My neighbor's farm

As many of you know, we have a peacock who comes over to visit us regularly. I sometimes worry that he comes over because he isn't being fed enough over there. Of course, he could just be greedy, I guess. He looks healthy to me (like I'm a peacock expert), but when I fed him today (birdseed) he ate every single seed out there. I also feel bad for him being out in the cold (we have snow flurries this morning). The farmer is quite elderly, but I think he has children that live nearby and help out sometimes. There are quite a few sheep out in the pasture, but there used to be some donkeys, too- they looked a bit neglected (hooves overgrown) and I heard that's why they were sold. There is another peacock over there who doesn't come over here, so he must be eating something. There used to be a few peahens, but I haven't seen any of them in a while. I don't know if they were sold or got eaten by the fox I sometimes see out in the pasture. We really enjoy having that farm next to us- our back yard feels huge, because the pasture is just on the other side of our fence. It's fun to watch the sheep out there and have the peafowl visit. I know it won't be there forever- I just hope it doesn't become houses eventually. Considering how limited our housing market is here in Small College Town, I can't see much of a market for MORE houses, but you never know.

Talk of the town

Well, we are not the talk of the town, but certainly the neighborhood. The obnoxious neighbors returned on Sunday and called to thank us for taking in the trash can (although I suspect that wasn't the motivation for calling), say they were sorry to see the "for sale" sign in our yard, and (sort of ) invite D over for their daughter's birthday party today (less than 48 hours notice). This was all in a voicemail, since we didn't get the phone in time. I finally talked to her yesterday and of course, she wanted to know about the sign and whatever else I would tell her. "Have you had any lookers yet?" Ugh. I'm also irritated about the birthday thing- I saw other parents dropping off kids and I suspect that they weren't just called on Sunday evening, since they all had gifts. D has a tummy ache thing, so I had a great excuse for her to skip it. I find it so insulting to get that sort of invitation- I'd rather not be invited than to be a last-minute "oh, I guess we better invite them" invite. It's not like our kids are great friends or anything.

We've had lots of inquiries from neighbors about the yard sign and we've reassured them that we did indeed get tenure and are just looking to move to the next neighborhood. It's kind of funny, because we don't really interact with our neighbors that much- just the occasional chat at the mailbox or wave. Yet, they all say that they don't want us to leave. I guess we are good neighbors in that we are quiet, don't have people over or parties, keep our yard in generally good condition, and are friendly. You never know who might move in, I guess! We still haven't even scheduled a showing, so we may not be going anywhere and that's fine, too.

Love thy neighbor

I just have to share an email I found this morning when I woke up. Let me start by explaining the history. These neighbors moved in next door a year after we bought our house (we watched their house get built). The have family in neighboring states and often leave town over the summer and at holidays. They've asked us to bring in mail and water plants in the past, and we even had them cat sit once or twice. More recently, they have just asked us to bring their trash can after the garbage is picked up. This is not a big deal. We live next door and it's just not a big chore. HOWEVER, the way that they ask us for favors is really obnoxious. They stop by first thing in the morning, as they are leaving, to ask us to take them in. One time, they left a note on our front door- which blew off and D found on the ground. They needed help moving a piano a few weeks ago and emailed H, then called, and even stopped by, so H felt he couldn't refuse. So this morning, I find this little gem:

Timestamp: July 3, 11:41 PM

Subject: (no subject)

(sent to both mine and H's email addresses)

Dear H and Addy:

I am writing to let you know that we are heading out of town for vacation early Friday morning (July 4).  Would you be willing to take our trash can and recycling bin around to the back of our house in the afternoon? 

We’ll be away until July 20 and would also appreciate your keeping a casual eye on our place.  I should also let you know that we’ve cancelled our landline and can now be reached at either (xxx) xxx-xxxx (wife’s cell) or (xxx) xxx-xxxx (my cell).

Hope you have a happy Fourth of July and look forward to seeing you.

Sincerely,

Neighbor

I keep wondering what would happen if we were already out of town (since they never bother to check). Also- they NEVER thank us when they return.