The Lawnmower Caper

[restoman]

About an hour ago, Ricky and I left the house to do a quick errand. We were only gone for about 20 minutes. It was just starting to get dark when we got back home. As I pulled into the driveway, I saw that the gate into the back yard was wide open. We normally keep it shut to make sure Chloe doesn't get out. Fortunately, Chloe was safely

Comments

[gracegiver]

You were able to act quickly, I suspect that's what did the trick. I'm thankful you got it back.
Damn crooks.

[restoman]

Thanks, Deb. Yeah, I think that looking for it right away was a smart thing to do.

It seems like there are a lot more damn crooks out there than there used to be!

[hoobird]

What IS this world coming to......

[restoman]

I dunno, Joe. I don't like the way things are heading: too many desperate poor people, and too many greedy billionaires.

[merlinwon]

Yikes.. Scary Times!!! Sorry this happened to you!

<3
XOX

[restoman]

Thanks, Randy!

I don't think I am being singled out as a target. There just seems to be a lot more petty thievery going on than there used to be.

*hugs*

[thespian15]

WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm glad you found your mower. :o
Kind of makes me think I shouldn't leave my sitting in the driveway beside the house.
But it's battery powered and the batteries are in the house, and the falling apart shed that it normally sits in has squatters, aka wasps. :o
Hugs, Jon

[restoman]

Thanks, Jon!

I think that living in a small town like Stewartville keeps you more insulated from a lot of the petty crime like we get here in Syracuse. Of course it is still a good idea to take precautions to protect yourself.

If you ever want to get rid of those wasps, I can give you safe and effective methods without the use of toxic chemicals.

*Hugs*

[thespian15]

I will take any suggestions you can offer. :o
I saw an article one time that says if you put up a crocheted "nest", that wasps will stay away because they are territorial. That's okay, but how far will they move on? :o

[restoman]

So, I assume you are talking about some type of Paper Wasp, that builds a papery hanging nest. The safest, easiest, cheapest and most environmentally positive solution is to wait until the weather gets down into the 30s. The wasps will become dormant, or at the very least, slow and sluggish. Then you can slide a plastic trash bag over the nest, cinch it tight, and then use a metal spatula to scrape it off of whatever it is attached to in your shed. It is always best to remove the wasps at night when they are all back inside the nest and have quieted down for the night. You can either put the whole nest in the trash, or if you don't want to harm them, move the whole nest (inside the bag) to someplace else, perhaps the cemetery next door

[puddleshark]

Oh, my word... That sounds a bit scary. But I'm glad you got the mower back.

Hope you can come up with some security measures that will keep the guy out in future.

[restoman]

Thank you. I dread confrontations, so that part was definitely more scary than I am comfortable with. I am glad to have Ricky around to do that sort of thing for me. He is young, 34, muscular, and has a booming voice that commands respect, so he is better suited for confrontation than I am.

For now the lawnmowers have been moved from my back yard to a locked garage across the street. I bought a lockable latch for the gate into the back yard, and plan to install it this weekend. I am considering getting some security cameras too. I already have outdoor lights that have a motion detector, but those only work at night. Unfortunately, one of my best security features died last week. Chloe is not as good a guard dog as Lily was. :-(

[puddleshark]

Yes. I still miss Max's fierce barking.

I live in a comparatively low-crime, rural area. But as soon as the days getting shorter, there are a lot of targeted thefts from sheds and garages here. My nephew had his expensive triathlon bike stolen last year.