Strange Neighbors

You know after thinking about it, we really do have some strange neighbors. And some stranger ones that moved on. Most neighborhoods have one wacko. We've had so many I've lost count.

I live in an affluent community in a pretty nice neighborhood, not rich on my block but good incomes and homes. But a wacko magnet it is. Currently we have entertainment from the Vegans, the Flower Lady, the Musicians, the Cookie people, Grandma, the Newbies (who bought the Al Queda House), the Clampetts and the behind us people. This is on a short dead end street. And the recently departed, tear up the landscaping people, known as OHMYGOODNESS.

The spawn of the devil children seem to be made up of the Clampett ringleaders, the Vegans and the departed OHMYGOODNESS. When the OHMYGOODNESSES departed it took landscapers 2 days to put the $17,000.00 landscaping back in order and by the looks of it at quite a bit less cost- the plantings are not as lush as before. You might ask why that much money for landscaping on a street you claim is not rich. We asked the same question.

When we moved here for my son's schooling our new house had mature landscaping and we were busy people and paying for private school necessities. Well the middle bush in front of the porch died a few years in. I told my husband to paint it green and no one could tell from the street it was dead. He dug it up. Now we had a hole in the landscaping and there is nothing you can do with 40 year old shrubs that is going to look right. Then grandma started complaining about this fir tree on her side of our house. We know cause she talked real loud to everyone but us. Well it turns out the fir tree was on Grandma's property but the former owner of our house planted it. In a group effort we all got together and took down the tree. It truly was too big for the area and everyone was happy.

Now huge tree gone, hole in shrubs there and the place is looking crappy. My Punkin Head was now working for a landscaper and he and Big Daddy took out all the old stuff and picked nice but inexpensive border material and redid the front of the house, some modest planting-a new yard light from Costco-it looked okay. Next year we did the back yard which involved pulling up 20+hedge type trees, wrought iron fencing and cement type slabs. Well the garden games were on.

Now every ones' yards looked okay but ours. Now everyone was redoing their landscaping and yard lights. This was hilarious. The kicker was the OHMYGOODNESS house which had beautiful landscaping replaced in a ridiculous keep up with Joneses mentality. $17,000.00 dollars for landscaping on a small corner lot with a house worth under $200,000.00 with virtually no yard. I don't know who owns it now, I thought GMAC at one time. Whoever should just be grateful it has rained the last couple days on the new plantings and Big Daddy and GrrDog are watching out for them.

Only one neighborhood story per blog. Tomorrow the Plastic Flower Lady.