Among Friends

[mousiegirl]

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@Bird mama wrote:

Fence Installation Day 1 

My appointment time was 9 am.  We've had so much rain that when nobody showed up I wasn't even worried about it.  Got a call from the owner at 9:40 am and the crew of one young man arrived with some supplies at 1140 am.  So far today he disassembled the old privacy fence that I installed in 2007.  He cut the posts below grade and then removed the chain link from the back fence and cut the metal posts below grade.  He took a lunch break which was well deserved - it was cold and drizzled on and off.  He packed up the privacy fence stuff that he tore down and left at 3:40 am.  No, so long, farewell, I'm going, see ya tomorrow 

Is he coming tomorrow?  I couldn't tell ya.  He did a test hole in what I thought was the driest area of the back fence and that hole filled with water.  We're expecting rain, rain/snow, snow and rain  (in that order) starting in about 30 minutes continuing through tomorrow.  When I talked to the owner this morning I warned him about the boggy/marshy area in one section of the back fence.  He said that he had 3 other customers on hold because they have clay soil and it takes time to dry out.  I let him know I had clay which is why the young man did the test hole today.

I would rather they do the job right versus doing it in a hurry. 

Now, most of y'all know that I had a privacy fence installed on one side of my yard in 2007 when my neighbor lady tripped her nut.  That was the year my husband died and my father died a couple of months later and I didn't know how to handle this behavior from a woman who attended my wedding   I cleared the land of plants, applied for the permit myself and had a privacy fence installed inside my chain link fence.

I don't speak to the neighbor and it was weird to see the privacy fence down.  Since the new privacy fence is going to be installed even closer to the chain link fence (which I also own - I have paperwork from the 60's to prove it) I need to get rid of the bramble that grew into my yard from the battleax's yard next door.  I swear that woman loves plants that are woody like clematis and honeysuckle.  The honeysuckle bramble is closer to the front of the yard - most of that plant is dead and lots of that plant grew over and through the chain link fence.

Anyway, I walked into the backyard with my clippers and pruners to cut a thick dead limb (it was way bigger than a branch) that was poking about 3 inches into my yard.  I think it was from a clematis. So I start clipping and she opens her doorwall and shreiks something.  I say, no worries about the chain link fence, I am not taking it down.  She shreiks again THAT"S MY PLANT.

I'm not the same broken woman from 2007 so I continue pruning that piece of wood out of my yard and say, it's your plant?  She says ITS MY PLANT.  I say then act like it and try pruning your garden once in a while.  Keep your bramble on your side of the fence.  She slammed the doorwall and that ended that. 

I'm not stupid - I took before and after pictures.  II want the fence to be done the right way and I hope it dries out around here sooner rather than later.  The battleax next door is old which is why I didn't tell the contractor to remove all of the chain link fence including the row that borders her property.  Removing that fence would have required her to cut a significant amount of her garden back and aside from being a miserable person I think she lost her license to drive and has lost what independence she once had.  God don't like ugly and I didn't want to do something out of spite that would come back on me 10 fold.

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@Bird mama   Lol, BRAVO for telling her what you did. 

The land next door is finally being built on, but due to the rain, there was a long period with nothing done.  They cut down all of the trees along my fence on their side which of course destroyed our privacy.  Right now, there is a huge, long and tall berm which is from the new foundation being dug, but I anticipate a struggle to get them to plant more trees to hide the two-story house.  We were told there will be no windows on the side of the house, BIG deal, I don't want to be able to see that monster, and will fight tooth and nail to get them to plant trees, but even so, it will take years for the trees to grow tall enough to hide that monster.  People don't move to this are to look at buildings, they move here to be surrounded by nature.

[Bird mama]

@Leeny  I agree with @viva923   It can take a few weeks for the old medication to get out of your system.  Maybe if you call the doctor he/she will have an estimate for roughly how long it takes for your system to rid itself of the Crestor.

[Bird mama]

Friends, you know how I always try to find the good or the lession in every experience?  I'm still searching for the good and/or the lesson related to my fence project.  I'm expecting a call from the owner and perhaps I will be able to make sense of his project once I speak with him.

When the owner called me on Monday morning I told him about the swampy, boggy, marshy (pick an adjective that works for you) large area in the back fence line where the mulberry tree and companion yews (either side of mulberry) once stood.  I mentioned the clay soil because I know clay takes a long time to drink in rain and firm up.  The owner swore the crew member would punch a test hole to determine the moisture in the ground and if necessary would delay the project.  I advised the owner that I was fine delaying the project - there was no pressure or hurry from me.

I'm legitimately ignorant about fence installation.  I spent my life working in health insurance.  That said, I have first hand experience with a privacy fence installation on the north line of my yard.  I cleared every shrub that was along that fence (wish I would have transplanted them elsewhere), pulled the permit and made sure everything was set for the gentleman I hired to install the fence.  It was near the end of August and he dug the post holes, tossed dry quick crete into the holes and set the posts.  There was ample moisture in the surrounding ground for the concrete to draw from.  A couple of days later he installed the rails, panels and footer.

[Bird mama]

Post continued:

There was lots of personal stress that preceeded that fence installation and then viola I had peace of mind.

On Monday when the crew of one arrived for the new fence project, we walked the yard and discussed the fence plan.  I drew his attention to the marshland along the back and mentioned the test hole.  He disassembled the existing privacy fence, removed the chain link from the back fence and cut down the existing vinyl posts and all of the metal posts along the back fence except the NW and SW corner (border) posts.  He did a test hole in an area that I thought was dry and it filled with water.  The weather was miserable; it was cold and it drizzled.

