Scrounging for a Score?

[bbxlr8]

How for would you go? This happened last week and I am still burned up and wanted opinions from those here. I’ve been away from AS for a bit over the summer, but our new spring chickens now have a coupe (check that, it’s a really a fancy play house for pets!)

So, I am a bit behind on some processing and still have a big oak down near the road from the Halloween snow last year. Top third is into 4’ lengths stacked, main trunk is sectioned and cut from the root and is 30 foot back off the main road. Mid-afternoon late last week I’m making a quick run to Tractor Supply for more shear bolts for my new PTO driven auger. Garages & shed open, all sorts of tools & equipment out. Our house is out of sight up 450’ driveway with posted signs of NO Trespassing, No Solicitation & Beware of Dog at 100’ in. My teenage daughter goes out thinking there is a UPS delivery and is confronted by a guy in a pickup full of wood asking to clear the wood out down by the road for me. She tells him no, that we burn ourselves and he starts to make her uneasy by pushing again & again insisting he can “help us out”. At this point the dog was still in house but going crazy (Dane-mix). He finally gets the message, but hangs in my drive for couple of minutes when she went in.

Now, here’s the thing. I know there are all types out there and I have followed some of the threads around privacy & probably fall somewhere in the middle. I thought on it a bit and waited to post, but am still REALLY pi’’ed off. How many here would feel the same? I know downed trees are fair game and it never hurts to ask, but going up a clearly posted lane?

 

[H-Ranch]

Hard for me to say about driving up to the house without seeing how the driveway/property is laid out. The way you describe it, it's pretty clear though. Knowing me, I would probably be upset too. But the thing that gets to me more is being pushy with someone who clearly is not the decision maker at the house. If your daughter said no that means beat it - you're not going to convince her. And DON'T linger.

 

[Rjc2rjc]

You need to keep a very close eye on your propertyhe was
casing out your property. That was his way to get a better look AT&T what you
had. You said that oak fell last Halloween why is he just now asking he's had a year
he probably watched you leave. Just my opinion.

 

[bbxlr8]

You need to keep a very close eye on your propertyhe was
casing out your property. That was his way to get a better look AT&T what you
had. You said that oak fell last Halloween why is he just now asking he's had a year
he probably watched you leave. Just my opinion.

That is what my gut keeps telling me with the lingering part. But, was more opportunistic rather than being cased leaving. I am on the side of a ridge and road at bottom has no place to hang out w/out being noticed. One positive is that I work out of the house and someone is usually here. I go back and forth between that and someone just wanting the wood and being ignorant and not caring. I have a pretty good BS meter and wish it happened when I was there to make that call. Makes me edgy though…

 

[Rjc2rjc]

Like I said keep one eye open. Just saying.

 

[rigandig]

Sounds like a guy looking for free firewood to me. The fact that he hung around is a bit unsettling though.

 

[Gavman]

Always always always trust your gut:msp_angry:

 

[Zeus103363]

Reading your story. Here's what happened to my family. Sorry if this gets long.

Start off, my wife had to have some emergency surgery. Her appendix gave out. After a short stay in the hospital, she came home. I had noticed after she got home, her dead beat brother and his low life wife was hanging around quit a bit. I had taken a couple days off to stay with my wife and help her get well. When my vacation had ran out, I asked my wife to go stay my moms house during the day so the solicitors wouldn't hang around free loading. The following weekend we had some strange stuff happen in our house ( totally different story ) and I set up a camcorder to see if I could find out what was happening. This camcorder had a timer where I could set the time for it to start recording, and it would just record till it ran out of tape. I had set this up nightly for the next 2 weeks till the batt gave out. I replaced it and had to reset everything back up. The next day, my wife had a Dr. Appt at noon and she left at 10:45 am. She called me at 5 pm when she got back home telling me some one had beat our door off the hinges, and ransacked our house. I fearing the worst, gave that Chevy hell getting home as quickly as possible. called the law, and they didn't do much. No one saw anything. In broad daylight! I live beside the redneck 9 hole country club so there are a lot of houses around. Waited on the cops for a couple of days and I am loosing my mind. Had to replace doors, all the locks. Has a big mess to clean up. All of our stuff was broken! I was serf-in the net that night and I remembered about that camcorder. I poped that tape in the VCR and bam! Thank the almighty, I had gotten my am and pm mixed up. The camera was set to come on at 11 pm, but it started recording at 11 am. Cought those dead beats in the act. All they wanted was the pain pills the Dr gave my wife! Little did they know, they didn't agree with her and they got flushed! The next day, a neighbors house got broke into, same stuff. Broke what ever they didn't steal. I called the cops and they watched the tape. Made several arrests! I hope big bubba doesn't cut them any slack! If it wasn't for my mistake, none of this would have happened. Anyway, goes to show you what people will try. I ain't sayin it's gonna happen to you, but people get a look at what you got, and they can't help it I guess. Keep a close eye on your place! Now after getting robbed, we now have a Doberman, a 12 camera servalience system, I pack a sig sauer .40, and my wife has a glock 22 in a .40 also. There is also a 12 ga with buckshot very close to my bed. What they stole, or didn't break was replaced, but what can't be replaced is the piece if mind we all had. Just keep an eye out and hope it doesn't happen to you!

