My Neighbors Dug A Two-Acre Lake On My Land While I Was Out Of State—Then Told Me Their Contractor Said It Was Theirs, And That Was The Day I Learned How Expensive Arrogance Can Be

stone fence with his boot.

“But if you let somebody move the line once, they’ll come back with a bigger shovel.”

I remembered those words as I stood beside the lake.

Because somebody had brought a very big shovel.
The Water Wasn’t the Only Thing That Had Changed

I walked along the edge of the new lake, examining everything I could.

The construction wasn’t sloppy.

That was what frightened me.

This wasn’t somebody accidentally digging in the wrong place.

The basin had been carefully graded.

The banks had been shaped.