Public sidewalk obstructers beware!
Last week we found this dreaded door hanger on our front door:
Has somebody complained to the powers that be? Are there people in our neighborhood who harbor ill will against us? And if so, why? I guess we'll never know.
Here are some snapshots of the crime scene:
Oh what thugs we are for letting our unruly vegetation intrude into the sacrosanct space of the city sidewalk!
What utter disregard for the rule of law and public order, not to mention common decency!
Agitators, provocateurs, rabble-rousers! Radicals, subversives, troublemarkers!
That kind of incendiary behavior won't be tolerated in the City of All Things Right & Relevant!
Having driven the fear of the law into us thusly, we meekly retrieved our gardening tools and proceeded to rectify our acts of insubordination.
Granted, in some places we're still riding the knife edge between order and anarchy...
...but we're hoping the enforcers of the law will benevolently acknowledge our efforts at restoring propriety:
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| I know, that little rascal there is still intruding... |
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| But look how non-obstructed this stretch of sidewalk is! |
The photo below has nothing to do with our transgression, but it makes me feel better. Why? Because the Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt' is looking good, and because I have the luxury of deciding what to put in this container:
I'll enjoy the sweet nectar of procrastination a little while longer. I deserve it after our nerve-racking detour into the criminal underbelly. This fellow delinquent knows what it feels like to be on the wrong side of the law!
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Loved this post. Makes me wonder who has the job of monitoring sidewalks! What a walk in the park kind of job.
ReplyDeleteIt's a mystery. Our neighbor across the street got a door hanger, too. Others on our street didn't. No rhyme or reason.
DeleteSomeone complained. That's nearly always the reason.
DeleteOh, for goodness sake! They should give you an award for beautifying the neighborhood. Someone's unfettered dog probably ran into your bed and got poked bashing into an aloe.
ReplyDeleteNope, we don't have a beautification program, as far I know. Only a complaint-driven code violation program. Heaven forbid you should emphasize the POSITIVE aspects!
DeleteGotta wonder who has that much time on their hands to complain about someone beautifying the sidewalks. The big aloe made me chuckle as it looks like a giant squid reaching out to grab an unsuspecting passerby. Maybe it did and they are the one complaining?
ReplyDeleteAbout 10 years ago, somebody filed a complaint with the city because ONE rudbeckia flower was overhanging the sidewalk in front of our house. We cut off the offending flower in the presence of a city inspector and order was restored.
DeleteI was thinking of Peter the whole time I was reading this. Now I know two outlaws! Oh wait, three. Scott ran into something similar last year.
ReplyDeleteEverytime we receive a complaint, I think of Peter, the Outlaw Gardener.
DeleteAt least it wasn't item #2 that was checked on that notice!
ReplyDeleteVery true. Although it's largely in the eyes of the beholder.
DeleteOn the bright side, only a great rainy season could produce such a crime wave... And honestly, the ?angel's fishing rods/Dierama looks a *whole* lot better, sidewalk or no sidewalk. What gorgeous pink blooms on that tall spiky succulent (the one being forcibly restrained from its scofflaw tendencies).
ReplyDelete...or a long dry season where plants croak and fall into the sidewalk :-)
DeleteMakes me glad we don't have sidewalks.
ReplyDeleteBut you probably have to keep vegetation out of the street...?
DeleteSuch criminal activity must not be tolerated. Whoever walks down the sidewalk anyway? Next time, try putting the Russelia in a tomato cage. That keeps it a bit more upright and less the offender.
ReplyDeleteTomato cage! That's a brilliant idea for the russelia. It's a flopper by nature.
Deletewell....and don't get me wrong, I would kill to have that be my garden..or heck, my neighbour's garden...but if you can't get a wheelchair (or stroller) down the sidewalk it does get tricky....i bet what got you in trouble was mainly that little section under and around the bamboo....
ReplyDeleteKate, I bet that's EXACTLY the reason: accessibility. And that's a good thing, if applied using common sense.
DeleteLove that you share your fascinating plants for the neighborhood to enjoy. However, the spiky ones that reach out over the sidewalk at a small child's eye level or scratching passers by are what sets off my "oh no, hazard!". Perhaps a relocation farther back would spare them a trimming.
ReplyDeleteIt’s beautiful!! The only thing I saw was the agave. But good riddance! I love how wild and colorful it is.
ReplyDeleteAgave thorns can slice a young (or old) limb down to the bone…if a young kid gets permanent nerve damage, good luck paying that claim because your insurance company people won’t.
ReplyDelete