Bold "neighbours"

This was considered work, which was not allowed on the sabbath.

You must have gotten gypsies rather than the usual Slovaks.......http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/reso.../slovakia.html

What I read from this website reflects a different kind of Slovak people.....

Spritzing their yard with some liquid ("Oops!. So sorry....") might be in order, especially if you have further encroachments....

geo

I know, but in our society with me included taking produce from fields without permission would be considered stealing as well.

Those handfuls of grain would have had more impact to a first century farmer than the cobs of corn filched as per the OP

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Some folks are well off. I'm just a little off.

many reasons.
earlier or later day corn.
Had all ours canned all ready
it was offered so we picked a few ears to be neighborly.........

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Deja Moo; The feeling I've heard this bull before.

I can see how someone from a place where it was the accepted way might never think to even inquire about the rightness of the situation.
I think Id go to them explain that its considered theft and wrong here . Then Id pleasantly PLEASANTLY hand them a bill for the stolen corn and explain that by paying for what they have taken and arranging BEFOREHAND the next time it will be all right.
If they pay up or not you will know what they really think.

In Jesus' time gleaning was allowed, farmers were instructed to leave enough for the poor to glean. They were to leave the 4 corners for the poor and were not to go back and get anything left after the harvest. It was a form of feeding the poor.

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This is what I was thinking.

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Roger

In Jesus time, It was handy for the farmer in a hurry and for the sicklers to go round a corner and stay in line, than go into a corner, then have to restraighten and start out for the next corner. Maybe, when they got into a corner, they decided it was time for a break, whether they needed one or not. Remember, they were getting paid by the hour. By curving the corners, the sicklers didnt have to stop, and the head sickler, the one on the outside could keep the others going, or the overseer could fire the ones not cutting to code lol.
Theres a story told way back in time in the NE US, it was harvest time for grain, and the scythe men were all working, any that could be found and sober. Well, one day a unemployed scythe man came up to a farmer binding his wheat behind the scythe men and told him his line of scythemen seemed to look pretty slow. Said, what they needed was a professional to punch them up. Well, the farmer hired him and said, have at it. Unfortunatly, for him, the other scythemen heard about what he had told the farmer. likely the farmer told the head scythe man. ANYWAY, they started cutting ahead of him when he was supposed to be takeing the lead. When the other scythemen finally got a whole corner ahead of him, the farmer came up and asked. What the hay? I thought u said u thought they needed punching up and you was a real leader. Wall, he replied, After makeing a few rounds with them. I decided they needed a pusher instead.

When I purchased my house in Edmonds , WA I found some of my Korean Neighbors one morning sawing down one of my cedar trees to use for a garden bed. Until I built a fence I would find them harvesting the fiddles out of the middle of my Ferns. Amazing, and there was no one who spoke both languages around.

They do sound like a band of gypsies. Invite them over for gypsy omelets next Sunday.
The hardest part to making one is stealing the chicken.

That's great to know. I'll start checking that around here, too. I'll just make sure it's the farmers without shotguns.

I have pallets stacked in my semi driveway. I have to buy them. People sometimes pull into my driveway and try to help themselves to them. I've had to run people off several times. I do have keep out signs posted, too.

I'm glad that I have generous neighbors! Any time one of us needs something we know that we are welcome to visit another neighbor's garden for it if we don't have it in OUR garden! We all say "You don't have to ask - just come over and get it - anytime!" We always share produce and our canning. Sometimes my jam has fruit from 3 different gardens or more! And at Christmas I make sure that the neighbors each get some. Small town living is GREAT!!!

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Eternal Optimist

Around here (NW IL) there will be a few rows of feed corn to protect the sweet corn.

Really?!?!

Not after 20 years of living in the USA, although I can see where with the gov't subsidies one could reckon it that way.

See what happens when you don't ask!

