Front Yard Landscaping Ideas

... bought mulch by the yard but vowed to produce his... basis. Paul offered several ideas of his own, and she...yard and realized it needed attention. “Eduardo, do any of your contacts do landscaping...?” he asked. “I’d like the shrubs trimmed and the yard mowed.” “Yes..., and gazed across the yard, lost in thought. When this ...coffee on the island in front of him. “This will help ...

...." "We're Keller Property Maintenance & Landscaping," said Ryan. "We just got ... three," said Ryan, "are The Yard Dogs. Scott, Billy and Erik ... reason we call them The Yard Dogs," Ryan said, "is because ... the other Erik, "gives you ideas right? Doing that to somebody's ... couple guards outside by the front door but no one else ... the "Keller Property Maintenance & Landscaping" logo. I did this for ...

...." "We're Keller Property Maintenance & Landscaping," said Ryan. "We just got ... three," said Ryan, "are The Yard Dogs. Scott, Billy and Erik ... reason we call them The Yard Dogs," Ryan said, "is because ... the other Erik, "gives you ideas right? Doing that to somebody's ... couple guards outside by the front door but no one else ... the "Keller Property Maintenance & Landscaping" logo. I did this for ...

... my little greenhouse, along with landscaping ideas around it that could also... units from view of the front yard and from people driving by ... too. This is my side yard. The driveway in the photos ..., I’m standing facing toward the front of the property, so the ...

Due to cost and time constraints, I’m looking for recommendations on walkway ideas to our front door to help increase curb appeal. The house has a nice addition by the driveway that we use as the main entry. The front yard is just grass and has been for like 20 years since we moved in. I don’t want to do a crappy job, though if a quick and easy option exists I want to consider that. I have experience building a patio at the old house with a family friend who did landscaping and building them for a year and they’re available to physically help with this project too. I was hoping that just laying down some flagstones or pavers would be enough but I imagine I need to follow the slight level of the front yard’s incline and also can’t just lay them on the grass as much as I want this to be a quick and cheap and dirty job. What compromise ideas are there? I wouldn’t mind doing a stepping stone path with pavers or flagstones but it sounds like you need to be digging and still doing all the same layering and tamping we did with the patio which makes it a much bigger process than just putting down some evenly spaced pavers :( submitted by /u/SnapshotSpidey to r/landscaping [link] [comments]

Just moved into a new house and want to landscape my back yard slowly over the next year. I want some privacy trees in front of the stairs and below the overhang of the house. I was also thinking some type of rock border around the edge. Maybe 2’ wide or something. I’m open to all ideas so give me your best. I’ve been playing around with AI and got some crazy ideas like the second picture. submitted by /u/TearBrief8396 to r/landscaping [link] [comments]

I just purchased this home. It needs new siding and a new garage door so I thought it would be an opportunity to change up the colors. I do like the pine straw front yard since it’s maintenance free but I’m open to landscaping the flower beds (zone 8a). Thinking about a woodgrain or black garage door but other than that I got nada. submitted by /u/luckycanucky27 to r/ExteriorDesign [link] [comments]

Hello! We are building a new house scheduled to be completed later this summer. We are going to have a rather awkwardly shaped backyard with close neighbors. We are imagining that we will put in a privacy fence that goes along the easement from the back corner all the way around to the front corner. But, we have no idea how to landscape the yard and make it both usable and inviting. We have two dogs and a 9 yr old daughter. Any ideas would be appreciated! (Image was edited with the help of tools to remove PII) Edit: Zone is 6a, image is aligned with north being up submitted by /u/bizzity to r/landscaping [link] [comments]

Finally gardening/landscaping & fully committed to maintaining a growing jungle garden (FL, Zones 9-11) The first bed I planted was the front one with the aboricola and Persian shields. After several weeks of research and farming ideas, I just finished redoing the front planter this weekend. (First attempt) Yes, everything is going to get big and will require significant pruning and training to ensure the beds remain healthy and grow in harmony. I’m aiming for a wild, compact, and colorful look in the end! :P Thoughts & critique appreciated! Enjoy!! submitted by /u/PacificWerewolf to r/landscaping [link] [comments]

Complete landscaping noob here. Looking to change our front little yard here. The grass is all patchy and the bush is so basic. It’s partial shade. I’m interested in just redoing everything if necessary. I’m in Missouri. Some of our neighbors have native gardens. I don’t want to bring in any invasive plants. Not really into pollinators unless on the far side of the house near the gangway. Are there any grasses that will look nice that we could switch to? Or maybe some sort of new types of bushes? Rocks? I’m also liking the idea of plants that stay green throughout the winter like evergreen trees do. Juniper berries too. I just need some help submitted by /u/artofperception to r/LandscapingTips [link] [comments]

My husband and I bought our first home March 2025. It was flipped, everything brand new except the yard was an absolute dirt pit. There was so much glass and trash we knew we needed to do something fast so the dogs could safely be back there. We knew we wanted to have an area to hang out, an area to garden, and grass. (I do feel a bit of shame for getting traditional sod so we xeriscaped the front yard with 90 native grasses and blooms that are zero water). I scoured Pinterest and hand drew our ideas (kindly fuck ai) and had 4 different companies come out to give quotes. It took exactly 5 days for the work to be done beginning to end and we are now on year two of enjoying the heck out of it. We have a small house so it’s awesome to have this space to entertain. Included are before and afters plus our garden :) absolutely worth every penny. This is a blank slate for us to add on to over the years, it will never be the finished product. Update: please feel free to be rude I will quickly and happily block you :) bottom line we are happy and love it you absolutely can diy a big project like this while saving money more power to you. I didn’t have the time to mess with it over months and waste my weekends on it. My dog is very limited on time and we bought the house for her to have a yard to enjoy and we did just that. submitted by /u/Sea_kreature to r/landscaping [link] [comments]

I am the least creative and most indecisive when it comes to my yard. Pictured is my existing yard. I also sketched a possible idea but I just can’t commit without seeing what it would actually look like. Please help!! submitted by /u/Careless-Trip-1924 to r/landscaping [link] [comments]

Hi all! I’m looking for advice on what plants I could add to my front yard landscaping and where they would look best. I’m in Zone 9b (California) and I’m aiming for a low-maintenance, drought-tolerant look. I already have a few succulents and small plants established, but the space still feels a little empty and I’d love to fill it in more. I’m especially looking for suggestions for: • Low-growing ground cover plants • Year-round green plants, shrubs or flowering plants • Things that won’t get too tall (preferably under 1–2ft) • Plants that would look nice along the sidewalk edge • Plants that could go along the paver pathway to soften it up The yard is currently covered with landscape fabric and will be topped with gravel/rock once I finalize the plant layout. I’d love any ideas for plant varieties and placement suggestions. Photo attached for reference — any advice is welcome! Thanks in advance! submitted by /u/Last_Pizza_6200 to r/landscaping [link] [comments]

We have moved into a new house and are slowly doing the landscaping. We haven’t yet figured out what to do with the front yard yet so looking for some ideas or experiences with landscaping yours. We are already redoing the paving with concrete, putting a garage door on and respraying the roof tiles. We will also be squaring off the lawn area so it isn’t a curved shape around the path and planting some hedging on the edge of the property for privacy between neighbours. My partner wants to extend the concrete over where the garden bed is for extra parking but I think it might look too harsh and be quite hot. I however would like to extend the concrete into a pathway similar to the existing (but squared) and have a native garden bed inside. I don’t want the front to be dead space but I also think that we have plenty of parking on the front verge in front of the grass and on our other verge in front of our pool area! submitted by /u/kirst_e to r/AusRenovation [link] [comments]

