we finally tired of watching blackberries slowly swallow the house next door. we've been here four plus years. the house we view while washing dishes has been unoccupied for at least seven years. someone owns it and pays the property tax, but pays the house no mind. we have never seen anyone there, nor have the neighbors who have lived here longer than we have. it is a bit weird to live next to the eyesore of the neighborhood.
we are replacing the fence between our houses with a taller fence with a foot of lattice above. the top of the original was about where the third lateral down is in the picture, so we could see the sea of berry vines. the top space will be filled with lattice. the rest with solid boards. we will adorn it with fence art. more fence art.
Oh my, I'm reminded of the empty house that I lived next to for 5 years here. The raspberry vines kept sending shoots into my yard. The woman who owned it was in a nursing home, and it took ages after she died before the family either sold it or cleaned it up. I moved before it was renovated, and now when I drive by it looks much nicer. I'm glad you're making your view much nicer!
ReplyDeletethe berry vines invade our yard. i dug out at least seven big root wads of blackberries very close to the new fence.
DeleteYaaaayyy for your fence art!
ReplyDeleteThe emperor's new fence (-:
thanks for getting my reference.
DeleteI can't wait to see the fence art. I'm sure it will surpass the blackberries in beauty.
ReplyDeletewell.. the berries are a low bar. we'll se what we can do.
ReplyDeleteAt least it is quiet; the people behind us have three large dogs they let out often to bark, as late as midnight. I am thinking of poisoned meatballs...
ReplyDeleteI assume that this is meant as a joke, but, wow. Not funny at all.
DeleteHave you tried talking to that neighbor?
are the meatballs for the dog's owners?
DeleteSometimes I think my neighbors behind me want to do the same to me, so they don't have to see my scraggly yard. I really should fertilize or something.
ReplyDeleteit's always something.
DeleteShould improve the view once it's finished, though from what I know of blackberries they'll soon start to feel lonely and will climb the fence to say hello.
ReplyDeletesadly... yes they will
DeleteI'm always curious about houses like these. Looking forward to some more fence art.
ReplyDeleteuh oh. now i have set up expectations.
DeleteLooking forward to seeing the fence art.
ReplyDeletewe will endeavor to do something
DeleteGreat idea.
ReplyDeletethanks
DeleteNice way to hide an eyesore, our fence is like that with lattice on top and the odd birdhouse along the fence.
ReplyDeletebirdhouse! i like that.
DeleteSounds like the start of the book "Where have you gone Bernadette". Not so much fun in real life.
ReplyDeletedo you suppose that bernadette is buried in the berry vines?
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of fence art. So weird that a house like that just stays empty for years.
ReplyDeletethanks. fences are kinda boring. yes, weird!
DeleteYour fence art is so professional. And the fence is beautiful, too. The new fence will wall you in but better than staring at that eyesore next door.
ReplyDeletegood fences make good neighbors. even with absentee neighbors
DeleteWe had a house similar to that one when we lived in VA, and we always thought it might have had something to do with our house taking so long to sell.
ReplyDeletewe were really glad to find a nice house to buy after a year of renting. we think the sellers may have cleaned up at least the front yard next door. and the blackberries were barely there in the back.
DeleteHow did I miss this post? I just do NOT understand houses like this. In a world where so many people need housing, how can someone sit on this resource and let it go to waste? Is there no code enforcement in your area that could force the owners to keep the property up?
ReplyDeletewe did alert the city about possible varmint (rats) problems several years ago. the owner sent a guy to weed whack the front and back yards, but he did not dig out the berry roots. they are obviously back with a vengeance. i'm sure that the owner gets letters from real estate agents wanting to sell the property. this is a desirable neighborhood
ReplyDelete