LOL........That one is tuff to beat. Was the dog a Caucasian Ovcharka?

That's correct. It's like being charged by a bear.

I wasn't about to let it get any closer and see if it just wanted a hug.

Scary thing was that this time it didn't bark or anything - just ran up from behind like a big cat. I was more terrified from thinking back over the previous 18 months or so when it could have gotten one of us by surprise. The other neighbors were all very happy that I killed it (well, except for the bleeding heart lady that talked us into bringing these monsters into the neighborhood).

The dog ended up in the ditch beside the easement drive, so when she didn't come after me in a few minutes I figured she was off the property and would see it as she drove in, and then do who knows what. So I called another neighbor and we quickly loaded the body into my pickup. Later, the deputy wanted to return the body to her and he was shocked at how big of a dog that it was. Nose to butt (not tail) it stretched nearly the entire width of the inside of my pickup bed.

[Low Elco]

Damn, I thought mine were a pain. Glad he didn't getcha!

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Damn, I thought mine were a pain. Glad he didn't getcha!

Thanks! Me, too

It really changes your defense perspective from the theoretical to the practical.

That's why I consider that anyone who wants to take away my guns to be attempting to kill me (is that too political ???).

[mongocanfly]

Ive got 34 acres

Well you've never lived till you've had meth heads living in a tent in the woods for over 2 yrs next to ya...sherriff hauled em off to jail countless times ..they finally gave them temporary housing for 2 to 5 yrs..
.
Then the other way is the lady with the "sweetest, loving, wont never harm a fly" bulldogs....I'll have to say I've had to put down about a half dozen of them...at one time she had about 8 of em running loose...

The other way is a guy with a beagle pack that barks 24hrs a day...I didnt know dogs could bark that much...the also have guineas, hogs,donkeys and other noise making critters...he used to round track so I got to hear his car running all night long..his kids used to fly up and down the road on 4 wheelers with no mufflers...they moved in and acted like the whole community was beneath them...and his wife comes unglued every time I shoot my .22

But no way would I trade it for town living ...

[davischevy]

My place is so boring.

[special-K]

Originally Posted by davischevy

My place is so boring.

Time to stir things up. Sometimes, if the neighbors can't act poorly it's up to you to be that guy

[68Timber]

I forgot to ask my wife last weekend how it started with our neighbor when we first bought this house. We bought it in 2007. It was built in 1970 and I guess it might have been the stuff back then, but that was a long time ago. Wifey had found it online and emailed it to me, that started us house shopping, but we circled back and bought it. To a couple of 80's kids, it had the vibe we remembered from back when. A good friend helped up move in, he started singing The Brady Bunch every time we pulled up with the U-Haul full.

So, the next door neighbor. I'll give her name since the story has a happy ending. Jean introduced herself shortly after we moved in. She'd been there since the neighborhood was new. Back then, she was the secretary to the State Attorney General? Or some similar state bigwig. An Air Force Captain owned our house and a doctor owned the house across the street, according to Jean. Or maybe it was vice versa. Anyway, she had a way of telling it to let you know she knew you weren't a doctor or a captain and you sucked. It was Ok. She was elderly and lived alone and money had long since moved out this area. Wifey cooked brownies or some kind of treat for her after we got set up, I smiled and waved at her but kept my distance, but otherwise we didn't engage Jean further. She found us.

[Keith Seymore]

We live in relative seclusion (that’s not accidental) but I can still play along –

The lady to the south of us was elderly, mostly blind but sharp as a tack.

I came home from work one day to find that someone was clearing the woods and brush between our two houses, including cutting down trees on my side of the property line.

Naturally, I was fit to be tied. I ran into the house all hot and bothered and asked my wife if she knew what was going on. She didn’t, but pursuaded me to wait and let her handle it.

My wife baked some cookies and we went to see the neighbor later that evening. We sat at her table and had tea and the cookies, she showed us around her home (a charming 1960’s vintage log cabin that she and her husband built) and generally had a nice social visit.

After about 45 minutes my wife said “hey – you know, we saw some activity down by the road today. What’s going on there?”