I am NOT OOP, OOP is u/Desperate_Earth_6763 Originally posted to r/neighborsfromhell BoRUs: #1 [New Update]: My crazy neighbor poisoned my creek and stole water Editor’s note: made small edits for ease of readability Trigger Warnings: assault, harassment, bullying, theft, property damage, entitlement, controlling behavior, fraud, child abuse / abandonment, breaking and entering Mood Spoilers: rage Editor’s note: For the original post, I have put it into a summarizing TL;DR, due to its length. The full text can be found in the first BoRU linked above. RECAP / TL;DR Original Post: May 10, 2025 OOP lives in a semi-rural neighborhood with a hot spring-fed backyard hot tub and a stream running through the area, used by all neighbors for gardens and recreational purposes. OOP's neighbor, referred to as "CN" (Crazy Neighbor), is described as litigious and entitled, previously sued former homeowners and later trying to impose bizarre rules on the neighborhood, like claiming everyone should have access to each other's hot springs and that kids can play in private backyard streams. OOP has a neighbor, Jay, who has been on their side from day one. After moving in, OOP had an unpleasant encounter with CN, who tried to impose these rules on OOP's property. Despite being told no, CN's kids were caught playing in OOP's hot spring, and CN herself later hired workers to pipe hot spring water into her yard without OOP's permission. Once OOP confronted her, CN showed a questionable contract claiming OOP agreed to supply her with water, though OOP had no recollection of signing anything and planned to prove the document was forged. Things escalated when CN began dumping chemicals into the communal stream, poisoning OOP’s garden. OOP is considering legal action and gathering evidence to protect the property. They have also reached out to a lawyer for advice and are trying to figure out the next steps, including using video footage as evidence. In short: OOP's neighbor is wreaking havoc by stealing water and poisoning the stream, and OOP is looking for legal advice and ways to protect their property.   (Editor’s note: For the rest of the updates below prior to OOP’s newest ones, they are in OOP’s words as they contain important details in order to understand the context)   Test results: May 10, 2025 (four hours later) Update 1: Jay offered to use a large drum in his garage to temporarily remove the water from the stream and seeing your comments, I’m taking him up on his deal. All the neighbors down the street that I’ve talked to so far (two besides Jay) agreed. One who has two sons said that they might block off the start of the stream. It is a small outlet of a moderately sized creek. It will probably be blocked off not that hard. Jay said that he can probably get the drum in place by tonight as his dad can help. Jay also has a sweet dog and definitely wants to protect it. I am going to remove my plants from the soil nearby the stream. Also, for reference in size of the stream, it’s about 1-2 feet across. Truly just a stream. There’s lots of obstacles and things that would probably filter out, but we definitely still have to be safe. I’ll update later tonight or tomorrow. Update 2: Big news! The nice neighbors’ kids dammed up the stream at where it starts. It’s a couple pieces of wood, a branch or two, and a lot of small rocks. There’s still a tiny bit of water flowing, but it’s absorbed by the soil higher up before CN. Jay got the drum out, but we turned out not to need it. There’s water still in the pools in his backyard and we plan to do a water test. Apparently pH tests are sold in a store just 10 mins away, so I will head there as soon as I finish this post. Update 3: Jays getting the pH test and an oxygen level test, but I don’t know how oxygen levels would play into it. I’ll look at responses and figure out what to do next. I will call authorities soon. Update 4: The water test: pH came lower than the creek water before CN’s house (a full .9 lower). Nitrates a bit higher, Dissolved Oxygen significantly lower. That’s the only real changes in between the two tests. I wonder if she just poured a lot of vinegar. I think herbicides do change pH, but .9 is quite a bit I think.   Cops pick up crazy neighbor: May 11, 2025 (next day) Update 5: Big update! The makeshift dam broke and water has been flowing down, but it’s been slow. CN complained to a neighbor up the street that she’s on speaking terms with about me being a major asshole for not letting her kids use my hot spring tub. She let it slip that she poured vinegar in the stream as “justice”. The neighbor was also shown the contract for the pipes and she said that she didn’t even have it signed by me. She and her lawyer had signed it, but without any signature space for me. I thought that she forged my signature, but she didn’t have any agreement (fraudulent or otherwise) on my side whatsoever. The neighbor similarly dislikes her, but their kids are friends, so she has to talk to CN. I sent all the info to a local environmental charity that has contacts within environmental protection agencies. They usually deal with lakes and dumping, so this was in what they deal with regularly. The police were outside CN’s house a couple hours ago and took her to the station. CN is back at her house, now yelling over the fence profanities while I’m having a coffee. I don’t know if they arrested her and she payed bail or that she just was taken in for questioning or something. I know her brother in law works at the police station, but I wouldn’t doubt that her family members have a strained relationship with her. I hope that she’s stuck with a giant fine and/or jail time. CN’s lawyer still hasn’t served me regarding the pipes, and my lawyer is saying that CN has no case whatsoever. I’ll update as soon as anything interesting comes up. Update 6: My power just went out in most of my house. I think CN just flipped the breakers to annoy me. Going outside ASAP Update 7: CN indeed did flip the breakers. As far as I know, the security camera has an internal battery for some time after it’s disconnected from the power, so I don’t have to worry about her doing anything.   Revenge Tactics: May 11, 2025 (one hour later) While the government does its thing against my neighbor, I would like to do the most legal annoying thing to do. Currently, I'm thinking about removing the piping and separating the original cost. I think I will send every piece individually through a local copy/print/delivery shop. I know the owner and I think he would think it would be hilarious and agree to it. The plan (please help with it): 1) Remove the piping from the ground and separate every piece into small plastic baggies (and boxes). 2) Bring to copy/print/delivery shop 3) Plan deliveries of each package every period of time over a long time that require signage 4) Wait 5) Tip the copy/print/shop a hundred bucks What do you think? What else could I do?   The beginning of sweet revenge: May 11, 2025 (three hours later) I called the owner of the copy/print/delivery shop and he agreed to what I said in the previous post. I removed all of the pipes from my yard and put them into bags. I didn’t have as much plastic bags and boxes as I thought so I’m paying extra for the owner of the copy shop to supply them. He just delivered the first one to CN (I watched from the street) and CN’s husband answered. He shouted for CN and she came up. I didn’t hear any of the discussion, but she signed delivery sheet, took the package (of a single small corner pipe piece), and stormed into her house. She went up to the 2nd story window and proceeded to glare at me since, still glaring as I sit on my couch while writing this. Working from home will be so nice for watching this.   Crazy Neighbor's weak jabs at me: May 11, 2025 (four hours later) Since my last post, there has been one more pipe delivery to CN and she is pissed. She stormed over to my house (after signing the delivery which I thought she would stop doing) and banged on the door. I started recording my front door and opened the door (I'm not dumb enough to let her in). CN starts shrieking about how I'm awful and that I had to keep the pipes installed as it was her property and that we had a contract. When I told her that the contract wasn't legal at all, she starts screaming at me. I stepped inside for a second and called the police with the door closed. CN continues banging on my door. I don't open until a police car comes down the street. I tell the police that I don't want her ever to be on my property and that she is trespassing. They relay that to her, and she takes up a hurt old lady act (for reference, she is in her 40s). CN tells them that my hot tub burned her youngest child and that I was luring kids in. I showed the police the camera footage and they asked her to come to the station with them. I'm assuming that she made some fake report, but I guess that will be another charge of lying to a police officer. I think that the officer (not CN's brother-in-law) believed me and saw that she was in fact a CN. I saw CN get back into her house and once again went up to the top window, staring. I closed the blinds. I thought she would stop (honestly it doesn't bother me), but to my surprise, she crosses the street to the side of the hill (there’s a slope on the other side of the street from the houses. There's more houses up the slope) and stares through my front window. I don't have blinds for that one and was about to head to a different room when I see her trip backwards (there’s a small ditch for runoff) and land on her butt. CN lets out a ungodly shriek (it wasn't that loud, but I'd like to say it was) as she storms back into her house. I feel at this point, with all of the stuff from my lawyer, from reddit, and neighbors saying that I am completely in the right and that CN is insane has made this more into entertainment than a scary situation for me. I have multiple locks arriving in a couple days and a new security camera for the side yard. If you have any legal suggestions, please tell me. If there's anything I should be aware of, please tell me.   Pulling back and going forwards legally: May 12, 2025 (next day) I’ve been told that messing with CN is probably not going to help out legally, especially with a restraining order, so I just told the copy shop owner just to deliver it all at once. I don’t know if that’s happened yet, but I’m fine not being looking when I happens. I will file a restraining order today. I don’t know how it works, but I hope I can complete it today. No new news from CN except Jay saying that she looked really mad. I know this isn’t a big update, but it’s an update on the situation.   Husband comes over to talk: May 13, 2025 (next day) This happened last night and I was too tired to update after it. CN's husband (I'll call him NH for neighbor husband) knocked on my door last night, alone. CN wasn't there, so I answered it. He then tells me that CN is "going through some things right now" and some other stuff. He then asks me if I could "let sleeping dogs lie. She did some stuff wrong, but she's a really great person". I told him that I would consider it. I'm not, but I didn't want to be in that conversation. I honestly thought that he would apologize about it, but making excuses like that is so pathetic. According to many of my neighbors, CN's been like this for years. I think he's trying to cover themselves from the bomb they just planted. That's all. New updates probably coming soon.   Some resolution (but not in the way you think): May 14, 2025 (next day) I was typing this out earlier, but it didn’t save as a draft so I will paraphrase it instead of writing it all out like earlier. I went out to get my mail and I noticed CN rush out of her house onto her porch to watch me. I take the mail and head inside. Through the endless sea of junk mail, there was a wedding invitation. Nobody I know remotely nearby is getting married and I didn’t recognize the names or the faces. On the back was a handwritten letter thanking me for volunteering my house for the bachelorette party and inviting me to wedding at a local venue. 1) Definitely did NOT invite anyone to use my property for a party 2) My backyard isn’t the biggest for a party 3) I don’t know who these people are I took a picture of the front and the back and then went and made a copy of the invitation and cut it to the right size. I then took the copy and walked in front of CN’s house (in the street). She is looking from the door. I then light the copy on fire (safely). She runs out and starts yelling at me. I am not entirely listening as I had an earbud in my left ear listening to a podcast (I listen to podcasts while doing my routines and hadn’t bothered to take it out) and at one point, I heard the groom’s name. Clearly she was behind it (I knew before, this just solidified the fact). I called her husband and told him that I was not hosting the bachelorette party and to leave me alone. He asks which one. I told him the names of the bride and groom. He is audibly surprised. He then tells me that the groom is CN’s son from a teenage pregnancy (not with him). He then said that he would talk to CN about it, calling it an accident. I find the name of the dad of the groom and call him. He sounded super genuinely grateful when I told him who I was. I asked him about CN and he said that she had left the baby with him and when he had sued for child support, the judge said that it was his poor choices that led to the baby and he was responsible for it, without child support. I told him the situation, and he sounded defeated. Apparently, the groom had been quick to forgive his absent mother (CN) and had invited her against the dad’s wishes. He said that he would tell the groom and the bride about the situation. I then had a thought that would be the absolute perfect revenge: I offered to host the party for free with 2 rules 1) They don’t damage anything and clean everything up 2) CN is blocked at the door of the wedding despite her invitation 3) My invite to the wedding still stands. He said he would discuss it with the bride and groom. Even if he says no, it’s worth a try. I just realized I typed it all up in detail despite what I said at the beginning. I will probably get the news in the next couple days.   It was worth a try: May 15, 2025 (next day) Groom's dad (GD), Groom, and Bride I was looking over some comments just before posting this and realized I don't want to be screwed over, so I am staying back. Also, GD gave me a call extremely late last night and told me that Groom wanted to meet his mom (CN) at the wedding. Bride was supportive, thinking it would be an extremely wholesome wedding. GD said that he would try to find another location for the party, but that it would be hard this late as Bride had a large bridesmaids group. GD is going to help CN with preparing for the wedding at his son's request, even though he thinks it might be a disaster. My plants that are near the stream look scorched as if they were in a fire. (I'm talking about the plants that are next and around the stream, not in my garden. I think the next steps are through legal means and not through petty actions. I will keep you all updated.   Piecing parts together: May 15, 2025 (six hours later) CN had been trying to gain access to the hot spring for as long as she's known of it. She had tried lawsuits, land disputes, and other legal and legally dubious means to get it. When she heard of her son becoming married, she thought that she could have a good attempt at gaining access to the hot spring. CN had initially offered to use her house for a price for the bridesmaids party, but since it didn't have anything good for a party, Bride had declined. She couldn't find another place though, but still didn't want CN's house. CN had then had the bright idea to tell the Bride and Groom that she had had a natural, healing, and amazing hot spring in her yard and Bride said yes. This is when CN tries the whole piping the hot spring to her yard. She obviously doesn't get far into that plan. After I dismantle all the piping, she volunteers my house and backyard for the party. I think that the stream pollution was lashing out because she was mad before she volunteered my house. No updates besides what I've pieced together from assorted sources.   Revenge is back in action, without me needing to participate: May 15, 2025 (seven hours later) GD called me about 10 mins ago. I was going to post the update right away, but I was reading some of the comments. This is what he said, and asked if my offer about hosting the bridesmaids party was still standing (this is heavily paraphrased to be readable, but all the main points and events are there). GD met up with CN to talk to her about the wedding, mostly setting boundaries. He went to her house (with his phone recording just in case anything happened, knowing the history of CN). GD is talking to CN very formally, as much straight facts as possible when he glances through a cracked open door into her bedroom. I don't remember the word he used to describe it (it was a very good way to say it), but kind of out of the corner of your vision when you're avoiding eye contact. GD sees multiple white dresses laying on CN's bed. They are fancy dresses. Not quite wedding dresses, but definitely close. GD can't stop staring at it. He then asks CN about what she's wearing to the wedding, and CN says that she has a couple dresses picked out. He connects the dots and subtly leaves the conversation, calls Bride and Groom and tells them what he saw. He then gives Groom some of CN's history. Bride then asks if they can do the house with the hot spring then. GD tells me that he knows that I don't like CN and that I wouldn't be at the wedding, but that the rest of the deal would stand. I told him sure, but not to let CN know about it, just letting herself think that I got pushed around by him into hosting. I know that the agencies I contacted about her pouring vinegar into the creek have been investigating, so even though it likely wouldn't, I hope it all falls out on the day of the wedding   CN Angry: May 17, 2025 (two days later) I’ve been asked for an update. There has not been much crazy neighbor activity over the time that I haven’t updated. I think she installed a step stool on her side of the fence as she’s been looking evil eying me whenever I’m in the hot tub. The weddings coming up next weekend, so I’m interested in what’s going to happen. Not much has happened besides that.   Really funny mini-revenge: May 20, 2025 (three days later) Ok, I’ve been told to skinny dip in the hot spring. I’m not doing that. I am not socially ok enough for my neighbor to see, even if it’s to get revenge. I do know some people who are. This happened yesterday around 1, just for reference. I tell some friends who are comfortable in their own bodies that they could hang out in the hot tub and I’m not going to be there, so they could do whatever. I more asked them to do it after I gave a little bit of backstory of the neighbor. They happily agreed and they came around 1. I left for a nice long lunch when they came and I told them to call me if anything happened. I also turned off the back security camera just to not be weird. Not 30 minutes later do the COPS call me asking if I was ok with the people in my backyard. CN had called the cops for a trespassing (hypocrite) and they had arrived and talked to my friends. They had my number and they called me. I told them that I invited them over and the cops left. I didn’t get a call this time, but the police were called again for my friends “exposing themselves to children”. The police knew that they were in a private backyard, but still came and pretty much left almost immediately after (it was the same officers I think). That’s all. I don’t think I’m going to do anything until the wedding. Thank you for the astounding amounts of comments, it’s absolutely insane.   Creek modifications: May 20, 2025 (three hours later) My neighbor 2 houses down just came up to me and asked if I would allow the stream to be changed in my yard (Jay already said yes). There’s a landscaping company that’s going to be installing limestone along the creek for acid neutralization or something like that. My neighbor 2 houses down does have a garden similar to mine and I guess that’s why. Not a big update. I said yes. I hope this can prevent future acid attacks. Not a big update. I said yes. I hope this can prevent future acid attacks   The Wedding: May 25, 2025 (five days later) I haven’t updated in a while even though some stuff is happened just so I could save it for this giant update. I am so shocked by what happened and I guess I should have listened to some advice about being safe. Also, I phrased the update about the card wrong as the bridesmaids party was last night and the wedding is today (the ceremony just finished just a couple minutes ago and I got the news of what happened by a mutual friend who went to the wedding (I didn’t know he was a mutual friend or going to the wedding. I told him about the situation a while ago and he decided to let me know). Friday: CN kept looking over the fence. I would have turned on sprinklers, but I don’t have any because I don’t really have grass in my backyard. Later in the day, a police car pulled into CN’s driveway and a bit after, it left. CN’s “revenge” of staring at me continued a lot more after that. I don’t understand why she wastes her time doing it. It doesn’t make me feel uncomfortable. Saturday: Some people knocked on my door midday asking if I could let them into the backyard to set up for the bridal party. I called GD and he said it was the right people (just to be safe). They set up some surprisingly expensive and nice decorations and furniture in the yard (not in a destructive way). People come in and out while setting up and the backyard looks amazing. CN continuously peered over the fence for a good amount of time, but I didn’t care. Around 6, Bride and all the bridesmaids (I’ll do M for bridesmaids) (also about 20 bridesmaids there). I stayed inside mostly, but they occasionally asked me to come out and they drunkenly thanked me. I think the Ms were very wealthy as I received a little over 3K in “tips” from them as I occasionally brought out a carton of ice cream. Well worth it I think. More to the events of the party. CN had a campfire in her backyard around 9, but there wasn’t really any wind, so the smoke just stayed in her yard. I think she tried to smoke us out, but maybe she was just having a little fire (I doubt it though). She then gets her hose to put out the fire and “accidentally” sprays water over the fence. Eventually, once the party winds down and they’re packing up, Bride hands a card signed by all of them thanking me for hosting with additional tips inside (about 2K). I was honestly stunned how nice they were. Around 11, a very drunk CN bangs on my front door as I’m about to go to sleep. I don’t answer, but have the video on the doorbell camera. She leaves after a bit and I go to bed. This morning: this is a secondhand account, so I won’t have all the details. CN comes to the wedding in her very white dress and demands to be let in, but the security denies her. She tries to push the security, but he isn’t fazed. People were watching, but my friend who was there had to go do something (I didn’t ask what). When he gets back, CN isn’t there. What’s happening on my side: this is my account that is right after, but before I got the news about what happened. CN bangs on my door and tries the knob. Since I was getting groceries a bit before, I had accidentally left it unlocked. She comes into my house. I call the cops as soon as I see her open my door. I run upstairs while I give the info to the cops. CN screams at me and eventually slaps me in the face. I’m screaming at her to leave and she tries to slap me again. I grab her wrist and she screams. I basically drag her out the front door right as the police arrive. She is put in the back of the cop car and the police interview me. I tell them and they leave, then I get the news. CN is not back. I honestly won’t argue with people about if this is true or not as what happened this morning doesn’t feel real even though I just lived through it.   Editor’s note: this is the last post we were left off Final Update: FAFO: June 6, 2025 This is probably the final update as I doubt any new updates will come. CN still hasn’t come back from the police station, or she’s been hiding in her house. If she hasn’t come back (which I think), I think she might have not been able to pay bail, but I have no legal knowledge really. She’s apparently facing north of 3 years in jail, but there’s a good chance she’ll get less or not at all. I grilled some food Saturday and hosted a good amount of the neighborhood. As much as I would like to say I was cool and collected after the assault, I felt a bit shaky and not great, so having some people over seemed like a good idea. I think it’s mostly worked. Last night, I went in the hot spring and it was really nice to hang out.   ----NEW UPDATES---- An update on the creek poisoning crazy neighbor: November 24, 2025 (5.5 months later from the previous update) An update on the creek poisoning crazy neighbor I really didn’t think I would do an update as I thought that my CN would finally stop after getting legal punishment. She so far has only with me. One of my very nice neighbors who has the kids who volunteered to help stop the creek earlier this year is well liked throughout the neighborhood. I think I’ll call her Donna because I don’t want to put her name here after someone found out what city I live in. So she often helps with babysitting kids for a couple hours for a simple IOU. It’s thanksgiving break for all the kids so lots of people are going on vacation or visiting family. CN and her husband are currently in California. You may think ‘oh where are her kids’. She left all 3 of her kids at the doorstep of Donna with an envelope that has $50 to pay for the 2 weeks that they’re at the beach. The thing is, Donna and her whole family is in the Midwest for the week visiting family for Thanksgiving. CN’s kids were out at the door for hours (presumably in the cold rain) before another neighbor noticed them and asked what they were doing. The kids said that Donna had agreed to have them until their parents got back, but obviously Donna wasn’t there. They didn’t want to call the cops as they thought it was a misunderstanding, so they brought the kids around until a newer family agreed to watch them until it was sorted out. CN isn’t responding to any attempts to reach her, and nobody wants to bring the cops into it. Donna’s pissed and said that she won’t come back to babysit them and that there was no deal ahead of time. I’m just an observer in this so far, so this is more of a neighbor update. Probably going to have another update or two. Any recommendations? Nobody in the neighborhood wants anyone with the government involved really, and it’s not really involving me, so I doubt my voice will be heard or taken seriously. I don’t know. Thanks Update: Pretty big consensus I should call CPS. I think I will but not tell anyone I did. CN is not a good person. If you want to know what the full situation is, I’d look at the old post. It’s archived so I think you can still see it. Update 2: it wasn’t me, but someone called the cops earlier and by the time I called, they said that someone was at the house already. Currently, they’re trying to contact CN and her husband, but so far no luck. Relevant Comments Commenter 1: CPS should be called... idk if you're counting that as "government" but CN abandoned her kids for 2 WEEKS! It's child abandonment, plain and simple. She needs to come get her kids and if you guys can't get her to do it, I bet CPS will. They are there for the kids and to ensure their safety. OOP: I’ve said that but the family that’s having them now think that it’s cruel to the kids and would break up the family. It’s their choice in the end I guess :/ Commenter 2: What’s cruel to the kids is thinking you bumpkins know what’s best for them and protecting a deadbeat. Kids need stability. If their parents can’t provide that then you are doing them a massive disservice by not calling cps. No “family” leaves their kids in another state without knowing their wellbeing or making sure they are safe. OOP: I know. CN is definitely not a good parent but a lot of the people in the neighborhood haven’t like directly seen stuff and I’m not really involved right now so I don’t really have a say. Calling the cops or anyone will just reflect really negatively on me because I think they just think it’s a misunderstanding right now. OOP on the said kids' ages OOP: I don’t know exactly, but probably 9,10,11? In spring the youngest was 8 and they’re very similar in age so it’s a guess Commenter 3: Did she get any jail time based on the breaking and entering she committed post wedding? OOP: Not as far as I know. A giant fine and a giant amount of community service I think. OOP on if CN got fined for pouring vinegar into the creek water? OOP: She already got fined a giant amount due to my reporting of it to a local environmentalist group and then taking it to the authorities.   Editor's note: the next latest update was rehashed in the previous update Not good update on child abandoning neighbor: November 28, 2025 (four days later) Not good update on child abandoning neighbor So yesterday, CN actually responded to a call and when asked about everything, she sent screenshots from months ago where Donna said that she could possibly babysit them for the two weeks, but she was still making plans with her family about visiting them. Donna said that it would be $2000 for the two weeks, but she wasn’t sure if she could and that she would let her know if she could do it and not to count on it. CN played it off as a big misunderstanding with Donna as the fault and pretty much everyone believed her. So the kids are staying at the newer family’s house for the remaining time in exchange for $1000 from CN. I’d say $1000 in exchange for not being arrested is a pretty good deal for CN that she does not deserve. At least the kids looked super happy spending thanksgiving with the family and were playing with their family in the yard for much of yesterday. I guess everyone forgot that the kids brought $50 instead of $2000. :/ What should I do? Relevant Comments Commenter: So is this all done? Timestamps show this discussion took place awhile ago and there was no follow up. Does CN have friends in higher up places or is CPS moving at a holiday pace? OOP: I think CPS left the situation after CN convinced everyone it was a misunderstanding. It happened yesterday and the day before, but started at the beginning of their thanksgiving break   DO NOT COMMENT IN LINKED POSTS OR MESSAGE OOPs – BoRU Rule #7 THIS IS A REPOST SUB - I AM NOT OOP submitted by /u/Choice_Evidence1983 to r/BestofRedditorUpdates [link] [comments]

