Removed or stolen or missing, I don’t know

 

Was away from home for a bit. The day after I returned, I headed outside to look around and figure out how to attack some overdue yardwork. It was such a subtle change, I almost didn’t see it. Then it hit me.

The fence was missing.

Well, not really a fence. More a single section of steel barricade. About seven to eight feet long. And it was gone.

I have no clue where it went. Neither do any of the neighbors I asked. But there is something I should probably point out: Honestly, I don’t care that it’s gone.

Let’s back up a bit.

Terry and I bought a house that has a funny dirt road separating our property from one of our neighbor’s yards. I say funny because it’s kind of just there. It leads to an area, way behind our yard, where a local golf course often stores some items. We never see the road in use during winter months, and can often go weeks without a single vehicle driving along it during the other seasons.

The barricade was on the side of this dirt road when we first visited the house as we considered buying it, was there when we inspected it before purchase, and, until recently, had been there ever since.

There were actually two barricades. There was another across from it on the neighbor’s side of the road. Today, that one is also gone.

I’ve never seen anyone else moving the barricades or paying any attention to them over the years. Basically, I move it when mowing the lawn, then put it back. Other than that, they just stayed put.

So, what are they for? That seems like a question to ask. Well…

Our house also has a few other funny features you’d come across strolling around on the lawn. One such item would be a drainage ditch that runs along the front. While the visible ditch and the barricade are likely not related at all, it points out that the barricade could have been marking something under the dirt road at that spot.

All that understood, the part I’m really finding curious is that they just disappeared. Could have been the golf course repurposing them. Could have been the town finally realizing no one has picked them up after a project a decade or so ago. Could have been someone driving down the road that spotted them, wanted them, and decided to risk it and take them. Whatever.

I wasn’t using the one on my property for anything. I didn’t buy it. And mowing the lawn actually got slightly easier with it out of the way.

Still…

I don’t mind that it’s missing. I’m just finding myself wondering about why it was there at all.

For instance, let’s say it was signifying something under the dirt road. A year or more from now, perhaps I’m looking to have some work done in the yard, and to get access for the work, a really large truck could be coming down the road.

But wait!

Those barricades! Is there a pipe just under the road there with some type of weight limit? Because that would be good to know before a really heavy truck carrying really heavy equipment or supplies turns onto it.

Or maybe it was being used as a bike rack. Incredibly doubtful, but I have no clue how long that dirt road has been in place and what might have been out back before the golf course. Maybe there was some type of trail, people rode bikes in to walk the trail, and the barricades are actually bike racks that never left.

I asked when I spoke with the neighbors about it. (Funny side note, the next-door neighbors learned about the barricade in their yard disappearing when I asked if they knew anything about ours. They’ve lived in their house much longer, and the barricades were there already when they moved in.)

Talked to some friends that do a variety of work around the area, and they have no clue about any possibilities either.

Was it removed? Did someone repurpose it? Did someone steal it? I’ve got no answers.

But after years of wondering about moving it because it was in the way—and being in the way appeared to be its main purpose as far as we were concerned—it’s gone. And I’m finding myself thinking about it more now than I ever did when it was there.

 

If you have any comments or questions, please e-mail me at Bob@inmybackpack.com