As the Garden Grows

I think my elderly neighbor Sofie is getting worse in her stalking ways.

I honestly wouldn’t be surprised to find a camera in my home that she’s placed there to watch me.

I mean, she knows every time I step outside my door - whether I go out the front of the back she’s there, seemingly waiting for me!

Honestly! She’s part of the reason why I’m not getting my garden work done.

All of our backyards are fairly open with short chain link fences between them. I don’t mind this so much and I don’t mind my neighbors being outdoors using their yards at the same time I am … but Sofie … Sofie literally follows me around. I’ll be in one portion of my backyard trying to work at something and she’ll be opposite me on her side of the fence digging in the earth or spraying her plants with water. I move, she moves.

When she finally does tire she’s sit on her steps and watch me work. If she only watched me work in my garden I wouldn’t be too upset … but no, she has to ask questions. Usually it’s the same ones over and over.

Trouble is I can’t usually hear her since the traffic at the front of the house is so loud and she’s talking low. She knows I can’t hear her too. So I’ll spend some time nodding my head but eventually she’ll say something repeatedly wanting me to truly respond and I’ll have to get up from what I’m doing, go over to her to find out what she’s saying “No rain???” and then go back to my work. She does this repeatedly.

Manipulative of her, isn’t it? She knows what she’s doing and I’m certain she knows she’s frustrating me.

Last night Chris went outside at 8 pm to grill some sausages. I could hear him talking to her while he cooked. At about 8:20 he came inside to tell me that Sofie had just brought out some hamburgers and a pepper for him to cook on the grill. Yes our dinner was done. She knew Chris was cooking yet she waiting until he was finished before asking him to cook her food. Grrrr

Almost every elderly person I know eats their dinner somewhere between 4 pm and 6 pm … what the heck did she want with a couple of hamburgers at 8:30 at night? There’s no way she ate them last night.

If you ever wonder why I talk about being outside at 10 pm planting plants, pruning and watering this is why. I hide until she’s closed up her doors and gone in and then I sneak out so I can do my gardening in peace - with the stray cats that wander through my yard and the raccoons.

Of course if I hide from her too long she literally peaks in my windows! Arghhh!