"Tony" Thought Journal 3.0

@Beth Gallagher
@Faye Fox

I do have no trespassing signs two as a matter of fact by the front gate.

I also have Beware Attack 🐹 Hamsters sign Haha.

Let me go back to when the house was being refurbished. We were told by our contract that they were going to put in Anderson sliding door rather than a regular door and we thought that was a great idea being it led to a deck.

We didn't realize until we got into the house for a few months that the sliding door did not have a keylock you could lock it from the inside but could not open it from the outside once it was locked.

The we realized if we got locked out of the front because we lost the key to the front door, or the lock didn't work, we couldn't get into the house from the back door, because the glass sliding door he put in didn't have a key function.

I checked with many locksmiths asking whether they can replace the lock that was on the sliding door, with one that you could open from the outside with a key. Most didn't want to bother. I called Anderson Windows spoke to a very knowledgeable lady there, gave her all the information from the door and she supplied me with the information to replace the existing lock with a key lock. I got the lock from the parts department and found a locksmith that installed it.

I had extra keys made so now all the adults in the family have a key to the back door lock.

To reach the back door from the front I'd have to go through a walkthrough gate or a car gate which is a double gate.

If these gates had locks on them, I'd have to climb over the fence to reach the back door, because of this we leave them 🔓 unlocked.

I've been researching for a motion detector that will only pick up people walking by it. one that has a timer that could be set to work between the hours of 12:00 midnight to 6:00 a.m. in the morning.

I'm also thinking of putting more signs up. Bigger signs on a post facing there parking lot.

Things like this are making South Carolina look better and better.
 
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@Beth Gallagher
@Faye Fox

Ft ,I do have no trespassing signs two as a matter of fact by the front gate.

I also have Beware Attack 🐹 Hamsters sign Haha.

Let me go back to when the house was being refurbished. We were told by our contract that they were going to put in Anderson sliding door rather than a regular door and we thought that was a great idea being it led to a deck.

We didn't realize until we got into the house for a few months that the sliding door did not have a keylock you could lock it from the inside but could not open it from the outside once it was locked.

The we realized if we got locked out of the front because we lost the key to the front door, or the lock didn't work, we couldn't get into the house from the back door, because the glass sliding door he put in didn't have a key function.

I checked with many locksmiths asking whether they can replace the lock that was on the sliding door, with one that you could open from the outside with a key. Most didn't want to bother. I called Anderson Windows spoke to a very knowledgeable lady there, gave her all the information from the door and she supplied me with the information to replace the existing lock with a key lock. I got the lock from the parts department and found a locksmith that installed it.

I had extra keys made so now all the adults in the family have a key to the back door lock.

To reach the back door from the front I'd have to go through a walkthrough gate or a car gate which is a double gate.

If these gates had locks on them, I'd have to climb over the fence to reach the back door, because of this we leave them 🔓 unlocked.

I've been researching for a motion detector that will only pick up people walking by it. one that has a timer that could be set to work between the hours of 12:00 midnight to 6:00 a.m. in the morning.

I'm also thinking of putting more signs up. Bigger signs on a post facing there parking lot.

Things like this are making South Carolina look better and better.
Lock your gates with code locks. Then no key no problem.
 
Lock your gates with code locks. Then no key no problem.
Faye,
Good idea, I should have explained better the lock hole is on the other side of the gate where once you close the door you cannot reach from the front of the house.

You cannot see the lock from the front of the house. It would have been better had they put the latch on the gate with the lock hole facing the front of the house.

It's a good idea you got, maybe I can look into reversing or getting another latch so I can unlock it from the front.
 
When we bought our house in 2000, it had been vacant for a while, and people had gotten into the habit of walking across the lawn from the railroad bed to the street or vice versa, so when we first moved in, despite our cars being there, we'd often see people walking across our lawn. When kids do something like that (or pick flowers from a garden), I'm more tolerant because kids, young kids especially, don't always understand or care about boundaries, but adults were doing that. So, for a while, I put up NO TRESPASSING signs, and eventually that ended that problem, for the most part.

I generally have game cameras up on trees and elsewhere in the back yard, but those are ones that I have to collect the SD cards to view, and they are mostly there so that I can see what animals (cats, foxes, raccoons, skunks, fishers) are coming into the yard. They did pick up on one person, who appeared to be in his early 20s, perhaps, come into the yard from the railroad bed, tried the door on my outbuilding, which is often left unlocked, but was locked at that time, then left. But the camera that picked it up was too far away for me to recognize him. In the front, we have a Ring camera, so we know who comes by. We don't usually have it on alert, though, because I feed cats on the porch, so there are always cats (and sometimes raccoons) going in and out. The raccoons come only at night, and I am usually in my office downstairs, so I run them off and pick up the food before going to bed, so as not to encourage raccoons.

I have found four arrows in my backyard, so I assume that someone (probably a kid) in the next block over has a bow and arrow target set up on the back fence, and occasionally overshoots it.
Ken,
The arrows flying on your property sounds dangerous to me. Is that still happening or did you tell them to move the target?
 
My daughter and her family got home from their vacation to Maine.

We all had lunch, afterwards my son-in-law went out in the back yard while we had a break in the rain. While walking around he noticed that the lock on my shed had been broken off. The Intruder of the other night definitely was here to rob anything of value out of the shed. Fortunately what was in the shed had no value just some gardening tools and gardening supplies.

