New neighbors complain about farm; farmer gives the finger

[Rogue 9]

Associated Press

Farmer sends message to neighbors with car fence

HOOPER, Utah (AP) -- A farmer has erected a backyard fence made of three old cars sticking up in the air to send a message to new neighbors that he can do whatever he wants on his property.

"This is just a fun way for me to say, `Hey boys, I'm still here,'" Rhett Davis said. "This is my redneck Stonehenge."

Davis came up with the idea after neighbors who recently moved into homes next to his hayfield complained about his farm.

"The people who bought the homes say, `Well, we love looking into your yard and seeing the horses and the cattle, but we don't like the flies, and we don't like the mosquitoes,' and when I cut my field to bale it, they say, `We don't like the dust in the air,' " Davis said.

Neighbors declined to comment to the Standard-Examiner of Ogden.

Davis said he offered to pay for half the cost of a fence between his property and the others and to build it. He said his neighbors declined the offer, saying it would block their view.

Davis said he used a backhoe to dig three large holes on the edge of his property, then took three cars that had competed in demolition derbies and planted them nose-first into the ground.

He said the cars were planted out of humor rather than spite. He stressed that it's important for new residents to realize that Hooper is a farming community.

"I respect that they're here and spent a lot on their homes, but on the other hand, give me a little bit, too," Davis said. "I've been here since I was 7 years old."

He said he doesn't intend to keep the cars up permanently.

"These can come out just as easy as they went in," Davis said.

[Darth Wong]

What kind of imbeciles would buy homes next to farms and then complain about natural consequences of farming?

I hate the smell of fertilizer on farmers' fields, but if I buy a house right next to one, I don't really have the right to complain about it.

[Raw Shark]

That's a great photo. He looks so happy. I would totally not fuck with that guy.

[Ender]

Davis said he offered to pay for half the cost of a fence between his property and the others and to build it. He said his neighbors declined the offer, saying it would block their view.

Not only split the material cost, but he would pick up all of the labor cost. That is going way beyond reasonable here. Guy sounds like a good neighbor, or at least a much better one then the pricks currently there.

[Death from the Sea]

typical. Yuppies move out to country and buy or build an expensive home, claiming how they love how beautiful the country is, but hate how "country" it is. People like that are driving up prices of land faster than the price of gas is rising.

[Atavarius]

"The people who bought the homes say, `Well, we love looking into your yard and seeing the horses and the cattle, but we don't like the flies, and we don't like the mosquitoes,' and when I cut my field to bale it, they say, `We don't like the dust in the air,' " Davis said.

So they like it, but they don't. This guy went above and beyond with the fence offer, and his neighbors deserve a good "fuck you".

[Feil]

I would like to present this man with today's award for the most awesome person in the world.

I agree with Ender.

[Molyneux]

A well-done 'take that', and stylish, as well. This man does sound like he's gone above and beyond 'good neighbor', but had it thrown in his face.

[Master of Ossus]

What kind of imbeciles would buy homes next to farms and then complain about natural consequences of farming?

I hate the smell of fertilizer on farmers' fields, but if I buy a house right next to one, I don't really have the right to complain about it.

You'd be stunned. A lot of developers buy land next to (for instance) cattle yards, expecting that the yard will eventually move and they'll be able to sell more valuable properties. A lot of homeowners think the same thing.

[Stark]

What kind of imbeciles would buy homes next to farms and then complain about natural consequences of farming?

I hate the smell of fertilizer on farmers' fields, but if I buy a house right next to one, I don't really have the right to complain about it.

People buy homes near airports and then complain about the noise. It's yet more 'I didn't do my research so I'm going to blame someone else' stuff.

[Knife]

Yeah, I know the area; Hooper was pretty much farm land till about five or so years ago when it exploded. Pretty much just like Syracuse did and West Haven and a lot of other 'former' farmland turned into McMansions. Hell, a lot of the time those assholes who built sweet homes up on the ridge in Layton bitch about the fucking Air Force Base that's been there for fifty years.

[Darth Wong]

I don't see why they should complain. I'm sure they are well-insulated from sound, dust, and other irritants while constantly shuttling about in their giganto-SUVs.

[PeZook]

There were people here who built their homes right next to a military airbase and then complained about the noise when Poland bought F-16s and started flying them regularly.