Update: Holy cow, I was NOT expecting this volume of interaction! I’ve been busy with work and have handed off the tasks of my home to my best friend and girl friend to monitor before I can make it back home to further assess everything. We’ve followed the suggestions and have promptly put locks on the outdoor spigots as well as getting cameras installed on the side of the house. No sign of any funny business since the last known use, so I’m curious if anything has been made apparent to my neighbors. I say that because he’s typically outside walking in between our houses quite a bit, and so far I’ve only seen him come home from work and activity lighting from his front porch. Either way, I’m here for the plot/learning experience. Thank you so much to all of you in the comments and messages suggesting camera rig suggestions. Regardless of the outcome, this is something that should have been done from the start. I’ll try to report back in a couple days to see what we find with this usage report from the water company. So, I do a lot of travel work and leave my home frequently for weeks - sometimes months - at a time. Last month, I got a notice from my water company of an outstanding bill of $311. They call me and say “We believe you’ve sprung a leak. You’ve used 33,000 gallons of water in the last several weeks” while I was out of state. I have my girlfriend go to my place to make sure there’s no sink, faucet, toilet, etc. running. She DOES find that the plug on the downstairs toilet was caught and seeping a little water through, so in my naive mind I’m thinking “Well, maybe THAT’s it. I dunno how that would be 33k gallons, but…” I chalk it up to likely being something I did, because I don’t ever jump to suspecting foul play. Well, I just got hit with another notice, this time for $486.11! I immediately call the water company and ask them if someone could come out and check my meter for the record. They have a rep in the area who gladly comes over and looks and informs me that - in fact - my water is not currently running, the pressure is perfectly fine, and that there is no possibility there’s a leak. He says “It’s very obvious someone is turning your water on and off.” I’ll try to present the facts (which may or may not play a part in this) as they are without trying to sound too biased here: We both had our homes finished and closed within the same period of time, give or take a week. My water use in the 2.5 years I’ve been in my home has totaled (as of Friday) 136,000 gallons. 100,000 gallons of that has been used in the LAST TWO MONTHS while I’ve been completely away, with only my closest friends showing up to get the mail and just make sure everything’s good. My lawn has been dead for the last two years, because the cost of upkeep in my neighborhood is pretty high. I have a landscaper mow, trim and pull weeds, but he does not use the water whatsoever. My neighbor’s lawn looks like a golf course. It’s incredibly green, well watered and tended to. He’s usually out watering at least once a day. They checked his meter, and apparently he’s at 166,000 gallons of water use in the entire time he’s lived next to me. Only 30k gallons more than where I’m standing at, with a completely dead lawn. I told the water company everything I’m suspecting, and they said they couldn’t share much, but the rep on the phone DID tell me that his water use was “very low” these last couple of months. She was almost speechless when she spoke to the technician who went to my house, because he basically backed up my assumptions and asked “Hey, are you sure I’m at the right address? Because this guy’s lawn is like a desert, but the neighbor’s house looks insane.” The water company said they understand that I’m clearly not using all of this water, but I’m still responsible to pay it. I mean, I get that… Water was apparently used, and my county is in a stage 4 drought protocol. They basically said “you need to put up cameras and try to catch him for a civil suit.” After the technician looked at the pressure, he then turned off the customer/main valve (which sits outside on the border suspected neighbor’s side of the property). This is the ONLY main valve the homes in my subdivision have by default. I now see how this can be a MAJOR issue. The next day, the valve was turned back on and 200 gallons of more water was ran. I called the water company immediately again, and they said the only thing that can be done is to either terminate the service, or try to catch him/file a police report. Around the beginning of the first outrageous billing cycle, my landscaper texts me and asks “is your neighbor racist?” because he’s allegedly been harassing him. The issue is that my last landscaper also said that and then abruptly quit, leaving me SOL while I was also previously away for the holidays. Maybe this is irrelevant, but it does show how he is about his lawn and property line. I respectfully told my neighbor that he needs to stop because it’s causing me stress while I’m trying to work. He got incredibly defensive and basically said “I can do whatever I want from my porch; he’s blowing grass on my side of the lawn and I’m sick of it!” (Whoopdee doo) This was on March 6th, so I’m wondering if there will be a significant correlation around then. At the end of February, he started putting up a fence barrier right next to my faucet line. This was about a week before confronting him about my landscaper and around the time of when the excessive use started. The water company is issuing me a detailed 90-day report, which will show which days there was water use, what time of the day and how much was being ran. The unfortunate part is that it takes two weeks (10 business days) to get this report back. I technically can’t rule out my other neighbor, except his lawn is also pretty much always been dead. He’s also a renter and has hardly ever been seen using water outside whatsoever in the entire time he’s been here. He’s also a fed, and I really doubt he’d risk his entire career to steal water from me for… I have zero idea what he’d be using it for, because it’s clearly not going into HIS lawn. 😂 I didn’t have side cameras installed on the house, since he’s the kind of neighbor who’s always watching and “looking out.” I’ve had my friends install some blink cameras while he was at work. However, they aren’t really picking up a lot of activity without being more visible. He’s a disgruntled retired vet with some definitely anger issues. He’s the kind of dude who thinks the public parking in front of his house is exclusively his, and he’ll start an actual fight with neighbors over it, however he’s literally parked in a neighbor’s driveway and was flabbergasted when the neighbor showed up in the middle of the night and told him to gtfo. He actually had the wherewithal to come to me and say “the nerve of some people” after telling me what he did. He’d absolutely try to get anyone towed or vandalized who did it to him though, 100%. He’s also definitely threatened to poison the neighbor dogs because of their excessive barking throughout the day. Before I left to go home for the holidays, he and his wife both said “We’re gonna stop using our sprinkler system, because it’s killing us on our water bill. This company is way too damn expensive.” My foam faucet covers are still currently on. I wonder if he noticed that they were still on once it started getting hot again a couple months back and took it as a sign that I’m not paying attention(?) I mean, he’s wasn’t wrong to a good degree. One of my neighbors told me he waters his lawn three times a week, and he has a family of five with a daughter who takes 50 minute showers, and his bill was only $150. My ex-girlfriend also lives just a block over, and she says she only waters the grass three times a day, and her highest bill ever was $190, which is higher than mine ever has (roughly $110 a month. Our separation was mutual and healthy. I feel like I need to clarify that she wouldn’t ever never do anything like that to anyone, let alone me. Lol. I have a lawyer currently building a potential case with all of the facts presented at this time. I guess I’m wondering if there’s any advice or ideas to help catch him in the act. So far, I haven’t seen him on the cameras, but the one neighbor I really trust has said he’s been out really late and early in the AM, so I feel like the water report will correlate with that. Does anyone have a security camera recommendation? I’m thinking I’ll need to get a system that records 24/7 to try to line up the water company’s report. Something preferably discrete that he won’t be able to see, but there’s a few spots that I could mount a fair sized camera that he shouldn’t be able to catch. Any extra advice besides just shutting off the water service and putting locks on the spouts? I really want to catch this guy red-handed, because he’s going to have cost me well over $1,000 by the end of this month. I am slightly concerned he may have access to my water system, because he works in construction and is pretty savvy in that regard, but right now I feel like he’s likely plugging his back yard sprinkler (system) into my line and just letting it go a couple times a week. I guess we’ll see. I think being able to discretely put in a solid camera system and then just wait a bit more to see what happens is the move at the moment. It’s really a bummer, because I’ve been a very considerate neighbor. I like to play the drums, and any time he’s told me it’s bothering him, I’ve stopped it immediately, even when it was while recording tracks for a local band. I’m starting to now see who he really is the more I learn about him through other people. K, this ended up very finger-pointy which isn’t what I wanted, but it’s like the technician said: “There’s no way you have any sort of leak. Your water’s intentionally being used and is going SOMEWHERE. And if it was your yard, you’d have green patches somewhere around it. You’ve got gold-course quality turf just a couple feet over.” I’m also kind’ve a small YouTuber (25k subs). If I catch him and can make a real case out of this, I’m going to make a video on it, and put up a huge sign in my front yard that says something like: “Thieves live here. ➡️ Ask me how my grass is so green!” If anyone comes up with anything good, I’d gladly credit them in it as well. I really don’t want to be at odds with my neighbor, but I cannot STAND a thief. I’ve worked way too hard for what I have to be just taken from me, and he’s definitely the type of boomer who thinks he’s entitled to other people’s amenities if it won’t kill them. Note: I DO have spigot locks, but I feel like that’s a one time sorta thing. If he goes to tap it and it’s not on camera, he’s gonna know I’m onto him. Which would be the worst case scenario at this point. submitted by /u/Overall-Scientist956 to r/neighborsfromhell [link] [comments]

