Over Fence

Over The Fence

“This isn’t over yet.”

I heard no response from my husband, as we had agreed upon. Luckily, he has very little hearing left, so he doesn’t hear the neighbors when they complain. And do they complain!

They believe for some reason that he has control over the wind and can prevent snow blowing into their back yard when he clears snow with his snowblower. He will shovel if there isn’t much or use his modified leaf blower if it’s light, but at 75 he’s got problems with his back and knee.

When he came back in, I looked at him questioningly.

“They were going on about something, but I couldn’t hear them, so I just kept going,” he said to my silent question.

The feud between us started about a year after we moved in. At their request, I allowed her to alter the fence between us, which we own, to help her curb her dog. The result was hideous! Different colors and lengths. That was my inch. Of course, they took a mile. We agree on very little and so we now ignore them as much as possible.

“Do you know what she looks like?” I asked my husband once. He shrugged.

As for me, she’s never come out of the shadows of the trees in her yard for me to see.

To be honest, what there is between us will probably never be over until we either move or push up daisies. I hope the new owners of this pretty little house are prepared for nitpicking and favors that only benefit the neighbors.

“Okay, don’t tell me, tell them!” is our catchphrase, so we just don’t talk about them at all. You always see them at a window checking on us just to make sure.