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Across the Fence:  I feel like a bit of a schmuck, but...  |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
 Posted - Nov 13 2007 : 08:32:26 AM
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I just spoke to our little City office because the new family that moved in two doors up, has somewhat violated our peaceful little neighborhood by letting their son drive a 4 wheeler all over tarnation all weekend long.
I know he's a boy--he's just a "kid", meaning that he doesn't always think... But, we had just gotten home from a funeral, and I kept hearing this awful sound, and Rose, our german shepherd dog, kept hiding out in the bathroom, like it was storming....I looked out the kitchen window to see this kid tearing up the woods and the creek bed, on our lower property and the neighbors lower properties, and on the street, riding this giant 4 wheeler, popping wheelies--without a helmet--and creating an all around muddy mess, plus just the NOISE. We live in a really quiet neighborhood that was built from 1900 to 1960. We have nice long lots, and they do connect to a stream and wooded area, but it's not like it's a 100 acre farm on each lot, or anything. So, I let it go on all afternoon until I saw him actually on our property near our firepit, and I called in my skinny little husband. My husband went down and told him not to ride in the creekbed or in the woods anymore--or on the street. He told him to ride in his yard, so he did so---all day Sunday.
We really love our neighborhood--everyone is average age 80, except for us and this new family, and we all try to really respect one anothers space and quality of life--afterall, we moved to this neighborhood for the quiet, dead end street and the lots with the woods. Our neighborhood was built for returning GI's from WWI and WWII, so it was one of the first "suburban" neighborhoods around our town--we are 20 minutes from downtown Cincinnati, on what used to be the trolley line, so it's pretty urban, still. We have participated in clean ups at the creek bed, and have seen a great increase in wildlife in the lower portions of our land (hawks built a nest this year), and we would like to maintain that.
So, should I feel like a jerk, or what? I mean, should we have spoken to his parents first, or not? They seem a little "hicky", so I don't want to start any kindof confrontation between neighbors, but to that end, they also seem like the kindof folks who would sue us if he ran into the tree in our front yard, or flew off the back of it and hit our fire pit (in our yard)....
"She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
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Tina Michelle
True Blue Farmgirl
6948 Posts
Tina
sunshine state
FL
USA
6948 Posts |
Posted - Nov 13 2007 : 08:43:42 AM
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nope, you did nothing wrong. and I actually say "go for it"... too often parents let their kids run rampant, and all the hard work of others that are trying to preserve pristine wildlife areas go to pot because no one took a stand.good for you.
~Seize the Day! Live, Love, Laugh~
visit me at:
http://gardengoose.blogspot.com/
and at www.stliving.net
you can also check out my etsy shops at:http://GardenGooseGifts.etsy.com |
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GaiasRose
True Blue Farmgirl
2552 Posts
Tasha-Rose
St. Paul
Minnesota
2552 Posts |
Posted - Nov 13 2007 : 08:56:52 AM
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where our land is situated, we are land locked. The neighbor to our south is a rental home and we have seen two renters come thru since we have lived here (almost three years). the first renter was a lot like that. Their kids (like 6 of them all boys!) would ride mini dirt bikes all the way up through to our property and then sometimes try to go into our back field! Once I was laying Zoe down to nap (she was tiny at this point) and all of a sudden I heard screaming and swearing. Two of the boys were in MY YARD fighting and swearing at each other over a bicycle. You better believe I ran down and stopped them and told them to get and that they'd better watch their mouths. Rob went and talked to the parents that night and they didn't give a hoot. We eventually had to contact the land owner and also the DNR (seperate issue...they liked to burn their garbage.) and they ended up getting booted. I hear the house was totally trashed after they left.
~*~Brightest Blessings~*~
Tasha-Rose
Blogs: http://gaiarose.wordpress.com
http://womonandsprout.wordpress.com
http://youtube.com/profile?user=GaiasRose
Homepage:
http://ForestFaeries.etsy.com
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Edited by - GaiasRose on Nov 13 2007 09:00:22 AM |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Nov 13 2007 : 09:12:29 AM
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I guess I'm alright then--you just don't KNOW people anymore, and I'm always hesitant to start any trouble, especially with younger people...but then, I get mad, and well...why should I have to live differently because someone else is stupid? I didn't want to tell him about wildlife, because I figured he'd get a gun and go back there and start killing them!