Sorry I’m a recent FTHB so this is all new to me. I reached out to a few different landscaping companies for quotes since I knew this would be a big project, and I wanted to shop around. Company #1 recommend installing 2 (additional) catch basins and connecting drain pipe to the county storm drain in my neighbors yard (pending county & neighbor approval) and grading to direct water to catch basins. Alternatively, routing drain pipe to the street in front of my house. Also, grass seed/straw. Company #2 recommended installing drain pipe connecting to street as well. Can’t tell from the quote if he recommended installing additional catch basins or just using the existing 1. Also, grading of course, and grass seed/straw. Company #3 recommended grading only, no additional drainage. However, he quoted sod, unlike the other two. All came in at $6-7k range. I don’t really care about cost, I just want it done correctly. But I don’t know who to think is right. submitted by /u/SailingBarista to r/landscaping [link] [comments]

in my neighborhood the homes have typical suburban plantings-beds near the front of the house filled with evergreens, crepe myrtles and deciduous magnolias planted with mulch below them, tallish hollies near the corners and so on. The HOA has insanely restrictive rules (we are supposed to get preclearance for any perennial plant-unless you are replacing like with like--and can't have bird feeders or fountains for some reason) but some of my foundation bushes are dying and i want to try to sneak in some fruit bearing plants that hopefully they won't notice. i've planted some blueberries to replace some dying boxwoods (but they aren't a great substitute because they are deciduous and aren't filling in enough), and planted a bush cherry by the garage that hopefully they havent fussed about yet. has anyone tried silverberry or plum yew for foundation plantings? or tried wintergreen or lowbush blueberries below trees? does anyone have any other ideas? i'm in 7a/6b. thank you! submitted by /u/pinkshirted to r/BackyardOrchard [link] [comments]

