When Neighbors Are Jerks

My beautiful black walnut tree has been violated!

I woke up to go to the garden and survey the scenery. This is one of my favorite morning pastimes. To my horror, I found huge heaping tangled messes of tree branches that had been thrown over the fence into my garden. I quickly realized that the branches had come from our walnut tree.

I stood there, mouth agape, and started to shake my head.

Mr. Donaghy was thoroughly pissed off.

"That's a black walnut! Those trees are protected!" he roared. Insert litany of profanity and cursing.

Upon further research, Mr. Donaghy discovered that what the neighbors had done was totally out of line. While they are allowed to cut the tree back to the property line, they are not allowed to throw the branches and debris onto our property. However, all this becomes null and void as the tree is a black walnut and therefore, protected.

Mr. Donaghy, red from anger and fury, declared he was going to speak to the neighbors.

Oh, wait, we don't speak their language and they don't speak ours.

I pleaded with Mr. Donaghy to just let this one go. While they were wrong, we were also wrong for not taking care of the problem sooner.

But, I wonder...
1. I spoke to them a year ago and told them I would do my best.
2. Why couldn't they wait until the tree was dormant?
3. Why couldn't they come over and try to talk to tme?
4. Why did they throw everything onto our side of the yard as though it were an act of anger or rebellion?
5. Why did they have to be jerks about it?

Neighbors suck. We should just live on a farm just like Mr. Donaghy says.