Do the "ornaments" in your neighbour’s yard drive you nuts?
For example, I am just about to bring home this beautiful old Minneapolis Moline plow for display in my yard.
In my humble opinion, it’s a thing of beauty, a work of art, and a connection to a hard-working, productive and much more simpler time on this planet.
Seeing it not only takes me back to what I remember as a more peaceful, neighbourly world, but also back to a place very close to my heart — my dad’s hardware store, car and Minneapolis Moline dealership in my hometown of Killarney.
So this plow is in my blood. But should it be in my yard? Yes. Not sitting with grass growing through it like the other two old farm implements I currently have here, but cleaned up, painted their original colours and featured on display.
The plan is to create a good sized triangle in the corner of my yard with some sort of border I haven’t decided on yet and line it with landscape fabric. Then, I will fill that with river rock or something and place the restored implements within. Who knows, I might also feature an old well pump or two along with them.
I can see it now, some potted plants on them perhaps, those cheerful old farm-implement-colours adding a bright spot on a dull day.
Way too much of this history has gone to the scrap yards.
If my neighbours, whom I love deeply, don’t like my idea, I’ll fire my potato gun at them all night long — for weeks. Do I have to say I’m kidding?
Of course, unless your home is totally isolated, like on a remote farm somewhere (paradise), one has to be cognizant of the impact the contents his or her yard may have on the neighbours’ happiness and property value.
So what is inappropriate? Well for starters, anything that breaks the bylaws of whatever community they reside in. That one’s pretty simple.
But then individuality and taste step in, which brings me to the question: how many of you have a yard next door "decorated" in a manner that irritates the bejeebers out of you?
What to do about it? If they’re not breaking any bylaws, the answer just may be a GoFundMe page, proceeds going to build a Trump-type wall. Out of sight, out of mind, as opposed to driving you out of your mind.
Definitely a conundrum. If the local bylaws and your finances allow you to build a tall enough fence, that may just be the answer.
One scenario that would drive me a little more batty than I already am, is a yard that falls within local code but is unkempt, messy and even slobbish. Broken bikes lying around, broken eavestrough hanging down, smelly doggy doo everywhere, while I keep my yard clean, mowed, uncluttered and inoffensive to all.
I wouldn’t be all that pleased about living up close and personal to a yard full of those tchotchke gnomes and little statues either, especially if they’re staring at my house. What if they have a hidden camera in there, videoing my every move and putting it on Facebook? It’s a jungle out there.
And those of you living next to a hoarder that just won’t comply, I’m sending soothing prayers to you as we speak. Unless they’re holding old cars, because that is NOT hoarding, ever.
And sometimes, on a lazy day, it’s fun to just drive up and down city streets looking for eyesore properties that would drive any stressed out neighbour to resort to the four letter word that most applies to that predicament.
MOVE!
Have a great long weekend.
Comments or feedback, love to hear from you!
lmustard1948@gmail.com
