After the spring of 2018, that wasn’t – I was still wearing mittens in late April – summer suddenly happened. Full-on, full blast.
I don’t have AC, so a few days of heat makes the second floor pretty stuffy.
I was restlessly tossing and turning so I got up to have a drink. I stood in the kitchen mindlessly looking through the lace curtain as I drank my water. It was after 1:00 a.m..
Suddenly I saw a male head pop up over the top of the chainlink fence, behind my canvas screening. This was definitely not right ! I ran upstairs to look out the bedroom window, where I could see the now repaved parking lot next door. A guy was crawling through the sliding glass window next door. Then that guy came out a minute later carrying stuff. He ran to where the dumpster was, then dropped whatever he had taken over the chainlink fence into my yard, then went back in.
Suddenly it made sense why one of my smoke bushes had several broken branches !
I called the police, they came, the guy was long gone.
The next day I spoke to the renovation dudes, to let them know. They hadn’t even noticed anything was gone, but then realized they were missing chargers, batteries and a radio. Small potatoes but still.
One of the guys said this was the second or third break-in they’d had.
There had been one weekend, where one of the crew forgot to close a side door, and it was wide open – beckoning to all local crud. I watched it and went over after dark. I called out and poked my head inside. I wasn’t one of Charlie’s Angels ! I wasn’t a cop ! What I was doing was stupid. I shut the door, then told the crew when they were back.
Another time I heard a loud bang late at night. One of the doors was now open. This time I didn’t go over but I watched it for awhile. I didn’t see anyone coming or going. I closed the door the next day, and told the crew again. The last thing I wanted to deal with was a sketchy pop-up crack/theft party happening next door. The gas station building was made from cinderblocks, so at least it couldn’t get torched by accident or on purpose. I told the crew when they showed up next.
Black Picket Fence 