Half day schmaf day

[altivo]

I always think I will get lots of things done on Thursday afternoon because I get to leave work at 12:30. It never turns out that way, though.

There are distractions in the mail, invariably. The animals have to be taken care of and patted. Usually some computer distraction or other materializes. Before I know it, supper is already late and then it's bed time and all the "good stuff" I was going to do is still undone.

The Brit neighbors have a new thing. Goats. At least a dozen of them. They've put up a pen right in the area of their property that floods to a foot deep two or three times a year (because they cut down all the trees and let their horses trample the ground down good and hard. I'm sure those goats will be wandering over to our place soon enough, just like every other piece of livestock they've ever had. That includes dogs, cats, horses, chickens, turkeys, geese, rabbits, and children so far. There's no way the goats will be an exception. What they plan to do with a dozen goats I can't say. These are not dairy goats, but some small breed apparently.

On the other side, where long term neighbors moved out last fall, the house is undergoing major renovation I guess. New siding, roofing, windows, porch rails so far. A lot of noise and shouting, in Polish I think. Not a language you hear too often out here. I suspect the buyers took it as a speculative investment, and are "improving" it in the hope of selling it again at a much higher price. So far what I can see of the "improvements" is pretty ugly, which doesn't bode well for my compatibility with anyone who would buy the place...

The CD-R burning issue I had yesterday seems to have been resolved. I had used a CD-RW disk. When I tried a regular CD-R it worked fine. The sound issue has also been solved with a workaround. The driver bug was redirecting the sound to a dead mixer port. A small patch program run each time the system boots fixes that issue and the sound is fine now.

Can't stay awake much longer, have to be up early in the morning.

Comments

[avon-deer.livejournal.com]

That is quite an increadible story. Did it not occur to them to employ a lumberjack to do the job properly and avoid the danger of the tree falling on something. I'd never touch a tree unless I knew what I was doing.

You say these people are British? One wonders how they got permission to move to the US if they are missing that much between their ears.

[altivo]

Goodness! I've been saying rude things about "the Brit neighbors" for several years and you just noticed?

Yep, they came here from England in 2004 I think it was. He's some kind of machine engineer and at first was building custom machinery of some sort in his garage. Now he has a shop space somewhere else. They have been most amusing to watch, when they aren't irritating the hell out of me by letting their dogs rove all over the place and shit in my barn, breeding dozens of nuisance cats that wander all over, turning geese loose on the neighborhood, etc.

I think the wife has some money in her family. Her mother has been here visiting several times, and apparently lends or gives them money. I know the wife has a "horsey" background and at first was going to bring her horse here from her mother's place but I don't think she ever did. That would be very expensive, like buying a new car. Instead she went out and bought three more horses from a local auction. Those have been loose and wandering into our barn as well.

The husband is a dim bulb or at least an idiot savant. He buys all sorts of equipment, from old tractors to junk pickup trucks, plays with them for a while, and then lets them sit. Early on he rented a large tractor "to clear the land" (as if it needed clearing) and promptly knocked down one of our fences with it. He had no idea how to control the machine, and hadn't checked where his boundaries were either. This is typical.

He hates trees. Says they "breed mosquitoes." The previous owners had been cultivating trees as a wildlife sanctuary. He's been removing them for five years, with nasty impacts on drainage, erosion, and everything else. He builds fires to burn the debris, on windy days when there has been no rain for weeks, and is surprised when we complain that the sparks are blowing into our barn where the hay is stored. No small bonfires these, but roaring conflagrations with flames shooting 20m into the air.

This last winter I was rendered speechless by the discovery that he had been tapping his maple trees for sugar syrup. The wrong variety of maples at the wrong time of year... With the spiles inserted at the wrong angle, too.

I could continue this for pages, but you get the idea, I'm sure.

[avon-deer.livejournal.com]

He's some kind of machine engineer and at first was building custom machinery of some sort in his garage

Semi skilled profession, then. Most likely one of those self-imposed tax exiles we're all supposed to regret losing. To be honest, I'd hold the door open for them.

This last winter I was rendered speechless by the discovery that he had been tapping his maple trees for sugar syrup.

Aha, yes I remember this post now. :D

Try and get on with them as best you can anyway. Neighbours on good terms are always better than the alternative.

[altivo]

We've tried to put a neutral face on it, but the wife said to Gary one day a couple of years back, "You must think we're the neighbors from hell." He tried to smile and deny it, which is something I'd have had trouble doing.

Actually, though the wandering animals irritate me, it's the noise level that I find most difficult to tolerate. I moved here for the silence, and now I'm being attacked with pointless racket from all directions.

[avon-deer.livejournal.com]

That's a bit of a shame. You never know..they might move one day.