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Tuesday, February 28, 2023

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.

14 comments:

Joanne Noragon said...

One last big job--downsizing. Not bad, once you start. So congratulations, well done. Walk away smiling.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Glad your house sold and that you were able to resolve the barking dog problem! Sounds like your new life is keeping you hopping!

gz said...

Well done on being found by a buyer!

Michelle said...

Well, at least you have the largesse to part with; hallelujah! And good on Sweeze to tackle a problem that surely vexed many others in the neighborhood. How could it not bother Fred's people???

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Oh my goodness. We dealt with a neighbor (mind you we are in the country surrounded by farm land) tried to start up a mud bog for 3 years! We finally got them closed down. We are talking mud trucks with wheels as tall as person, running along the river behind our property all night long. Hope you get some peace and quiet. So glad to hear your house is sold. I bet that is a relief.

www.self-sufficientsam.blogspot.com said...

So glad to see that you are alive! I sent you an email and never heard back but glad all is well. You have been very busy and so glad you got your house sold! Congrats on that and also curing the dog problem.

ellen abbott said...

always good when a house you no longer want sells, even better that the buyer tracked you down. good job on dealing with Fred.

Susan said...

Nice your old place is going to someone who will treasure it. The small town grapevine has its uses. We told friends we wanted to sell and friends of theirs had been looking for over a year and we agreed on a price saving us well over 20K in realtor fees. We split the saving with the nice young couple and everyone was happy. Good for you for dealing with the thoughtless neighbours.

jaz@octoberfarm said...

what tremendous luck! mine has only just gone quietly on the market as an exclusive listing. i have about a month until it goes on msl. i will be one happy person to get that elephant off of my back!

Steve Reed said...

They left Fred out ALL NIGHT?! No wonder the poor guy was barking!

Congrats on selling the house. Woo hoo! What a relief that must be!

Nancy In Boise said...

Bummer about the dog! We have a renter behind us with four dogs OMG what a nightmare. We keep hoping they'll move out. Glad your house hold! Is the house you moved into when you inherited? Or did you just buy one in the area? I wasn't sure. Will you have livestock again? Chickens and Ducks Etc and your garden? How about some outside photos of the property sometime in the spring?

Debby said...

At least Fred the car does not carry on between one and four a.m. right? The universe gives...and the universe takes. When the universe takes before it gives it makes things even worse.

Katie C. said...

Are you stopping your blog for good? 😥

Dena said...

where did you go?