Actually by local standards, our dirt road is not that bad. It was built by the man who subdivided the land and sold off lots — long before any of the current neighbors moved here. We’ve lived here since 2007 and the road held up nicely until last winter when it turned into deep mud and ruts.

I wrote about living with a muddy road in a Jan. 31 post called Stuck in the Mud. A mixture of snow and above-normal temps, plus a couple of inopportune propane deliveries and trash pickups changed our normally mild-mannered road into a mess. I parked at the end of the road and hiked in. Here is the post: http://www.joanlivingston.net/home/stuck-in-the-mud/

Hank walking our muddy road last winter.

Fortunately, we had a resourceful person help us. But as one of our neighbors wisely reasoned, that fix wasn’t going to last.

So this is where the good neighbors come in.

Many subdivisions have legal neighborhood associations. Ours doesn’t although we do have covenants. We haven’t formed an association because many of the lots, bought for an investment I suppose, are still empty and with construction costs these days, I don’t see that changing anytime soon. The last house was built shortly after ours.

But the people living in our neighborhood’s seven homes — two were recently bought after being on the market for a while — agreed the road needed care. After all, no maintenance except for last year’s emergency repairs have been done in who knows how many years.

So the wise neighbor talked with the man who put in his driveway to walk the road, plus a smaller one leading to two homes. The man, who has an excavating business that puts in roads and driveways, gave an estimate.

That neighbor spoke with others. All agreed to chip in their fair share. Another neighbor keeps everyone informed via email. Last week, the neighbors who were home walked the roads with the excavator. They agreed the road needed to be graded and the excavator knew someone close by who could do the work.

Yesterday, the roads got graded. As I harvested the last of the beets and chard from my garden, I watched the machine’s blade give our roads a better shape. Tomorrow, truckloads of coarse road material will be added. This is good timing considering we might get snow later this week.

Was the process as smooth as it seems? I will admit there was concern by one of the neighbors who discovered when he was buying his house the property line extends a bit into the road. But we neighbors had a meal together and talked it out. I believe we all came to a good solution on our own.

Over the years I have had many neighbors. Some, like Mary and Val, who live across the arroyo that divides our properties, are good friends. With some I have had cordial but not close relationships. Others I steered clear of for very good reasons. And there are others who prefer for whatever reason to keep their distance.

During this road process I’ve gotten to know my neighbors a bit better, and they make me glad I live here.

ABOUT THE PHOTO ABOVE: The grader at work Saturday.