Copy-Cat Neighbors and Yard-work
First let me thank everyone who sent me well wishes due to the weather problems we were having here in Dallas last week. It is my belief that your comments alone are what turned around the outlook (that's my story and I'm sticking to it).
The forecast called for good weather for Saturday and I was hoping that would hold true since I had landscaping work planned for the front flower bed.
The family got up early and headed to the front yard to do some spring clean up and planting. Within 20 minutes it happened; my neighbor came out to work on his yard. The first few years this happened I thought it was a coincidence, but now I'm convinced otherwise. The neighbor didn't have any planned activity he was working on, he just cut his grass, watered the lawn and went back inside. You think I'm being paranoid?? Not a chance.
For some reason my neighbor thinks the two of us are in some type of yard competition. When I paint my fence, he paints his fence. When I clean my windows, he cleans his windows. When I plant spring color, he needs to plant spring color. I noticed the start of this one-sided competition a few years ago when I hired a company to put up my Christmas lights. I guess he thought I was trying to make a statement, but the reality was that I had temporary back problems that prevented me from putting up my normal display. I attempted to address this at a neighborhood social gathering and asked him why he cuts his lawn three times a week, and he responded with, "Don't want to start attracting any wild animals." I backed away and didn't take the conversation any further. I guess he thinks an extra inch of grass will bring in the Discovery Channel.
The true reality is that I could care less how my front yard compares to his. I just like to keep my little part of the universe neat and attractive. To be honest, I'm probably the least handy-man on the block, and I find it sad that he appears to use me as his measuring stick. This should tell you how freakish this situation really is. So my advice to all is to stay away form copy-cats, they are probably disturbed in some way.
8 comments
Now if you catch him starring at you through the windows of his home or if he starts calling you because he hasn’t seen you for a few hours you’ll pretty much have my neighbor Sofie. LOL Join the club.
Sofie’s like that too- If I step outside to do something in my yard she’s out there trying to do something too … only difference is she doesn’t really have many plants right now so she just kind of stirs the dirt or waters her grass for the 10th time that day.
What is it with these crazy neighbors?
Oh what kind of spell checker add on are you using- I have one but it doesn’t work.
At least you don’t have the kind of neigbor that never mows his grass or paints his fence etc. Those would be MY neighbors. Wanna trade? lol
Izzy,
Your right, my biggest fear of buying a house was getting bad neighbors. So what I got was not bad neighbors, but weird ones.
ask him to come to west and start my mower for me..the grass is ass deep…my veggies, herbs and flowers are doing gangbusters thanks to the rain….suposed to get more tuesday…long as it’s not in the 90’s again..i can live with it.
Don’t worry Ed, this happens everywhere. My neighbors across from my parents D&G mow their yard within 24 hours of Dad doing his and now the new neighbors, we call them the “Landrovers” mow within 24 hours of D&G. It’s kinda funny.
I wish people in my neighborhood would try to “keep up with the Jones’” because we could invite the Discovery Channel out and they’d probably find something. My neighbor has rag weed (which I am HIGHLY allergic to) that’s waist high. That’s horrible!
So it may be creepy, but at least your neighbor does his yard!
You know that stupid saying, that copying is a compliment, or whatever. In a way it’s true. Maybe he has no creativity so he just copies what you do. It’s weird anyway. In highschool there was this girl that must have wanted to be me, she had a crush on the same teacher that I did =) she strangled this guy cos he took my beanie off my head, even though he was my friend. One day, possibly school photo day, she changed her hair from a perfectly reasonable do to the same do that I had that day, so I changed my hair, then she changed her hair again!
Lol, when my neighbor does his yard or his fence, I invite him to do mine as well. So far he’s never taken me up on the invitation.
Bacchus, I prefer to think of it as you are setting the standard and this guy is meeting the challenge. He isn’t trying to beat you. You are the Joneses and he is trying to keep up!
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