Ok, here's what's got my ire up this month: Leaf-blowing fiends. Although the leaves are just beginning to show their true colors, the leaf-blowing folks are out in full force. Even here is suburbia -- under the cover of many oaks, shrubs and plants -- when you'd think people would just clean out their gutters and gardens and relax before the leaves really start.
Every year, my "neighbor" across the road has to be gently reminded to keep his leaves on his own side. For the record, he has twice the acreage that I have. This gentle reminder has generally gone over very well as I've always spoken to the landscapers who have done all the work for him. A "hey, would you mind not blowing the leaves on my side? I have tons of my own leaves to deal with." The landscapers usually laugh when they look at my wooded side lot and say, hey no problem. And my life was consumed with dealing with my own leaf bounty.
In the past, I also naively added, "I'm planting daffodils/day lilies/ferns there". I say, naively, because although I spent countless hopeful hours planting bulbs, plants, and rhizomes, people continue to let their dogs void on the exact space I plant on the side of my property, thus obliterating any chance of my plants living. People also enjoy littering there and my neighbor gets a special thrill out of leaf blowing the road's dirt (and leaves) onto my side.
So, I've given up planting and now there is nice crop of invasive grass, leaves, and sticks (thanks to my neighbor). You see, this year, the bloke had to blow the leaves himself. The economic downturn has arrived at my door. And where should he put the leaves and road dirt? Why, on my property of course. So when I stopped watering my plants with my water jug from my rainbarrel (ok, I'm trying to recycle here!) and naively went over to ask him to stop blowing on my property, he apparently already had his knickers in a sizable twist and my request pushed him over the edge.
First, he said it wasn't my property, it was the town's. Then, he immediately put his blower back on before I could respond and turned his back on me. Cars were in the road, so I went to my side, let the car pass, and returned to the middle of the road and waited for my very own neighbor to shut himself off. He did. I said that he should just blow his leaves on his own side. (Reminder: twice the acreage I have.) He said, he has been "doing me a favor" by picking up sticks in the road from my trees (not his trees, mind you, they're all mine) and putting them off the road (on my side). Again, when I tried to respond, he put the blower on.
He stopped blowing long enough to say something about my not knowing zoning rules. (Which apparently allow neighbors such as himself to not only blow leaves onto the town's property, but also onto mine.) I quickly chimed in before the blower could be redeployed that I knew zoning law well as I had worked for a municipality. He responded, quite repetitively I thought, "Good for you! Good for you! Great for you!!" I said, "thank you".
Then, he said, (wait for it): "You are harassing me!" I said, probably in the way that teachers speak to recalcitrant second graders, "No, but you should keep your leaves on your own side; and I'll keep my leaves on my side." He said that this was harassment and that he should call the police. He was going to call the police! I said, "Fine, call the police. Please, do call them." I turned and left the road. He then shouted triumphantly, "So you're leaving?!"
I said, "No, I'm going to finish watering my plants until the police come. I"ll be right out front when they get here." He said, "You water your plants with a three gallon jug?" I responded that, "Yes, in fact, I do. And I'll be right there in full sight when the police arrive."
Moments after, he put his phone away and shut off his blower. He ambled over to his black Armageddon SUV and drove down the road. Unfortunately, he left his house in the same spot. Oddly, the police never arrived. And today, more leaves started to fall...
