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And just to shut everybody up, here is my hideous, eyesore of a yard. You can't even see the weeds, cause my husband mows it. The bare spots are toward the house and were a disgusting mess AFTER he watered it. It flooded into my flowerbeds by the way. If you are so tightly wound you can't live next to this for a couple months, especially with the knowledge that your neighbor IS trying to fix it, you need to get a reality check!
And before people start dictating what we should do with it, we are letting it die and starting fresh. End of story. There are a couple different types of grass mixed in and we want to put a particular type down. We had discussed this before a couple years ago, but didn't want to waste the money on it when the yard looked fine as it was and we knew we would be moving in the near future anyway. After what happened and much discussion, we have decided to move forward with this plan. NO SUGGESTIONS in regards to that please.
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I thought you were leaving???
And why are you trying to "shut everybody up" on an open forum?
Just a few pages back you were again trying to "shut everybody up" and specifically called out one poster.
I don't see the point of a thread where the OP is trying to be so controlling. The backpedaling is also distasteful.
I don't care what the guys situation is..... he has totally overstepped his boundaries and sounds pretty annoying. I'll work on my yard, you work on your yard. Some of you need to get off your high horses.
I've never heard of such a valve. In what part of the US are these common?
They are common here in WI. There is a valve in the basement ceiling for each faucet. I usually shut them off each winter, then drain the remaining water in the faucet out. I suspect that it's probably a northern US thing.
To the OP: It does seem this guy has overstepped some boundaries. It is okay to be annoyed by it. However, you have now told him your plan for your lawn, and, barring memory issues, he probably won't continue to water your lawn and thing without your permission.
The idea someone suggested of thanking him with a fruit basket and a note might be a good one. The note would reiterate how nice it was of him to try to help, but you have other plans. It would be like "thank you for your neighborliness." (If that's a word.)
Also, and you are under no obligation to do any of these things, but you could give him some sort of project to keep him busy. He sounds bored and seeding and watering your lawn seemed sensible to him at the time. Does he like to build things? Maybe you could get a kit for one of those decorative lighthouses, or a birdhouse, and say you'd love to have this on your property, but don't have the time/skills to build it, would you want to do it? It might make him feel good about himself and feel useful.
That's definitely above and beyond, but it would be kind. Perhaps something to consider. Plus, if you gave him a project, he'd be less likely to overstep in other areas because he's be busy with the project.
The man you've described reminds me of my grandfather. He would always look for things to do around the house and property, only his own property, but it made him feel useful. Sometimes I would ask him to fix things for me because he had a workshop full of tools, but not much to do.
Maybe you could suggest he start a little vegetable garden in his yard. Buy him some seed packets as a thank you for his neighborliness. I know I'm just rambling at this point, but I think you can turn the situation around with some kindness.
Also, you are entitled to all of your thoughts and feelings and this seems like a good place to vent them. Don't let negative people get you down.
I don't want people to think poorly of me and several people kept saying my yard was an eyesore when it is not in the least! I don't want people to see my name and think "that's the chick with the filthy yard" because it's NOT TRUE. It boggles me they would so strongly assume and defend that stance without even seeing it and then dump on my statements as falsehoods. Why would I lie about that?? I admitted it didn't look perfect like before, but that in no way means it is at the complete opposite end of the spectrum and a total eyesore. There is middle ground there . I knew people would accuse us of poor upkeep, but I so wrongly thought that once I described my situation, they would be more understanding and empathic to our situation, but I guess some people are just *******s.
I am trying to be more direct in general. I probably would have done the same thing if he were a different person lol, as I don't want to live next door to conflict. I honestly like the man. He is kind and enjoys a chat, but that does NOT excuse his behavior. The more I think about what he did, the more upset I become though. I have no idea what kind of seed he threw down. Is it going to grow if we water it a month from now? If we pay to put in a nice new lawn, is that seed going to cime up and ruin it?? Aside from delaying the death of our yard, he could have caused long term ramifications to our plans and cost us more money! Many people think I should just not care simply because he is old. I wonder how they would feel if an old person came into their yard and trimmed their bushes down to nubs, or hacked off tree branches or decided to plant ugly flowers in your flower beds??
As I said I can't win. If I would have been blunt and told him to leave us alone from the start, I would be called mean, but because I didn't my tolerance of his harmless "help" let him take things too far.
You really need to put things into perspective. You are so steamed up, so angry towards other commentors, so much angst about other's opinions...it just doesn't make sense, given this situation.
There has got to be other reasons that you are so angered by this....I feel like what this older neighbor did, after you had allowed him to work on your yard for years...thereby creating his assumption that you might appreciate his "help" is just the last straw in a lot of other stresses or personal issues.
Address those issues. Compartmentalize those issues.... Speak to him, or his relative you mentioned about the lawn/mud situation....Don't stew over something that in the big scheme of things means so little to your health and happiness. I do hope that you can find peace within yourself....life is too short...Chose to be happy
P.S. Your pics didn't open.
I don't care what the guys situation is..... he has totally overstepped his boundaries and sounds pretty annoying. I'll work on my yard, you work on your yard. Some of you need to get off your high horses.
Right, don't care about others, especially the vulnerable aged/hard of hearing/cognitively impaired. Charming.
Penny - you don't need to convince everyone. I'm on your side, by the way - the guy overstepped. But it's a futile effort to try to prove your point again and again and again. Some people are just going to disagree, and there's nothing you can do about it. Random people on the internet aren't worth the effort you're expending right now to defend yourself.
I just hate to see someone get so worked up. Things have been stressful with this plumbing issue, I'm guessing, and maybe some of that stress is coming out here. And, hey, there are certainly worse ways to vent some stress. Just don't make yourself *more* stressed out by trying to take on internet people. It is a Quixotic task. You know what I mean?
I hope this week goes a little more placidly for you.
Also, the ignore feature here is a lovely tool. If you already know how to use it, skip the following. But maybe it'll help someone else, because I was posting here for a while before I realized I could block someone out who was consistently offensive.
So what you want to do is identify the people with whom you frequently are at odds, or who are obviously just baiting you. Which is not to say everyone who disagrees with you ever, but just the ones who are making it personal. You know who they are. Write down their names.
At the top right hand side of the page you're looking at, you'll see "Quick Links". Click on that. On the drop-down menu, click on Edit Options. On the page that leads to, look on the left hand panel, and click "edit ignore list". From there you can add the offender's name.
Maybe the old guy should have gone to the city and asked the inspector to serve notice for not maintaining property. Then we would be reading a different thread.
For crying out loud. Where I come from we help neighbors. I have cut plenty of lawns unasked. I have watered plenty of flowers unasked. Picked up plenty of newspapers and trash unasked. This is what neighbors do.
Frankly I think many who contributed to this post should not own property. Sure don't want you as my neighbor. With property ownership comes responsibilities...
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. I knew people would accuse us of poor upkeep, but I so wrongly thought that once I described my situation, they would be more understanding and empathic to our situation, but I guess some people are just *******s. 
