To say it was a shock to come home and find fall had started with a boatload of leaves would be an understatement. It’s been so dry that I guess they decided it was just time to fall, we couldn’t see the driveway there are so many down. Guess I know what we will be doing this weekend.
The other big change wasn’t a pleasant surprise at all. While we were gone apparently one neighbor took it upon himself to have a portion of the shared gravel lane paved. Each neighbor owns a portion of the lane, and over the years various people have taken care of the lane smoothing the gravel, tending to the potholes even trimming back the woods along the lane. The only time money is ever requested is when gravel has been needed and it was split based on how much of the lane you used. The irony of the situation is the very neighbor that has complained the most about the lane has been the one that has done the most damage to it during snow events. Neither he or his wife have 4 wheel drive and so he has tried to plow the snow down to the gravel, what he ends up doing is pushing all the gravel off into the woods. I know he has been asked more than once to raise the blade, but like all things that pertain to him, he has done what he wanted. (Don’t get me started on the fact that he has NEVER cleaned up after ANY of his dogs…smh) Several years ago his wife brought up paving the lane because it was ‘damaging her bike tires’. (The lane was gravel when you moved here!) When she brought it up this time, it was ‘making her car dirty’ and ‘causing alignment issues’. It was our understanding prior to leaving for vacation, that she was going to get estimates. That all the neighbors would discuss the options and make a decision that suited everyone. It appears that he decided he didn’t need to talk with the other neighbors, so HE signed a contract to have a portion paved. He sent out an email, unbeknownst to us informing everyone how much they owed him.
Those of us that have been against having it paved, see bigger issues and seem to have a better understanding of things. The lane is a shared lane, not a driveway, it sees far more use than a standard driveway. That means it needs thicker asphalt and would require additional maintenance. There is the entire grading issue that would need to be addressed to prevent water from standing, potholes from returning, and the flooding of other people’s property. There are people that drive far too fast on the gravel already, the pavement is only going to speed that up and that scares me. The cost is a big one. They believe it doesn’t need to be anything different from a standard driveway and it won’t need to be sealed, patched or replaced. I can’t even comment on the ludicrous nature of that.
It boggles my mind how anyone can behave this way. The total lack of consideration for all the homeowners leaves me shaking my head in disbelief. To have the audacity to assume that everyone wants to pave is one thing, to sign a contract speaking for people that you didn’t even talk to, and for ones you know are adamantly against it is something else. To assume that everyone is even in a financial position to pay the amount of money he is demanding is just insanity. This to me is what entitlement looks like, ‘I want it, therefore I will have it regardless of what you say’.
I will never understand why people move into a place and then try to change it to be something else. He has mentioned to other neighbors on more than one occasion he wants the lane paved, turned over to the county and for all of us to agree to subdivide our properties. “Think of all the money you could make”.
For us, this home, Logs End was never about making money. It has always been about having a place of peace and serenity to come home to. It has always been about being able to basically forget the crazy that is outside of this tree-lined lane. We like the gravel, the being snowed in, the peace, the quiet and yes even the wildlife that eats our plants. If we wanted something different, we wouldn’t have moved here.
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