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im wondering if this is a common thing in the carolinas or a southern habit that is not seen as a bad thing by locals, ive had a man walking his dog on my driveway to get to road behind my house. they seem to be so confident that theres nothing wrong with what there doing. and when confronted they act like somethings wrong with you,very strange.
I really don't have a huge problem with the kids doing this where we live because I think "well they are kids" That said we have had our built in Grill Island drawers pulled out and used like a stepping stool and broken (I assume by said kids) when we were not home. Which led me to believe they were trying to climb up on top of the island to do????? We live with a pond behind our- house that has a walking trail around it. This pond kind of is a buffer between one neighborhood and another. The thing that REALLY irritates me is when adults cut through our yard to get out to our street. I pulled in my side entry drive to find a woman with her dog walking up our steps (lead from back yard to driveway) one day. She made eye contact with me and waved. I pulled in the garage ready to hop out and ask her not to do this in the future but she had run at a very fast pace down our street. This led me to believe she KNEW what she was doing was rude and wrong. We really don't want a fence because it will ruin our nice view. We have planted bushes that will grow into a nice hedge in time. Hopefully this will help establish the fact that we prefer people to use the walk. I do think the idea of signs is cute. I may try that. "Stay on the Path" "Forget the dog beware of the homeowners" that sort of thing
OP, it seems like you are saying, you don't want people unknown to you walking through your yard. That is understandable. If you aren't going to fence, probably your best bet is deterrent hedges, like rosebushes or something to impede easy access.
Last edited by wanderintonc; 09-04-2008 at 07:11 AM..
Reason: got a detail wrong
get to know your neighbors. Then it's not strangers walking through your yard. :-)
Brilliant, Jenny!
My sister and her kids live in the adjoining neighborhood (Mordecai), which is full of kids of all ages. Not only do they walk through her yard, they run all over everybody’s yards. They come into the house through the back door and run out the front door, or vice versa. They come over and play on the rope swing in her back yard, which a neighbor put there. All the kids know and like each other, the parents know and like each other. Strangers come to the front door, friends knock on either door, close friends walk on in.
This is just how life was in the town where I grew up (Statesville, NC). This is how life still is in most of the world. I imagine this is how life is in paradise.
Since the kids and adults all know and respect each other, the kids don’t trample on flowers or take things or leave messes. They get scolded if they do. I am not worried about liability (I own the house) because these folks are all our friends and they are not going to sue us. I actually feel safer knowing that the neighbors are so close, and really care about each other and look out for each other’s interests.
When we were kids, we also knew which neighbors didn’t like us coming in their yards, and that was OK, too; we respected that. But they were the exception, not the rule.
My sister and her kids live in the adjoining neighborhood (Mordecai), which is full of kids of all ages. Not only do they walk through her yard, they run all over everybody’s yards. They come into the house through the back door and run out the front door, or vice versa. They come over and play on the rope swing in her back yard, which a neighbor put there. All the kids know and like each other, the parents know and like each other. Strangers come to the front door, friends knock on either door, close friends walk on in.
This is just how life was in the town where I grew up (Statesville, NC). This is how life still is in most of the world. I imagine this is how life is in paradise.
Since the kids and adults all know and respect each other, the kids don’t trample on flowers or take things or leave messes. They get scolded if they do. I am not worried about liability (I own the house) because these folks are all our friends and they are not going to sue us. I actually feel safer knowing that the neighbors are so close, and really care about each other and look out for each other’s interests.
When we were kids, we also knew which neighbors didn’t like us coming in their yards, and that was OK, too; we respected that. But they were the exception, not the rule.
That's about how I was raised in small-town Pennsylvania.
Fast Forward to the Present...
We don't have kids, and live very quietly at home, and have evolved into the folks in your last sentence. Bought the house with the "cut through," which we tried to adjust to.
After swarms of kids from streets away, trampled lawn and plants, and picking up litter including a pot baggie, I limited the access.
I'm not proud of that, and think about it, and don't really throw beer cans at other people's kids, but I like the quiet back yard, and appreciate those who respect that desire.
There was a path in the wood line behind our house that backs up to another neighborhood. I never minded seeing the kids coming and going through our yard. Kids take shortcuts. Since we've fenced (to keep our kids in, not them out) I haven't seen them--probably because they need to create themselves a new path. I felt kind of bad taking their well worn short cut path away from them. As kids we always ran from house to house in the backyards and went to each others' back doors. We grew up in the midwest so I don't think it is only a Southern thing. Having dog(s) would concern me in that situation and I would put in a fence for the safety of my animals.
I find it hard to believe that you have dogs that have never ever peed/pooped on anyone else's lawn and they have never walked/wandered onto anyone else's lawn? I would much rather the neighborhood kids walk through my yard to get to a friends house then my neighbors dog(s) walking on my yard peeing/pooping. I understand your concern as this happens to me now and when I was a kid I used to cut through my neighbors yard to get to my friends house. Had I not I would have to walk around the block, maybe 10 minute walk or cut through there yard for a 30 second walk. If your kid(s) was going to walk to a friends a house and they had an opportunity to walk through a neighbors backyard to cut down a 10 min walk to 30 seconds what would you tell your kid? I had a friend when I was young that was killed by a drunk driver because he walking home on the road. I bet his parents wish he would have been trampling down the neighbors grass instead???
why not just put up a fence if you don't want people walking through your yard? Most probably think it is OK since you don't have a fence.
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That said we have had our built in Grill Island drawers pulled out and used like a stepping stool and broken (I assume by said kids) when we were not home. Which led me to believe they were trying to climb up on top of the island to do????? We live with a pond behind our- house that has a walking trail around it. This pond kind of is a buffer between one neighborhood and another. The thing that REALLY irritates me is when adults cut through our yard to get out to our street. I pulled in my side entry drive to find a woman with her dog walking up our steps (lead from back yard to driveway) one day. She made eye contact with me and waved. I pulled in the garage ready to hop out and ask her not to do this in the future but she had run at a very fast pace down our street. This led me to believe she KNEW what she was doing was rude and wrong. We really don't want a fence because it will ruin our nice view. We have planted bushes that will grow into a nice hedge in time. Hopefully this will help establish the fact that we prefer people to use the walk. I do think the idea of signs is cute. I may try that. "Stay on the Path" "Forget the dog beware of the homeowners" that sort of thing
