As it was 6am in the morning and my yard is walled in etc I didn’t bother changing out of my boxers, I stumbled my way down the stairs, opened the door and Beanie started barking like crazy, was getting ready to scold him until I looked up to see a little middle aged man standing in my yard gorging on mulberries from my overly prolific mulberry tree. We blankly stared at each other for a second and then I said “salam” (hello here in Azerbaijan) he said hello back, then I wanted to ask him if he wanted mulberries in Russian but in my groggy state (helped by the fact that I don’t know how to say mulberry in Russian) I mumbled “hochish mulberries” well he got it and said “da” (yes) I just said ok (horasho), turned around, and went back inside. Surreal.
In retrospect I really didn’t mind all that much, the mulberry tree has beome a liability in that now I have a yard full of rotten mulberries which are caked on the soles of my shoes and getting tracked everywhere. Plus, there is the detail about his chickens, Beanie awhile back decided he wanted chicken and picked off about 2-3 of his chickens like popcorn… not a happy moment. So, I sent my driver over to pick a bowl of mulberries for the guy, tell him he can have as many as he wants and to be sure to close the gate.
We shall see.
Note: 2009/08/23
Well, yesterday was like a relapse. Beanie started barking like crazy, i look outside to see a family running around in my fenced in yard picking fruit. I went out and said they could take all they want but they had to close and lock the back gates (from where they were coming) but of course that evening when i went out to check the gate it was not locked at all offering my door opening canine the perfect opportunity to go KFC on thier poultry and then (probably) come back to me and complain how my dog is a menace... the best neighbors are not having any neighbors at all... sigh.