And that's the thing, Tasha...this house has ALWAYS attracted trouble...do you believe a house can have bad karma?
When I first moved in 10 years ago, it was trashed, and a rental, and the owners lived many counties away, and let their bummed out kids live there when they lost jobs, or what have you. One Christmas day, I heard yelling--our elderly neighbor was screaming at this african american guy getting out of a cadillac, "I know what you do, I know you sell drugs and that you abuse those kids...you think I'm dumb, but I'm not...and so the guy I was dating at that time went out to "assist" and came running back in yelling "call 911, he just pulled a rifle out his trunk and told her if she didn't stop harpin' he was going to shoot her!!!!" She didn't, but he didn't (shoot) either, but OH MY GOSH!!!! At one time, the family renting didn't even have a working toilet inside, and went OUTSIDE, but not in an outhouse 
They moved, the house sold for next to nothing, and some man gutted it and fixed it up--a guy bought it, and he ended up losing the house to foreclosure, so it went to auction. This guy just flipped it and now these folks bought it from him.
"She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
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Mumof3
True Blue Farmgirl
3890 Posts
Karin
Ellenwood
GA
USA
3890 Posts |
Posted - Nov 13 2007 : 10:38:31 AM
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Jonni- If the boy is old enough to drive a four-wheeler, he is old enough to be told the rules and to honor them. You did absolutely the right thing. Maybe you and your husband could include him the next time you clean up the creek bed and surrounding woods and point out the benefits of having done so. Perhaps with a vested interest, he will learn the reason you are trying so hard to protect that area.
Hang in there. I think he needs some guidance.
Karin
Wherever you go, there you are.
www.madrekarin.blogspot.com |
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DaisyFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
1646 Posts
Diane
Victoria
BC
Canada
1646 Posts |
Posted - Nov 13 2007 : 11:20:31 AM
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I always figure you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar so I think you might gain better ground by befriending this boy. (Please don't misunderstand, I totally agree with what you did).
But I wholeheartedly agree with Karin. Maybe if you or your dh were to make friendly with this boy, it would be a great opportunity to provide him with good lessons about our fragile environment, etc. Wave to him if you see him and maybe tell him he's got a really cool 4 wheeler and maybe he could use it to help you haul stuff out of the creek? And then proceed to show him your hawk's nest and why these things are so important...a great opportunity to teach him things he's never had pointed out to him. Perhaps a negative could be turned into a positive?
Di
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Amie C.
True Blue Farmgirl
2099 Posts
Finger Lakes Region
NY
2099 Posts |
Posted - Nov 13 2007 : 11:50:32 AM
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I don't know about bad karma, but there are some houses that definitely seem to attract a long line of rotten landlords. And you're right, you never can be sure what kind of people you're dealing with. (We actually had a very scary murder in my neighborhood this fall involving a rental property with an absentee landlord and a woman who knocked on the door to complain.)
ATVs are a weird issue. Does your local government have any laws about where they can be ridden and what vehicular laws they need to follow? That might give you some grounds to stand on if you need to speak to the boy again or approach his parents.
I hope he turns out to be basically a good kid. It would be nice if you could be neighborly. |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Nov 13 2007 : 12:41:36 PM
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Thanks, all.
I think it would be wise if my husband and I introduced ourselves and let his parents know that we're simply concerned. Apparently, he just got the thing a couple of weeks ago, and yes, there are zoing issues--he's not allowed to drive one on the street, or in his (or anyone else's yard), but that doesn't stop folks from doing all kinds of other zoning offenses....
I would like to get him involved in clean up--that 4 wheeler would come in handy after early spring flooding to clean up the banks, hauling stuff!
I was hesitant to talk with him about the wildlife because I just don't know him, and don't want him to go down there with a bb gun or whatever. I would feel TERRIBLE about that.
Thanks, and I think I'll make sure we show interest in him--we're not bad folks, just concerned.
"She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
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Across the Fence: I feel like a bit of a schmuck, but... |
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I feel like a bit of a schmuck, but...
