He just doesn't seem to get it, go away!

[lupinfarm]

The old owner, before Jim, who lived on our farm rents a piece of land (he hasn't paid any rent yet) from Jim to have his stupid ugly ewe topiaries on. He's been using our driveway as access to it, and he's really creepy and freaks us all out. I'm always afraid he's going to either get himself injured on our property and sue, wreck his car on our property, etc. He also has a lot of resentment towards us because we've done way more to the property than he ever did in the 5 years he lived here, and I'm constantly afraid he'll try to 'sabotage' us when we're out one day, like wreck the vegetable garden which he has to drive by down the lane to the fenceline so he can get to his *stupid* trees, or go into the coop and take eggs.

We're afraid also that if we tell him outright he cant come back, that'll flip out and do something...He also owes a lot of money to the bulgarian mafia in Canada, as well as numerous people in the community who definitely want his scalp for it.

We have to put up a gate at the end of the driveway at our expense to keep him out, but the cement for the gate post has to cure for 5 days and he'll be back for sure tomorrow. My plan was to electric fence in the laneway that leads to the fenceline where he parks his car and that, and tell him that we're breeding Luna and need accomodation for a Stallion to live part-time for breeding LOL ... I've started putting up electric fence on poly posts and off the two trees at the end of the laneway. He knows he's not allowed to park in our parking area, so he'd be out of luck to get down there.

Is there anything you guys think we could do to ...keep him away... until the post sets and we can put the gate up? We're afraid he's going to go berzerkers if we tell him outright, and today he asked me if things were good here and I replied really rudely saying "No, they're not ACTUALLY" and he avoided my mother after that when she tried to tell him his bbq and junk he left here was going to the end of the driveway and if he leaves anything here behind the gate, he's not getting it back.

 

[justusnak]

Wow, thats a scarey situation. Other than posting NO TRESSPASSING signs...then calling the law when he DOES come back...or..alerting the Mafia, of his wearabouts!

ETA: Please be carefull. People like that are like dynomite....you never know when, or how big they might blow.

 

[lupinfarm]

Ohh we have no trespassing signs everywhere for hunters anyway, he just doesn't seem to get it. Wednesday the gate goies up, and we KNOW he'll stop coming up when the gate goes up but until then...

LOL I'm finishing the electric tomorrow (its not actually electrified but its going to look like a real pasture, with a water bucket and all)

 

[FarmerChick]

Since you own the property he has no rights on your driveway.

Tell him to get off and stay off your property and if he goes nuts get the police.

You don't have to live like that at all.......stand up to him and don't think twice about it.

hope that gate works but a good speech about your property rights and him not tresspassing is the best way to go.

good luck

 

[miss_thenorth]

From what I see here, you have one problem with this guy-- he comes on your property to access his trees. (btw, his trees might not be stupid to him)

Would it be correct to say that the rest is just rumour?

Deal with the problem--not the rumours. Explain to him that it is your private property, and you value your privacy, and he does not have permission to come on to your property. Then, if he does access your property, call the OPP. Plain and simple.

Leave the rumours where thy belong--in the garbage.

 

[big brown horse]

I can see miss the north's side on this one. If he thinks (men don't always pick up of facial expressions and body language as well as women) he is a friend of sorts he may think your signs are for strangers. That is how it around here. Everyone has that sign in their front yard on my street (each of us have 5 acres). One neighbor's dog wandered onto my property, an elderly dog and it was confused. I being new around here was afraid to walk the dog up to the owners house due to the sign...so I called the # on the tag instead. They rushed over right away. I explained why I didn't just take her home and they were surprised that I thought their sign was for neighbors too! They said it is for solisiters etc not for neighbors!

 

[Aidenbaby]

If there an access road to the property he uses? Is there an agreement between Jim and the owner of the tree field that you are not aware of? If not, I would let Jim know that there is a man trespassing onto his land and explain what measures you are taking. When you put up the fence you need to put up a sign that states no trespassing. If nothing is done to tell this man that he is not welcome to use the path he could possibly file suit further down the road to actually take possession of part or all of that path. Don't think it could happen? It happened here in Colorado. These people had walked on their neighbors property so much that an actual path was worn into the ground. When the original owners were finally ready to build their home they found out that they couldn't (on that part of the land) due to an ancient law about land use and possession. Huge law suit ensued and the thieves (in my book) won.

 

[2dream]

miss_thenorth is right. Deal with the situation not the rumors. But I do have a comment. You said he rents a piece of land but has not paid rent.

If the law in your neck of the woods is anything like it is here he has a right to access his rental property. If you rented it to him you have to serve him due process legally by giving him 30 days notice. If Jim is who he pays the rent to Jim needs to take care of that. Or Jim needs to provide this person a way to access his rental property.

Apparently those trees mean a lot to him if he comes on a daily basis to check them. Lots of people who seem somewhat creepy are just different. People have a tendency to act the way they are treated. But then again we have crazy people going on shooting rampages daily in this country.

Use caution but you do have the right to your property and privacy. But he also has the right to access his rental property.

Sounds like you might need to talk to Jim first about all this since I am not sure who Jim is and his relation to you.

 

[sylvie]

I'd consult an attorney first before confronting, banning or spreading the rumors which you have heard.

I have compassion for older folks who find happiness in working with nature, like topiaries. What a rare talent that Disney pays a fortune for! You might find him a wealth of information. It sounds like his ethnic background confuses you.
We had a Slovenian neighbor that most other neighbors really tormented and spread rumors about. We bought a piece of land from him and got to know him well. He was a total delight! We protected him from the neighbors after that.
After he gave us a tour of his remaining 60 acres, we thought we had traveled to Slovenia because we saw the woods and fields from his perspective. It is one of my most cherished memories. He passed away 2 years ago and I miss seeing him walk by my window on his short cut to his back property.

 

[patandchickens]

To some extent this sounds a whole lot like the classic story of 'city folks move to country' with two conflicting traditions of how people are 'supposed' to behave.

You feel that your property is YOURS and nobody should be coming there without your approval, and that it is none of this person's business, and he is being creepy by stopping by a lot and talking to you, and that he has no right to do anythin' to anythin' other than his topiaries.

OTOH, if you look at it from the perspective of at least some of the local residents (in many areas, I am not guaranteeing this pertains to your location but I would bet dollars to Timbits that it does)... you are the new city people who moved onto what is still "really" such-and-such's property. You are not One Of Them, they are somewhat curious and puzzled and not always thrilled by the newfangled things you're doing, they are behaving the way they've behaved for generations and generations, they are being at least as friendly and trying-to-be-helpful as you deserve, and it is wholly unreasonable of you to think that society ought to turn itself on its head just to accommodate some new person's big city ideas and weird expectations.

It really works better to go with the flow. Rather than getting all in a swivet about what this person *might* do to your garden, or trying to figure out ways to ensure you never have to see or talk with him again, I honestly think you would be well off to just learn to tolerate him.

If you totally feel you HAVE to do something about the situation, for some reason, I'd suggest delicately soliciting advice from whatever local residents have been helpful to you thus far... although it would really be worth getting SEVERAL independant viewpoints on the situation (and not making the extent or nature of your personal feelings known, ahem) so as not to find yourself being used in complicated games.

Good luck,

Pat