Nice enough guy lives next door. I am a renter and he owns his house. He moved here after his wife died a couple years ago. He likes to play golf and goes many times a week with a friend to a nearby low key course. I have talked to him a handful of times in the last 10 months.
I was in the back yard yesterday and Cowboy (my dog) was yipping at the fence. I went to the fence hole shown above apologized for the yipping dog. He was working hard at pulling up stuff and I asked him what he was doing. He was clearing out the back corner of the property between his lovely garden and the fence. He explained that he was just about to spray and then lay some gravel down.
Without thought, I said quietly “Oh – don’t spray. That is very bad for our bees. I keep the dandelions back here for them” He sort of paused but then said, “Oh I see bees around here”. Then I remarked at how beautiful his raspberry plants were. He said that they grew up and bloomed nicely but that there were not many berries. I said, “Oh that is because there are fewer bees”. He said again that he sees plenty of bees in his garden. We moved on to other parts of a conversation about his plans for the backyard and some casual neighborly chatter.
As I went on with my day I started to feel bad about bringing up the fact I wish he would not spray and that it is bad for the bees. I mean he owns his property and it could be none of my business. But then I realized I did not speak loudly or aggressively about it. I mean I did not grab him by the throat through the fence hole and say “you a fucking idiot???”
So – it went well with the neighbor. Right?
zenflirt 