Tragedy Hits Close and Do Fences Make Good Neighbors? Stay Tuned

Rainy morning, cleared to bright blue skies, chilly 50 degrees- tonight might be frost.

While Benno and I love being on the Coastal South, days like today make us wonder- WHAT is wrong with people?

While stopped at the red light at the intersection leading to Dauphin Island, I noticed a pick up truck in the drive way of Rutzmustl- our future art gallery and first property we purchased in Alabama.

What are they doing? I ask. Look's like someone is at our place.

Benno, not seeing them or possibly not thinking anyone would have the gall to be there, says he didn`t see anyone. Well at my insistence, he turned into our driveway - and there- before us was a huge wooden fence being erected around our orange tree.

Several fellows with hammers, the third, an old man,  standing around with a beer can, were just placing the final section of five section stockade fence around the little orange tree and its neighboring Persimmon tree

Our neighbor G stood defiantly next to it.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING? shouts Benno while scrambling out of our car.

What followed were very loud, and some choice words.

WE HAD THIS PLACE SURVEYED! THAT IS WHAT THOSE STAKES WITH PINK RIBBONS ARE  FOR. ARE YOU NUTS? PUTTING UP A FENCE AROUND OUR FRUIT TREES?
G replies with some very not choice words.

There stood the poor little fruit trees,surrounded by heavy six foot wide and eight foot tall privacy fences propped up on smaller stakes.

Consider:

• There were no fence posts holding these fence sections up- so the first wind would have blown the fencing down onto the helpless trees. 
• How did G think he was going to get into take the fruit from the trees- an action I assume that was driving this craziness, since several weeks ago I had plucked a dozen oranges from our trees and  left G at least five oranges- out of consideration.
• Why does G insist on not respecting survey stakes?

Our meeting over the fruit tree fences did have other results from it:

• we hired the fellows to put up a fence along our property line
• we may hire them to finish our new driveway and put up the horse fencing
• we learned some very sad news:

3rd victim dies following early morning shooting at Campus Quarters near USA

It appears the boy murdered was the young man who worked and owned/via his dad the convenient store directly across from Rutzmuschtl. Benno and I remember him as a tall thin dark haired boy, who expressed himself quite uniquely at his store. He'd wear a top hat, a cape and dance- almost mimelike at and around the cash register. 

Elsewhere in our news today we visited:

•  and joined the Mobile Arts Council- Charlie the Assist. Director is a fabulous local art source, very engaging, and welcoming;
• and chatted with the ladies of ArtologyINC. Their gallery is very bright, colorful, and full of female art goodness
• and tried to enter the Coden Post Office at 4:15- who would have thought the P.O. closes at 4pm?