KEEP OUT!

Protecting the Territory
11/28/2007

Thanks so much for your ideas and suggestions on my last post! I decided to try posting signs first, but this was before I made yet another discovery about the dumpster... I went to Lowe's after work because, really, who doesn't love an excuse to go in there?

my booty:

These were the supplies I deemed necessary to protect my turf: Two KEEP OUT signs, a roll of duct tape, and the latest Cottage Living magazine. I needed the signs for the obvious reasons and found myself feeling like a true home owner buying the duct tape to post the signs. And the magazine, well, I make no excuses--- I like it.

Scary, isn't it? I know it would stop me dead in my tracks. The lady at the checkout counter asked me if I was feeling antisocial when she rang up my signs... I explained what was going on and she wished me good luck.

How utterly intimidating. At least now the general populace will take the hint that I'm onto them.

So I was feeling pretty good about my impending signage, after I made my purchases and was driving over to the house. That is, until I got to the dumpster and looked in:

Ladies and Gentlemen, that's not *a* mattress... It's more like SIX mattresses AND box springs. And bed rails. I was so shocked and angry when I found this tears came to my eyes (it had been a long day, too). I just couldn't believe that not only was someone using my dumpster, but they had the audacity to dump this many mattresses. Not just the one that already had me worked up and excited, but THIS MANY?

I felt utterly defeated.

Once I got home, I talked to my parents and sister about it and they said I should talk to the neighbors to see if they saw anything. We also hypothesized that this came out of the triplex brick apartment units next-door that had been undergoing recent renovations due to the tornado back in March (some of the tenants, if not all, had to move out/were evicted because of the intensity of the work going on). And if I find out it was them, I'm going to definitely call the police and pursue them for illegal dumping.

I'm still shocked by it. I just had no words when I saw it.

At least when I got home I had my Cottage Living...