We called the police and we are going to press charges. Right now the only expense I see is replacing the latch that was ripped off the door.

I'm kicking myself because I didn't go and check the yard to make sure everything was okay. The intruder walked into the darkness could not see him by the shed on the video. Because he was quick I assumed he just walked in and out. I generally don't go walking unless I really have to because it's difficult for me.
 
My grandkids enjoyed there vacation to Maine, so did my daughter and my son-in-law. I can tell because they told me about what they saw in excited voices.

On the way there from New York they had breakfast in New Hampshire. They stayed in the town of Ellsworth, Maine in the Acadia Village Resort.

In Arcadia National Park they took Ocean View Trails that ended up in tidal pools where my grandkids had fun finding baby Crabs, Sea Snails and other Tidal pool creatures.

They walked many of the trails in Arcadia. Made a visit to Seal Indian Point Walden, saw Seals basking in the sun on an island off the coast. They spent some time walking around Bar Harbor browsing the shops, taking in the sights.

They did get into Jordan Pond Restaurant, and had some of their famous popovers.

Of course they found an ice cream shop that had the creamiest ice cream they've ever had, from the photos I've seen the scoops were the size of softballs.

The Maine thing is they came home with wonderful memories and had a great time.
 
My daughter and her family got home from their vacation to Maine.

We all had lunch, afterwards my son-in-law went out in the back yard while we had a break in the rain. While walking around he noticed that the lock on my shed had been broken off. The Intruder of the other night definitely was here to rob anything of value out of the shed. Fortunately what was in the shed had no value just some gardening tools and gardening supplies.

We called the police and we are going to press charges. Right now the only expense I see is replacing the latch that was ripped off the door.

I'm kicking myself because I didn't go and check the yard to make sure everything was okay. The intruder walked into the darkness could not see him by the shed on the video. Because he was quick I assumed he just walked in and out. I generally don't go walking unless I really have to because it's difficult for me.
Get more cameras @Tony Page. At least then you will know who is on your property.
 
My house has the Ring Video Surveillance System. Acually it should be Video and Sound because it records audio also. It has a feature where you can review prior recorded (History) videos. You can be alerted to every movement outside but I shut that off, I want to get my sleep and I don't need to be waking for shrubs moving in the wind or cats walking by, or the occasional car. I got in the habit of watching the prior video the next day. I found it interesting seeing the cats, and the raccoons, The late night Cleaning crew that cleans the restaurants in the shopping center next door to me. The camera does pick up some of the shopping centers rear parking lot.

Last night two different cameras picked up a person going through my gate walking to my backyard and exiting out the same gate. there were four videos one entering the property and one leaving. I reviewed the footage numerous times and concluded he was one of the workers that cleaned the restaurant. Somehow the the broom/mop stick came over the fence and landed on my property. The video does show him carrying what looks like the brush part of a broom.

I would be curious how the broomstick came over the fence other than that he came onto the property walk quickly got his item and left.

I thought about talking to the owners of the restaurant, that if it happens again they're going to have to wait till the next day and we will retrieve the item for them. Interesting how things happen I never would have expected this. I would like to lock my gate unfortunately if we get locked out of the house because the front door is not working I can't reach the rear door either to open to get inside my 🏠. I have to climb over the fence which I can't do.

The thing that really bothered me is when he left the property he didn't close the gate if I didn't see that on the video and let the dogs out they could have been roaming the street.
If that was all that happened, I would think someone played a joke on HIM. Embarrassing him or trying to get him in trouble. I hate it when people don't close gates they open, though.
 
I am sorry to hear that Tony. Leaves you a bit uneasy, does it.
All the signs in the world do not deter a determined burglar. They do not like noise though. Attach a horn to the shed door and follow the p..p trail.
 
@Don Alaska
Don,

We have four cameras one on each side of the house, it's not enough.

We are going to get some additional cameras so we can see more area.

The cameras we have some areas tha are blocked by trees and shrubs so you can't see beyond it, others just don't go far enough without turning into darkness.

I am considering getting cameras with more resolution also.

@Beth Gallagher
Beth,

I already have solar powered motion sensor lights that I never put up. One of them I already assigned to put on the shed so that would have made visibility clearer for the camera. I've had them for over a year when I went to put them up I hit resistance by my family, so I got a little disgusted and frustrated and I just put the lights on a shelf and said you'll see someday you sorry I didn't put them up, well this is that someday. Now they're going up.

We asked the police how come he walked directly to the shed he didn't look around he didn't search, they said he probably spotted it from the street. He definitely was looking to Rob us. He found a metal pole that I used as a garden steak to pry the lock off the shed. We also observed which we didn't notice the first time around, that as he was leaving and walking down the driveway he tried my car doors to see if the car was open, fortunately it was locked.

@Mary Stetler
Mary,
We asked the police whether somebody maybe someone was pulling a prank on the robber by telling them that maybe there's money in the shed or drugs or something like that. They said no it was an attempted robbery.


@Marie Miller
Marie,
We are searching for cameras or motion detectors with Sirens. We need one that cannot detect cats or dogs, that would be annoying.

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We are going to press charges even though nothing major was stolen just damage to the shed, and lock.

I would have downloaded one of the video clips but I don't know how. Usually I use Save to clipboard. It's not on the drop-down.
 
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