Fred the dog, Fred the car and a Cacophony of Coyotes

Welcome to the suburbs!  I will say that I do not miss the gravel trucks one. little. bit.  It seems, however, that I've traded them in for a pathological barker:  Fred, the dog.  Fred and his person live next door during the winter.  Fred apparently finds the outdoors either a very dangerous or exciting place.  As soon as paws hit the ground, he is barking.  Constantly.  Without stopping or breathing.  Needless to say, this is not a pleasant occurrence, especially at one in the morning until 4ish.  Everyone on the street (my sister included), stiffens their upper lip and suffers silently.  Obviously, not everyone.  Sweeze has arrived.  I contacted the HOA president and relayed my dismay - civilly and politely, I may add - and he stepped right up and contacted the owner in Florida.  There was a slight lessening of the barkage, but then he was at it for over three hours in the wee hours.  Another email was sent.  (Background story:  neighbor has been here for years and is a lovely woman.  While she's in Florida for the winter, her daughter and grandson (and Fred) move in to look after the house.)  This time, I spoke to the owner and we figured the late night barkathon was because the grandson got home from his job at one AM, let Fred out and then went to bed.  Leaving poor Fred to voice his displeasure until the daughter got up.  Honestly, these people must be stone deaf.  There were calls and emails and it has been quiet at night.  Halleluiah.

My other neighbor across the street is a whirlwind of activity.  He is a multitalented fellow who can replace car engines, teach skiing, tackle any repair needed.  He is fascinating to watch, as he bounces (almost literally) from one activity to another.  His latest project was to install a racing engine into an Audi station wagon.  Just because he could.  Basically, he took a nice, normal car and created a roaring monster.  Now it's varrooom, varrooom all day long.  In and out of the driveway, up and down the street.  Geez.  I told him I have dubbed the Audi "Fred, the car".  He thought that was great, but he completely missed the point.  He is also a very handy handyman, so I have decided to pick my battles.

The only other noises we hear on a fairly regular basis are birdsongs, woodpeckers, the occasional siren, some road noise - faint - and coyotes!  Judging by the tracks in the snow (when we actually 
have snow), we have foxes, bobcats, rabbits galore, deer, moose, and all manner of small critters.  

The good news is that I have managed to sell my house!  After all of the frustration dealing with the realtor and (ahem) attorney, I cancelled my contract with the realtor and fired the attorney, deciding to look into what other options I had.  Shortly after, I was contacted by the niece of the original owner.  She had heard through the local grapevine (one of the things I do not miss about living in a very small town) that I had run into a snag while trying to sell my house.  She offered me cash, but it was way too low.  Some time elapsed.  She offered me a little more.  More time elapsed.  She offered me just enough to make it reasonable and we closed in record time.  I had managed to find a good attorney and her attorney was also great.  She didn't want to have inspections, wanted it as-is, badda boom.  What a relief.  She's happy and I'm happy and now all I have to do is soldier through the estate work.  I am nearly ready to lob it back to probate.  We hope that there will be something left after the tax department gets their hands on it.

Meanwhile, I must get the furnace replaced, the deck repaired and refinished, the garage doors replaced, and one side of the basement room torn up to remedy the result of a long-term leak.  I always said that the Universe manages to come up with the wherewithal to cover emergencies, but it would be so nice to be able to sit back and enjoy a largesse before you have to part with it.  Sigh.