I got the call yesterday from the fence company that the crew was coming out to finish the fence job.  I thanked the young lady for calling and thought, the right hand don't know what the left hand is doing.

Three hours later (12:15 pm to be exact) a crew of two show up, the young man from the day before and his helper.  The guy was a legit helper because when I asked him a question he said I'm not a fence guy, I'm a helper.

I spoke with the legit fence guy, let's call him Mack and said, are you sure about setting posts with all the water there?  He assured me it was going to be fine.  Yesterday it was cold, we had a rain/snow mix and it was windy.  They got 4 posts in, removed the side gate and corresponding chain link and called it a day under 3 hours.

Meanwhile, the land along the north side of my yard, which was never boggy remains ignored.  What that means is after 15 years of having a privacy fence there I got nothing and the battleax next door is 15 years more miserable and confrontational.

[Bird mama]

Post continued:

So today I notice the fence company truck in my driveway as it's pulling out of the driveway onto the street at 9:45 am.  These people don't let you know when they arrive or leave unless your watching for signs of arrival or departure.  I suspect Mack showed up to check the posts he sank yesterday and thought wow still too boggy back there and left.  I also suspect when he called the owner to convey this information that the owner said go back and sink more posts.

So the kid came back and sunk the remaining 4 posts along the back fence.  He kept using a level and adjusting said posts because I'm pretty sure there were shifting.  I saw him packing up about 90 minutes later and by the time I hit the front door to ask him if he was done for the day, battleax next door had run across her front grass and started talking to him and pointing in my yard.  The minute I stepped onto the front porch and said Hey Mack, are you calling it a day, she scurried back across her property and went inside.

So he tells me that the owner doesn't want to do more damage to my yard with wheelbarrows so he wants to wait a few days to continue.  I say, you know what I find odd?  That I told the owner and you it was swampy back there and you chose that for the first area to work on.  It would have been great if you would have focused on replacing the privacy fence on the drier edge of the yard so I wouldn't have to deal with that battleax because she is all the way live.

[Bird mama]

Post final:

It's ironic that the rain has moved on, it's warming up and the sun is currently shining and the crew is not working in my backyard.

I so looked forward to this professional fence installation.  After all of the stress that I went through in 2007 I thought I would spent $15 thousand and treat myself.

It's like 2007 all over again and I'm trying to figure out the lesson here.  What did I miss in 2007 that I need to learn in 2023?

[mousiegirl]

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@Bird mama wrote:

Post continued:

There was lots of personal stress that preceeded that fence installation and then viola I had peace of mind.

On Monday when the crew of one arrived for the new fence project, we walked the yard and discussed the fence plan.  I drew his attention to the marshland along the back and mentioned the test hole.  He disassembled the existing privacy fence, removed the chain link from the back fence and cut down the existing vinyl posts and all of the metal posts along the back fence except the NW and SW corner (border) posts.  He did a test hole in an area that I thought was dry and it filled with water.  The weather was miserable; it was cold and it drizzled.

I got the call yesterday from the fence company that the crew was coming out to finish the fence job.  I thanked the young lady for calling and thought, the right hand don't know what the left hand is doing.

Three hours later (12:15 pm to be exact) a crew of two show up, the young man from the day before and his helper.  The guy was a legit helper because when I asked him a question he said I'm not a fence guy, I'm a helper.

I spoke with the legit fence guy, let's call him Mack and said, are you sure about setting posts with all the water there?  He assured me it was going to be fine.  Yesterday it was cold, we had a rain/snow mix and it was windy.  They got 4 posts in, removed the side gate and corresponding chain link and called it a day under 3 hours.

Meanwhile, the land along the north side of my yard, which was never boggy remains ignored.  What that means is after 15 years of having a privacy fence there I got nothing and the battleax next door is 15 years more miserable and confrontational.

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@Bird mama   Having people work on one's property is stressful enough, but when plans go awry, it is beyond.  They will have to make it right at some point, and I thoroughly understand the privacy issue, have been trying to attain it all of my life.

I planted a hedge at my previous house, in front of the kitchen window which overlooked my end of the culdesac and my front walk, to give me privacy.  a neighbor commented that one day I would disappear, which was my plan, lol.

[Leeny]

@Bird mama @viva923 

I've been off the Crestor since a week ago Monday. My PCP told me it would take about 10-14 days. Today, I am in so much pain that I can't hardly stand myself. I've taken Tylenol, but that is useless. Yesterday I took 2 Aleve and that didn't touch the pain either. I can't take too much of that as it does bother my stomach. I've been there and done that in the past.

I managed to get myself to Bible study, but boy it wasn't easy. 

I think I am going to send my doctor a message in the portal to let her know how I am feeling. I can't hardly raise my arms to dress myself and to turn over in bed is like H---. She did mention to me about trying to go on Cymbalta. At this point I think I'd try about anything. 

[Bird mama]

@Leeny   I'm so sorry that you are in this kind of pain.

[Leeny]

@Bird mama 

I'll tell you this. At this point if it was me and I know you aren't me, but I'd be thinking of moving. I would have taken the $15 thousand and found somewhere to have peace without all the stress. I know that you have to follow through with your fence plan, but maybe because I've been through something like this before when I was younger I'd be pulling my hair out if I had to go through something like that again.

As for another word for the swamp, I'd say it's one big mud hole. Our weather has been anything, but average or normal. I agree with you on the point, why did they start there and why start at all when it's been so wet and rainy??? I feel bad for you in so many ways about this whole mess. 

I am at the point now, I don't want to own a da-- thing again. I lease my car, I rent a condo and so, let somebody else worry about the fixing end of things. I am too broken for all that anymore. I wish you all the luck in the world and I pray it's done  sooner then later.