I had lived in our new house near the forest for only a month when a neighbor of about forty-five appeared at the door and began shouting. She complained about the moving trucks and then insulted my two boys, calling them noisy “mice.” I ordered her off the property. That evening another neighbor, Emily, confirmed the street preferred quiet, mostly child-free living. The next day the front of our house was spray-painted with the words “GET OUT!” When I confronted her she laughed, released her dog toward my sons, and warned that we would not last. I installed a security camera.

The harassment escalated. One morning the yard was filled with a moose, raccoons, and other animals; camera footage showed a masked figure scattering bait overnight. My husband, working abroad, urged me not to escalate. Hoping for peace, I brought her a pie. While we sat talking, my baby monitor erupted with my sons’ screams—mice were swarming our kitchen. She had paid a teenager to release them through a vent. That night I hired a lawyer and began documenting everything for both criminal and civil action.