The story of the tree

So. This is an aerial photo of our property.

See how we have a little corner that crosses the road there on the west side?

That is our neighbors driveway.

It is a long driveway; it goes from the highway up a mile or more to the last place.

The nearest neighbor you can see there, the white rectangle and the green dot outside the blue.

These are new neighbors; they moved here from California.

They carry guns, well, because, you just never know when a bear or a bad guy is gonna jump out from behind a tree and try to eat or molest you. You just really never know. It is wild here in Montana.

Really wild.

They have gated their road and have asked the neighbors to please call prior to visiting, therefore, we don't visit because we can just wander by when we are out in the area.

In the corner of our property that crosses the neighbors driveway once stood a big douglas fir tree.

It had lived a long and happy life and was now dead.

A few people had asked us about that tree and if it was on our property. We affirmed that it was indeed ours and we had plans for it. Mike is dreaming of a shop and this tree was to provide us with beams.

When we met the new neighbors (we had them down for libations) we laughingly told them the most recent story about a tree inquiry and mentioned to them how our property crossed the road leading to their driveway. Last week, while Mike is gone a hunting, some stranger from the area noted the said tree and was gazing at it with true firewood lust. The new neighbors came by and questioned what the lustful firewood gatherer was doing on "their" road. They had an interaction which ended with new neighbors assuring the lustful firewood gatherer that the property above the road was "indeed timber company property" despite the fact that we had painted ALL the boundaries orange and Mike tied a big old orange ribbon around the tree,

(and he is not here to verify this) but I think he wrote "do not cut" or some kind of thing on the ribbon.

So, said wood gatherer swiftly fell the tree, limbed it and rolled it off the steep bank and into the ditch readying to buck it up into firewood, when, thankfully, another neighbor came driving up the road and set him straight. I was oblivious to all of this. The corner of property is far from the house. I was singing away, fixing dinner, when someone knocked on the door.  I just hollared"come in!" as usual thinking it was neighbor Barb coming to visit (I was expecting her) and in walks a stranger, the firewood gatherer.

He came to apologize, profusely and tell me the story and leave his number for Mike in the event Mike wanted to tear into him for tresspassing. He didn't mention the neighbors telling him it wasn't our property and to go ahead. He did say that someone had verified it was comapny land before he started cutting, as I inquired as to whether he had noticed the ribbons and markings and what he was thinking.

Anyway, the story made it around the neighborhood quickly.

The next morning, before it was light, neighbor Art, the one who set wood gatherer straight, phoned to tell me his side of the story and to offer assistance in getting the log before another wood crazed person came along. I donned my rain boots and coat, as it was POURING out and took a private property sign up and stapled it to the log. Then I heard from other neighbors. The new neighbors apologized, and Eric, of the BarbErics offered to help. So Art and Eric got Arts tractor and cut the tree into log lengths and hauled it up to Erics mill where the saved tree will become the beams that Mike has been dreaming of.

Now those beams will have a story!

And I finished my posting-of-the-signs venture out into the rain with a walk.

The rain let up.

So here I am out on my walk in the woods.

Armed and dangerous! (snort!)

Should any bear or bad guy try to molest me....

Their foreheads would have been filled with staples!

WE are a bit alarmed that our new neighbors are motivated by fear,

and not only that, that they are packing guns and seem to be anxious to use them!

They, at least, love to talk about packing their guns around.

There goes the neighborhood!

The up and coming "other new neighbors" are from Texas and he packs a big knife and a gun,

just in case one weapon is not enough!