 

[stihly dan]

Fishy, very fishy. At the very least tell the wife and kids not to go out without the DOG. good luck. Doesn't do any good inside.

 

[esshup]

I can see the scrounger going past the signs to ask, but what makes me uneasy is his insistance. Once he heard no he should have started on his way.

 

[zogger]

There was no need or the scrounger to come up the drive past the signs. I will assume like most country places there is a mailbox down at the street. they could get the number and drop off a note asking politiely if the wood visible from the street is up for grabs, then some contact inormation.

Around here it isn't wood scroungers it is the "scrappers" always looking for "free metal' but they eyeball everything, like casing the joint.

 

[Fred Wright]

These situations are a result of the loss of institutions for the disordered. With no state support, they're hustling everywhere, nebbing around for a dollar and driving folks nucking futz in the process.

Most are harmless enough... they really don't know any better than to pester a teen-aged gal about a tree laying on her parents' lot. They're just trying to ekk out a living. A lack of social skills and graces comes with the disorders.

The pickup load of wood is telling. A crook trying to case the property for nefarious purposes won't likely go to that much bother, let alone display his licence plate. It's easier to don a jacket and tie, hold out fake flyers and say I'm running for the office of dog catcher, vote for me.

More than likely, the guy is scrounging firewood. Like a lot of folks are doing.

I don't blame your daughter for being creeped out. I'd be creeped out if a stranger disregarded posted signs and came up my drive and was talking BS, too. We've had strangers appear here, panhandling, saying they're out of gas or whatever. We tell 'em sorry, can't help yas, move along to the gas station down the road.

Guess I'm trying to say, don't read too much into it. Be vigilant, sure. But don't get overly worried just because one disordered weirdo came along. This world is filled with 'em and most are just nuisances.

 

[wagz]

if i see a tree like that i simply drop my name, a quick note, and my cell number in the mailbox. who wants to be interupted at home?

 

[ShaneLogs]

Be careful of people like him. Some of your wood might go missing. Trust no one:msp_mellow:

 

[bbxlr8]

The pickup load of wood is telling. A crook trying to case the property for nefarious purposes won't likely go to that much bother, let alone display his licence plate. It's easier to don a jacket and tie, hold out fake flyers and say I'm running for the office of dog catcher, vote for me.

More than likely, the guy is scrounging firewood. Like a lot of folks are doing.

Thanks for the opinions all.

I also keep coming back to the load of wood, making me think it is just a case of ignorance. We all know what goes into even loading/processing wood even if it is bucked and "free to good home". My brother has been giving me "stuff" also for leaving all the tools and equipment out w/ the shed and garages open when I was gone.

I have been here three years and it appears nicer than it is (original owners neglected EVERYTHING inside & out). Was for sale for a couple of years and when I looked at the construction quality, land and extra 40x40 garage and I took a gamble taking on years of labor to get it back into shape myself for cost of materials. BTW: We had to move & burning full time has REALLY helped with the budget (plus I enjoy it). At first, we were getting all sorts of "offers" of people coming up and the signs have really cut that to nothing, which left me a bit lazy mid-job with someone home.

Now I do offer wood to friends & even friends of friends if they are using it themselves and have more than I could even process in 10+ years. Interesting part is that, except for that one tree, you couldn't see any of it from the main road. I need to get up off my tail and get that one done!