The lady replied “Oh – it was looking pretty junky to me.** When my husband and I owned all this property we kept it so neat, so I called my guy and had him start cleaning it up”.

My wife said “well, that’s very nice, but some people might prefer the woods there, as sort of a buffer, and a more natural appearance”.

The lady said “oh! Right! Well – I’ll call my guy and have him stop!”

That was it. Problem solved.



K

**?? Keep in mind she was legally blind...

[Keith Seymore]

She passed away about a year after that. The house sat vacant for a couple years and then a husband and wife our age bought it. They like live music and have converted their garage into a little studio/performance area, which is fine (we live within walking distance of one of the major outdoor venues in the area). We don’t visit much but I get the impression they would do anything for us that we need, and we would do the same (in fact, they do let us park in their driveway when the road is closed, or when our driveway is blocked by fallen trees).

K

[Keith Seymore]

Ok – so, to the north:

When we first moved in (8 years ago) there was no activity to the north. Near as we could figure (at the time) it was an elderly, infirm woman and a younger also infirm woman. No male presence, except for this:





That was the view when I opened the back door of my shop. It was like opening a wardrobe into Narnia or something. I wasn’t really sure what to make of it, but those are certainly (mostly) Pontiac parts.

After we had lived there for a short time my wife and I went out to dinner. While we were out the kids called and said “…there is SOMETHING going on. There are police everywhere, and helicopters and searchlights.” About that time an officer came to the door and said that they were conducting a man hunt and would need to search the property. We asked if we needed to come straight home but the officer said as long as the kids stayed inside (with the doors locked) they would be fine.

A couple years passed and we never heard anything about that. Finally, one evening, we were at a neighborhood party and met a local officer. He asked where we lived and, when we told him, he said “oh – yeah, we had a man hunt there a while back”. I said “yes – you did! Tell me about that!”.

He shared they were picking up a guy for running a chop shop (!) and writing bad checks, and he ran. They caught him and he was locked up for a couple years.

Sure enough, shortly after that I start to see a guy next door. Moving stuff around and junky cars coming and going. He’s been back ever since.

Turns out he is a nice enough guy. Very industrious – he’s since built a new barn and is moving stuff inside, piecing cars and trucks back together into completed vehicles, etc. He’s even advocated for me when they were redoing the ditches and managed to save my culvert from being torn out while I was away.

But – not much that happens on my side of the fence escapes his attention. I haven’t shown him around in my garages and I do sleep with one eye open.

K

[special-K]

I remember you showing that building and parts in the past. I look and wonder if everything is outside and the building is empty. I try to have shelter for everything I own, but my property is small. I see people around here who leave stuff out to ruin when they have a place to put it out of the weather. I don't get it, they just have to do it! I see mowers left out all winter and I know they have room in a shed. Then they're out there fighting to get it running in Spring once the grass needs cut. The people behind me pile stuff in the front, especially up against my fence. They are off the road behind me so the public doesn't see it, but that is what they see when they look out their front windows. Their land goes way back into the woods. They pull up to the door across the yard to carry groceries in. People are different, I know. Right now, the inflatable swimming pool they set up in the front yard near the end of the summer is still sitting there with water in it. I don't let them bother me. But it's something to tell here. They used it a couple times, nothing but joyful sounds coming from over there, and it will probably be junk by next summer. It's not like they have a lot of money to keep buying stuff. I see rich people treat their possessions that way, like they know they can always buy another, and that bothers me more. Waste not want not. Whatever you have, you should take care of is my creedo. If you care so little about it give it to someone who will appreciate it. That's what I do. It's not about money

I have my junk... truck stuff, building materials, const. equipt., But I have a thing about keeping all that in the lower rear corner. I also have a thing about not leaving things out front. I see people pile stuff in their front yard and they have a huge back yard. Like it's all laying where it was unloaded.

[flashed]

Right now I have trucks and parts all over my front and side yard . I need to get the trucks moved into the pasture until I can get around to restoring them . Parts need to be sorted and put away as well . I'm off the road on acreage so nobody but me sees it . But I hate mowing around trucks and just having my yard look bad . I'm hoping during the holidays I can get some cleaning up done.

