Ups and Downs of Renting
A bit over a week ago the neighbors were complaining about the trees in our yard, that the ones in the back are growing over fences and the one in the front is getting too close to the power lines. They called our landlord to take care of it (because other than mowing the grass we have no gardening obligations, it falls entirely onto our landlords to take care of). Fine, doesn’t really bother me. And maybe the landlords would clean up some of the straggly brambles and other less-desirable plants, maybe even make it so out front it’s easier to part the cars.
What we got? The luxurious trees out front look like sad little African Savannah trees that have already been picked over by goats. They’re less “trees” now, more like one branch continuous with a trunk. Which one neighbor said looked “100% better,” which I’m sure was her way of saying we better keep it like that. However, not only were the trees basically destroyed, they cut the rose bushes back enough I don’t know if they’ll even bloom next year. Also, apparently it was less a worry that the trees would take out the power lines, apparently the bigger problem was that the phone line was resting on the trees, so when the limbs were cut down so much slack was released the line was actually touching the ground. We have VoIP and cable internet, so we didn’t really care, and it was dangling in such a way that some of our neighbors weren’t really able to get out of their driveway.
But all that, while annoying, was not the worst part of the landlord’s visit. Someone came knocking on the door during the middle of the day on Sunday. They said our dog had been out running around in the street, and was almost hit by a car. Chewy just came in from the back, I said “This dog?” the guy confirmed. Apparently, our landlord had left the gate to the backyard propped open, didn’t close it. We didn’t realize this, let Chewy out back to take care of his doggy business, and Chewy discovered an escape route and took himself for a walk. No collar on, because he was just supposed to be pooping in the back yard. I was pissed.
All the complaining from the neighbors made me really glad we weren’t homeowners, because it was not our problem. But the now-ugly garden and the almost-ran-over dog are making me really wish that it was, in fact, my problem, because at least it would have been my own stupid fault, or there would be a company I’d hired that I could blame (and maybe even get some money out of). Oh well, all the more reason to add some more money to the savings account…
Originally published at The Riddle of.... Please leave any comments there.