I am not The OOP, OOP is u/spicedpumpkins Not really a cat person. HOW do I gently stop neighbor's cat from bringing me dead things? Originally posted to r/cats Thanks to u/La_Dame_Va_Se_Facher & u/soayherder for suggesting this BoRU Original Post Sept 11, 2024 I've got a pretty large property and don't mind the neighbor's cat hanging out chasing mice and other things but it's constantly walking right up to me and brining me dead things when I'm outside. I don't feed the cat and barely pay any attention to it except when it rubs up against me and purrs. I'll give it a quick pat and move on to whatever I was doing, gardening, etc. Otherwise I basically ignore it. Anyways, the frequency of dead things plopped at my feet has gotten to almost every day. I don't want to be mean and scare it or anything, it's welcomed to relax or prowl the yard but it's a looooooong walk from one end of the yard to my trashcans to dispose of the things it brings and it's getting old really fast. Update 1 Sept 12, 2024 In a nutshell, the neighbor's cat keeps bringing me dead things almost daily. I don't hate cats, but cats are just not my jam (sorry sub, no offense). If cats are around cool, no big deal. I'm an animal lover. I have no issues with the cat itself. It's welcomed in my yard to do as it pleases and I practically ignore it unless it goes out of its way to come up to me. I'll give it a quick pat or scritch and move on to the many things I have to do in my yard. I forgot to mention the actual issue is not that it brings me dead things, but the dead things it has brought me and I didn't find right away, attract ants. Where I'm at, ants can pop up out of nowhere in the hundreds or more if dead things are not disposed of quickly. This summer I've been at war with ants and they are such a pain to deal with especially if they're swarming the dead things left by the cat. Then lugging the dead thing waaaaay over to the trash cans is also a huge pain. I've been working hard to get the yard landscaped the way I want it. I've planted specific flowers to attract birds, butterflies, small wild life. It's gotten close to looking like a little sanctuary. It requires a ton of maintenance as I clean daily any seeds not eaten in the feeders, mowing, trimming, etc. The cat walking around in the yard is no issue for me as it seems not to bother any of the small wild life except for mice and seems to enjoy the yard vs its owner's yard for some reason. It's an older cat and I don't think it's right to spray it with a water bottle or try to scare it or be mean to it as some suggested here. That's just not an option for me. I called my vet to get their advice and he said to soak cotton balls 1:1 with food grade vinegar and water and lightly dab my wrists, neck, ankles, shoes, etc. The vet said the vinegar is totally safe for the cat but cats don't like the vinegar and will associate the scent with me and in theory should stop approaching me and will likely give up trying to give me dead things. The vet said it might be a good idea to actually lure the cat to me with a simple treat to make sure it approaches me, smell me, dislike it and leave. So one quick stop at the market for the vinegar, cotton balls, cat treats and dabbing myself all over like my vet advised and I'm good to go. VOILA! PROBLEM SOLVED right? Nope. 1) My beloved dog wouldn't even come up to me the entire rest of the day 2) My wife said I stunk and demanded I shower. I told her I still had a lot of chores outside in the yard and she said I can't step into the house until I showered. I told her I would shower after my chores. 3) The cat showed up as usual and brought me another dead thing (partial grasshopper this time) and I did what the vet said and gave it the cat treat. It not only approached me and didn't flinch at all at my smell, but went crazy purring and rubbing up against me after I gave it the treat. Like purring so hard I could feel the reverberations when it rubbed against my pant leg. Unusually, the damn cat followed me around most of the day and kept interfering with what I was doing, pruning, sweeping, etc. Running in front of me while I'm carrying things to the wheelbarrow, zipping between my legs, laying down right where I'm about to trim. I'd gently move him and the little bastard kept coming back. I'd make sure I'd hold out my wrists for it to smell and that did jack shit. Cat didn't even care or seem to notice the vinegar smell. 4) I did a lot of work in the yard but still had more to do so I was going to go take a quick nap on the couch and then get back to the yard but my wife wouldn't have any of it and kicked me out. She told me to go nap near the pool in the nice shaded area I had set up with lawn furniture and a hammock. Didn't want to argue with the boss so I went to the hammock. Took a nice nap only to wake up to find the fucking cat sleeping on my chest purring, ass right in my face. I gently let it down on the ground so I could get back to my yard work and right there under the hammock another dead thing the cat left for me....covered in hundreds of ants. FML. I give up. Update 2 Sept 22, 2024 First of all I'd like to thank everyone who gave sincere well meaning advice here as when I say I'm not a cat person, I really mean I'm not a cat person. I don't dislike cats but I've always grown up with dogs and other than bumping into the occasional cat in the periphery, I have almost no knowledge other than the basic guy off the street. There seemed to be some conflicting advice in the thread: ignore the cat, pick up the cat constantly, feed that cat, don't feed the cat, instead of vinegar try citrus, no try peppermint instead of citrus, eat in front of the cat, etc. To answer a couple of questions from the thread. Maybe the cat belonged to the previous owner of the house and has hung around. Nope. I've owned the property for over 20 years. I had the former dilapidated house demolished and over the decades slowly added the main house, 2 small guest houses, the pool house, etc. The cat literally showed up on the day the new neighbor below the hill moved with their stuff. I simply connected the dots. Are there any poisonous plants in my landscaped yard. To my knowledge NO. I have a dog who I would take a bullet for and when I hired the landscape architect and arborist, I made sure to request nothing would be planted that would harm my dog or any of the local wildlife but at the same time I wanted to attract butterflies, hummingbirds, etc. For this same reason, despite it being a really easy solution to my ginormous ant problem, I refuse to use chemicals / pesticides in the yard. TRIAL AND ERROR...advice from the thread that worked or didn't work. CITRUS AND PEPPERMINT: First of all I wasn't going to make the same mistake again of putting on a scent that would upset my dog. The day I tried the vinegar my dog tried to avoid me all day and would only begrudgingly come to me when I insisted and called him over. The only citrus I had around was some strong citrus soap smell from one of my wife's fancy soaps she has all over the house. Tried it around the cat, nothing. Didn't deter the cat at all. I didn't try peppermint because I don't like the smell of peppermint myself. IGNORE THE CAT COMPLETELY: Impossible. The damn cat refuses to be ignored. The more I ignored it the MORE it would walk in my path, lay down exactly where I'm working in the yard, follow me constantly. EAT IN FRONT OF THE CAT BUT UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE DO I FEED THE CAT: Didn't work. The cat would just stare at me and bob its head back and forth intently watching whatever I was eating then bob its eyes to my mouth and just watch me chew. Still brought me dead things. I was strong. Held my ground. I didn't feed the cat even though I'm pretty sure it was asking for a bite of whatever I was eating at the time. "LOVE BOMB" the cat, constantly pick it up. Go over the top to pay attention to it. To the people who gave this piece of "advice", if you were trying to help, then thank you. If you were trolling, then congratulations, you got me good. Not only did smothering the cat with affection and constantly picking it up not work, it backfired. HARD. The cat became obnoxiously clingy and would demand I pick it up and give scritches constantly interrupting what I'm doing. Sometimes it won't stop meowing incessantly until I do a quick pick up and scritch. Put it back down only to have it do the same thing less than an hour later. Man, I'm busy, I don't have time for this. So...upto this point basically NOTHING worked. After trying some of the thread's advice? Significantly worse. Cat still came around every day. Every day still brought me dead things. Followed me everywhere but now every now and then I gotta pick it up to rub its tummy / give it a scritch to hit the reset button so it would stop meowing at me. It incessantly follows me. There was only one single day where I didn't see the cat, or so I thought. I left really early in the morning to go pick up things I needed from home depot, drop by my local nursery to pick up their good "secret sauce" compost, basically run a bunch of errands. Came back in the afternoon and went about my chores in the yard and as the hours passed it hit me...NO CAT. Not a peep, nothing trying to trip me as I carry things with the wheelbarrow, no demands for a pick up scritch and release. NOTHING. I just shrugged my shoulders at my good fortune of finally working in peace. It was getting late and I was hungry and since I told my wife I was running errands, I guess she assumed I would pick up something to eat out and she didn't pack anything for me. Headed back to the house and as I was opening the kitchen sliding door, there sleeping in my wife's lap as she's petting it and watching tv is the god damn cat. OH HELLLLLLLL NAAAAAAAAW! My wife looked up and smiled at me then quickly frowned and asked "What's wrong?". I said, "What do you mean?" She said, when you came in your jaw dropped and you mouthed, "SON OF A BITCH". Me: "WHY would you let that cat in the house?!!!" Wife: "Why wouldn't I? Poor thing was outside rubbing up the the glass door and meowing bloody murder. It was obviously hungry and thirsty." Me: "Oh my god. You didn't feed the cat did you?" Wife: "Of course I did! You think I'm going to let a helpless animal go hungry or be thirsty at my door?" I thought I was going to have an aneurysm. All I could think about was the movie Gremlins when you were firmly warned never to feed the thing past midnight or else you're fucked. Now my wife's done it. She's fed the damn cat. I'm fucked. Me: "THIS is the little bastard that has been giving me headaches with the ants for weeks by bringing me dead things" Wife: "What are you talking about? It just showed up today." ME: HOLY.SHIT. I just realized all this time, I don't think I actually ever directly mentioned the cat to my wife. I have a few acres of land and the land is nicely landscaped and partitioned with very tall trees as to "break up the line of sight" as the landscape architect said. To give a sense of walking in a manicured forest and not knowing what is around the corners until you turn and see the different kinds of landscapes on the property. I've been working on the far end of the property and that's where the cat shows up. She never saw the cat until today. ME: "Wait a minute. That day I came in with the vinegar smell and you wouldn't let me in the house. That's because I was trying make the cat keep away from me!" EXACTLY at this point the cat woke up and saw me. Hopped off my wife's lap and started purring loud like a motor boat and rubbing hard against my legs. Wife: "That's why? Oh my god. Why didn't you ask Kevin for advice before trying something that stupid?" Kevin is our vet, I've known him, his wife and kids for years. He comes over every now and then and we play videogames in my man cave or to shoot pool while the wives are doing who knows what. ME: "It was Kevin who told me to do the vinegar!" My wife literally rolled her eyes. Wife: "I can't believe you two are doctors. (I'm a retired anesthesiologist). That was some dumb advice." Me: "I know. It didn't work at all. So I went to to an internet forum and asked for advice" My wife literally laughed in my face. Wife: "You asked complete strangers on the internet for advice? And how did that work out for you?" Me: "Not so good. Anyways I'm going to take care of this right now and take the cat back to its owners. It belongs to the new family who moved in down the hill." I gently grabbed the little bastard who was all happy and smug, hopped in the truck and rang the neighbor's doorbell. The day after they moved in my wife and I introduced ourselves and gave them a small gift card to home depot and some of my wife's really good home made brownies. Other than that, I haven't talked to them. The wife answered the door and the husband was sitting at their table in the back and waved to me. I reintroduced myself while holding their cat and told them I'm brining it back as it's been coming over to my yard every day. I was about to follow another thread suggestion and ask them if they could please consider putting a bell and collar on their cat so it would have a hard time catching things and bringing their corpses to me when the wife said, "That's not our cat. We don't have a cat." All the air left my lungs. If I thought I was going to have an aneurysm before, now I'm sure I'm going to have a stroke as well. No.Fucking.Way.This.Isn't.Their.Cat. A million things was going through my head and number one on that list is I call bullshit. There is no fucking way. I live on a small cul de sac. I am the only house on top of the hill because I own the entire damn top. I've known all the few neighbors for years. This cat doesn't belong to any of them. This cat literally showed up on the day they were moved their stuff in. I was thinking are these guys fucking evil douche bags who dumped their cat and trying to deny it? The words just plopped out of my mouth and I instantly felt like an idiot. "Are you SURE?" Wife looked a little taken aback and said, "That's not our cat." She sounded sincere and her face looked convincing. The husband came to the door and said, "Is there something wrong?" I said, "I thought this was your cat and was brining it back to you. It showed up the day you guys moved in." The husband said, "That's not our cat. I've seen it walking around but I think it belongs to one of the neighbors." He also looked sincere. Are they just world class bullshitters? There's no way this isn't their cat. What are the odds? Their little kid who looked like she was maybe 4 years old or so came to the door and smiled at me and the cat. OK here we go. Kids don't bullshit. They are brutally fucking honest and if this is their cat, this kid is going to spill it right there and then. NOPE. The kid's all like, "A KITTY!" This kid had no idea of this cat. This cat isn't theirs. I could only think "Oh my god. fuck. FUCK FUCK FUCK." I sheepishly apologized for the error and left with the little bastard. It was before 5 so I called Kevin, the vet, and told him I'm bringing the cat over to see if it has a chip. I dropped by his clinic. They scanned the cat. No chip. Kevin examined the cat and estimated it is around 7 or 8 years old. Said there is no way this is a feral street cat as this cat is "broken" and "way to used to being around people." What do you mean 'broken'? Is something wrong? Kevin's said, "NO nothing like that. I mean this." He took the cat from me and cradled it on its back. It just stared at him calmly. He put it on the table on its back and gently grabbed both hind legs and pumped them up and down and went "chugga chugga chugga chugga choo choo". The cat just looked back and blinked at him. "See? Broken." I had no idea WTF he's talking about. "Cats are wary of complete strangers. Even house cats that have been around people all their lives. Cats don't just let anyone walk up to them, pick them up. And they will never let a stranger just put them on their back exposing their vulnerable abdomen and let them reposition them like a GI Joe action figure with the Kung Fu grip like this one does." So what? So it's really just super friendly. Kevin, "You're not getting it. I've never seen a cat as chill as this cat. No one has. They don't make cats like this. This cat literally gives zero fucks. Even to its own peril. Even the techs noticed it. They were just passing this cat around, putting it in all positions, holding it, petting it. This cat didn't give a fuck. This goes way beyond being just friendly. It's broken man, but in a good way." Maybe it's just developmentally disabled? Kevin, "Nope. Not that I can tell. In fact, I think its probably above average intelligence." What makes you say that? Kevin, "It somehow wiggled its way into your life and got your dumb ass here didn't it? " But I don't like cats. Kevin, "I KNOW! It's played the long con on you." He was smiling his ass off like it was Christmas, "Like I said, smart." But I don't want a cat. Don't you know anyone who will take it? Kevin, "Absolutely. The tech already offered. She's in love with it. And the other tech wants it too. But here's the thing." What? Kevin took the cat and plopped it in my arms. It looked up at me with those big dumb eyes and started purring really loud. He took the cat back. Purring stopped. Cat just looked at him. He put the cat back in my arms. It started purring again. Kevin, "See? This cat has a major hard on for you. I'm not going to tell you what to do but my two cents it would be cruel to separate this cat from you. Look, if you really don't want the cat I can have literally a bazillion ladies in two seconds here busting down this door for this cat. At least you told me you didn't feed it." Um...I told him my wife already did and she really liked the cat. Kevin, "Oh man, you're fucked." So...I bring the cat back home. I told my wife everything. My wife has a grin ear to ear. Wife, "Ok good." She grabbed the cat and it just snuggled up to her. The little kiss ass. "There's still time to go to PetSmart and get it some things. And while we're there you can get one of those cat flappy doors for the kitchen." I told her "Hell no." This cat has already given me major headaches with ants outside. I don't want it coming in the house. I looked her straight in the eyes and said, "100 percent NO to the cat door." I crossed my arms "1,000 percent NO" She narrowed her eyes at me. Anyways...we're at PetSmart and she's looking for outfits for the cat and I'm in the pet door section... The only consolation prize is she let me name the cat. I named it what she thought was "Elby". I told her it sounds cute like Elmo and she went with it. It's actually is "L.B." for little bastard. I giggle inside when I call its name. PS: "Elby" has stopped bringing me dead things since being inside most of the time. Has already destroyed my Newton's cradle I've had for years in my office, stolen one of my Chewbacca slippers which I still haven't found and I still often wake up after napping with him sleeping on my chest, ass right in my face. FML. I give up. THIS IS A REPOST SUB - I AM NOT THE OOP DO NOT CONTACT THE OOP's OR COMMENT ON LINKED POSTS, REMEMBER - RULE 7 submitted by /u/Direct-Caterpillar77 to r/BestofRedditorUpdates [link] [comments]

