Just a bad mood day..

I try not to be one to complain, I know there are many that have it way worse than I do, but I just need to vent for a minute..

It started as a good day, got a phone call from UPS about a package I have been expecting.. Was a communications error, but got it straightened out.

Or weather is cold, but I helped the missus make her way to work, stopped at NAPA and ordered a part for my truck (that started giving me troubles last night).. Lucky me, they had it this afternoon..

Fired up the heat in the barn and went to work.. Still have yet to find the gremlin in my truck, but one step closer I think..

Opened the mail tonight.. WELL.. There's some good news.. I guess the township has decided I have more stuff than anyone should be allowed, so it's looking like I'm gonna be scrap happy for the next 30 days to appease them.. At least the price is up here I guess.

Just makes me mad.. It made me mad enough that I just gave up.. I know I have a bunch of "junk", but I try to keep it lined up, and in some sort of order.. Not scattered all over the 40 acres.. Guess I should have scattered it, harder to tell what is around here that way I guess..

On the bright side, after scrapping the 3 combines out, I should have some money to finish up one project or another..

Done complaining and whining now..

Brad

yeah hear that, they told Me one time to clean it up I said ok I'll put it all along the township road bout 15' back from the berm and plant flowers on top of it never herd from them again.

Wifes uncle was told he needed to put up a fence along the state hyway to hide his assortment of "junk" They never specified what fence material he needed to use so he built his fence by lining up old car bodies. This was about 30 yrs ago. He also planted some honeysuckle in front of the cars. By the time the state got through all the burocratic bullsh--, and got an order to make him change his "fence", the honeysuckle was tall enough to hide everything and they left him alone.

Well I guess you could do like a buddy of mine if your property sits in two townships. Every couple years he just moves it on the other side of the line. The complainer can't complain anymore, when the other gets to a point of doing something he just moves it back.

If your not so lucky, run for a township position. Seems to work around here anyway. You would also have the benfit of a nice paved road with full winter maintanence to your drive way.

Well.. the biggest problem is I'm not property owner.. place belongs to my folks. The Junk (3 combines, 1 tractor, header cart, and say 20 tires) are lined up, towards the road.. and has been there for a while now.. (5-6 years) The combines DO MOVE every year, but end up back in the same place.

My dad, instead of raising a stink just say "Junk has to go".. so kinda hard to kick and scream about it..

The thing that just fries me is it's been there this long and all has been fine.. Now all of a sudden... And even worse, I can show you a heck of a lot more places within 5 or 6 miles of here that are by far worse than my collection.

Running for office sounds like a good plan, but I'm not much of a people person, so I have a feeling that wouldn't last long..

Brad

IT IS LIFE. (The has) folks telling the have nots what they think is right......boats, snowmobiles, RV's, etc, are not in the big book as to what isn't OK.

I have always said, if I sold insurance, worked a factory job, or did nothing in life,,,,heck I would not need my junk.

I sure get real popular if someone needs my junk to help them out however.

My son told me when I die, there will be a convoy of dumpsters come over the hill like no other! Whithin seconds of that statment, he wanted to borrow a electric heater as I have several of them. I sure smilled and said, it will be in the very bottom of the dumpster.

I hear ya.. I know it's just life..

I have a day job, sometimes we're slow (winter months) but the rest of the year I work on a average 60 hours a week.

I started "collecting" at 16.. so 14 years now.. I "collect" because I enjoy it.. I like to tinker and play around with this stuff.. It's what I do to take me away from the troubles in life.

I've been down the path of snowmobiles and 4 wheelers being a nuisance to neighbors, even if I kept them on the 40 my family owns, and the 35 directly across the street that I always had permission to ride in (as long as we weren't harming crops) we had a "FUN GOVERNOR" neighbor that couldn't tolerate anyone having fun.. Now, I hardly will unload my snowmobiles here at home.. Just assume drive 200 miles north to our place up there. (I do occasionally tool around on the couple old JD sleds I've "saved" over the years).. and my quad hasn't been ran in 13 years..

Just seems like if one person is miserable in life, they make sure everyone is miserable.. If you're not hurting anyone I don't see the harm..

OH, and I'm sure if I died, my dad would have scrap containers brought in too LOL... my future stepkid will probably have the opportunity someday.. I just hope as he gets older he takes interest in this kinda stuff (at 2 years old he's all about the tractors, combines, trucks, snowmobiles.. You get the point ).. As I was told a few weeks ago.. "Someone has to save this stuff before there's nothing left to save"

Thanks for humoring me guys and letting me vent.. I've heard shut up and scrap enough today LOL..

Brad

Doesnt sound like you have any more stuff laying around than any typical farm. I would go to the courthouse and get a copy of the ordinance in question and read it very carefully. Most likely you will find a few exceptions and maybe one will apply to you. where i live there is no such ordinance and if there was most people on our county board are farmers i would go take pictures of there sitting equipment and share it at the next board meeting and ask why your getting singled out. If that doesnt go so well call the local tv station and share the names and pictures. Maybe you could put up a sign and claim a family museum if some one stops for a tour give them one, bet they have no licecing provsion for a non-profit museum.

It might be just the tires, move them first and theycant do much if you use the other stuff for farming, thats just my 02 cents,

We had a guy here who always had one heck of a mess around and the township was always on him about it. He finally went for a drive around the township with a pencil and a piece of paper taking notes. Then he went to the supervisor and gave him the list. Said get these guys to clean up,then come and talk to me.

> Just seems like if one person is miserable in life, they make sure everyone is miserable..

ABSTAINER, n.
A weak person who yields to the temptation of denying himself a pleasure. A total abstainer is one who abstains from everything but abstention, and especially from inactivity in the affairs of others.

From The Devil's Dictionary (c. 1907). Some things will never change.

Brad, As a retired code enforcement officer here are a few thoughts. Check the codes, sometime there is a phrase about public view. Can you screen them from the public. Fence, Building, behind other building? Probably the first thing to catch their eye was junk tires stacked. Put them in a barn. If you can prove the combines and equipment are operable, they are not junk. Then watch out for the second letter about open storage of items. Again the screening fence becomes a possible solution. Don't try the "make them clean up then I will" tactic. The standard reply is now that I you have given me more complaints to investigate, I will do so but you still have the aforementioned time to come into compliance or further enforcement may be necessary. If you have plenty of time to argue, that might get some results or just go ahead and clean up and put things out of sight. In my jursidiction (city) if it was not visible from a public street or alley then it was not a public nuisance. Good luck.

I have since found out I was not the only person to receive said letter.

I tried to call said code enforcer, but will not talk to me, since property is owned by my father..

Father has called, he said try to hide some of it, make it look a little better and we'll work from there.. So we're at least getting somewhere.

I know he's just doing his job, and I respect that, just chaps my butt that the stuff moves, but essentially has been in the same place for 5-6 years now, and now it's a issue.

Tomorrow I'll be back to cutting up one of the combines, and figuring out what tires are worth holding and what tires should be sold, given away, or discarded.

Brad