What are we doing to help our neighbors?

[enjoy the ride]

A few days ago, I resolved my manure pile issues with a neighbor.
Last year she had asked if she could take some off my pile but she phrased it in a way that ticked me off (Her quote was "you won't miss it.") So I said no - that I used every bit which was true but not kind.
Then she came over and took some anyway - she forgot her manure fork in the pile. So I told her that I would be happy to bring some over but please don't take anymore off my property. She said no and there we left it.
But I met her accidently in her driveway and she said she was putting in some raised beds and took me over to look at them. Really lovely- we discussed how to lighten soil and stuff. I asked her again if she wanted me to bring some horse poops over and this time she said yes.
So I have been rolling some over and adding to a pile at her place for about a week. I can't say how much better it makes me feel.
The whole thing was a tempest in a teapot and had little to do with the manure and lots to do with hurt feelings.
As fellow gardeners, I should have been less easily offended. Heck if you can't share manure, what can you share.

 

[shareneh]

Something must have been telling me that I had all I need yesterday when I posted this. I came home from work about 8:30 am and found my chicken coop smoldering! The chickens must have been raising a fuss and somehow knocked a lamp into the pine shavings. It was so smoky. My cousin was with me and we shoveled out the lamp and about a quarter of the pine shavings. My neighbor who walks a lot came over to help and my mom and sisters called every few hours to see if everything and me were ok. I was very bummed out. My chickens mean a lot to me and they were weezing and lethargic. My neighbor knew I had to get some rest so he checked on them after noon until I woke up in the evening. The chickens are doing fine now, just one has a bit of a wheeze. I knew when I saw the smoke that everything would be ok. I knew that people would come if I couldn't help myself and my chickens. Bad day for me and the chickies, a pretty good life overall.

 

[Sebrightmom]

I am sorry about the smoke. I am glad to hear that everyone is ok. That is the major reason why I don't have a light on my chickens. I just close their house up tight and put lots of bedding in there. So, far they have been fine all winter. I am even getting eggs with them all locked up. I feel bad, because I know they want outside. We just got 12" of snow this week. I know if they went out I wouldn't be about to see them and they would freeze. So, they are locked up until nicer weather.

 

[FarmerChick]

A few days ago, I resolved my manure pile issues with a neighbor.
Last year she had asked if she could take some off my pile but she phrased it in a way that ticked me off (Her quote was "you won't miss it.") So I said no - that I used every bit which was true but not kind.
Then she came over and took some anyway - she forgot her manure fork in the pile. So I told her that I would be happy to bring some over but please don't take anymore off my property. She said no and there we left it.
But I met her accidently in her driveway and she said she was putting in some raised beds and took me over to look at them. Really lovely- we discussed how to lighten soil and stuff. I asked her again if she wanted me to bring some horse poops over and this time she said yes.
So I have been rolling some over and adding to a pile at her place for about a week. I can't say how much better it makes me feel.
The whole thing was a tempest in a teapot and had little to do with the manure and lots to do with hurt feelings.
As fellow gardeners, I should have been less easily offended. Heck if you can't share manure, what can you share.

you are right....you can't let poop snowball into hurt feelings..LOL

I hate any little tensions like that with a neighbor...ugh.........I had that problem with my neighbor when "they" drained their septic into my goat pasture. Hmm.......they had problems and they hooked up a line and of course angled the drain line to my pasture, not on their yard. Their thinking that the land wasn't really used and they didn't want their septic water in their backyard. Hmmm....I stopped that real fast! But we stayed good friends. But ya know, people just assume poop and pasture land don't mean anything...well they do when they belong to other people.

that neighbor is now building my house addition right now..LOL

 

[FarmerChick]

wow share
that is scary. possible fire...ugh.
yea barns and electricity and hay and all scare me as a combo!
glad all is OK for you!!!!!!!!

 

[enjoy the ride]

Shareneh- It's things like that that make a person so grateful. If you had been any later or it happened at a lifferent time.............
I'm glad everyone's OK- and what a nice neighbor.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

ETR -- I had a neighbor that trespassed on my property a few times too. They were after my ornamental poppies . . . you know the "bread seed" [ahem] type. After talking with them and not even accusing them of doing anything (just wondered if they had seen anything), I found one of my shrubs ripped up and lying in the street. Fortunately it was drought tolerant and still alive on the sweltering pavement. I ripped out all my poppies and decided to just be nice to them. That worked a lot better.

I'm glad you and your neighbor are on better terms. HA! The pitchfork in the pile just cracks me up. It is almost like a visible sign of their guilty conscious, you know. Hee hee hee.

 

[nightshade]

Neighbors can be weird some times. Hubby and I were just talking about the lack of since of community now days. Which when I sit here and think about it is scary seeing how we are only in our mid 20's. Most of our friends though are our parents age and not ours. So maybe that gives us a little different perspective?

Anyway helping out. Everything useful I get rid of goes to Sal Val, a neighbor that can use it or on freecycle. We share all of our extra crops from our garden with neighbors and family. We wont have our root cellar til at least next fall and I would hate to see it go to waste. We also give our entire family free eggs, (when you have 40 laying hens I guess that is not a big deal though hugh?) And we help out our grandparents as much as we can with house hold chores lawn work.

We are members of a local historical group and do all kinds of stuff with them all summer long. I chase the neighbors pet pygmy goat around and catch it for them once a month when it gets lose and make sure it has a new collar every time. Cause that is usually how it gets lose. Really we don't do anything that I would think is a big deal and sometimes I wonder if anyone would even notice if we stopped. But then again if everyone stops helping each other out even a little society would only be worse then it is already right?

 

[Beekissed]

I wonder the same thing, sometimes, Nightshade. I go out of my way each day to be extra nice and helpful to everyone with whom I come in contact. It makes me feel good to do it and I don't expect anything in return at all.....but sometimes I get the impression that no one really notices. I think people used to notice these things and I certainly notice when someone is nice to me and my family.

I wonder, at times, if I stopped being nice if anyone would really notice? If I passed that old man walking along the road with a gas can and didn't stop? If I didn't stop and pull that deer, or boulder, off the highway, would anyone ever really wreck because of it?

It would be kind of nice to do the "Its a Wonderful Life" thing and see if anything had changed because I wasn't born.

 

[lupinfarm]

I wouldn't do anything for my neighbours aside from maybe the family across the road who have three younger children, and maybe the people who have the cottage up the road (it's an old century home but they use it as a cottage... the farm next door lights their woodstove every few days and turns on lights, etc.)

I live up a half KM driveway and there isn't much we can do. None of our neighbours plow our driveway despite the obvious issues we have with getting out. I think it's down to the *(%#(*% woman down the road, Linda. She has her property set up as a higher end boarding facility, large brand new indoor arena...thought it has no windows, I never got that... they could have spent less and bought a megadome arena. Anyway, I think she says stuff about us, I mean.. in the summer we met one of the other neighbours who asked about our eggs... we hadn't told anyone about the eggs and had only had the chicks for three years, Linda knew about the eggs. She watches our farm website LOL its actually a little sad.

So you know, I wouldn't do anything for my snotty neighbours and I wouldn't expect them to do anything for us either.