Who’s moving my lawn decor?
DEAR JOAN: We have a cabin in Arroyo Seco in south Monterey County, in the foothills. The lawn is surrounded by rocks, weighing 10 to 30 pounds each. We came down after a four-day weekend and found just about all the rocks have been moved, probably 200 of them. Our thoughts:
Kids, except they would n not be tenacious enough to go all around the perimeter and would probably throw some, rather then just turn them over.
Wild pigs, n except the lawn was not rooted up. We have had problems with pigs in the past, but they always do a real number on the lawn.
Raccoons, except some n of the rocks would probably be too heavy.
Other animals in the area are coyote, turkey, beaver, deer, cattle, ground squirrels, gray squirrels, mountain lions and some say bear, but we have never seen one.
Sally Backus Bay Area
DEAR SALLY: Of the animals you list, I’d say your new landscaper is a raccoon. A rock weighing 30 pounds might be a stretch for a raccoon, but it could easily handle 10 to 20 pounds, especially if the raccoon knows that underneath that stone is some tasty grubs, worms or beetles.
DEAR JOAN: I have a problem with a next door neighbor who is a very poor example of a dog owner.
There are only 5-foot set backs on the side between their home and mine, and they have fenced about 30 feet of it, that has now become a pen for another young dog.
They have locked previous dogs out there before for most of the day and night, and shown little attention to all of them. So barking has been a problem. They even had one pit bull run away.
I have expressed to them our displeasure with the barking and have had to call the sheriff here to deal with it. After about two years of peace and quiet, they obtained a young female husky that we have tried to be friendly to, but every time we step outside — front, rear or side of our house — the dog goes off barking at an ear splitting level. Otherwise the dog is generally quiet.
I don’t want to call the sheriff again and would like to be neighborly, but we are at our wit’s end with the disregard by our neighbor. What would you suggest? B.K. El Granada
DEAR B.: Not long after I started writing this column, I became painfully aware that you could go a little nuts trying to control the animals of your neighbors.
Whether it’s cats using your garden as a litter box or dogs howling through the night, it falls to your neighbor to fix it. Often, they won’t. And even though you shouldn’t have to do anything, if you want to live in peace, it falls on you to find a solution.
My suggestion is that you try to make friends with the neighbor and the dog. You can explain the problem and ask if there’s something they can do. At the very least, they should bring the dog in at night.
You might have better luck making friends with the dog. Ask your neighbors if you can meet the dog, then offer to take it for walks or visit with it so that it begins to recognize you. Bringing along some treats won’t hurt, either.
If the dog learns to recognize you and your voice, it might not be so quick to bark when you venture outdoors.
If none of that works, then you might need to call the authorities or take action in civil court.