Peevish Pen: Corner Fix

Because some folks down the road had complained to VDOT several times that our crape myrtles were blocking their view from the stop sign (which several folks don't even slow down for), some VDOT officials came out a couple of weeks ago to assess the situation.

They measured and marked to figure out exactly where our landscaping needed to be removed.

When they determined that some—but not all—of our crape myrtles were indeed blocking the view and thus needed removing, I negotiated with them. They agreed to use their equipment to remove the offending bushes. Meanwhile, we trimmed back a few things a few days ago. The little oak tree below, for instance, is now history.

Some of the crape myrtles were too close to the power pole's guy wire to be safely pulled up, so they were lopped off.

The rock below had to relocate.

So we dragged it up a bit.

Monday, a guy came from the phone company to mark where the phone wires were buried. He said there was a good possibility that we might lose phone service when the crape myrtles were pulled. The orange paint marks the phone lines.

A day earlier, VDOT had set a white stick to mark their right of way.

In the past, the rock and the little metal fence had kept drivers from running into the phone box—but the rock and the fence were on VDOT's right-of-way.

Tuesday morning my husband moved his tractor near the crape myrtles so he could transport the ones that would be pulled up.

I took the picture below just before VDOT arrived. When I took it, I was standing beside the stop sign—where a vehicle would be when—if—it actually stopped.

Soon a few trucks and several VDOT workers arrived. Some of the workers set up work signs up and down the road and stayed there to direct traffic. Five other workers dealt with crape myrtle removal.