Because it's totally unreasonable to expect the military to actually fly fighters from their airbases, right?

[bobalot]

Near where I live, people moved into newly built homes and complained about the noise from the nearby railway freight terminal. (Which has only been there for a mere 60 years.)

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Near where I live, people moved into newly built homes and complained about the noise from the nearby railway freight terminal. (Which has only been there for a mere 60 years.)

Don't they even check before they buy? This is ridiculous.

[cosmicalstorm]

Near where I live, people moved into newly built homes and complained about the noise from the nearby railway freight terminal. (Which has only been there for a mere 60 years.)

Don't they even check before they buy? This is ridiculous.

That happens all the time here in Sweden, we have a city called Lerum that has recently been making a lot of noise recently over the fact that the railwaytracks between the countries two largest cities, wich passes through the town-area, are scheduled to have their capacity increased. Nevermind that it would be almost impossible to do it any other way, nevermind that it has been known for decades that it would be necessary to do this at some point, nevermind that not doing it will have an impact on the economy of the entire country, because it would - oh the humanity - possibly decrease the value of their houses.
So the local population, most of wich are rich people who have moved there within the past ten-fifteen years or so, and their local politicians are currently doing everything they can to protest, delay or even halt this important infrastructure upgrade. Makes my head spin.

[PeZook]

So the local population, most of wich are rich people who have moved there within the past ten-fifteen years or so, and their local politicians are currently doing everything they can to protest, delay or even halt this important infrastructure upgrade. Makes my head spin.

It would be cool if they got their wish, the government diverted the rail line around the place, and the town then shrivelled and died

[Broomstick]

What kind of imbeciles would buy homes next to farms and then complain about natural consequences of farming?

An AMAZING number of them - we get this shit ALL the time out here. Urban idiots move out to the "country" to enjoy it and then bitch about it. They bitch about the charming cows leaving cow-pies behind them, the smell of the cute goats and sheep, they bitched about the time those ostriches got loose from the ostrich farm downstate, the bitch about the dust, the dirt, the mess...

They bitch about the farmers harvesting their fields - the noise, the dust, etc. - but they still want to eat, the jackasses

And Og knows they bitch about the spring fertilizing! Yes, it smells like shit - for the most part that's exactly what it is! Only lasts a week or so, and it makes your food grow, so shut the fuck up, yours stinks, too. Nobody likes it, but fertilizing the fields is a necessary evil.

I believe some of this comes from "education" and animal-rights groups that emphasize the pretty aspects of nature without informing people that, yes, animals shit, kick, and bite and growing and harvesting all those soybeans has unpleasent side effects, too.

[Broomstick]

People buy homes near airports and then complain about the noise. It's yet more 'I didn't do my research so I'm going to blame someone else' stuff.

Or they are deliberately misled (although it's usually the case they are happy to believe the lies).

Case in point: Chicago Midway airport. Originally it was an onion farm surrounded by other farms where the crops didn't give a fuck about the noisy airplanes because, even though it has ears, corn can't hear. By 1927 it was an airport. Had jets flying out of it in the 1960's, sort of hard to miss. Then they opened O'Hare and the commercial flying moved there. So developers snapped up the land around Midway, they even drew up elaborate plans for the land the airport was on, told buyers that the airport was definitely going away in a few years - look at this development plan for the land! See, it's going to happen! - and sold homes built right up to the fence line.

Then in the 1980's commercial jet traffic came back to Midway and the airport was even busier than before.

So a lot of people sued, the developers said nothing was in writing/caveat emptor, and the airport has a major, major safety issue. To a lesser extent, we have the same problem with all the airports around here - the developers build houses right to the fence line, tell people the airport will go away, and the result is a mess. Tell me, how do you NOT notice a B-737 going by overhead? Even deaf people can feel the vibrations!

I love airplanes, but I wouldn't live as close to an airport as a lot of people do - not because of the noise, but because accidents happen and I don't want even a small airplane driving through my living room.

[El Moose Monstero]

What kind of imbeciles would buy homes next to farms and then complain about natural consequences of farming?

I hate the smell of fertilizer on farmers' fields, but if I buy a house right next to one, I don't really have the right to complain about it.

