The American Heritage Dictionary defines the word as such:
fence (fěns) Pronunciation Key
n.
1. A structure serving as an enclosure, a barrier, or a boundary, usually made of posts or stakes joined together by boards, wire, or rails.
2. The art or sport of fencing.
Ironically, this post is kind of about both.
It was bound to happen. Living on West Drama Dr. for nearly a year surrounded by quite a few “challenging” personalities sprinkled with just enough sane folks to keep us honest. What happened? A tree almost fell.
Sunday and Monday we had a nasty storm that soaked us solid and then blew us around like the Big Bad Wolf himself. Many people lost trees. Hundreds lost power.
We were lucky on the first count but our neighbor, Sally, wasn’t. Her tree cracked a foot up from the ground and fell right over our brand new and very expensive fence. Fortunately, it was caught by another smaller tree before it broke through our fence but it was only going to be a matter of time before it finished it’s fall.
I called her Monday evening to let her know about the issue (from my cell phone because we still had no power). She said that once the winds died down, they would take a look at it. She was very casual about the whole thing so I didn’t want to make it a big deal even though I would have liked a more concrete answer.
Tuesday came and went with the tree only leaning further towards an impending fate. There was no movement on their behalf to fix the situation or to even contact me about their intention to do so. Wednesday, our lawn guy was out here mowing so I asked him to look at it. He said it was a very dead tree and could fall through the fence at any time. In his much more-expert-opinion than my own - it needed to be cut down and now. So I asked him to to do it.
Within hours of the tree being cut, I received an email from Sally at work (her boyfriend must have alerted her to the fix) saying that she had no idea it was such an “emergency” and that they were planning on getting to it over the weekend. She also added that if the fence had been broken, she could easily repair it with “a couple of 1×6’s and some black stain.”
Ummmmm…no thanks. The fence is brand spanking new and the ink is barely dry on the check I wrote to pay for it. I definitely don’t want her anywhere near it with a hammer. In my mind, the cost to cut the tree down was going to be far less than a fence repair so I opted for the cheaper fix. Call me crazy.
Well, now she’s sending emails all around the neighborhood and talking about calling a lawyer. She doesn’t think she should have to pay the bill because they were going to “get to it” (even though they never told me when) and because there was no damage - yet. She is saying that we trespassed on her property to cut the tree down so if she wanted to get technical, she could get us for that. And she’s really pissed that I don’t think she’s an expert freaking fence mender. What. The. Hell?
There’s more. So much more - like she wants to corner us with the witch and discuss how we should move the road and fix all of the neighborhood’s irrigation issues because we live on the top of the hill. She’s a first class nut job so I won’t bore you with all of the details of her rants and raves but I needed to vent.
And now I think I need a beer.
How do you deal with it?
Take your chain saw over and knock on the door. The fear she will show will be worth a couple of fences, and might get her off your back.
(Later, you tell the emailers you just needed to borrow a little oil.)
Neighbor drama! We’ve had our share in the past. Nothing lately. I have no advice, but I send you my sympathy.
We’ve got one funny neighbor that seems to have backed off. He and his wife want to control the way we landscape our front yard.
I haven’t had a crazy neighbor since I moved out of my mom’s house. And that guy wasn’t as crazy as he was just plain mean and abusive…to his wives (I think all told he had 3…we only knew 2) and his kids (all 5). Every time we finished mowing, he would come out and do his yard…and blew all the leaves and clippings onto our drive and our yard.
I have a bumper sticker on my car that says: “I LOVE MY NEIGHBORS”
KIDDING!!!!!!
I think we are destined to live in the middle of nowhere…but for for now we live on a busy street with neighbors all around. Crazy ones too! I think you were out of town when I posted this, but it’s a good story about my crazy neighbors.
http://fenicle.com/2007/03/29/neurotic-anal/
Your dictionary needs upsating.
A fence is also a purveyor of stolen goods!
Oh jeez. What a nut job. I would have cut that tree down too.
FWIW, last summer, two weeks after moving in to my new house, we got an anonymous letter in the mail from a neighbor about my about-to-be-erected fence. I just love it when neighbors can be soooooo un-neighborly.
