Thievery...

My lawn has been showing it's appreciation for all the rain we've been getting, by growing at an unprecedented rate.  It's everything a homeowner wants in a lawn; lush, green, thick...

...and long!  But with rain hitting us almost every day, we have to grab whatever opportunities we have, to mow.  Last night, I had one of those rare opportunities of a bit of sun.  I rolled out the mower, filled the gas, checked the oil (har har har, who checks the oil on a lawnmower!) and then went to get my wheelbarrow.

Why a wheelbarrow?  Because the grass is so long that I have to constantly empty my clippings bag and it's just easier to fill the wheelbarrow rather than making a trip to the woods each time.

So anyway, I went out behind my house to retrieve said wheelbarrow...and it wasn't there.  I paused for a second, wondering if I'd left it somewhere else.  Nope, it had been right here, next to my wood pile.  Huh...I wonder where it went?  Turning back around and walking up beside my garage, I spotted two distinct lines in the tall grass, with a set of footprints between them.  The markings led off, away from my garage and out toward the street.  Someone had walked behind my house, taken my wheelbarrow, and just wheeled it off down the street!  And whoever had done this, wasn't in any kind of rush.  The footprints in the grass were evenly paced, made by someone just casually walking along.  The bastard!

When I finished mowing my lawn, I had to get ready for the monthly Riders meeting, being held that night.  And when I headed off to said meeting, I took a putt down the street and up the nearby side street.  No wheelbarrow to be seen.

WTF.  Who just steals a wheelbarrow?

But then I got thinking...and remembering...and I realized that the joke was on whoever stole the wheelbarrow, thinking they'd scored a useful tool.  For you see, my wheelbarrow was on last legs.  Both of the wooden handles were rotted and the metal parts of the framework were either rusted badly, and/or bent badly, and/or completely broken.  Does this picture ring a bell?

Yep; it's the same wheelbarrow that got busted up at LAST year's pig roast.  I'd managed to squeeze a little more life out of it by driving a bunch of screws through the bucket part of it, into the few solid sections of handle I could find.  And that's why it was my lawn mowing wheelbarrow.  Because it really wasn't sturdy enough for anything else.

So here's hoping that the d'bag that stole it loads it up with rocks or cement, or some other equally heavy item, and then tries to move it.  With any luck, the wheelbarrow will disintegrate in their hands, hopefully spilling the heavy load onto their feet.

Still, though...the thought that someone just walked into my yard and helped themselves to something of mine.  That part...that part stings.

And if I find out who stole it, they're going to be feeling some sting, too.