Saturday, November 14, 2009

Survey Says...


The survey is complete and verifies what we suspected. The neighbor to the west of us has encroached about 35 feet onto our land. The picture shows the tip of a survey stake and the brown sided building behind the pine tree which is on the lot line. Everyting to the right of it is on our land including a picnic table, stacks of lumber, tires, garbage, several boats and broken windows.

The survey was completed Thursday and we immediately began installing metal fence posts along the two north/south lines on either side of his 100x200 foot lot. About half way through his west boundary Sweetie began to sweat and feel weak. We took a break and he complained of a sore throat. By 4 p.m. he was in bed. He slept until 6 a.m. and woke up with the symptoms he's had the last two times he's had pneumonia. So off to the doctors we went. Three hours later we returned with two new medications and a refill.

That afternoon I went out to finish installing fence posts. As I approached the first north/south line (neighbor's easterly boundary) I saw the fence post were down and thrown into the brush. I'd come prepared with sledgehammer, twine, tape measure, orange flagging tape, etc. so I began re-installing the posts. A few minutes later here comes the neighbor - who we thought had gone to Texas for the winter.

"What are you doing? Keeping me in or out?" I said the survey had been completed and we'd begun installing the fence posts. I asked about his stuff on our land and he said he'd remove it "when he got around to it." He claimed he had run into the fence posts when he pulled in his drive the previous evening.

Hmmmm...kind of hard to run into eight fence posts with one pickup - unless you intended to take them all out.

During our conversation he said he knew he'd always parked on our land and had his wood supply dumped on our land. But, he felt sure his NORTH line was not correct and WE need to have the survey re-done.

He's here for our two week firearm deer season. I asked where he planned to hunt and he said, "On your land behind me, like I always have. Besides, you don't have it posted." We had planned to post once we knew for certain where the lines were. So this year we'll let his tradition continue and hope we're not shot by an angry drunk.

I continued to install fence posts - adding four additional ones to the line he had removed - and flagged the twine between the posts. As I was leaving his wood was delivered. Very loudly, he told the driver: "I have no where to put the wood because the neighbor's blocked my spot."

His spot?

I ignored the remark because I won't be baited by someone who has no respect for other people's land. The guy drinks every day and by 6p.m. if he's not incapable of standing and talking coherently, he's close to it. The next day he recalls nothing of what he's said.

Last night this neighborhood sounded like a Fourth of July celebration. Firecrackers, gunshots, yelling, tires squealing and door slamming when on until 4 a.m. With the leaves off the trees we and the neighbors can see one another and voices seem to carry further. There's been lots of activity behind us and to our south and plenty of inspections of the new fence line.

As Sweetie said, once again, the good old boys are not happy with us. If we'd had the survey done sooner the fence would have been up awhile so people could get used to the idea. I realize it was a shock for the neighbor to come barreling into this camp and discover we had made changes - mainly that he (and all his guests) could no longer park - or litter - on our land.

In this state you cannot discharge a firearm within 500 feet (I think) of an occupied residence but everyone in this neighborhood ignores it. NO ONE in the neighborhood is 500 feet from another dwelling. In fact, today, someone on the second road past us stepped out their door and shot a deer across the road from him - in the yard of a summer home. The road is a two track about 18 feet wide and most lots here (except our land) are 100x100 feet and most people own two lots.

So...we occupied ourselves by cleaning in the pole barn and planting 18 more red pine in the front yard. The Z-pac and Prednisone seem to have done the trick for Sweetie and the the temps have been 49-52 with no wind.

To some people we seem unreasonable. To us we're simply respecting our boundaries; caring for and nurturing our land and keeping it free of litter and junk.

9 comments:

Mike Yukon said...

It is a shame that you find a nice piece of land and then there always seems to be a moron close by. I have those problems also. All you can do is do your best to ignore them, live your life and it will be bearable soon.
Hey, where's all the snow?

HossBoss said...

Good fences make good neighbors. Stand your ground (or should I say STAKE your ground), you're in the right. I would also have a friendly chat with the local sheriff's office. By talking to them before you have a problem, you make a first impression on them that you wish to be a peaceful law-abiding citizen. That will be in your favor should the situation escalate with the neighbor.

2 Tramps said...

Hope Sweetie is feeling much better. We sure understand about the survey and boundary issues. We lost land once - had a survey done like you did after we purchased a place and wanted to fence. Our neighbor had been using a portion of our land and his neighbor had a portion of his and so on. We lost it to eminent domain - "The power to take private property for public use by a state, municipality, or private person or corporation". Hope you can keep yours - he sounds like a real jerk. Hunting season will be over soon and then you can post your land... And then you can post it again - those signs sure seem to disappear. We have had that happen at the cabin and we put them up again, over and over...

Mayberry said...

Don't really have too many problems like that 'round these parts, fortunately. Hope your problem gets solved. Hope Sweetie feels better.

Rhino said...

Sometimes you have to play on these peoples level,I would wait for hunting season to pass then burn your trash back in that section, if his shack burns down,oh well sorry about that...

Unknown said...

Sorry to hear about your neighbor problems. I would have to agree with WWRWH about having a chat with the local Johnny Law. If something were to happen, they will have had advance notice of "incidents".

Anonymous said...

I agree about haveing a conversation with the local law. The good old boys have always done things their way until somebody stands up to them.

I hope the fence stays up after it's installed. Good luck.

HermitJim said...

Ditto on the conversing with the local law guys! They want to be acknowledged as the "power holders" and the keepers of the "bad guy " list!

Hope everyone stays healthy at your place...and good luck!

Anonymous said...

Hope Sweetie is feeling better!

Last year an out-of-town neighbor who only came up during deer season, drove INTO our driveway, shot at the buck on our lawn (from his truck), within 15 feet of my house and missed. My Dad got his licence plate and told the local ranger - who said it was Dad's word against the neighbor's. Fine.

So this year, to keep the out-of-town hunters off our properties (ours and my parents) - my Dad simply went out and fired his .22 at his target off and on all day. Needless to say, the hunters behind us packed up and went home early without a deer. (We also posted signs).

If they'd respected our rights, we'd have respected theirs.

And BTW, another neighbor who is always polite, routinely hunts on our land with my permission, because he IS respectful. He ASKED, he calls before he comes here so I have time to put the animals away, and calls when he leaves so I know I can let the animals out again.