My Trees Were Spared

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This summer the powers that be in the filthy little logging town I live in decided to turn the lot behind my house into an industrial yard. Since July we have been subjected to heavy machinery waking us up at 5:30 am. Up to 20 pieces of heavy machinery were parked just feet from our back door for months on end. They used to lot at a staging area for the city sewer project. In return the property owner got his two historical but derelict houses torn down for free. Sometimes they worked until midnight dumping chunks of concrete first onto the ground and then into dump trucks. The noise was awful and it was continuous. The machines made our house shake and sent fumes spewing into our yard. In the summer my new veggie garden was covered with dust. They would idle their equipment for up to 45 minutes at a time with the fumes going into our yard and house if we opened the door. One day I went out and turned off the machine in the above picture with out them noticing. We could not enjoy our back yard at all due to all the dust and noise. I regularly looked out my back window only to see workmen urinating on their tractors. They seemed oblivious to the fact that our house was there. My children were woken up to the sound of workmen cussing on several occasions.

Before the workers and machines came my oldest child used the lot as a play area. She called it her nature preserve. Her 3rd grade teacher was so impressed that she came to our house to take pictures of the "preserve". The preserve is now gone of course.

The heirloom apple tree that she hung bird feeders and bird houses in was the first casualty. Then the row of maple trees was removed, then the while lilac bush and the blackberry vines. I had to go elsewhere to get blackberries for pies, wine and jam this year. The workmen left two cedar trees, a pear tree and apple tree. They told me that all the remaining trees would be removed right before they left the site for good.

Well I'm happy to say that the 20 pieces of heavy machinery that were my view for the last 6 months are gone. I'm so happy to see them go. I'm also happy that they decided to spare the last remaining trees. I was prepared to go out and protest the removal of those last two cedar tree but I did not have to because they were spared!

Now when I look out my back window there is no grass and no heirloom apple tree and no black berries or lilacs so it does look quite barren and people can now look into our dining room from the main street in town. But also the 20 plus pieces of heavy machinery are gone and I have two cedar trees to look at.

All and all this was a horrible ordeal for us and I will never vote yes on any city project that might turn my back yard into a construction yard. I blame the city officials of backward and corrupt little town. They never never would have allowed a taxpayer to use a residential lot as a building site and parking lot for bull dozers.

Today my duaghter went out and played in her field and it made her happy.