The Prime Suspect
For the last three days, I've been diligently working in the back yard to get the bougainvillea "hedge" under control. Since bougainvillea is technically a vine, it tends to grow very long "branches" that can easily get totally out of hand. And if that isn't bad enough, bougainvillaea is thorny like barbed wire and requires great care when dealing with it or else you will get cut all to hell. Even then, you still manage to get cut up.
Since it has been getting dark ridiculously early, I've only been working on it for maybe three hours each day. It's a painstaking process due to the thorns. I cut a few "branches" while up on a ladder and then try to avoid getting cut up while throwing them to the ground. After that, when I have a few on the ground, I have to climb down from the ladder and carefully pick up the branches and cut them into smaller pieces to fit into the trash bin. Then repeat the whole process all the way down the length of the yard. Wednesday, I did this for maybe 2 1/2 hours because it was a bit hot. Thursday I spent a little over three hours because it was much cooler and breezy. Then Friday it was back to hottish but it was overcast and there was a breeze.
When I went out back on Thursday, I noticed something a bit odd. The ground next to the concrete floor of the kennel was all tilled up. At first I though maybe the stray cats in the neighborhood had been using the area for their litter box but upon closer inspection it looked like something had been rooting around with its snoot.
Must've been a possum! Poor little buggers must be running out of food since we're between avocado and mango season. The avocados are done for the season and the mangoes have just started to blossom. Now the possums are having to search for grubs and worms.
In other news, I sucked it up and called my dad for Christmas. It didn't go too badly to my relief. (Of course he didn't buy me anything or offer to.) Then he calls me up yesterday and wants to know if I want to go bowling with him and some other guy and his next door neighbor today at 9:30 am. I didn't want to go anyway but especially not that early in the morning! Hell, I'm not even awake at 9:30 in the morning. I certainly wasn't aware of the bowling alley being open that early, either. My dad is nuts. He gets up at like 5 am and then gets mad if restaurants aren't open yet for breakfast. I guess he'll just have to go to the 24 hour Denny's. LOL
Since it has been getting dark ridiculously early, I've only been working on it for maybe three hours each day. It's a painstaking process due to the thorns. I cut a few "branches" while up on a ladder and then try to avoid getting cut up while throwing them to the ground. After that, when I have a few on the ground, I have to climb down from the ladder and carefully pick up the branches and cut them into smaller pieces to fit into the trash bin. Then repeat the whole process all the way down the length of the yard. Wednesday, I did this for maybe 2 1/2 hours because it was a bit hot. Thursday I spent a little over three hours because it was much cooler and breezy. Then Friday it was back to hottish but it was overcast and there was a breeze.
When I went out back on Thursday, I noticed something a bit odd. The ground next to the concrete floor of the kennel was all tilled up. At first I though maybe the stray cats in the neighborhood had been using the area for their litter box but upon closer inspection it looked like something had been rooting around with its snoot.
Must've been a possum! Poor little buggers must be running out of food since we're between avocado and mango season. The avocados are done for the season and the mangoes have just started to blossom. Now the possums are having to search for grubs and worms.In other news, I sucked it up and called my dad for Christmas. It didn't go too badly to my relief. (Of course he didn't buy me anything or offer to.) Then he calls me up yesterday and wants to know if I want to go bowling with him and some other guy and his next door neighbor today at 9:30 am. I didn't want to go anyway but especially not that early in the morning! Hell, I'm not even awake at 9:30 in the morning. I certainly wasn't aware of the bowling alley being open that early, either. My dad is nuts. He gets up at like 5 am and then gets mad if restaurants aren't open yet for breakfast. I guess he'll just have to go to the 24 hour Denny's. LOL
posted by Xul at 7:42 PM
14 Comments:
That bougainvillaea sounds a bit like bramble (Rubus specifically) only without all the pretty flowers. I had to clean a number of huge Rubus bushes a couple of years ago. Not a pleasant job. Didn't run into Br'er Rabbbit ;P
It's interesting to see your dad reach out to you. I guess he should try harder?
