Someone stole our columbines! (Not that we wanted them.)

Our yard is a work in progress.  We've been working on it for the past few years.  For a while, it was the scariest house on the street thanks to the overgrown landscaping.  We had that addressed last year, and it must not be scary looking anymore as we went from 1 or 2 trick-or-treaters to about 50 last fall.  Yup, the yard definitely looks better.

On this year's agenda is ripping out the last of the ivy that covered a big chunk of the front and back yard. Nice looking ground cover -- but it takes over and is extremely hard to eradicate.  Ask us -- we ripped out an area about 4 x 12 feet and nearly died of cardiac problems.  There's one left patch and we're paying for strapping young men to dig it out.  But the major reason for ripping it out is that it hides mice.  Lots of them.

I'm sorry, but real mice aren't cute.  They don't wear lederhosen and sing and help Princesses get the Prince.  No, they take up residence behind your dishwasher and poop on your dishtowels and silverware.  If that doesn't freak you out, I don't know what would.

But, as usual, I digress.  The guy came, gave us an estimate on the cost of ripping out the weeds and a lot of rogue columbines on our side yard (in addition to the ivy) and now we're waiting for the work to be done.  Except ... the day after the guy came, somebody came in dug up every last columbine.  Now, these weren't the pretty pink ones, these were plain old purple.  I mean, who'd want them?  It wasn't our neighbors.  We'd have seen them transplanted in their beautifully maintained yard if that was the case.



So what gives?

And by the way, our neighbors have been systematically renovating their home since they moved in (we're talking new fireplace, new bathrooms, new kitchen, all new rugs and floors) and have a beautifully landscaped yard.  But they have one blind spot -- literally.  They have no window that overlooks their side yard that butts up to ours -- where we want the weeds removed and replaced with mulch.  They've had a dirt pile there for three years.



The first winter it was there, they covered it with a big piece of plastic -- that flapped in the wind EVERY SINGLE NIGHT FOR FIVE MONTHS. How do I know?  Because I sleep by the window that overlooks that portion of their yard.  The plastic disintegrated long ago.  Half the dirt pile has blown away.  It's got weeds growing all around it. It's ugly!  I know they see it when they cut the grass -- why do they let it stay there???  (It is visible from the street.)

We're not on the kind of terms where you say, "Hey, NAME-NOT-GIVEN-TO-PROTECT-THE-GUILTY, when are you going to move that dirt?"  We nod and say hello, but that's about the end of it.

Maybe I should print out the above picture and mail it to them?  What do you think?
.