With kids in the house, there’s no shortage of odd things being left out in the yard. I’m always finding some toy or other out there, a stray toy golf club, a toy truck, etc. A recent thing that’s been bothering me is this inflatable, red plastic ring that’s part of this “waterpark” playset, looking like one of those hemorrhoid rings – Only slightly embarrassing. But this morning, I found something quite unusual in my front yard.
The rules of our homeowner’s association forbid making changes to the “openness” of the development. That means no new trees and no fences. As a result, our development is basically just a big open patch of land with houses in it. Our house sits at the bottom of one of the two hills in the development, and it seems like the unfettered wind is always ripping past our neighbors’ houses and blowing things into our yard. The winter covers for the grill and the table never seem to stay on.
The end result is that I wasn’t as surprised as I might have been when I found a tent in my yard this morning. Still, it was a bit shocking. Was it put there intentionally? Had someone moved into our yard?
Abby wasn’t very descriptive when she yelled at me in bed this morning. “There’s a tent in the yard!” What do you mean, “There’s a tent in the yard”? I expected some description, you know: what color, how big, was it anchored with pitons, were there people outside it cooking breakfast? And when I got to the window, I saw it sitting there.
Even if you knew that the wind probably blew it there (and who sets up a tent without putting the pitons in anyway?), wouldn’t you be a little unnerved at the sight of a tent pitched in your front lawn.
Whose tent it is still remains a mystery. We’re waiting for its anonymous owner to come collect it from the yard, like so many other blown-away items.
