Marvin the Martian Lives Next Door

We met the folks who live behind us a few days ago. We were on the hill, weeding. They were in their back yard. They called us over and we exchanged pleasantries. They had a question for us, "Is that big tree yours?" I wondered what led them to conclude this. Eighty percent or more of the tree is over the fence into our side neighbor's yard. That eighty percent includes the whole trunk and root system. Perhaps it was the fact that I had trimmed the branches that were hanging down to the ground and blocking our sprinklers. I made the leap and said as much...

"Nope. It's not ours. I just trimmed some branches so our sprinkler could water this side of the hill. Why?"

"Well, we wanted to ask if we could cut it down."

They wanted to cut down a beautiful and sizeable shade tree in someone else's yard? WTF? They saw my puzzled look and felt the need to clarify.

"We'd do all the work. They wouldn't have to do any of it. We'd get it cut down and haul it away."

"That's very nice of you," I ventured, not sure where this was going at all.

"When we're in the hot tub, the tree blocks our view."

Don't worry. I swiped their illuduim Q-36 space modulator. The tree is safe for now.