The Pile

My next door neighbor moved about a week ago to be closer to her family. I was expecting that, because I talked to her from time to time and occasionally helped her out with a few things, particularly when she moved in. (Mostly I think she was lonely.)

What I wasn't expecting was the large pile of junk which appeared in my front yard on the same day she moved out. When I came home in the evening, there was a pile (including 4 mattresses, two floor lamps, a partially disassembled dresser, some headboards, boxes, various small appliances, and some bags of trash) left on my side of the yard. (It's a duplex.) My neighbor appeared to be gone. I was at a bit of a loss as to what that meant. I was fairly sure (but not positive yet) that the stuff was probably hers, but I wasn't sure why it was there. Was somebody coming back for this stuff? Was it just trash they decided to abandon? Why was it on my side of the yard?

I called up my rental company the next morning to let them know about it. They said they would ask if it was something she was coming back for, and if not, they would haul it away. They also confirmed she had moved out the previous day. I asked the neighbor across the street, but he hadn't been in when the stuff got dumped either, so he didn't know how it got there. He did however spot junk mail addressed to my previous neighbor in one of the trash bags, so I'm pretty sure it was actually hers. (Although really, how often does random junk just get dumped in someone's front yard?)

Now the pile has been there about a week, and the weird thing is it has been shrinking. I'm sort of doubtful that they are coming back for it a few items at a time. I think people in the neighborhood are just raiding it for things that they like. One floor lamp disappeared, then the other. A few items here and there vanished. It kind of gave me the willies when two of the mattresses disappeared, after sitting out on the ground and being rained on for a couple of days. (I kind of hate to even think about that one.)

As far as I'm concerned, anyone can take anything they want. (But I do wish people would quit throwing the junk around my yard when they root through the pile.) I just want to see the pile shrink away completely. I may need to call the property manager again and find out when this junk is going to be gone. I'm sure all the local cats will be delighted when it becomes infested with mice, but I'm less than thrilled. And not very happy with a neighbor I used to like.