I have a neighbor who I really, really like and value. But, their dog..............it yaps constantly. They can't stand it either so they throw it outside at meal times and by 6a.m so they can sleep. They even tried a bark collar and it didn't work. Love them, not so happy with their dog. But I won't say anything because I truly, truly value them as neighbors. I do get very frustrated at being wakened every morning and having to listen to non-stop barking when I am relaxing outside or having dinner or having company over.

Wow, I am so sorry to hear those difficulties you are having with the neighbors from hell. I have 3 kids and have always, always taught my children to respect people's property and privacy. It is all about boundaries and she is headed for difficulty without teaching them to her kids now while she still can. As for your gardens, I can't imagine how upset you must feel to have them damaged. The dog sounds like it should be carted off to the pound anyway if it is a biter maye it isn't being treated properly at home. Good luck.

I have a neighbor who I really, really like and value. But, their dog..............it yaps constantly. They can't stand it either so they throw it outside at meal times and by 6a.m so they can sleep. They even tried a bark collar and it didn't work. Love them, not so happy with their dog. But I won't say anything because I truly, truly value them as neighbors. I do get very frustrated at being wakened every morning and having to listen to non-stop barking when I am relaxing outside or having dinner or having company over.

Wow, I am so sorry to hear those difficulties you are having with the neighbors from hell. I have 3 kids and have always, always taught my children to respect people's property and privacy. It is all about boundaries and she is headed for difficulty without teaching them to her kids now while she still can. As for your gardens, I can't imagine how upset you must feel to have them damaged. The dog sounds like it should be carted off to the pound anyway if it is a biter maye it isn't being treated properly at home. Good luck.

I have a neighbor who I really, really like and value. But, their dog..............it yaps constantly. They can't stand it either so they throw it outside at meal times and by 6a.m so they can sleep. They even tried a bark collar and it didn't work. Love them, not so happy with their dog. But I won't say anything because I truly, truly value them as neighbors. I do get very frustrated at being wakened every morning and having to listen to non-stop barking when I am relaxing outside or having dinner or having company over.

Wow, I am so sorry to hear those difficulties you are having with the neighbors from hell. I have 3 kids and have always, always taught my children to respect people's property and privacy. It is all about boundaries and she is headed for difficulty without teaching them to her kids now while she still can. As for your gardens, I can't imagine how upset you must feel to have them damaged. The dog sounds like it should be carted off to the pound anyway if it is a biter maye it isn't being treated properly at home. Good luck.

Claire

is this the one where the branches were overhanging into your neighbor's property? Sorry to hear it's continuing to be a problem. Be careful because if it does cause some damage you may find yourself having to deal with legal issues. Recent storms here in Ontario had trees uprooted and branches breaking off.

I'm not too bothered by lawnmowers sounds - but I am bothered by the odor of gas powered lawn movers. I prefer to use my manual ordinary lawnmower.

I hate dog walkers who simply allow their animals to poop or pee in anyone's property. I don't care if they scoop because it's likely there will be residues left behind. Pee causes lawn burns and boy that really gets me upset. I once had a neighbor who allowed his dog to pee against a very nice planter box my husband made and I told him to please not let that happen. He complied but he was surprised that I would have said anything at all. I couldn't believe the gall of the person who simply casually allows his dog to do this while I was watching horrified about what his dog was about to do. Don't you wish you could apply a motion activated water sprinkler on your lawn. I would but it would probably hit the guy across the street.

Here's one -- a teenager my husband found crossing my yard - in the middle of the garden bed that I had carefully and newly planted.

Ianna

I'm not too crazy about gas lawn mowers either -- the noise carries quite far, but even so, it doesn't bother me *too much*.
For three years now, I have been using my cordless electric mower, which is much quieter, doesn't smell, and restarts at the push of a lever.
I probably wouldn't recommend it for a hilly landscape (its a bit heavier than a gas mower), or for large acreage.
But for me it does the job

Yes, Ianna, that's the one. I checked with my city's urbanists as well as an arboriculturist who concur that a) she cannot touch my trees, b)she cannot force me to cut a tree using the 'shade' argument. If large branches are menacing her roof or if roots are damaging her driveway or foundations, that's another story (not the case here). I have agreed to have a professional come in and cut several branches as well as one of the two trunks of our largest maple (which is evaluated at over $15,000 by city) and adds huge value to our property... The saga continues...

Re: lawnmower. I agree with you both there about the pollution caused by gas-powered mowers. The smell is as bad as the noise.

Claire;
I too constantly rant about the "invisible dog" leaving poop on my front lawn. Our own little doggie poops in our back yard where we pooper scooper daily.My other rant would be the people down the street, you know which ones; that put their garbage out too early and then all manner of critters get to spread it all over and us other people have to pick up their garbage.

Gabriella

My biggest peeve has nothing to do with the neighbours, who are either wonderful or invisible. We have had less than an inch of rain in the past month. Most of that came in one downpour a couple of weeks ago, topped up by a milimeter in yesterday's storm.

Please God, make it rain, preferably about an inch, once a week.

