We are back from vacation to a jungle! (How can grass grow so much in one week!?)
We don't know the people that live in the house above us. We call them The Yellers. We *know* them because we hear them yelling at each other on a regular basis. They could also be called the Door Slammers. They do that often, too. Goes well with the yelling.
One of my favorite yelling sessions I heard was about the telephone. they were both outside when the phone inside rang. Wife Yeller yelled 'The phone is ringing!' to which Husband Yeller replied in a yell, 'So answer the f***ing phone!' That produced additional yelling.
There are many things about these people that bother us (and as we have been told, the neighbors on the upper side of them aren't fond of the Yellers either.) Their house is falling apart. It needs paint. It needs repairs. They also have a pool they stopped using and maintaining years ago. I just happened to see a glimpse of it this spring when I was cleaning up the fallen branches in the forest. Pathetic. And dangerous. Just a festering pond of mosquito larvae.
Anyway, before we left for vacation, our neighbor, the Husband Yeller, cut the grass around his gas meter. The meter is on his property, but the grass is on our property. It's ornamental grass I was letting grow to distract from the Yeller's house, weeds and general unkemptness.
But the Yeller didn't just trim the grass around his meter. He cut a huge strip down the hillside to our driveway. And not just trim, he cut the grass down to the dirt. He obviously wasn't pleased to have to do this job so he was making darned sure he didn't have to do it again this summer.
Now it looked awful. Walt Kowalski was just as annoyed as I was. He said 'FINE, when we get back from vacation I'll cut the entire bank. No need for it too look bad on our yard. No need for me to get poison ivory before vacation.' (That's what he calls it.)
All husband Yeller had to do was say "Hey, could you trim your grass around our meter. Thanks.' We would have been glad to!
So here's the scene on dead man's curve, where he grass and meter are located:
We are also saving to repave the driveway.
Walt Kowalski was using the push mower to cut as much of the grass as possible before getting out the bigger trimmer or the proper western PA term Weed Wacker. He was doing a good job. He got about halfway up the hillside.
Oh and see that ladder leaning against the Yeller's house...it's been there for 7 weeks now.
SEVEN WEEKS! I'm keeping count. I'm betting it will still be there come autumn.
Anyway, I was working around the patio and heard Walt Kowalski mowing. Then I no longer heard proper mowing noises. Instead, I heard a noise of the mower hitting something hard, shutting off, and a hissing sound. I thought Walt Kowalski hit a rock or a tree stump and the blade of the mower fell off.
But then, I could see Walt Kowalski walking back towards the house and the hissing sound continued. Walt Kowalski was mumbling to himself. The closer he got I realized he wasn't mumbling. Because this is a family show, I won't post the words Walt Kowalski was saying. Let's just say I learned a few new ones.
He didn't hit a rock or a tree stump. He hit a 1/2 inch plastic gas line that was sticking out of the ground. Gas line. Plastic. Sticking. Out. Of. The. Ground.
Walt Kowalski said 'Call the gas company!'
If you're keeping track, so far since this blog has started (less than a year ago) I have called the fire department and the electric company for emergencies. Add the gas company to the list! It's a good thing we have a well or we know who would be next on that list.
The emergency number for the gas company told me someone would be out within the hour. They also warned me not to light any matches or smoke around the leak.
A nice man named Chris was there within the hour. Used a special type of vice grips to squeeze the plastic pipe and stop the leak. Walt Kowalski originally tried a hose clamp, which was the only thing he had handy. Also a good idea, but there was too much pressure on the line to stop the leak completely.
It's hard to see in the photos.
This one is a little better. This pipe has been out of the ground for a while now. In the fall, the grass dies and lays down. In the spring, when I raked this hill, the raking must have pushed the pipe down again, because I never noticed it before.
I also don't linger in this area due to the vast amount of poison.
We filled out the damage repot with the gas company and he made many phone calls. The repair crew was ordered and would arrive on scene sometime soon. We stood in the driveway and talked to Chris for 2 hours. He had lots of funny stories about customers. He has seen it all.
Another hour later, the repair crew arrived.
They were prepared to dig. Dig the driveway. Dig the road if necessary. It had the makings to be a long night.
The repair crew fixed the pipe and manually dug down about a foot to bury the line. They said that for the evening the repair was acceptable and that if they were going to do any additional repairs they would return in several weeks.
It was a scary and frustrating situation that ended well but it's not over just yet. There are still problems with the Yeller's meter. For example, there is supposed to be a shut off valve on the meter and at shut off at the main on the curb, aka a curb key. The curb key wasn't at the curb. The curb key was at the meter. Not at the curb! *sigh*
If for no other reason this situation needs fixed because Walt Kowalski and I want to widen and flatten the entrance of the driveway.
Never a dull moment at the Cat Ranch.