I am not the OOP. The OOP is u/spicedpumpkins posting in r/cats Concluded as per OOP Update One - Short Update Two - Longish Original - 11th September 2024 Update One - 12th September 2024 Update Two - 22nd September 2024 ***Original**\* I've got a pretty large property and don't mind the neighbor's cat hanging out chasing mice and other things but it's constantly walking right up to me and brining me dead things when I'm outside. I don't feed the cat and barely pay any attention to it except when it rubs up against me and purrs. I'll give it a quick pat and move on to whatever I was doing, gardening, etc. Otherwise I basically ignore it. Anyways, the frequency of dead things plopped at my feet has gotten to almost every day. I don't want to be mean and scare it or anything, it's welcomed to relax or prowl the yard but it's a looooooong walk from one end of the yard to my trashcans to dispose of the things it brings and it's getting old really fast. Comments Prestigious-Beach190 Many cats prefer to be left alone unless they specifically ask for attention, so you've probably been the perfect friend for this cat. Bringing you dead prey demonstrates that: the cat loves you and is taking care of you by bringing you food. Stopping that will likely be difficult. The cat will probably continue to 'feed' you for as long as he or she loves you. So unless you can find a way to keep the cat off your property (or make him/her stop loving you), there's no real solution to your predicament. Elmindria You need to assert yourself as a self sufficient hunter and present it with dead things yourself. That way it knows you are capable and not going to die if it stops providing for you. It likes you but is concerned you won't survive without it's assistance. Karanosz Cats WANT us to honor their boundaries. You do just that. You show a lot of respect to it without even knowing. Petting when asks for it like when it rubs to you, you even fulfill it asking for attention. So now, it brings you tributes and gifts, to deepen this well kicked off relationship even more. It's a form of courtesy. This cat wants to be your friend and wants you to acknowledge that by accepting the offerings and giving it affection when it brings them. My cat does it too. Lizards, bugs, back long ago birds, for which I scolded her so she didn't bring me dead/dying birbs anymore. But otherwise it's better to pretend that you accept it, and getting rid of it unseen if you are willing to deepen your bond with the cat. Or scold it for it. If you want to sever the relationship, do it coldly, and harshly verbally. Do not hurt it physically. If you really don't want the cat to even interact with you anymore you can push it away with your leg when it rubs to it. I would definitely not have the heart to do that though. I would melt and praise it like a god for the random adoption(it adopting me). It's such a kind thing from such a normally selfish creature as a cat. **UPDATE 1 DAY LATER*\* In a nutshell, the neighbor's cat keeps bringing me dead things almost daily. I don't hate cats, but cats are just not my jam (sorry sub, no offense). If cats are around cool, no big deal. I'm an animal lover. I have no issues with the cat itself. It's welcomed in my yard to do as it pleases and I practically ignore it unless it goes out of its way to come up to me. I'll give it a quick pat or scritch and move on to the many things I have to do in my yard. I forgot to mention the actual issue is not that it brings me dead things, but the dead things it has brought me and I didn't find right away, attract ants. Where I'm at, ants can pop up out of nowhere in the hundreds or more if dead things are not disposed of quickly. This summer I've been at war with ants and they are such a pain to deal with especially if they're swarming the dead things left by the cat. Then lugging the dead thing waaaaay over to the trash cans is also a huge pain. I've been working hard to get the yard landscaped the way I want it. I've planted specific flowers to attract birds, butterflies, small wild life. It's gotten close to looking like a little sanctuary. It requires a ton of maintenance as I clean daily any seeds not eaten in the feeders, mowing, trimming, etc. The cat walking around in the yard is no issue for me as it seems not to bother any of the small wild life except for mice and seems to enjoy the yard vs its owner's yard for some reason. It's an older cat and I don't think it's right to spray it with a water bottle or try to scare it or be mean to it as some suggested here. That's just not an option for me. I called my vet to get their advice and he said to soak cotton balls 1:1 with food grade vinegar and water and lightly dab my wrists, neck, ankles, shoes, etc. The vet said the vinegar is totally safe for the cat but cats don't like the vinegar and will associate the scent with me and in theory should stop approaching me and will likely give up trying to give me dead things. The vet said it might be a good idea to actually lure the cat to me with a simple treat to make sure it approaches me, smell me, dislike it and leave. So one quick stop at the market for the vinegar, cotton balls, cat treats and dabbing myself all over like my vet advised and I'm good to go. VOILA! PROBLEM SOLVED right? Nope. My beloved dog wouldn't even come up to me the entire rest of the day My wife said I stunk and demanded I shower. I told her I still had a lot of chores outside in the yard and she said I can't step into the house until I showered. I told her I would shower after my chores. The cat showed up as usual and brought me another dead thing (partial grasshopper this time) and I did what the vet said and gave it the cat treat. It not only approached me and didn't flinch at all at my smell, but went crazy purring and rubbing up against me after I gave it the treat. Like purring so hard I could feel the reverberations when it rubbed against my pant leg. Unusually, the damn cat followed me around most of the day and kept interfering with what I was doing, pruning, sweeping, etc. Running in front of me while I'm carrying things to the wheelbarrow, zipping between my legs, laying down right where I'm about to trim. I'd gently move him and the little bastard kept coming back. I'd make sure I'd hold out my wrists for it to smell and that did jack shit. Cat didn't even care or seem to notice the vinegar smell. I did a lot of work in the yard but still had more to do so I was going to go take a quick nap on the couch and then get back to the yard but my wife wouldn't have any of it and kicked me out. She told me to go nap near the pool in the nice shaded area I had set up with lawn furniture and a hammock. Didn't want to argue with the boss so I went to the hammock. Took a nice nap only to wake up to find the fucking cat sleeping on my chest purring, ass right in my face. I gently let it down on the ground so I could get back to my yard work and right there under the hammock another dead thing the cat left for me....covered in hundreds of ants. FML. I give up. Comments Feline_Shenanigans I know you are frustrated but this is hilarious. Kitty has decided that you are theirs to care for. Since cat is older, it sounds like kitty might be losing their sense of smell. Or is one of those rare cats that LOVES vinegar (my furry bastard is one of those). I’m curious how the cat reacts to your wife. If they aren’t impressed it might be worth getting permission from her to borrow her shampoo, body wash, deodorant, etc. for a few days to see if smelling more like another human has an impact. Might also be worth asking some gardening subs for advice on how to step up your anticide. Or possibly consider accepting that the neighbourhood granny cat has decided that you aren’t eating properly and they need to feed you. O_Elbereth I had one that would roll itself into spilled pickle or olive brine and act like it was catnip. Every once in a while there's a weird one. anonny42357 I had one that was obsessed with carrots. Carrots and booze. She never met any type of booze she didn't like, except one particularly expensive (and disgusting IMHO) bottle of scotch. You had to not only keep your drinks covered, but hold the covers down, because once she realized you had alcohol, she got very pushy about it. I never let her have more than the single drop remaining at the bottom of the wine glass )because lol) , but if noobs were around, she would dunk her entire arm into their drink, even though I warned them to watch out. She lived to 16. I miss her. anonny42357 Wine from the glass is funnier when she had to reach in all the way up to her armpit to reach it. Even funnier was that she would get so into licking that sweet sweet nectar of the gods\ off her foot, that you could switch the wine glass for a wine glass of water without her noticing. If she turned around and put her foot in that and licked it only to realize it was common poor-people water, she would give you one hell of a stink eye.* Apparently my aunt got drunk and gave the cat a bit too much, and when mom cut off both the aunt any the cat, the cat got mean about it, which everyone found hilarious. \she thought it was sweet nectar. Amusingly, I don't actually like wine, and I rarely drink. I'm pretty sure that cat consumed alcohol on more occasions in her 16 years than I have in my whole 40!* \* I feel the need to shoehorn something in there about water? Like from the toilet? But electrolytes!* Maggiemayday You are The Chosen One. There is little you can do except accept the sacrificial offerings with grace and set out ant traps. Careful-Drama You could try going in the other direction - love bomb the cat. Pick it up for forced cuddles. (This is how I trained mine to stop waking me up in the night - now he cuddles with my husband who is gentle and wakes to pat him.) Chase it yelling 'here kitty kitty'. Wake it for cuddles if ever you find it sleeping. They often love the most on those who want nothing to do with them. Now of course, this can backfire. In which case, enjoy your new cat! ***UPDATE 11 DAYS LATER**\* First of all I'd like to thank everyone who gave sincere well meaning advice here as when I say I'm not a cat person, I really mean I'm not a cat person. I don't dislike cats but I've always grown up with dogs and other than bumping into the occasional cat in the periphery, I have almost no knowledge other than the basic guy off the street. There seemed to be some conflicting advice in the thread: ignore the cat, pick up the cat constantly, feed that cat, don't feed the cat, instead of vinegar try citrus, no try peppermint instead of citrus, eat in front of the cat, etc. To answer a couple of questions from the thread. Maybe the cat belonged to the previous owner of the house and has hung around. Nope. I've owned the property for over 20 years. I had the former dilapidated house demolished and over the decades slowly added the main house, 2 small guest houses, the pool house, etc. The cat literally showed up on the day the new neighbor below the hill moved in with their stuff. I simply connected the dots. Are there any poisonous plants in my landscaped yard. To my knowledge NO. I have a dog who I would take a bullet for and when I hired the landscape architect and arborist, I made sure to request nothing would be planted that would harm my dog or any of the local wildlife but at the same time I wanted to attract butterflies, hummingbirds, etc. For this same reason, despite it being a really easy solution to my ginormous ant problem, I refuse to use chemicals / pesticides in the yard. TRIAL AND ERROR...advice from the thread that worked or didn't work. CITRUS AND PEPPERMINT: First of all I wasn't going to make the same mistake again of putting on a scent that would upset my dog. The day I tried the vinegar my dog tried to avoid me all day and would only begrudgingly come to me when I insisted and called him over. The only citrus I had around was some strong citrus soap smell from one of my wife's fancy soaps she has all over the house. Tried it around the cat, nothing. Didn't deter the cat at all. I didn't try peppermint because I don't like the smell of peppermint myself. IGNORE THE CAT COMPLETELY: Impossible. The damn cat refuses to be ignored. The more I ignored it the MORE it would walk in my path, lay down exactly where I'm working in the yard, follow me constantly. EAT IN FRONT OF THE CAT BUT UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE DO I FEED THE CAT: Didn't work. The cat would just stare at me and bob its head back and forth intently watching whatever I was eating then bob its eyes to my mouth and just watch me chew. Still brought me dead things. I was strong. Held my ground. I didn't feed the cat even though I'm pretty sure it was asking for a bite of whatever I was eating at the time. "LOVE BOMB" the cat, constantly pick it up. Go over the top to pay attention to it. To the people who gave this piece of "advice", if you were trying to help, then thank you. If you were trolling, then congratulations, you got me good. Not only did smothering the cat with affection and constantly picking it up not work, it backfired. HARD. The cat became obnoxiously clingy and would demand I pick it up and give scritches constantly interrupting what I'm doing. Sometimes it won't stop meowing incessantly until I do a quick pick up and scritch. Put it back down only to have it do the same thing less than an hour later. Man, I'm busy, I don't have time for this. So...upto this point basically NOTHING worked. After trying some of the thread's advice? Significantly worse. Cat still came around every day. Every day still brought me dead things. Followed me everywhere but now every now and then I gotta pick it up to rub its tummy / give it a scritch to hit the reset button so it would stop meowing at me. It incessantly follows me. There was only one single day where I didn't see the cat, or so I thought. I left really early in the morning to go pick up things I needed from home depot, drop by my local nursery to pick up their good "secret sauce" compost, basically run a bunch of errands. Came back in the afternoon and went about my chores in the yard and as the hours passed it hit me...NO CAT. Not a peep, nothing trying to trip me as I carry things with the wheelbarrow, no demands for a pick up scritch and release. NOTHING. I just shrugged my shoulders at my good fortune of finally working in peace. It was getting late and I was hungry and since I told my wife I was running errands, I guess she assumed I would pick up something to eat out and she didn't pack anything for me. Headed back to the house and as I was opening the kitchen sliding door, there sleeping in my wife's lap as she's petting it and watching tv is the god damn cat. OH HELLLLLLLL NAAAAAAAAW! My wife looked up and smiled at me then quickly frowned and asked "What's wrong?". I said, "What do you mean?" She said, when you came in your jaw dropped and you mouthed, "SON OF A BITCH". Me: "WHY would you let that cat in the house?!!!" Wife: "Why wouldn't I? Poor thing was outside rubbing up the the glass door and meowing bloody murder. It was obviously hungry and thirsty." Me: "Oh my god. You didn't feed the cat did you?" Wife: "Of course I did! You think I'm going to let a helpless animal go hungry or be thirsty at my door?" I thought I was going to have an aneurysm. All I could think about was the movie Gremlins when you were firmly warned never to feed the thing past midnight or else you're fucked. Now my wife's done it. She's fed the damn cat. I'm fucked. Me: "THIS is the little bastard that has been giving me headaches with the ants for weeks by bringing me dead things" Wife: "What are you talking about? It just showed up today." ME: HOLY.SHIT. I just realized all this time, I don't think I actually ever directly mentioned the cat to my wife. I have a few acres of land and the land is nicely landscaped and partitioned with very tall trees as to "break up the line of sight" as the landscape architect said. To give a sense of walking in a manicured forest and not knowing what is around the corners until you turn and see the different kinds of landscapes on the property. I've been working on the far end of the property and that's where the cat shows up. She never saw the cat until today. ME: "Wait a minute. That day I came in with the vinegar smell and you wouldn't let me in the house. That's because I was trying make the cat keep away from me!" EXACTLY at this point the cat woke up and saw me. Hopped off my wife's lap and started purring loud like a motor boat and rubbing hard against my legs. Wife: "That's why? Oh my god. Why didn't you ask Kevin for advice before trying something that stupid?" Kevin is our vet, I've known him, his wife and kids for years. He comes over every now and then and we play videogames in my man cave or to shoot pool while the wives are doing who knows what. ME: "It was Kevin who told me to do the vinegar!" My wife literally rolled her eyes. Wife: "I can't believe you two are doctors. (I'm a retired anesthesiologist). That was some dumb advice." Me: "I know. It didn't work at all. So I went to to an internet forum and asked for advice" My wife literally laughed in my face. Wife: "You asked complete strangers on the internet for advice? And how did that work out for you?" Me: "Not so good. Anyways I'm going to take care of this right now and take the cat back to its owners. It belongs to the new family who moved in down the hill." I gently grabbed the little bastard who was all happy and smug, hopped in the truck and rang the neighbor's doorbell. The day after they moved in my wife and I introduced ourselves and gave them a small gift card to home depot and some of my wife's really good home made brownies. Other than that, I haven't talked to them. The wife answered the door and the husband was sitting at their table in the back and waved to me. I reintroduced myself while holding their cat and told them I'm bringing it back as it's been coming over to my yard every day. I was about to follow another thread suggestion and ask them if they could please consider putting a bell and collar on their cat so it would have a hard time catching things and bringing their corpses to me when the wife said, "That's not our cat. We don't have a cat." All the air left my lungs. If I thought I was going to have an aneurysm before, now I'm sure I'm going to have a stroke as well. No.Fucking.Way.This.Isn't.Their.Cat. A million things was going through my head and number one on that list is I call bullshit. There is no fucking way. I live on a small cul de sac. I am the only house on top of the hill because I own the entire damn top. I've known all the few neighbors for years. This cat doesn't belong to any of them. This cat literally showed up on the day they moved their stuff in. I was thinking are these guys fucking evil douche bags who dumped their cat and trying to deny it? The words just plopped out of my mouth and I instantly felt like an idiot. "Are you SURE?" Wife looked a little taken aback and said, "That's not our cat." She sounded sincere and her face looked convincing. The husband came to the door and said, "Is there something wrong?" I said, "I thought this was your cat and was bringing it back to you. It showed up the day you guys moved in." The husband said, "That's not our cat. I've seen it walking around but I think it belongs to one of the neighbors." He also looked sincere. Are they just world class bullshitters? There's no way this isn't their cat. What are the odds? Their little kid who looked like she was maybe 4 years old or so came to the door and smiled at me and the cat. OK here we go. Kids don't bullshit. They are brutally fucking honest and if this is their cat, this kid is going to spill it right there and then. NOPE. The kid's all like, "A KITTY!" This kid had no idea of this cat. This cat isn't theirs. I could only think "Oh my god. fuck. FUCK FUCK FUCK." I sheepishly apologized for the error and left with the little bastard. It was before 5 so I called Kevin, the vet, and told him I'm bringing the cat over to see if it has a chip. I dropped by his clinic. They scanned the cat. No chip. Kevin examined the cat and estimated it is around 7 or 8 years old. Said there is no way this is a feral street cat as this cat is "broken" and "way too used to being around people." What do you mean 'broken'? Is something wrong? Kevin's said, "NO nothing like that. I mean this." He took the cat from me and cradled it on its back. It just stared at him calmly. He put it on the table on its back and gently grabbed both hind legs and pumped them up and down and went "chugga chugga chugga chugga choo choo". The cat just looked back and blinked at him. "See? Broken." I had no idea WTF he's talking about. "Cats are wary of complete strangers. Even house cats that have been around people all their lives. Cats don't just let anyone walk up to them, pick them up. And they will never let a stranger just put them on their back exposing their vulnerable abdomen and let them reposition them like a GI Joe action figure with the Kung Fu grip like this one does." So what? So it's just really super friendly. Kevin, "You're not getting it. I've never seen a cat as chill as this cat. No one has. They don't make cats like this. This cat literally gives zero fucks. Even to its own peril. Even the techs noticed it. They were just passing this cat around, putting it in all positions, holding it, petting it. This cat didn't give a fuck. This goes way beyond being just friendly. It's broken man, but in a good way." Maybe it's just developmentally disabled? Kevin, "Nope. Not that I can tell. In fact, I think its probably above average intelligence." What makes you say that? Kevin, "It somehow wiggled its way into your life and got your dumb ass here didn't it? " But I don't like cats. Kevin, "I KNOW! It's played the long con on you." He was smiling his ass off like it was Christmas, "Like I said, smart." But I don't want a cat. Don't you know anyone who will take it? Kevin, "Absolutely. The tech already offered. She's in love with it. And the other tech wants it too. But here's the thing." What? Kevin took the cat and plopped it in my arms. It looked up at me with those big dumb eyes and started purring really loud. He took the cat back. Purring stopped. Cat just looked at him. He put the cat back in my arms. It started purring again. Kevin, "See? This cat has a major hard on for you. I'm not going to tell you what to do but my two cents it would be cruel to separate this cat from you. Look, if you really don't want the cat I can have literally a bazillion ladies in two seconds here busting down this door for this cat. At least you told me you didn't feed it." Um...I told him my wife already did and she really liked the cat. Kevin, "Oh man, you're fucked." So...I bring the cat back home. I told my wife everything. My wife has a grin ear to ear. Wife, "Ok good." She grabbed the cat and it just snuggled up to her. The little kiss ass. "There's still time to go to PetSmart and get it some things. And while we're there you can get one of those cat flappy doors for the kitchen." I told her "Hell no." This cat has already given me major headaches with ants outside. I don't want it coming in the house. I looked her straight in the eyes and said, "100 percent NO to the cat door." I crossed my arms "1,000 percent NO" She narrowed her eyes at me. Anyways...we're at PetSmart and she's looking for outfits for the cat and I'm in the pet door section... The only consolation prize is she let me name the cat. I named it what she thought was "Elby". I told her it sounds cute like Elmo and she went with it. It's actually "L.B." for little bastard. I giggle inside when I call its name. PS: "Elby" has stopped bringing me dead things since being inside most of the time. Has already destroyed my Newton's cradle I've had for years in my office, stolen one of my Chewbacca slippers which I still haven't found and I still often wake up after napping with him sleeping on my chest, ass right in my face. FML. I give up. Comments Jeldenil Kevin sounds like a great vet. I laughed out loud at his demonstration about how your new best friend is 'broken'. dutchy_chris You forgot the cat tax. translucent_steeds in 6 months his wife is going to post under r/dadswhodidnotwantpets OP note: Newton's cradle OOP forgot to pay the cat tax and updated it. Unsurprised to see the cat's color isorange. r/OneOrangeBraincell I am not the OOP. Please do not harass the OOP. Please remember the No Brigading Rule and to be civil in the comments submitted by /u/attachedtothreads to r/BORUpdates [link] [comments]

