Tag: No trespassing

Posted in Life, neighbor

Of course it’s private property

Posted on by William Douthwaite

It feels strange to call a house “lonely,” but every time I walk by, I think, “What a lonely, gray house.” Maybe it’s the signage that has scared everyone off. There’s not just one, but three of these signs on all sides of the house, announcing Private Property: No Trespassing.

Why would you put a sign like that in your yard? It’s not like we’re in the middle of nowhere and someone might wander through and decide to hang out for a while. This is a residential area. All the property is privately owned. Random door-to-door sales people may walk up, but I’ve never thought of that as trespassing. And if someone did want to break and enter, they wouldn’t pay attention to a sign like that.

When I’ve gone to visit some folks who live in the rural, unincorporated parts of the county, there’s often a sign like this on the front gate of a long driveway. Out in the woods or among hundreds of acres of farmland, it’s hard to tell where one property ends and the next one begins. If you don’t know where you’re going, you don’t belong here. I always called ahead to make sure they knew I was coming. There was a good chance I’d be met by someone with a shotgun if I just showed up.

Actually, a sign like that makes me wonder what someone is hiding in that house. I’m curious. What are they making or distributing or storing up in that house? Who was the last trespasser? Whatever happened to them? It is a little creepy. There isn’t much landscaping.

Such a sign doesn’t add to the curb appeal. Along with signs like No Soliciting, No Pooping (even though dogs can’t read), and a sign about who just repaired the roof, it makes the neighborhood look trashy.

But what are you going to do. It’s their property. It’s their private property.

Posted in Life

No trespassing!

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Two new threatening signs were just posted on a corner lot just up the road from my house. I estimate these signs to be about 9×12 inches, and were nailed to the tree about ten feet up from the ground. Some of the print is on the small side, so I had to walk on to the property to read and take a picture of the posting.  I quickly found out I was not welcome to do so!

In the past, a simple “No Trespassing” sign was attached to one tree. Even before that, there was a smaller sign indicating that the property was protected by a Colt 45.

Now this is an undeveloped corner lot in our neighborhood. Much of the underbrush has been cleared leaving only a sparse stand of tell scrub pine trees. I walk my dog past this lot twice a day and sometimes at night. I have never, ever seen a person on this property. Once in a while I pick up a stray can or drink cup, so no one is dumping trash there. The briars and brush that have regrown beneath the trees makes it harder to cut the corner rather than just walking on the street. It is also a school bus stop. Once in a while the kids will play hide and seek while waiting for the bus, but their are parents waiting there, too, keeping an eye on them.

So why the threatening sign? Why invoke Florida law and the sheriff to secure this empty corner lot? I wonder if the sheriff even knows his name is even on this sign. Anyone could make a sign like that and nail it to a tree. The posted phone number belongs to the homeowner on the adjacent corner lot. What is he worried about? Or pissed off about? What’s really going on back there in the woods?

Years ago, when there were more vacant lots than homes, the neighborhood children would run and play in the woods, building forts and creating bicycle trails. There aren’t too many wooded lots left and there aren’t too many unsupervised kids running around, either. I’m thankful that the folks in our neighborhood know each other and keep a close eye on each others’ homes. Surely the sheriff and deputies have more important things to do than keep this empty lot…empty.