The mind boggles.

What is it about some people that they cannot bear trees planted near them?

For the last three years I have been busy trying to turn 12 acres into a fairly self sufficient, small amount of income-earning horticultural block and the house into a Language School for Japanese homestay holidays, and a writers' retreat. I live in a glorious part of N.Z. with wonderful beaches, mountains and high country all in easy reach. It seems a sensible way to add to my pension when I reach pensionable age.

I have been working hard to plant windbreaks to shelter my tree crops. The tree crops I plan to grow are hazel nuts, a small pick your own orchard of apples, pears, cherries, apricots etc and Douglas fir and Scots Pine which have their roots inoculated with gourmet fungi, either saffron milkcaps or a member of the porcini family.

I do consider neighbours and before planting on my 12 acres I worked out what I could plant without shading, blocking or otherwise being a nuisance to neighbours. All my windbreaks are designed to be coppiced for firewood and thus aren't allowed to grow beyond 6 or 7 metres.

With all this planning then it becomes rather infuriating when one neighbour of my four neighbouring properties spends his whole time trying to get rid of me and my trees. I have had this man harassing me daily for the three years I have lived here. His threats and foul mouthing have been duly written down,reported to the police, taped, witnessed, and statements written as the police requested, yet nothing has been done.

This week, after having carefully checked with my friendly solicitor, I have been removing the nasty neighbour's electric fence reels hooked onto my boundary fence. The law is that both owners of a boundary fence must agree to anything done to the fence. I was not consulted and the three heavy reels have already stretched the wire. My nasty neighbour whined to the police.

Guess what? Oh yes The police came running to speak to me. Interesting isn't it? My neighbour has threatened me, stalked me along our mutual boundary fences, verbally abused me in sexual terms, and done this daily for three years, but the police have done nothing. My foul mouthed neighbour whines about my perfectly legal action and they jump.

It's still a man's world as far as the police go. I wonder if I'd been blond, glamourous and twenty years younger whether I'd have had more police attention!