I am not The OOP, OOP is u/lostandcheatedon8 I recorded my wife cheating on me and I can't stop watching it. Originally posted to r/offmychest Thanks to u/soayherder for suggesting this BoRU Original Post July 3, 2024 A couple weeks ago I decided I wanted to surprise my wife with a kid-free night out. My parents live about an hour and a half away from us and I arranged for the kids to stay with them for the weekend. Usually, when I go to my parents I am gone until later in the evening. We spend all day there and leave around dinner time. This time, I was dropping the kids off and immediately going home so I could surprise my wife and we could go out as soon as possible. I had made reservations at a nice restaurant and was hoping to go to a few places for some drinks first. I left at 8:30 and was back in our housing plan before 12:30. As I pulled onto my street I saw a truck parked in front of my house. I did not recognize it. I assumed it was someone seeing the neighbors though because it's not that unusual for someone to park in front of our house. I parked a few houses away thinking I would sneak into the house and surprise my wife instead of pulling in the driveway and going in the garage. I went in through a basement door. I was as quiet as possible but as soon as I walked in I heard her making sounds from the floor above. When I first heard it I thought she was just by herself, maybe having some personal time. I didn’t want to interrupt her privacy and embarrass her so I was going to go back to my car and just go in the garage so she would know I was home. Then I heard a man’s voice. I immediately felt sick. My heart felt like it was going to explode out of my chest. It is hard to describe how I felt in this moment. I decided to go upstairs. I had no desire to confront them, I just wanted to see what was going on. I moved slowly and quietly and went up the stairs. The door was halfway open. The kitchen was empty but I could tell they were in the living room. It was obvious what was going on at this point by the sounds. There was no way for me to look in the living room without them seeing me. I pulled out my phone and opened my camera app. I put my phone just around the corner of a wall. This part is so hard to write. I could see my wife with a man I didn’t recognize. I won’t go into detail on what they were doing but I think you can figure it out. I started recording it, I was thinking that I needed a record of it for whatever I decided to do in the future. I just stood there in my kitchen, watching this all unfold on my phone screen. I felt like I could just scream at any moment but for some reason I just froze completely. This went on for several minutes. She finally jumped off of him and made a comment about going to the bedroom and they went upstairs. She even made a comment about how much time they had left. I walked into the living room and found the guy’s pants. I took his wallet out and took pictures of his driver's license. I know his name and his address now. I've never met him. I have no idea how my wife knows him. I left the house the same way I entered. I went back to my car and cried like the pathetic man I am. I decided to watch the video to make sure it recorded. I watched it all. I'll spare the details but I sat in my car for at least half an hour. I couldn't drive to my parents and get the kids as I would have to explain why. I decided that I would pull in the driveway, open the garage, and just pretend like I was there to surprise her. I took my time getting into the house. I made a lot of noise. When I saw her she was very flustered asking me why I was home, etc. She was in a robe and said she was just getting ready for a bath. I told her about my plans and she seemed excited. She poured us both a glass of wine and said we should pregame before getting ready. I don’t think I talked much really. She took me into the living room. I’m not proud of what I let happen. I could faintly see the guy sneaking downstairs and going to the basement stairs but I didn’t say or do anything, I just let my wife continue doing what she was doing to me. Since that day, I have watched the video of her repeatedly. I can’t bring myself to make any decisions on what I should do next. She seems to know something is wrong with me because she’s asked a few times if I’m ok. I feel worthless and every time I hit a low point I watch that video again. I feel like I've watched it at least 10 times a day since I caught them. RELEVANT COMMENTS bigedf There are 2 things you SHOULD NOT do in this situation: Don't look for "revenge" against her and/or the guy, it'll just hurt you more and worst case, put you in jail. Don't let her hurt you like this again, because if you stay with her, she will. OOP I have spent multiple hours looking up this guy. And so considering options from the ultp sub ~ Phragmatron So what happened to his pants and truck? He run out without his pants? What did wife say about the truck in the driveway? Wife kick his pants under the couch? OOP His truck was on the street. I don't know where the clothes went to but I assume she panicked as soon as she heard the garage open. ~ shoogashooga So OP I’m a bit confused here. You were still able to go through with your plan to take her out on a surprise date and were able to look her in the face, eat dinner and act like there’s nothing wrong? OOP Not really. We didn't stay out late and went home early. She asked a few times if something was wrong. I tried getting drunk to get through it but was just too hard Update July 13, 2024 (10 days later) I don't know how to link my old post, sorry. I stopped watching the video after reading all the comments on my first post. It has helped clear my mind and allowed me to focus on next steps. This has allowed me to be mostly back to my normal self for both my kids and my job. I have gone through my wife's phone and found nothing. I searched the guys name from the driver's license. I've figured out how they met. He's a landscaper. She was calling some a few months ago to clean up our yard and ended up getting some mulching and clean up done. I've driven past his house many times. I think he is single as I couldn't find any records of other people living at that address. I've only seen a truck parked in the driveway when I have driven by. I have been avoiding my wife after the kids are in bed to try to limit 1 on 1 time. I don't want any awkward conversations and I also don't want to have sex. I have mostly been successful with this but did slip up one night when I had a little too much to drink. I hated myself for it the next day. I don't believe she has seen him since the day I caught them. I've been paying attention anytime she's gone. I obviously can't track her 100%. I've read about apple air tags but I use android. I'm guessing any app I would put on her phone may be discovered. I have installed a doorbell camera on our house though so I can always see the street. When i did this my wife didnt say anything. We continue to do things as a family as we normally would. I have done my best to not let her know what I know and to continue to be a good dad to my kids. The weird thing I'm dealing with now is that she's planned a night out with a friend for drinks. It's a friend from work so I don't know her at all and I'm not connected with this person on social media. When she told me I made up some excuse about work and said I couldn't watch the kids. She ended up getting our neighbor to agree to babysit. Now I'm debating if I should follow her to really see if she's meeting her friend or the guy. It seems like I'm heading towards a confrontation either way when I just want everything to go back to normal. I'm going to leave my house soon and pretend to be going to work. I'll probably just go to a bar to kill time until I can drive by the place she's supposed to be going to. I'm filled with fucking dread about all of this. Update 2 July 20, 2024 (7 days after 1st update) Update 2: I recorded my wife cheating on me and couldn't stop watching the video I've had so many messages asking how I am doing that I felt I should probably post an update. On the night when she was going out with her friend I still pretended I had work and left the house after the babysitter arrived. I went to a bar and had a few drinks. Then I drove over to the restaurant she said she was going to. I saw her car in the parking lot. I'm not going to lie, I was on edge and incredibly nervous despite the drinks earlier. I was so worried I would walk in and see her with that guy. I was hoping to sneak in and get a look without being seen but that failed miserably. She saw me as soon as I walked in the door. She was with her friend and not the guy. We had the “What are you doing here? Thought you were working” expected conversation. I told her work ended early so I wanted to stop by to say hi since we had a babysitter. I left after a couple drinks and went home to relieve the sitter. So many of you have commented on my last post that I need to confront her and I decided in that moment that I would. I couldn't hold it in any longer. I got the kids to bed and waited for her to come home. I watched the video again to remind myself of what happened. When she got home she was surprised I was still up and apparently could tell from the way I looked that something was wrong. I poured it all out on her. It probably wasn't fair of me, I didn't even let her sit down. I told her everything. I played part of the video to show her what I saw. I called her some harsh names, said she ruined our lives. In that moment i was incredibly angry. She was very upset, heavily crying and shaking. She told me how terrible she felt about everything that happened. I told her she had to tell me everything that happened with that guy and she laid it all out. She cheated on me twice with him. After the time I saw them she cut things off because she knew it was wrong and she loves me. I asked her for proof but she said she had already deleted and blocked him on her phone, Facebook, and Instagram. She did tell me that he is single and knew she was married. She asked me to delete the video but I refused. She asked me why and I really didn't have a reason other than I feel I need to hold onto it for now. She got a little angry at that and asked if I was keeping it to watch again. It was very late at this point so we decided to go to bed and talk more the next day when we had more time to think. She continued to apologize repeatedly for what she did. We slept separately that night. Over the next few days things between us seemed better. I felt some relief that it was all out in the open now. We have continued to talk and it feels like we are on a path of staying together and moving past this. I have made it clear that she is never to see or talk to that guy again. While things feel like they are improving I am still struggling to trust her. Worse yet is that I have a trip coming up for work and I'll be gone for a few days. I've told her that I am not comfortable with leaving right now but I can't skip this trip. My boss made it clear that I'm needed. She said I could put cameras up in the house to keep an eye on her if it would make me feel better. Sadly I may do that. I'll be gone for at least 3 days. Overall things are ok. Kids are oblivious that anything is going on and it seems that slowly my wife and I will eventually get back to normal. I hope so at least. I'm a little ashamed to admit that I have watched the video a few times since all of this. I'm thinking that I should probably delete it so it's gone from my life. I don't know what's wrong with me. RELEVANT COMMENTS Flynn_JM I remember your first post. Did she say how it went from yard work to him in your bed? What was the development? OOP She did. He came to the door to ask to wash his hands in the laundry sink. They struck up a conversation. He came out again to finish up the work and they got to talking again. They already had each other's phone numbers and she said some texts were exchanged and she basically made up work for him to come out a third time. That third time led to her cheating. THIS IS A REPOST SUB - I AM NOT THE OOP DO NOT CONTACT THE OOP's OR COMMENT ON LINKED POSTS, REMEMBER - RULE 7 submitted by /u/Direct-Caterpillar77 to r/BestofRedditorUpdates [link] [comments]