That bougainvillaea sounds a bit like bramble It's truly awful to deal with. Not a pleasant job. That's for sure! My mother originally planted them because the people who used to live behind us were dicks. We used to have a ficus hedge but the asshole didn't like it and used to cut it and hollow it out. It wasn't his to cut, it was on our property. Eventually he got it so thin that my mother had it cut down and then planted the bougainvillea. Since he liked cutting things that didn't belong to him he could have some nasty bougainvillea to deal with. LOL Also, they used to have teenagers who played basketball in their backyard all the time and would jump over the fence into our back yard and screw around. Once the bougainvillea got large enough the trespassing ended.
Those people were such assholes. I heard that the son committed suicide and the rest of them eventually moved. Then, this guy who claimed to be a doctor moved in. I think he was gay. He was hardly ever there and he kept orchids in a greenhouse type thing in the back yard. At least he was quiet. Then, allegedly, he sold to someone else. I don't think that is the case. I think he still owns it. It okay, though, since no one is ever there and it's very quiet. The only people I ever see there are the lawn maintenance guys and various people sent to do repairs.
Well, this could turn into an annoying neighbor rant so I'll stop with that!
I guess he should try harder? In a perfect world, I would live on my own and have as little contact with my parents as possible.
It wasn't his to cut, it was on our property.
Seems like he was doing something illegal then.
this could turn into an annoying neighbor rant
I find it a bit odd that even with houses standing so far apart one can still have problems with ones neighbours. Over here we (the Dutch) mostly live together practically joined by the hip as it were. We (my family) did have some problems with neighbours a couple of decades ago in another house. The drove my mother nuts (well, nuttier :).
In a perfect world
...you would probably have nicer parents :/
Hey, ya know when I said the neighbors were dicks? Well, I got very nosy last night and started looking up property records on the tax appraiser's web site. It turns out that those people were actually Cox! LMAO!!! No wonder they acted so bad!
Anyway, I did some digging and it seems that most of the people around here are big liars as well. They lie about their names, how much they paid for their homes, etc. Only a couple sets of neighbors across the street are who they claim to be.
he was doing something illegal then. He was. We contacted the authorities but they said they couldn't do anything about it, that it was a civil matter. We could take him to court at our own expense if we wanted. Like we really want to deal with that hassle.
I find it a bit odd that even with houses standing so far apart one can still have problems with ones neighbours. I think the problem lies with the multi-culti nightmare we have over here. You guys are for the most part homogeneous. I would *love* to live with people who were of my same culture.
The drove my mother nuts (well, nuttier :) What did they do? Now you must tell me! ;P
...you would probably have nicer parents :/ Yeah, after I pushed the publish button I then thought that in a perfect world they wouldn't be awful and I wouldn't want to be low contact with them.
BTW, are you planning to do any carbidschieten tonight? ;P
They lie about their names,
What the hell? Is your street filled with ex-spies, ex-criminals and ex-dictators living off their pensions?
You guys are for the most part homogeneous.
It depends on where you look. There's only a Turkish family living behind me that I know of (and they're nice people). There are parts of my town that are more ethnically diverse.
What is your culture BTW? I have lived in this town my entire life and I don't really feel like I belong here. It's just a really familiar place.
What did they do?
Mostly play loud music throughout the day. This bothered my mother to no end. I'm pretty sure there are other things that my mother kept to herself. It was just a 2 parent/2 kids family but she somehow felt threatened by them. They did have a bad reputation.
There was this one time when a bunch of kids from our street (including myself) were pestering the neighbours and the mother came out of the house with a bucket of water. One of my aunts used to live in the same street as we did and she was outside as well. I don't remember exactly what happened but she got that bucket of water on her and then chased the mother back into the house.
It was a bit of a low point...
do any carbidschieten tonight?
Funny you should mention that (why did you BTW?). I won't do any of that myself but a friend of my sister will apparently.
Is your street filled with ex-spies, ex-criminals and ex-dictators living off their pensions? It sure seems like it! The neighbors who live on the one side and have been there since 1978(well, the mother still lives there, she and the husband got divorced a few years ago) have been going by aliases for as long as we've "known" them. I just found out their real first names last night. The surname is the same, though.
