Drama in my garden

Two weeks ago Sunday, I was up very early around 05.30 am and decided to take a walk in the garden. I made a cup of tea and walked towards my gazebo. I placed the tea on the table and took a stroll toward the west side of my property . As I got along the side of my shade house near my flamboyant tree, I saw someone walking towards me. I froze in my spot to prevent detection. As the figure approached, I suddenly recognized the person, it was a lady who lived a few houses away. I would often give her a lift to town, chat with her and share any bounty from my garden. She entered my shade house from the back with a large garbage bag in her hand . I was very mad at myself for not walking with my camera that morning. She took a quick look around at the plants I had on the floor and then made a beeline to my orchid stand. She lifted her hand and took a pot , it was at that moment I silently approached her from the rear. I stood about five feet from her back and exclaimed "well, well, well, I heard that you were the one stealing my plants but did not believe it". She replied aggressively that she was not stealing. So I asked her what was she doing in my shade house, on my property, with my orchid in her hand and a garbage bag in the other. She replied that she was not stealing that she had gone to empty some stuff that was in the garbage bag. So I asked her again what was she doing there. I shouted in a loud voice that if this was the manner in which she treated people who have been kind to her. By stealing from them, and she again shouted back she was not stealing. I asked what if I call the police, she shouted back to me, to call them. I told her that this was not the first time she has been here stealing, because she had been seen before by my helpers. Now I have a voice that can be heard miles off, I told her that she was nothing but a common thief, to get off my property at once and that I will be calling the police. As she was walking off she called me a thief. I couldn't believe what I had heard. So I told her that it is she who was on my property stealing so she had it all wrong. Now this woman is in her late sixties and I wanted to push her or cuff her, for the attitude she had. Instead of apologizing she was behaving as if I was in the wrong. So I called the police and made a report. They went to her house later that morning and gave her a warning not to trespass on my property. When the police left, she and her common class family started cussing me and she shouted out that she can come and get any plant she wanted anytime I am not there. Well I called back the police and told them what she had said. The next day they came and warned her again. On Friday, my helper was potting up some plants when she heard some voices. She stood up and looked straight across at the faces of the thief and her niece looking in on my property. They left when they saw her. Now my property is not enclosed, so when the police came to speak to me about the incident they told me that I should put up a fence. I told them that it will be too costly to enclose the whole property, however they suggested I fence the area that the thief has access to. I have now moved all of my orchids nearer to the house and have re potted them . I had really neglected them and I hope that they will make it.

So this weekend gone I had my helpers erect some poles in the ground to later fence the area. The poles were cemented into the ground and I am trying to find the most economical way to fence it. I am also looking into some wireless surveillance cameras.