*Before we begin - does everyone know Gladys Kravitz of Bewitched? If not, click here and, if you don't, it's entirely possible that you are too young to be reading this anyway.*
I am ashamed to say I have inadvertently become the local Gladys Kravitz.
Luckily (or not so luckily, depending on your preference for sunlight pouring into your home; more of which, I would greatly appreciate), we only have one window that looks out the front of the house. Well...that's not quite true. We have the one window in the kitchen that looks directly at the front door of our neighbors across the street. We also have have sidelights on our front door that give a slightly different vantage point for the same neighbors. There is also a window in the bathroom and in a closet - but those blinds remain closed...for obvious reasons.
So, see above regarding as much sunlight as I can get into this house, all the blinds - except for the closet and bathroom - are opened every morning. And while I DO enjoy looking out into the backyard to see what is blooming (currently, only two scraggly day lilies that I need to replace. With what? And? Who, me? Go to a nursery right now? Not happening) - while trying to ignore all the things that need doing (see previous sentence) - there are many times that I find myself standing at the kitchen window gazing vacantly across the street - because honestly - where am I going and what else am I doing these days? I should note here, that I'm never actually at the window looking for the local dirt. I'm usually just killing time.
These neighbors aren't bad neighbors by any stretch of the imagination. She and the girls seem lovely. He, on the other hand, is a little odd but seems nice.
What has recently captured my attention across the street is their landscaping choices. Not that I should dare to presume how one should landscape their own yard. Because, really, it's none of my business.
But, it IS there and I DO see it, so...I have to wonder about some of their choices. Before they moved in, the landscaping was fine. Conventional even. Lovely, but nothing to talk about.
And then one day, out of nowhere three random bushes appeared near the street. Just bushes. In the middle of the yard. Not in a bed. Three random bushes that need to be mowed around somehow. Three bushes, placed far enough apart that will take a million years to grow together and be a random hedge...if that is what they are hoping for. Which, would also look odd, come to think of it.
My husband would throttle me if I disrupted his mowing by throwing random obstacles into his path.
Then a crepe myrtle appeared. Right next to the mailbox. I had to ask The Husband, "Who would place an actual TREE next to a mailbox?" He didn't have an answer.
Yesterday, a random tree appeared in their yard. Right in front of their front door. Why?!
I can only surmise that they have witnessed my vacant staring from the kitchen window and are trying to find a modicum of privacy.
We call the neighbor across the street Gladys, but she truly is. If a car rides down our street twice, the third time she is standing in the middle of the road to find out why. Stranger walking down the sidewalk? Gladys goes out to talk to them. My front door was open but my car was gone because my daughter was using it? There was Gladys, knocking on the door. On the bright side, no one steals packages off porches in our neighborhood!
ReplyDeleteI am so proud of myself that I am posting my comment right after I read your post. Last time I read it while in motion and then forgot to come back. My brain is in a million different places, which will be partially explained in my post tomorrow, but anyway - I am giving myself an A for effort tonight.
ReplyDeleteI am afraid we are 'those' bad landscaping people neighbors. In all honesty, we haven't changed anything or planted anything odd in weird places. We just have left things the way they are and then (not often enough) trimmed stuff and tried to make the place look less haunted.
I secretly love the image of you staring blankly out the window - not realizing that they can see you. Their planting choices do sound odd, even to a not-so-seasoned planter like myself. One of our issues is that someone before us planted a tree too close to the house and really it is more like a bush that now thinks it is a tree - it grows into the house and we have to hire someone to come and cut it back. Hiring out is not our strong suit, so the years go by and the thing gets unruly. It is also at the corner of the house that we rarely see, because our side-entry garage is on the opposite side of the house - we rarely see the front of the house. I sound so guilty, don't I? I digress, a tree by the mailbox? Weird.
That does seem a little odd. But who can know for sure unless you ask them? :-)
ReplyDeleteI know who Gladys is and in fact, I have used Gladys in one of MY posts over the years HA!
ReplyDeleteMaybe your neighbors are smoking some of those bushes.....hmmm??
Gladys, this was funny. Yes, they do not have design in mind...but they're keeping your brain busy with their horrid landscape ideas.
ReplyDeleteEvery year I cut out a little more lawn to make room for flowers...but not in the middle of the yard. I've often dreamed of getting rid of the lawn altogether to have just one giant garden...but Mr would NOT approve!
ReplyDeleteThere's a master plan in there somewhere. Have faith... it will all come together in like 20 years or so.
ReplyDeleteThis is hilarious! I have made fun of my mother for years because she seemed to have assigned herself as the neighborhood watchperson. I always say that if you want to know what's going on in a neighborhood, ask an old lady. They see everything.
ReplyDeleteWell, guess what? (You can see this coming, right?) *I* seem to spend a lot of time staring out certain windows lately. I suppose I shouldn't fight my destiny.