Like said, I wasn't really worried about the whole Property Schmroperty thing. So we had to adjust our view of what we own... Big deal! I mean... Life is about change, right?
Then I found out about the fence.
Apparently she wasn't just laying out the rope to help me understand the lay of the land. According to Tina, [Name of One-Hit-Wonder-Creating-Neighbor Here] didn't like looking at our trash can and so had decided to build a fence out of cedar poles.
Normally, this would be fine. But I didn't like the idea because our house is set right up against the property line. Before "The Great Purge" there had been plenty of tree-cover between our houses. And, even though our house was very close to the property line, there was an illusion of space. Now that she had cut all the cedar off of her land, the privacy was gone and she felt like she needed a fence!
Personally, I don't think it has jack-shit to do with our trash-can. The previous owners left their trash can in the same place and it didn't seem to bother her. No, I'm thinking it might have more to do with the original comments regarding the cutting of wood on our property.
Oh and let's talk about cutting wood for a minute. At one point, when we first moved in, our would-be "nature lover" asked us if we might ask our children to play quieter in the back-yard because she was worried the noise would bother the foxes who lived back there. She made a specific reference to the wonderful environment the foxes had back there.
Fast-forward to last month and she's got some very happy illegal immigrants clear-cutting everything that isn't an oak. Suddenly the little fox-sanctuary has turned into savannah. Oh.. and I didn't once hear her ask the workers if they might turn the volume down on their chain-saws.
So now fast-forward another month. Suddenly we have THE FENCE. Good God, I can't wait to get a digital camera. I'm gonna have to post some pics of this freaking monstrosity. At first she volunteered to put the uglier side of the fence facing her property. I imagine that the guy who was coordinating the build talked her out of it. Now we've got this 60 foot section of fence between our two houses. It doesn't attach to anything. It's just this partition so that she supposedly doesn't have to look at our trash cans.
The very trash cans that Tina now wants to keep out in the middle of the yard on the other side of the house!
Oh and the foxes? Apparently they've moved on to some other sanctuary. You gotta love it.
Showing posts with label neighborhood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label neighborhood. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Monday, November 15, 2004
Property Schmroperty
One of the reasons Tina and I picked this house was because we loved the view from the deck. Basically, the back of the house is just at the edge of a gradually sloping cliff which forms one wall of a small canyon. The creek at the bottom runs down to the lake, which is about a quarter mile from our house
Our land extends down to the center of that creek. I was under the impression I understood exactly how our land was laid out in relation to our house until a couple months ago, when I noticed our neighbor (on the right side as you face the street... she's a former member of a band that put out a one hit wonder back in the 80's...) laying out a nylon rope along the property line between our 2 houses.
"Whacha doin [Name of One-Hit-Wonder-Creating-Neighbor Here] ?", I asked.
"Well, I was talking to your kids the other day and they said that you and Tina were concerned that someone was cutting wood on your property. I've been cutting wood, but I can assure you, it's not on YOUR property..."
"Hmmm... Yeah... well I don't know if it was you or not. We've been finding these piles of cut cedar down there by the creek. We assumed it was you, since you've been cutting your own property..."
"Yeah but see, that's just it. I am cutting my property! That's why I'm laying out this rope. I want you to see how the property line goes all the way from the street, down to the creek. Do you want to see it?" At this point, I was getting slightly irritated. I had been washing my motorcycle when I first noticed her, and while I was interested in what she was doing, I didn't really want to break out the survey gear and walk the line with her.
Nevertheless, I was wondering where her head was at and so I agreed to lay the rope out with her. As we were making our way down the cliff, she kept wanting to bring the rope over to the right. I could see that each of the little piles of cut wood were falling on "her side" of the line as we cut diagonally across what I had been thinking of as my property. Once we got down to the creek, I finally said something.
"[Name of One-Hit-Wonder-Creating-Neighbor Here] This doesn't make any sense. You've cut this line right across our back yard. It seems like you've got it ending up at the other side of our property. "
She replied "No no... you see... the property line cuts straight back from the street, and your house is set at an angle to the lines of the rectangle. I thought the same thing when I first moved in and only later learned how it all lays out." At this point, I was getting the nagging feeling that she was right, but I was having a hard time believing it. So I went inside and broke out the survey. After I lined things up, it definitely appeared that she was correct. Tina and I were going to have to adjust our thoughts about what was ours and what was not.
I was fine w/that until I learned about the fence...
Our land extends down to the center of that creek. I was under the impression I understood exactly how our land was laid out in relation to our house until a couple months ago, when I noticed our neighbor (on the right side as you face the street... she's a former member of a band that put out a one hit wonder back in the 80's...) laying out a nylon rope along the property line between our 2 houses.
"Whacha doin [Name of One-Hit-Wonder-Creating-Neighbor Here] ?", I asked.
"Well, I was talking to your kids the other day and they said that you and Tina were concerned that someone was cutting wood on your property. I've been cutting wood, but I can assure you, it's not on YOUR property..."
"Hmmm... Yeah... well I don't know if it was you or not. We've been finding these piles of cut cedar down there by the creek. We assumed it was you, since you've been cutting your own property..."
"Yeah but see, that's just it. I am cutting my property! That's why I'm laying out this rope. I want you to see how the property line goes all the way from the street, down to the creek. Do you want to see it?" At this point, I was getting slightly irritated. I had been washing my motorcycle when I first noticed her, and while I was interested in what she was doing, I didn't really want to break out the survey gear and walk the line with her.
Nevertheless, I was wondering where her head was at and so I agreed to lay the rope out with her. As we were making our way down the cliff, she kept wanting to bring the rope over to the right. I could see that each of the little piles of cut wood were falling on "her side" of the line as we cut diagonally across what I had been thinking of as my property. Once we got down to the creek, I finally said something.
"[Name of One-Hit-Wonder-Creating-Neighbor Here] This doesn't make any sense. You've cut this line right across our back yard. It seems like you've got it ending up at the other side of our property. "
She replied "No no... you see... the property line cuts straight back from the street, and your house is set at an angle to the lines of the rectangle. I thought the same thing when I first moved in and only later learned how it all lays out." At this point, I was getting the nagging feeling that she was right, but I was having a hard time believing it. So I went inside and broke out the survey. After I lined things up, it definitely appeared that she was correct. Tina and I were going to have to adjust our thoughts about what was ours and what was not.
I was fine w/that until I learned about the fence...
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