A Little Work Around the House

So I guess most of us have that one neighbor that piles junk, junk and more junk in their yard. Years ago the owner had it set up really nice but moved. Maybe 3 different families over the last 15 years. Not sure if these people own the house or rent. Seems like a nice guy, actually works for the fire department so you would think he would know about codes etc but we all know how that goes!

So this guy loves to have company over and having 7 girls, yes 7 girls, there are too many people in one house with 3 bedrooms. Not sure if they sleep on the floor or what. But the guy loves to hang out in the backyard. Has a little bar set up and 2 bonfire pits. So he turns the music up so loud that it booms from one side of our house to the other. And having 5 bedrooms here, that is no easy task! So I finally had to go out there and have a talk with him. Dude, I love music too but we can't even watch or TVs or listen to our own stereos. He didn't look too happy and I'm sure he knows I was the one who called the cops on them one night when they were blaring the music till 5 am. But if he knows, good because I have no problem confronting some moron that wants to get obnoxious on me. But surprisingly, he got an ugly look on his face so I thought here it comes but then turned into a really nice guy. Maybe it helps that I'm a foot taller than he is ha ha!

So another time he started to turn it up so I went out and I'm sure he thought, crap! But I started asking him about his dogs. I think he was surprised. I asked if he didn't mind that I toss his dogs a taste here and there when I'm grilling steak. His dogs bark at me all the time except when I toss them a bite. They stop for the night but the next day, there they are barking again. Cool dogs though, keep me entertained at times. But I got him to turn the music down ha ha!

So lately he has been a cool guy and hasn't blared the music like before. But Man, what a mess he has out there. My Mom has her bedroom right next to the fence on the North side of our house. Then her spare bedroom on the same side of the house lover level, both rooms.  So every time she opens the blinds to her room WOW!

Well take a look at the pics and you can see the mess. So much junk that they can't even walk the walkway along the side of the house. The owner years ago paved the walkway, added a nice gate and had it pretty sweet. But heck, now I think the gate is missing really can't tell because of all the junk he has on the side. My Dad had bamboo up years ago but the last 10 years or so, being sick and dialysis, he didn't keep up the bamboo.

So the dude next door put of some tarps, or some kind of stuff on the fence but it's all ripped up. Not to mention he put up a bunch of boards and tables to block the view. Not sure if he wants privacy or if he is trying to hide the junk. Either way, one of those houses where the screens are all torn or falling off, front door always open. Hmm, we're not the creepy crawler lovers who leave their doors open for flies and bugs who insist on coming in for dinner.

So anyway, poor Mom got tired of seeing the mess every time she tried to get some sunshine in her room. So she asked if I'd put up the bamboo. Sure! She bought 6 panels so I got to work.

Putting it up is not that hard, more the preparation as usual. Having to dig out some junk, level the ground and making sure there was clearance at the bottom of the fence to fit the bamboo.  removing limbs, and clean up was more of a pain in the arse. Of course watching youtube for tips to make it easier and better. Found out you can slide the bamboo up and out of the panel. Cut the wires then twist them to secure the remaining chutes. I think they are called chute, well they are now ha ha!

So that palm tree that grew not planted by anyone was not going to be an easy  or quick task to remove so I just trimmed it back some. Might be dead thinking Dad put oil on it somewhere along the line to kill it. So I made a nifty little window so that I could work my way around it.

Actually came out pretty nice and oh my God what a difference! Mom was pretty excited that most of the junk they have back there is forgotten for now.

So I did the North side then moved to the South side. Came out pretty nice as well. Heck, at night, looks like a totally different yard. Took a lot of cleaning a patio on the South side, cutting off that big bush for access and removing some of the plants that grew on our side of the fence. The neighbor is a plant freak and has tons of flowers and plants in their back and front yard. So every now and then, their plants sprout up on our side. Heck, I don't want any extra bushes or plants to care for. I ripped those suckers out!

So the prep sucks but once it's done, so much better and Ma is happy! She wants go get some of the thicker bigger bamboo for the back fence to cover up that Tia-Jauna fence the people in the back put up. What a mess! But overall, the yard is looking good!

                                   Before and after views. Mom can open her blinds again.

                                                                Looking West

Looking East

Looking South and the yard is so much better.

I posted this last year. This was after I had been watering the yard for 3 months. You can imagine what it looked like before that, no green! Plus gopher city. Holes everywhere and one could not walk through the yard without the ground eating a foot. :-O

This was the yard a few months back, both sides. So much better. But looking at those bricks, I think they dropped because of all the gophers that tore up the yard making for ground shift. I don't think the earthquakes were that bad so I'm thinking gopher city!