Around my parts there is sweet corn, field corn and seed corn. The farmer to our immediate south plants peas in early spring, followed by seed corn. He asked us 8 years ago to NOT plant sweet corn in our garden since it pollutes his seed corn. In exchange, we can get as much sweet corn from him as we want each year. I usually 'put by' enough corn in one summer to last us at least 2 years. I don't want to burden our neighborly farmer. I use our 'sweet corn' garden as a perennial berry / herb / garlic / asparagus garden instead. It benefits us both.

As for the OP ... send them a bill for the 'mistaken' harvest with the amount crossed out and a warning that when they have another reunion and corn harvest is missing, they will be expected to pay the full amount.

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http://homesteadingfamilies.proboards.com/

One indication toward cutting them some slack in some form that I haven't seen commented on: the OP clearly implies the neighbors/thieves don't know the difference between field corn and sweet corn. Even with 20 years in their new country they haven't picked up on that, so maybe it IS a cultural situation? Rather than presenting a bill, I'd lean toward the visit & frank discussion approach, offering suggestions that it's more normal here to plant your own garden including sweet corn aimed at maturing in line with the scheduled party, or asking neighbors first if they have some sweet corn surplus and offering to swap off some sort of chores in return. They might be gypsies and know they're thieving but consider it taking humorous advantage of suckers, but also might be horrified to realize they've violated local ethics like that.

Ed add: You might comment, "Around here, just taking a bunch of corn like that makes folks wonder if you might just go into a storage shed, take some tools you need, and never return them, too."

oh yes, do take the time to talk to them. sometimes we assume they 'know', but obviously they don't. or they never would have admitted to STEALING in the first place. they honestly may think it's ok, so instead of being angry first........go have a nice talk and tell them it's not the thing to do. I think someone being bold and just stealing hardly talks about it. communication. goes a long way sometimes. THEN...if they continue, send them a letter telling them you will prosecute for theft.

Consent is different than theft. We have a neighbor that has apple trees. We ask permission to pick them. Every year. Permission one year does not grant permission every year.

Of course, we do allow them to hunt on our property (actually permission to come onto ours if need be). And they ask every year


One thing better than a generous neighbor is a considerate neighbor.

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Roger

We are lucky in that regard as well. We have farms on either side of our farm (and one of them owns a couple hundred acres in back of us) and we have gates between all of our pastures with a standing agreement that if one of our various animals gets into each others pastures we can just go get them. One of the farmers also uses a turnout pasture we have to isolate some of his cattle when needed. We freely share our various assets, i.e., we pick apples on one farm in return for them picking blackberries on our place, the other farmer collects our black walnuts (we have about 25 producing trees) to sell and in return he gives us hay and lets us hunt on his property. We all respect each others privacy and we ask before we do things but its a nice way to live.

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www.salmonslayer-simplelife.blogspot.com

It is indeed a nice way to live. IF there is reciporocity. Sounds like the OP hasn't received anything in return from their neighbors, who had the gall to not only steal the corn (yes, steal, as in take without asking) and to then complain that it had not been up to their standard. If one is a good neighbor, one asks if it is ok to pick the fruits of another's labor, and if so, it is often customary and simply being a good neighbor to reciprocate in some manner. It doesn't matter where one grew up, or lived, or what culture they're from. Here, it is culturally considered wrong to take something from another, even if it is something that seems innocuous, like a few ears of corn. It's the principle of the thing, and those who choose to not learn the customs and social mores of the culture they move into can cause friction.

Like I mentioned earlier, they should have this explained to them, and then suggest that they plant their own corn, with a polite warning to not take what is not theirs again.

Oh for crying in a bucket!! It was only a couple dozen ears of corn! Wrong? well of course, evil? I doubt it. I am sure if they had asked you would have said, sure go ahead. Get over it! All of you, get over it!
Jesus said, if a man wanted your coat you were to give him your shirt and shoes too.(paraphrasing) You know, turn the other cheek, go the extra mile etc etc.

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Living the good life in Kansas.