Then the guy who allegedly bought the house next door on the other side doesn't actually own it. He lied and said he bought it but it is in another person's name.
And then there are all the other houses that are either bank properties or owned by investment companies. Eeen-ter-esting!
What is your culture BTW? Northwest European/Protestant, I guess.
Mostly play loud music throughout the day. That is my biggest annoyance around here. There are some idiots a street over who like to blare their loud ghetto crap so loud that it literally shakes my house.
she got that bucket of water on her and then chased the mother back into the house. LOL!!!
It was a bit of a low point... Yeah, that's some Jerry Springer type stuff! ;P
Funny you should mention that (why did you BTW?) Because I am the Great Xul and I know all sorts of these things, Arekino! LOL
You should go with your sister and her friend. Your parents will likely stroke out!
BTW, Happy New Year!!! :::smooches:::
Happy New year to you as well!
What? No smooches? That's bad luck! ;P
Okay, :::smooches::: right here, just for you then. :)
Northwest European/Protestant, I guess.
It's not an easy question to answer, is it? I live and have grown up in a part of the country that's traditionally Catholic but I'm not a Catholic myself. I am West-European but there are many West-European cultures and sub-cultures and they're are not at all easily distinguishable. And then there's the fact that I've spend like 20 years on the Internet all the while soaking up Internet-culture. :)
Okay, :::smooches::: right here, just for you then. :) Much better. :)
It's not an easy question to answer, is it? Okay, then, I can be a bit more specific. Predominantly Victorian English-style upbringing. My mom's father was raised by Victorians and then raised my mom and her sister the same way. Then my mother for the most part brought me up that way. My grandfather, being English, was Protestant. My grandmother was Irish and Catholic. My mother took after her father(her father called the Catholic stuff a bunch of nonsense).
As far as the religion goes, there really is a big difference between the Protestant paradigm and the Catholic one. I could go on about that but I'd be here all day. ;P
So, did ya blow anything up last night?
I watched a really good kickboxing from Japan.
Victorian English-style upbringing
Ouch. :\
did ya blow anything up last night?
Nope. We made it a quiet evening. Just cards and nuts and advocaat with whipped cream on it (I had't eaten that since I was a child). Most of the oliebollen weren't up to their usual standard for some reason. Better luck next year :)
Did you blow up anything?
Ouch. :\ Yeah. When my mother tells me about her childhood, all I can think about is what bastards her parents were and if you treated kids like that these days the authorities would take the kids away. No wonder my mother acts the way she does. :(
cards and nuts So cards with your parents? ;P
advocaat with whipped cream on it That stuff is freakin' delicious! Makes your ass bigger than if you just consume eggnog! LOL
oliebollen Mmmmm...more goodies for a big ass! LOL
Did you blow up anything? No, but lots of people around here were setting off fireworks. Mostly sounded like bombs going off. I thought those type were illegal. Maybe the manufacturers are finding a way around the law or the law has been changed.
Do you have any traditional superstitious New Year's traditions? Some people over here eat sauerkraut and pork for New Year's. My family never practiced any traditions but I had some sauerkraut on a Reuben sandwich yesterday. I figured I could use all the good luck I can get! (Although I don't believe in superstitions, but WTH.)
Mostly sounded like bombs going off.
That does seem to get worse every year over here.
Do you have any traditional superstitious New Year's traditions?
We used to have the tradition of visiting the grandparents on January first but they're all dead now. AFAIK we have no superstitions of any kind in the family and no real traditions.
And what's all this about my big ass??? ;P
And what's all this about my big ass??? ;P I was mainly thinking of my big ass. Damn holidays! :::shakes fist::: I managed to put on around 3 pounds(1.4 kg or so)because of all the sugary and fattening holiday food and it tends to settle in my ass first. I don't think most men gain weight in the ass. Usually the gut. I haven't seen your ass but it's probable a cute little one! ;P
Post a Comment
<< Home