Look how my hands in jail will be all hairy and man-ish! (image)
I might have committed a teeny tiny crime of trespassing and possible property damage this weekend ... technically.
Let me state my case then you can either convict or acquit. Yikes!
My next-door-neighbor isn't very...um...attentive to her lawn and landscaping in general. Most of the trees, bushes, flower beds are completely overgrown and/or overrun with weeds. They have lived next door for almost 2 years and never trimmed a bush or pulled a weed and rarely mowed.
Well, this weekend we were cleaning up our beds for the winter - removing the leaves, cutting back the perennials and pulling the annuals. We also cut back our ornamental grasses each year or else they make a MESS.
My neighbor did not. Again.
Last year her ornamental grasses that border my yard broke off in the wind and ended up all over my yard and in my garage all fall/winter/ and spring until the new growth took over. I drove me batty! (am I setting up my case to plead insanity??)
Exhibit 1 - The grass in question:
So, while we were outside trimming back our own grasses we snuck over to cut back theirs too. I know! Overstepping! I couldn't help it!
It's Feedback Friday...
It's your call - Am I Guilty, Not Guilty, or Insane?!?
Oh , totally don't blame you! Some people never end up taking care of things, and if it was ending up all over your clean yard and home....well....if no one saw you then....no one needs to know! lets just hope she doesn't read your blog!
ReplyDeleteI think it was nice of you to do that - both for your yard's sake, and hers...but probably you should have told her you were going to FIRST. That being said, invite her over for coffee in a day or so, and casually ask how she likes it. Maybe she'll say "Oh, thanks! I noticed!". Even if she says, please don't do that, you can make your case by pointing out how nice it looks and then tell her you'll mark it on your calendar to remind her when trimming time comes around next year...
ReplyDeletei bet she is happy you did it. although i would have asked first. when we first moved into our house we were so busy demo-ing the inside of the house that we never had time to mow our lawn, it was out of control, but so wasnt the house. but every once in awhile one of them would come over and mow it for us. we were so thankful:)
ReplyDeleteWe had the same thing happen at our home. We had a new neighbor move in across the street. she is a single, younger gal and works many hours at her job. she bought a riding mower but not a push mower and trimmer for the detail trimming. Mr. Secret Agent started weed eating and trimming her yard on his own.
ReplyDeleteShe was so appreciative and did not mind at all the he did not ask....she was just happy to have the help.
We are both happy now ;->
Janet xox
I think a) they won't notice, b) they'll notice and not really care either way, or c) they'll notice and think it was a totally passive aggressive way to tell them they need to take better care of their yard.
ReplyDeleteBut I don't blame you. I wanted to trim my neighbor's crepe myrtles one year, but my husband wouldn't let me.
Really, she should just write you a thank you note and then some sort of contract for you or perhaps even your boys to do her yard work :)
ReplyDeleteWe've dreamed about helping our neighbors out... now we are thinking about planting some bushes!
Oy! I'm gonna be in the minority here (although I still love you, but won't ever let you near my garden beds ;). I leave my ornamental grasses tall all winter because I LOVE the way they provide some interest in the dead middle of Winter. Luckily for me, I only have one neighbor, and he couldn't care less what we do. If it had been my grasses, I would have been quite miffed, but who knows about these folks. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteOh, that would bug me! I love your blog but I don't think I would like you as a neighbor. ;)
ReplyDeleteI live in an older neighborhood with no HOA. It's near the Main Street area of my suburban town, and most of the people here take great pride in their properties. The houses are charming and attractive when they're well-maintained, but there are a few soup apples who just don't care and it ruins the look of the neighborhood for everyone- not to mention the home values. So I think you're definitely innocent. And I also wish you'd travel to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma to continue your efforts. ;-)
ReplyDeleteMy vote is not guilty! I'm going with the being a good neighbor plea. Maybe they'll even thank you! ;)
ReplyDeleteDon't think you're guilty, not guilty, OR insane...but I do think you live FAR too far away from me as I HATE fall clean up and would love for you to do it for me! ;)
ReplyDeleteI have a next door neighbor who is older,widowed, stays home full time and loves, loves, loves yard work. Her yard is a show piece. Since she has so much time on her hands she has taken over some of the yardwork at the homes next to her. Sometimes it is great, like when I come home from work and there is a new plant in the flower bed and sometimes it is not so great, like when I come home and find she has drastically pruned my lilac bush. She never asks and I know by experience would get quite offended if I mentioned I didn't want the lilac bush trimmed. So...I let it go, enjoy what she does and wonder what I will do when she no longer is able/willing to help out. A long winded way of saying, asking your neighbor would have been nice, but maybe they are glad for someone else to do the yardwork. Oh, and the rare occasions I bake, I always take some to her so she can see I do notice her efforts.
ReplyDeleteOur former neighbor, Terri, later referred to (by us) as "Berry", was a little miffed when Mark trimmed back her wild blackberry bushes along the back border of our properties. She didn't know that trimming them makes them healthier and more productive. But he would probably ask next time since he got called out on it.
ReplyDeleteGrasses are a big pain in the a** and my hubby won't plant them anymore. But the ones we do have, he trims in the Spring during Spring cleanup.
Watch, they never pay attention to their yard at all, but they'll be upset about this. Hopefully not.
ReplyDeleteI hate it when stuff like this happens - your neighbor doesn't take care of their yard and there's nothing you can do about it. That happened a lot in our old neighborhood.
I think you probably should have offered to do it to them - which would have served as a hint that they needed to get off their asses and do it. Or call your local municipality. Most cities have rules (at least most around here) about letting your grass go and not taking care of it. The city probably would have issued them a letter to correct it or else.
Our neighbor once did that little chore for us...We were GETTING to it! He had just bought some sort of new trimming tool and was very eager to use it on anything. We THANKED him! Maybe your neigbor just doesn't know that you are supposed to trim the grasses.
ReplyDeleteIf your neighbor questions, let her know you did her a favor.
How about an update on this one? Would love to hear if anything has been said.
ReplyDeletePlease don't be mad at me. Though I totally understand the desire to 'fix' your neighbor's yard, it's really not a nice thing to do unless you talk to them first. I'd just say, "I'm cutting my grasses back for the end of the season, do you mind if I do yours while I'm at it?"
ReplyDeleteIt's harder to say yes to a question like "do you mind," than no thanks to "do you want me to?" And if they did mind, they'd have a gentle nudge to let them know that people notice that they're not keeping their landscaping up to standards.
I think this post warrants an update post. Your readers deserve to hear what happened. LOL. Did you say anything to them? Did they say anything to you? Were you arrested? Are you out on bail? LOL. The public deserves the truth!
ReplyDelete:)