People buy homes near airports and then complain about the noise. It's yet more 'I didn't do my research so I'm going to blame someone else' stuff.

Never mind that, some people build homes on active volcanoes. One of those god-awful '10 most dangerous volcanoes' programs showed a section on Kileaua, and showed a couple lamenting about how they built their dream home in Hawaii, and then the volcano erupted and it got consumed by lava. I think we were supposed to be all sympathetic for them, poor people, lost their perfect home...

Personally, I was shouting at the TV 'you built your fucking dream house around one of the most active volcanoes on the planet, you morons!', especially one known to periodically (as in so periodically that they've stopped rebuilding the roads beneath the volcano when they get swamped by lava) erupt large amounts of flowing lava. I could forgive it if it was by a volcano not active for a while, but this was just stupidity!

[Solauren]

He should charge them a fee for viewing his cattle and property.

After all, if Zoo's can do it...

[Tsyroc]

There used to be a dairy farm out near where my parents live. Sometime in the 90s the farmer sold the land for a bunch of dough because the area was now in very hight demand because it was near the interstate. For years before that people in surround housing developments bitched about the smell. Yes it smells but it's not like they didn't know the farm was there. The fucking street is named Cortaro Farms Road. You can't get much clearer than that.

We've also had issues with jackholes building houses around Davis-Monthan AFB. It's at the point now where the Air Force has voluntarily shut down specific runways in order to cut down on noise and appease the dumbasses who bought houses next to an AFB. More recently we've had people bitch about being in the path of approach patterns. (I'm pretty near one of them). I think they were finally told to shut the fuck up or the AFB would just be closed and they'd move all their stuff up to Phoenix or to another state.
=====

What this guy did got me thinking. Someone out there reading this article is probably thinking that they are glad that they have a home owner's association so people can't do stuff like that near their property. I for one hate home owner's associations and think that within reason people should be able to do what they want to their property as long as it isn't in violation of state and city ordinances. I sure as fuck don't need some busybody retired fuck to come around and bitch about weeds in my yard not being pulled as soon as they sprout.


Anyway, what the guy did was pretty funny. I don't know that I'd have gone that route and hopefully he won't leave them there for long and instead do something more permanent. Go ahead and put up the fence he was talking about, or better yet, plant a bunch of trees that will block the view of the whiners. The cattle and horses can use the shade.

[Jade Falcon]

There was a place in Scotland, Ardrossan, that had a small bitumen refinery on it. Houses had been there for years, as had the refinery and apparently in the 60's the refinery wanted to expand by reclaiming some land from the sea. The people in the houses bitched. Now bear in mind the refinery had been built in the early 20's, saying it spoiled their view.

Eventually it closed, the site was levelled and it looked a lot more of an eyesore for many years. I wonder how they felt about that.

[Solauren]

Around here, people used to complain about the GM Plant that was near downtown.

Despite the fact the plant was there before the downtown.
Despite the fact the plant had shrunk over the years and gotten less noisy as better equipment was installed, and they even added sound proof fencing as a curtosy.
Despite the fact the housing was originally constructed to house GM executives and employees, and was therefore right across the street.

Now they complain that the plant is gone, and there are now unpaved, fenced vacant lots there.

If you don't like what you see out your windows, and it was there before you, close the drapes
If you don't like what you smell outside your house, and it was there before you, burn incense or stay inside
If you don't like the sound, etc..


Now, I can see complaining if the plant had been put in after the houses, or if construction is planned that will have a net-negative impact on the area, but not if it's pre-existing.

Example: North Oshawa auditorium was torn down. There were plans to put a skate-park in. That caused a MASSIVE level of complaints and petitions, due to the type of people that are attrached to skate-parks. And seeing as it was in the middle of apartment buildings, townhouses, across the street from a school, and near what is now a major traffice avenue...

I can understand the complaints.

[Isolder74]

Ah yes, the infamous not in my backyard problem.

Sadly near where I grew up is a town called Draper. The place is not in my back yard heaven. Because of this they still have their small town post office rather then the large one they actually need because no one can agree and where it should have been. They still need a new high school and haven't gotten one yet for the same reason. To top it off, they are now holding up the extension of the Trax(light rail) line because they can't agree on where they want the station to be.....