I'm turning into the crazy lady on the block

Or am I?

Here's the situation: we have several trees in our yard - some of them are buckeyes. Well, here in Ohio, especially central Ohio, I guess there is a big run on buckeyes. I know they make great candy. But the real buckeyes are pretty dangerous to humans, and most other animals except for squirrles and deer. Also - they are the mascot of some team here in central Ohio -- I don't know, I went to the real Ohio University, where Bobcats reign, not little nuts. :)

So the other day, I heard a strange swooshing in my yard - shooshing and whacking to be more precise. I look out and see three "youts" tromping through my landscaping. One was even in the tree. I stand in my back door and tell them to not step in my flowerbed (not that there are any stunning flowers in there anyway, but the principle of thing, you know.)

Below, the carnage after the much sought after buckeye.


A few days later, there are 3 other kids, a little bit older this time. Same noise, same thing, one was in my landscaping. I ask if they have to stand in my flowerbed, they said no. So I give them at least a minute. They weren't moving. I then said "could you get out of my flowerbed?" and they moved.

So today, after I found one of our branches freshly broken, Izzy drew a sign. It reads, DON"T GO IN OUR FLOWERS - trust me. (I must admit, I did think Izzy had something to do with the branch, since she likes to swing on them, but I don't think her 32 pound frame could have pulled this big of branch down.)

Today, 3 more were out, they even came with a bag to collect them. They didn't go in the flowerbed though, but they did leave a mess on the sidewalk (which the other neighbor came by to clean up.) What is up with the buckeyes? So I turned to Wikipedia, and found an interesting game to play: Conkers, which actually sounds like a neat game. Here are the rules:

1. Take a large, hard conker and drill a hole through it using a nail, gimlet, or small screwdriver. (This may be done by an adult on behalf of the contestant.) Thread a piece of string through it about 25 cm long. Often a shoelace is used. Tie a large knot at one or both ends of the string, so that the conker will not slide off when swung hard.
2. Find an opponent. It is to your advantage if you can find an opponent with a conker smaller and softer than yours.
3. Take it in turns to hit each other's conker using your own. To do this one player lets the conker dangle on the full length of the string while the other player hits. To hit, hold the string in one hand with the conker held above it in the other hand, then swipe at the opponent's conker, letting go of your own nut but keeping hold of the string.

Now, if my brother and I were playing this game, this is where we'd change the rules. Instead of trying to break the "conker" we'd probably end up hitting each other with the things.

But I digress. So, faithful readers, and anyone else who happens to read this: am I being to unreasonable to expect kids to stay out of other people's property? Honestly, I have no problem with them taking the stinking buckeyes, but wouldn't you ask first? Am I turning into the crazy lady of the block for wanting a little yard respect?

I think next time, I'll take out the broom and let them sweep up the mess.


Other pictures of our yard -the lamps were broken when we moved in - perhaps due to other buckeye grabbers.

And Lots of Lavendar! This stuff is great - I've been bringing some in and putting it in the crock pot to simmer all day - makes the house smell good!