We live on the corner and our side yard provides only about a 10-foot buffer from the sidewalk.  The people who lived here before were not very good with home repairs (read: they made it up as they went along), BUT they were amazingly good at landscaping.  We have beautiful trees and shrubs and flowers that, of their own free will, return year after year to make it look like we actually had something to do with it.  I love them.

The last few weeks Chloe has been going nuts when we let her outside at night.  She’s been burrowing under the Wisteria, crawling under the lilac bush, and will just stand in the kitchen and bark.  Fly chasing, ghost chasing, simply off her rocker, we thought.  Until yesterday.

At lunch time, something made Super Dad check the giant pine tree that is nestled in the corner of the side yard and is directly in front of our kitchen windows.  It’s a big tree that has low branches and it abuts the 6-foot tall back fence – right on the other side of the lilac bush Chloe has been crawling under and barking at.  Turns out someone has been sleeping under our tree at night.

Holy sugar plums!

There was a nicely worn path, packed down pine needles, a few newspapers that were patted down, and some freshly broken branches.  WHAT THE HECK!

So, being incredibly freaked out since I walk by that window all the time at night (hello, snacks!) and am outside talking to Chloe while she’s going bonkers and now know there. was. someone. on. the. other. side. of. my. fence. the. whole. time!, we chopped up those tree branches and cleaned out under that tree yesterday.  Ugh.  Another totally disgusting part?  For weeks now I’d occasionally smell urine while walking down my basement steps and couldn’t figure out where it was coming from.  It’s been driving me nuts.  Guess what’s right by that tree?  Basement windows, my friend, basement windows.  I gag just thinking about it.

Today’s mantra:  I love this town, I love this town, I love this…