I live in a noisy city but grew up in a small quiet town. The world
isn't perfect. But you know that.
I am a quiet neighbour but have a very messy, ugly yard. Lived here
nearly 30 years. Every neighbour has been a problem (and I a problem to
them) of sorts but all different. Pick your poison.
Here are some!

- guy did drugs and was always unstable
- guy had dog that produced waste beyond belief on their property and
mine till I put up a fence
till he moved out.
- woman drank heavily, nasty, played loud stereo on hot summer nights
and danced with found men, not
as nice as it seems. She reported me to the city for the messy yard. I
got a letter from the city
saying problem of tire, debris, etc. I said to the city there is no law
against tires and wood, is there?
How many tire can I have and how do you want me to stack them within the
bylaws? Same for the wood. The guy
at city hall stammered and I never heard another word from the city.
- man from foreign country yelled at his wife and kids in such a loud
voice that I could hear him indoors
with my windows closed.
- guy across the street stole blue tarps covering my yard - took a
couple of years to figure out who did it or that i even knew the person.
- woman feed wildlife that attracted rats and skunks in large numbers.
- crazy postal woman dragged her dog to my property for their daily
excrement deposit.
-newest neighbour from a foreign country paces in front of the windows
for hours looking out. I am already a paranoid person. Being watched
could drive me nuts!

Look at the bigger picture and consider.
In my case all my neighbour are rents - mostly apartments - their stay
is mostly 5 year max.

How old are you? How long before you sell or move?
How old is the neighbour? How long before he sells or moves?
The average life is only 20,000 days. Worst yet people don't change,
they move or die, good and bad.
The reason people move into the country is to avoid the noise. But the
noise follows them.

The rich have it made because they can buy anything they want. But then
they have bigger overhead and have to work all the time to keep the
perfect location ready for their next visit. Again not a perfect world.

Solution: Earplugs. Garden at night by floodlight. Play music you
like just as loud (not recommended). Or play music nobody likes (again
not recommended) so he can hear it. Playing the opera Madam Butterfly
to this guy should work well. This works by the way when I hear people
talking loudly on a cell phone in a restaurant, bus or any other
confined space. Looking at them sometimes works. But repeating every
word they say so they can hear it as they are talking works wonders. Or
pretend you have a cell phone (using your formed fist - and index finger
as a antenna) and pretend you are talking to another person but describe
the cell phone person and her/his conversation loud enough so they can
hear you works. Last but not least, speak to them and tell them that
unless they are talking about sex or their sex life, you don't want to
be able to hear them. All of those work and work well.

There is always a way to bring home the message, it just takes a little
testing and some ingenuity.
You could BBQ rotten fish 8 hrs a day. Think of how you can barter
quiet moments with this guy. Find out his likes and dislikes from him
in conversation or from other neighbours. Nothing works on a conscience
better than seeing good human qualities in the other person. When we
see the whole person and get to know them, we see how we can influence
them and how to enjoy their best qualities. If the neighbour makes good
beer or wine, something you like, his stereo suddenly seems a lot
quieter.
















Rich wrote:

This may not be the right group to ask this question in but I am hoping
some other gardeners have had this problem and found a solution.

I've got a neighbor across the street that apparently likes to
garden/maintain his house to the beat of a drummer (not a diffeernt
drummer, just a drummmer and a 28 piece band BG)..to enhance his
listening pleasure he has installed outdoor speakers. HE enjoys it but
(he did this as the weather was getting cold late last year (I am in
northern NJ)and now with some warmer days happening, so is his 6-8 hour
marathons of music) The noise makes the thought of gardening in peace a
thing of the past for me. I have lived here for 14 years on a dead end
street and its quite peaceful, or WAS until this character decided that
his music must be shared with the world. I am perplexed that people
cannot just enjoy the sounds of nature when working outside. Yeah
sometimes I want to listen to some music myself but I use wireless
headphones and no one knows I am listening to The Beatles as loud as I
did when I was a thoughtless teenager. I mentioned this to him after a
another neighbor (right across the street from him) called me to ask if
I would speak to this individual about the loud music. That is when I
heard "hey I have the right to play my music during the
daytime".....apparently the concept of other peoples right to quiet is
beyond his comprehension.OR he just doesn't give a S***~ which is more
likely the case.

I have talked with the other neighbors and while they HEAR it and find
it annoying they don't want to say anything (are most people deaf or
just sheep?). Perhaps its because they spend most of the winter shut up
tight (though the music comes through MY windows) and spend the summer
in central air and still keep those windows shut tight. I guess I am
weird, I LIKE fresh air........but now its polluted with noise that is
so unnecessary.

I have spoken with the police and while there is a town ordinance again
noise above certain decibles, I was told it was rarely
enforced....besides I hate the though of having to call the police on a
neighbor....not only does it go against my principles (though I have to
admit I am ready to throw them out the window in return for some garden
serenty) but it may open a bigger can of worms...a ****ed off neighbor.

now, after a long winded post, my question.........

Have any other gardeners run into a problem like this and how did they
resolve it (besides moving)?

(and a last minute thought though it should be saved for a different
post).........I noted this am a whole row of 10' Leyland cypress are
turing light green a brittle.........what is going ON this winter? What
the deer don't eat, the wet soggy/frozen ground is rotting
roots...anyone having this problem? Thus far I have lost a 20' weeping
nootkantensis and the deer have eaten over 10 hemlocks, 16 arborvitae
and utterly destroyed every euonymous I own (owned)...

rich haynes