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Old 01-24-2014, 09:37 AM
 
2,098 posts, read 2,491,491 times
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It may not only be the mailman. I know when I'm home during the day, we have solicitors, people conducting surveys, random religious groups trying to convert us... and all sorts of others come by. We don't open the door, obviously, but the way our sidewalk was poured and our house constructed, it's an angled path around a patio area, and then back to the street. It's convenient if you want to go from our driveway into the house because you live there, but if say you're going from one house to the next like a mail carrier or someone who wants to solicit every house, it's a roundabout way to stay on the sidewalks, so most people I see through the window simply tromp through my yard and ignore the sidewalk.

I just chalk it up to some people are always going to be rude and inconsiderate and there's really nothing you can do about it.
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Old 01-24-2014, 09:41 AM
 
Location: Philaburbia
41,879 posts, read 74,938,731 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hopes View Post
Then you run into the problem of someone being able to sue you if they get injured on your property.
The letter carrier wouldn't get injured - she barely got out of the truck. But she might get injured trying to explain to her boss why she had a flat tire on someone's front lawn.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hazel W View Post
Aha! What is that tree that drops little prickly fruit to the ground? Can't say it right now but i'll bet people know. Plant one of those.
Or a female ginkgo.
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Old 01-24-2014, 11:33 AM
 
Location: New Jersey
1,843 posts, read 3,051,555 times
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Ours does the same thing! He has knocked over plants, decorations, etc.
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Old 01-24-2014, 11:44 AM
 
Location: The Carolinas
2,511 posts, read 2,808,944 times
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Default One word:

Cactus!
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Old 01-24-2014, 12:08 PM
 
5,048 posts, read 9,585,378 times
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Sometimes one wonders what kind of homes they live in themselves.
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Old 01-24-2014, 02:25 PM
 
Location: Kansas City North
6,810 posts, read 11,472,231 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hazel W View Post
I may be wrong but I think I've read somewhere that mail carriers are instructed to not cut across lawns.
Unfortunately, not true. Use the shortest line between houses if at all possible.

And Sweet Gum may be the little thorny ball tree you're thinking of.
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Old 01-24-2014, 02:28 PM
 
3,430 posts, read 4,239,159 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Okey Dokie View Post
Unfortunately, not true. Use the shortest line between houses if at all possible.

And Sweet Gum may be the little thorny ball tree you're thinking of.
Sweet gum! Yes. The problem isn't stepping on them, assuming you have your shoes on. The problem is their small, hidden size and how they can roll under your feet causing you to stumble.

There was a man in town who used to collect those and make little figurines of them. He'd give them out to anyone he met. You'd see them in all kinds of offices that he'd been to. Beautiful pieces they were.

For the yard, maybe back to the old picket fences? They can be very pretty.
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Old 01-24-2014, 04:43 PM
 
13,721 posts, read 19,185,114 times
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Thanks for all the comments, everyone, and I especially appreciate the input from former mail carriers. Our next door neighbor has a similar rock garden, but theirs is more densely planted. We wanted ours to be a lot of rock with some accent plants.

We live fairly close to the post office, so our route is one of the training routes. So we do get a lot of different mail carriers. About the note on the mailbox - they would be walking through the rocks before they got to the mailbox (which is on our porch) to read the note. But I guess they would know for the next time.

I like the cactus planting idea!

I have an oriental lily that never did come up last year. I think it may be because it was trampled before it even had a chance. I also have some Asiatic lilies that didn't come back.

Hey, can I stand outside pretending to water plants and spray the mailman when they approach, like you train a cat not to scratch the furniture? You know, I don't think they would walk through the rocks if I were standing out there. That tells me they know they shouldn't do it!
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Old 01-24-2014, 04:56 PM
 
Location: Philaburbia
41,879 posts, read 74,938,731 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by luzianne View Post
Hey, can I stand outside pretending to water plants and spray the mailman when they approach, like you train a cat not to scratch the furniture? You know, I don't think they would walk through the rocks if I were standing out there. That tells me they know they shouldn't do it!
What about a motion-activated sprinkler? You could set it on a timer so it works only in the block of time the mail carrier usually arrives - so you don't accidentally sprinkle yourself!

I went outside to get the mail today, and noticed the letter carrier had ignored my nicely shoveled walk, and instead chose to trudge through a foot of snow to get to the next house.
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Old 01-24-2014, 04:59 PM
 
Location: State of Washington (2016)
4,481 posts, read 3,623,148 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81 View Post
What about a motion-activated sprinkler? You could set it on a timer so it works only in the block of time the mail carrier usually arrives - so you don't accidentally sprinkle yourself!

I went outside to get the mail today, and noticed the letter carrier had ignored my nicely shoveled walk, and instead chose to trudge through a foot of snow to get to the next house.
I was going to suggest the motion sprinkler as well! I did that when school children were cutting across my front lawn instead of walking on the sidewalk no matter how many times I asked them not to. After a few "accidental" showers, they got the message.
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