After reading the above, I'm glad I live where I live, have the neighbours that I have, and the weather, well, I'll take that too.

In regards to lawn mowers, when they invent an electrical or battery operated one that can mow a fair size lawn without having to be recharged halfway through, then I'll switch. Already had a battle with the battery operated whipper snipper which lasts about 10 minutes after recharging... It was promptly returned.

Dogs? I have two who are on electric collars so they don't bother my neighbours even though the neighbours love them dearly and will walk on to the property to say hello to them. As per our walks, they have been trained to do their dirty deed in the ditch. Quite convenient.

Well my pet peeves are the people who stand at the doors watching me pick up my dogs poop!!!! I know I am a good neighbour My dog does not bark, nor does he run around off leash, does not bark or snap or bite at people and is very tolerent of children stopping to pet him. Yet we get glares and comments as I pick up the poop. Bug off get a *#@! life is what I want to say, but dont. Yup Im a little PO about this can ya tell? There are a couple homes where we walk who put up funny friendly signs stating no dogs on the propety. One has a blind daughter who uses a cane and the other has a nieghbour with a couple of very yappy dogs, I assume the sign is for them. I don't mind avoiding their lawns. The good nighbour things also goes to things like keeping up and improving my property, not throwing several loud 3 in the morning parties, not having screaming crying children out all day every day, Not keeping trash or unused cars in my front yard, or parking all night on the street despite city by-laws. Or parking all night on the street in the winter forcing plows around them and filling in the next driveway with twice as much snow because of it. And when I shovel my lane I don't dump several feet of snow on the sidewalk for people to try and walk over(really annoyed by people with snow blower who do this). I don't let my sump water drain over the sidewalk which forms ice for kids the elderly and me to slip and fall on, or be forced to walk on the road with traffic. I don't let my cat out to run the neighbour hood, spraying and pooping and getting into fights. I don't idle my can for more then five minuets, don't ride my bike on the sidewalk, don't wash my car in the driveway, don't do many of the things which can be annoying or unneighbourly that a lot of people in my area do. Just remember the next time somone is picking up thier pets poop that you are not innocent of annoying behavoirs and that they could just not bother picking it up at all. Oh yeah get a life!
Frogged not normaly an irrate poster.

tiffy wrote on Thu, Jun 28, 07 at 11:46, "In regards to lawn mowers, when they invent an electrical or battery operated one that can mow a fair size lawn without having to be recharged halfway through, then I'll switch."

Fair enough. If you have a very large property, I agree.
Happily, I don't have that problem -- at least not unless I leave the mowing until the grass is quite high.

My back yard is 70ft x 33ft, and the front yard is 25ft x 33ft.
My cordless mower does both on a single charge, no problem (I do double passes, BTW).
Mind you, only about half that area (about 1,600 square ft) is grass -- the rest is plant beds, etc. (A few years ago, there were no plant beds -- all grass -- and the mowr still managed to do it all on a single charge...)
This should give you some idea whether its practical for you.

Jaro,

Our lawn is approximately 9,ooo square feet... So according to your calculations, we would be able to mow about 1/3 of it at a time.

In a few years we might be down to that amount. The gardens are taking shape and lawn space every year. One day I hope not to have a mower or a whipper snipper, but it's going to take a few years.

Wow, that's impressive - 9000 sq.ft.
If all your neighbours also have yards that size, then you probably don't even hear the lawn mowers from such a distance :O)

A tree story: we have a young honey locust with graceful, draping branches in the front yard. It's a city tree that had grown into nearby power lines, and I spent quite a bit of time trying to get the city to prune it when we moved in several years ago. I gave up and paid an arborist ($500) to prune it, and he's returned on a yearly basis to keep up with the new growth.

Well, a neighbor likes to park his enormous jacked-up truck in front of our house, probably because of the shade the tree provides since there are plenty of empty spaces. Honestly, his truck is so large it blocks out the light. One morning I came out to find that *someone* had hacked down the low-hanging branches and dumped them onto my garden, where they crushed lilies and phlox and damaged the hydrangea. He must have done it between midnight at 5 AM, if you can believe that! Grrrrr!!!

We used to live in the city where the train tracks were only a block from our house. I got used to the noise and eventually couldn't even hear it anymore. Before that we lived in the country and I'm used to, and don't mind, all the noises from the different farm machinery. Loved it. Now we're back in the country. The neighbour next door has visitors every Sat. and Sun. who blow their horn when they arrive. They not only toot their horn, they lay on the horn from the end of the long laneway until they reach the house. This is one noise I really can't stand. I mean is it really necessary to just lay on the horn instead of honking once or twice? I know this sounds petty but they came today and I just had to vent. Marg

My job interferes with my gardening time.
Wish I had the whole summer off!

Sharon

LMAO Sharon!!!! So true!!

Luckily, or unluckily for me; I have been off work since July 2005 due to a medical disability...
But this year I am finally feeling well enough to truly get back to my gardening :)
I would not want to be back at work in the summer.
Gabriella

My neighbors, their dog, the darn soccer ball that frequently ends up in my gardens (deliberatly kicked over the 8 foot high cedars in their yard).