Holy crap, I think we’re sisters!
I hope you got pictures. Lots of pictures. And print the e-mails, too.
And THEN have a beer.
I kept thinking if I moved away and had more land I could get away from some of the nut jobs around me. Guess that doesn’t matter hu? My neighbors are not irrational but more annoying. They have a little yippie dog that they tie to a rope and leave outside all day to bark. If that wasn’t enough they decided to get another one a few weeks ago! They didn’t pay any attention to the one they had! So now I have two yippers surrounding me.
I was not meant to live around people–I loathe the neighbors behind me and to the west (no, neither of those houses contain my parents, they’re to the east)
The others think this is fraternity row and not a neighborhood…after weeks of being woken up at three am with horns being honked and loud music and people partying OUTside (with many underage drink-and-drivers, as well), the landlady finally told them they’d get evicted if it happened again.
I’m biding my time. I really, really, really, really want them to go.
I’ll join you in a beer.
Hey, I’ve got one of those neighbors! I didn’t know there was a medical term for that condition though! Mine always has to have a problem with someone. Usually, she’s irritated and griping about at least one of her kids playmates and then also about some neighbor on our street. She’s called the cops on people speeding and spread false rumors many times. I wish I could say I’d escaped her wrath, but she’s done it to me before too. At least now I know that she does that to everyone,and it wasn’t just my family that was targeted. Still, I wish someone would show her how to get a life and let things go. Ugh!
Your neighbor is ridiculous for acting that way and should be thanking you for taking care of it. Had that tree fallen, you’d have been able to tag them with all the repair costs and someone could have been hurt. She’s got a lot of nerve!
Yes, we’ve got a nutty neighbor. And she’s from Spain so there has been cultural and language issues as well. We had a similar deal. We had a big dead tree that hung partly into her yard. We hired some guys to take it out and she wouldn’t let them in her yard to remove the debris. We said, okay, whatever. As they drove off, she ran after them and told them that if they didn’t clean up the debris, she was calling the police. Okay. They came back, but she wouldn’t let them in her yard. She made them jump the fence, throw the logs over into our yard and then haul them off.
But worse than that, one time she chased my tiny gentle little dog with her broom and I’ve had it in for her ever since. Mess with me, but don’t mess with my dog.
The neighbor on the other side only mows his yard about once a year after the HOA sends him a threatening letter.
How do I deal with them? I ignore them as best I can.
I would get an estimate from your fence company for the amount of the repair had it fallen. Then shove it in your neighbor’s mailbox or where ever you deem appropriate. Tell them that you actually saved them some money.
Oh how annoying! I totally wish I was one of your neighbors and we could plot against her! I hope you get this ironed out soon. And then it’s only a matter of time before one of these neighbors FINDS THIS BLOG!
Oh, the drama.
Ignore her. She sounds like all hot air blowing around trying to stir up trouble where there is none. Did you take photos of the falling tree and your fence?
I had to threaten my neighbor because she had a tree that was about to fall on my house. I called my insurance guy and he said that I was allowed by MD law to go onto her property and cut down the tree and send her the bill. I notified her of this. Fortunately I did not have to get too ugly because she did have it removed. We were pretty nervous for awhile though because it would have fallen through my son’s bedroom. Funny, with so much property to have so many problems with neighbors. I would have cut the tree too.
Oh, we have neighbors that will report you to the Home Owner’s Association for convenant violations in a flash.
Unbelievable! We have all sorts of drama in our neighborhood now, too. I find if I just ignore the loudest whiners they eventually move on. If you don’t respond to her lawyer threats and other screaming I’m sure she’ll move on to badger someone else. good luck!
OH GOD! What the hell is wrong with people? What the hell did she expect you to do?
DO NOT budge on that road issue. Do not let them win!!! YAYA!!
I have a doozy of a neighbor so I can totally relate to this. Let her get a lawyer if she wants one so badly, because any lawyer is going to tell you and her that if that tree was on your fence and your property, it’s your right to take care of it, especially with the very near possibility of it getting worse at any moment. I hate neighbors like that. I’d tape that bill to her forehead.