When tree huggers go bad.

I wish I had a Gary Larsen cartoon to go with that heading and I would have had a photograph if I had belted out of bed fast enough.
The saga of hernextdoor's footpath which was sloping towards the fence, not in line with the other footpaths and definitely not level. I should know, I took great delight in pointing it out to her after the bloody workmen had used my water again for the concrete. They never even turned off the hose between use, just let it run into the gutter.
That was a post last month. The follow up was yesterday when up comes the footpath breaker, the take it away truck and several council workers. I'm in bed with cat enjoying the winter sun coming in the window. The next noise was a chain saw, hmm, says I, lopping the branches from that overhanging stupid lemon scented gum that will cause havoc if it falls. No, they're not.
Let me go back some years. Hernextdoor was into all things eco, save the kangaroos, save the this, save the that then the vegetarian phase that went into the vegan militant phase. I think that's gone by the way.  We endured the lectures for politeness, the rest of the neighbours went along conspicuously spending, we didn't have enough money for spending and all the time hernextdoor was not exactly living in a cardboard box, all mod cons. and an Australian garden including the biggest flaming gumtree ever on our fence line. That's the thing about gums, they moult leaves all year, my trees only in autumn.  After the spa went in, the gum came out or it would have been heading for the stars by now.  Crocodile tears at the loss of an icon then hints about my leaves falling over the fence. 
So along with the gum went the Grandiflora Magnolia but only as far as the nature strip where she was sure it would just gently pass away but it flourished, boy did it flourish.  Beautiful tree, deep green leaves and I alway knew when it was going to be hot, the big cream flowers would bloom overnight.  Not any more, where was green is now a great big empty. Nothing, nada, not even a hole in the ground, just the dug up footpath ready to be fixed.
I'm waiting now for the complaint that my camelias are falling on to her brick paved front courtyard.  I've cut down 3 trees along that fence but the camelia stays although it does need a slight prunning.  I'll miss that Magnolia and so will she. It was so dense with leaves and blooms that it stopped a lot of the north wind dust in summer.  To walk past it was to walk into coolness but there'll be no shade anymore except for my trees.  
I'll get out there and take a photo of the big empty.  But I'd like to take a photo of the possums falling when they realize there's nothing to land in when they fly off the phone wire.

On another note, if you've seen the ads for the new Lipton's fruit, orange and lemon tripod teabags, before you buy, look for where they're made, in RUSSIA and shipped here.  Either buy Dilmah which is fresh from Sri Lanka or Madura fresh from Queensland. (I would but they don't quite have the right Earl Grey flavour)  I could hardly believe what I was seeing but then Woolworths Select 90 second microwave brown rice is made in India and shipped here, buy SunWhite instead. Shut up tree huggers, I know I should be cooking my own brown rice but it takes ages as against 90 seconds and it's a bit hard to nibble at something else in 90 seconds.