They don't understand the concept of put the dog on a leash and that my gardens are not your dogs prsonal toilet. Have it pee in your own *&^% yard! What's worse is it isn't even down at the end of the lawn, it is up right near my front porch. I have even been out gardening and had the dog come running up and pee next to me! It has knocked my niece over several times. The neighbor got upset when my sister yelled at her to come and the dog after it had just knocked over my 2 year niece (and this is a woman in hr 50's). Doesn't understand why no one wants her dog running all over the place 5 houses away. Hmmm, we all either keep our dogs on a long leash, have underground fencing, or (and I know it's a radical thought but..) TRAIN your dog to stay on the front lawn!

Finally got the dog sorta dealt with. She got the hint I think, when one of the other neighbors (who also has a dog) told her to get the d@@M dog on a leash or he would call by-law on her. Now we get to have fun with the grandchildren who live with her. (It is the grandmother, mother, brother and mother's 2 sons who live together). The 2 boys are a human demolition team. If they look at it, it is broken. They are forever climbing on our fence (already cost me $200 to have a section repaired), tormenting our dogs, walking into our fenced in backyard to get the ball the uncle purposely kicks over the fence. I have told them I don't know how many times, one of our dogs is 13, deaf and doesn't like strangers. If he is in the FENCED in yard and you go back there, he will not hear you, you will surprise him and might get bit. SO STAY OUT OF MY YARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess on Friday they kicked the ball so hard against our house that things fell off the wall (my brother actually hid the ball in our shed after that. They came into our backyard when we weren't home and searched til they found it) If I had of known that, I wouldn't have given them back the ball on Saturday.

Then I discovered that at some point they have been jumping the fence to get into my backyard, because every hosta all along the fence line is nothing but broken stocks now and the ball landed in my grandmother's peony. I have babied that bush for years to get it to a good size. It is highly sentimental and not replacable (same with some of my hostas, came from my nighbor who is noe deceased). They got told in no uncertain terms if the ball comes into my yard again, you will get back with a steak knife in it as I tired of having my property damaged (and no, talking to the mother or grandmother does no good whatsoever).

Wanna guess what came flying into my backyard on Sunday afternoon? And landed in my fern? And whose mommy told them they would get it back later when we weren't home? ANd whose mommy got told if I caught her in my backyard I would charge her with trespassing so stay the hell out of my back yard?

I feel like I have to fortify my house just to keep them out of my yard and to stop having my stuff damaged. I am so tired of spending my weekends repairing things the precious little darlings break. I think I am going to set up a video camera, keep a running tally of all the damage they have done to my house and give mommy and grandma a nice bill for what it has cost me so far.

Thanks, Enjoy. I need all the luck I can get! The dog isn't a biter, it just doesn't know when to stop and comes running at you full force. It is a cocker spaniel but it is enough force to knock my niece flat on her butt. It is a sweet dog, it is only 2 but has no manners whatsoever. Guess that is what happens when you don't take the time to train it or think it's funny when your dog acts like that. Today it took off across the road, across several lawns to chase the neighbors cat and they laughed.

As for the kids, I agree she is in for fun when they get older. When I was a kid, there was a couple times the ball may have ended up where it shouldn't be, but if anything got damaged, my mom made me apologize and pay for it out of my allowance. Plus if someone told us we wouldn't get the ball back next time, we made sure it wouldn't go there again. Never did we think to just jump the fence or go in the yard when they weren't home.

I am still upset about the damage to the plants though. I know they will grow back, the peony wasn't hurt too badly, the hostas are prety indestructible, just look like crap with most of the leaves gone and they managed to avoid the really expensive plants. It's just the fact that every weekend I have to spend fixing something they have broken or spending more money to try and keep them out of my yard. It doesn't make the backyard very enjoyable.

I have devised several "fixes" for summer problems; annoying dog walkers? NO PROBLEM!!! Set up a sprinkler to a timer and have it go off every 10 minutes all day long--its keeps the dogs/dog walkers nervous and moving along. Find dog poo on lawn--NO PROBLEM! Rake poo onto sidewalk in front of your lawn--the dog walkers don't appreciated the poo either and stop walking by your house. Crisco placed in the "right spots" keep kids from swinging on the freestanding basketball hoop in front of our house (I GREASE THE POLE AND HANDLE) "Concerned" and "irritated parents decided to tell their kids to stay away from my house because of the crisco they kept getting all over their clothes--fancy that! Neighborhood kids standing in front of your house yelling insults! NO PROBLEM! I put my "HIGHWAY TO HELL" ACDC tape into my boombox, set it on blast, placed boombox next to my work area, and continued to garden away. Guess the kids got tired of trying to scream above the music and went away. Mind you, I don't play loud music all the time, just special occasions. The people next door know if their rapp music becomes too loud, I turn up the volume on "PHANTOM OF THE OPERA" and they usually turn their %#@RAP down! I guess the lawnmowers don't bother me, because I know my music MUST be annoying somebody on my street.