I have had to deal with neighbors that made the thought of a Range War seem a possibility. Neighbors whose bulls would break in to your farm then chase you and your horse away from your own cows. Neighbors who drank beer along the property line and threw the empties on my land. [I was wondering where the dog kept getting beer cans from]. Neighbors whose cows would crawl into my stack yard and demolish tons of hay and then they would complain when I called about the damage and needing some help to chase them out! I smile to think most ranchers fence to keep their cattle home...my shorthorns loved home and it did not take a barricade of 5 tight strands of barbed wire to keep them in, I had to build that fence to keep the neighbors cows out!
Yes now we are in town and the neighbors are so close by it is a great thing to know we have neighbors of the best kind! We are thankful to have good neighbors around us.
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I have a mix of good and bad. Luckily, being in such a rural area, the bad ones are a distance. The good neighbors more than make up for them, though. They make it possible for me to enjoy the lifestyle I do.
ReplyDeleteMy Father always said good fences make good neighbors...then he would cuss a bit as we fixed fence after the neighbors cows broke in! There is something special about good neighbors in the country...but I wonder if good neighbors become even more important in urban settings where people live so close together?
DeleteI have lived in urban houses, apartments and everything inbetween. I have lived on 5 acre ranchettes with city people thinking they are "ranchers" and should be allowed to let all their dogs loose anytime to chase my stock. I have lived in rural communities where city people move in and bring their city ways with them. Now I live in a ranching community with families that have been here 100 years. They rise early and go to bed early. They are hard working and yet, come running whenever we need a hand in an emergency. They are generous and funny, We watch their places and they watch ours. We put their cows back in when they get out occasionally and then fix the break in the fence. No big deal. These are true neighbors in every sense of the word. We don't socialize because we are newcomers, having only been here 20 years and are not welcome into their circle. Yep, clannish, but good neighbors, nevertheless. They mind their own business and we mind ours. Good day and a howdy....works for me,
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