Neighborhood Watch

Getting organized on the farm is a challenge on many levels. As soon as I get started on one project, another seems to pop up that seems more urgent. Today was somewhat productive as I'm getting some work space organized so I can find my tools, and have a decent work surface. I moved a long old workbench from the hog barn into the mud room after cutting off about 3 feet.

We also got to meet some of our neighbors. The farmer that owns the land surrounding our place and his wife stopped by bringing delicious cookies and a warm welcome. We got a chance to visit for a bit, and from our first meeting, I think we'll get along great. A couple comments caught my ear that our neighbors had noticed different vehicles in the yard over the last couple weeks, and they also mentioned the size of our dumpster. Later in the evening, another car pulled into our driveway with more goodies and a welcome to the neighborhood. This just never happened to us in the Denver suburbs.

On a more personal note...the goodies were so good from our neighbors that they probably are the blue ribbon winners from the state fair in their respective categories.

In the city, you often see signs when entering a neighborhood announcing "Neighborhood Watch Area". These signs are erected by the city after a neighborhood has circulated a petition and had organizational meetings, a fixed percentage of the residents agree to watch for suspicious activity, and the city provides approved training sessions for the volunteers.

We're thrilled that our neighbors are paying attention to activities on the farm...especially since nobody has erected a Neighborhood Watch sign and all that goes with it.