madgardener expounded:

Today I discovered that my front neighbor's family (Miz Mary's
family)had at sometime this week when I was distracted, removed the park
bench that was a symbol of my former neighbor's hospitality. She is not
deceased.

Oh, Mad, I HATE it when they do this to someone's garden! I'll notice
a nice garden in my travels, being tended lovingly by an older person,
and think about how it'll disappear when they're gone - and she's not
gone yet!

There is an old homestead around the corner from me that consisted of
I think 40 acres. Long street frontage on a very desirable street in
Hanover. The old guy tended his grapes, they were wonderful. He had
a huge garden in the side yard, with pear trees, apples, cherries,
asparagus, different fruits and veggies. The grapes were along the
street side of the garden. I always saw him out there tending things,
and every spring he pruned the grapes. Then one year he wasn't out
there, all season, things grew wild looking. Same next year, it was
so sad. Then suddenly the next spring I saw him! He was using a
walker, and a lawn chair, but he was out there working those grapes
again. I think he was around for another year or so before I saw his
obituary in the paper (

Then, the kids got hold of the place. The land was worth tons. Or so
they thought. I'm sure they had $$$ signs dancing in their minds.
Well, all they got out of it was six house lots, and they are
ridiculous, one McMansion behind another, two rows of three, and the
access is from around the garden side of the house. However, the
house had been sold to another gardener! He did a land swap with some
of the house land to keep the whole garden! The old man would be
thrilled to know his garden goes on. And the kids didn't get half of
what they thought they'd get.

See, all of the old homesteads around here are being eaten up and
turned into McMansion yards. One acre zoning. The damned house
covers the whole acre, just about! But sometimes the land is wet in
spots, so it won't perc. or there are vernal pools on them (that was
the case here) and they can't be developed. Sometimes things work out
just a bit.

/Rant
--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
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