[special-K]

Usually about twice a year I go out to do some work around here and next thing I know I'm putting things away that have piled up over winter and by the end of summer. That usually leads to straightening up the buildings from what did make it there but just stuffed in. Anyone who stays busy at home fixing and making things will end up with a messy situation. It's what you do about it that makes a difference. Just takes periodic management. Believe me, my yard is no suburban fantasy. I even like a bit of the Dogpatch vibe. It's called "keeping after things". I'll look at something sitting out for months and one day find myself wondering why I haven't done anything about it, then do something about it. Life has us (me) busy where we (I) have a lot to deal with and it's all hard to keep track of. But as long as you keep knocking something down it won't get too out of hand

[1976gmc20]

I've got my junk pile but most of it is all over just off one corner of my "yard" - my "yard" being an oval of approximately an acre that I keep mowed to the edge of the forest. Most of it is contained in an old pickup bed trailer that is itself basically junk. But people continually remark how nice our place looks from the outside. We've done a lot of fuel mitigation that makes the adjoining 100 feet or so of forest look like a park.

Well, also there is the old parts tractor and another little 2 wheel trailer down by the driveway near the big slash pile by the county road. And I've got a bunch of old 6x8 timbers on and off a tandem trailer across the road from the barn (partly made from some of those timbers). But you wouldn't notice those much now because there is a semi-load of logs there stacked up about 10-12' high I'm hoping to take three or four winters to cut and burn all of those

[68Timber]

I got to talk to wifey a minute today, there wasn't much clue to what was coming. We have a privacy fence in the backyard, and balls inevitably went over. It was awkward retrieving them because she wasn't friendly at all, but otherwise everything seemed OK.

I bought and fixed up a 94 GMC with my daughter, she wanted a truck for her first ride. We bought it and started on it before she got her license, so she got to learn to drive on her truck. We'd go practice an hour or so most evenings after she got her permit. It was fall and Jean had her yard done and they'd bagged the leaves/clippings and put them on the curb. But the bag fell in the street. It was on the property line between our two houses. And my daughter was parking the truck at the curb after practicing driving and accidentally got too close and ran over the bag. It didn't break it, but she did clip it. It was really weird because Jean was in my face the moment I opened the passenger side door yelling at me.
"You ran over my clippings!"
"Sorry about that, my daughter has her learners permit and she's learning to drive."
"You ran over my clippings!" This floored me because I'm still standing in the passenger side door I just opened and got out of...
"Jean I didn't run over anything, my daughter is learning to drive..."
"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN!" I'm kinda shocked into silence now but still couldn't see the next one coming.
"We've talked about you at the luncheon with my friends, AND YOU'RE A BIGAMIST!"

My shocked silence is over and my next comment will later embarrass my wife in court.
"Is that what you biddies say about me when you get together?" I wasn't proud of what I said but this woman is insulting me in front of my teen daughter, who is now amused and smirking at little, because she saw my switch flip. I guess Jean saw it too, because that wound up the first run in. I'm sure if I asked my daughter about it she'd remember more but that was the meat of it. I had to go inside and google 'bigamist', I wasn't exactly sure what it meant and still don't know why she "they" said that about me.
At least now I knew Jean loved me.

[special-K]

Well, how many wives do you have anyway? Of all the things they could claim you are you'd think they could at least come up with something that could somehow remotely be applied to your actions. She might as well have said tghey think you are Chinese. Sounds like you don't even know the what real problem they have with you is yet.

[1976gmc20]

Let me guess ... Jean is 40 +/- and divorced

She is also bat-sh1t crazy but then I repeat myself.

[davischevy]

Do we allow bigamist's here?

[special-K]

Hey Timber, got any extras? I'm fresh out, could use a good one. In case you are stingy with them, bear in mind I do have goats to trade

[davischevy]

Tim, I saw your sign posted at Walmart.

[special-K]

Thanks for reminding me. I also have a pretty good selection of boats w/motor to trade, but she must meet the other requirements to qualify. One boat even comes with the woman. It was the only place she had to go when I got rid of her for not meeting the other requirements