I’m brainstorming and drafting ideas for the front of my home. I’d love to read what you wish you’d known before tackling a front yard landscaping project. I’m also open to general advice if you have anything to share. Info: I’m new to landscaping. This is my first house. I love outdoor projects and I’m willing to put work into it. Zone 6b Clay soil Single story black house I own two nosy dogs submitted by /u/horsenamedmayo to r/landscaping [link] [comments]

I am not The OOP, OOP is u/OddTry3520 AITAH for not letting my neighbors use my yard? Originally posted to r/AITAH Thanks to u/queenlegolas for suggesting this BoRU Original Post March 26, 2024 I (f26) recently bought a house with my husband. Our house is a beachfront house with an amazing yard. The backyard is designed to basically look like a hidden oasis. It has a pool, hot tub, water fountains on the side, and a small slide all surrounded by trees and other plants. The trees give us privacy from both houses next to us but still gives us the view of the beach. The backyard is why we bought the home and we already spend the majority of our time being back there, even when my husband works. The entire backside of the house is mostly glass so it’s also what we see when we are in the house. It is definitely the focal point of our home. ​ Yesterday, we started the construction on a new fence. This fence goes around the backyard with a gate only to the beach, so you either have to go through the house to go through the beach to get to our backyard. We didn’t think anything of it before I got a knock on my door this morning from someone who lives in the condos across the street from us. I have seen her a few times but we never really talked. She introduced herself and then asked about what we were building in our yard. I just told her that we wanted to put up a fence before tourists start coming (this was recommended to us by our realtor). ​ Marie kinda looked shocked and asked if we were putting a gate on the front or anything. I said no and that we already had a landscaper come and look to get more plants put around it. She then asked me if I could put a gate on the front. I didn’t really understand this so I asked her to clarify when she explained that the previous owners would let people from the condo walk through their yard to get to the beach because otherwise they have to walk 5 minutes down the street to get onto the beach where there are a lot of tourists (our street leads to private beach so there isn’t as many people). She said that mostly everyone in the condo started doing this over the past few years, especially people with kids (or even just letting their kids go to the beach alone). She also said that they would let people use their pool if they texted as asked. ​ I immediately told her that no one would be in my yard unless I knew them. She obviously got upset by this and then said that basically everyone in the condos would be upset by this. I told her that I understand why they want to use my yard and that it's just to pass through but I hate the idea of being in my backyard and having random people walk through. She started getting mad at me for it and saying that I am ruining a lot of people’s way of life by blocking off this path. She claimed that a lot of people let their kids during the summer go to the beach through this way and a lot of kids can’t walk to the popular spots (the beach is kinda quiet where we are). I did get annoyed and told her that I don’t really care and that I will not let people into my yard. She tried to bring up the pool but I just told her that I wasn’t going to talk about it anymore. ​ This was yesterday afternoon and I’ve already seen people standing outside the condos and pointing to my house. I even had someone run over to talk to me and ask if I was really “gating off the beach path”. I’ve talked to both my neighbors who agree with me but my friend and sister are both saying I'm in the wrong. So AITA? ​ RELEVANT COMMENTS/ADDITIONAL INFO GroundbreakingTwo201 I'm a bit confused, do these condo owners have access to this private beach? If so it's on their landowner/manager to provide that. If not, then they really have no argument regardless. Either way, easy NTA. Private property is private property, plain and simple. OOP it is not technically a private beach. there just isn't a public entrance unless they walk down the street Vandreeson NTA. If anything happens to these people on your property you are liable. Who cares what happened in the past? The previous owners aren't the owners anymore, you are. Like the saying goes your house your rules. You also don't want people littering or destroying your yard. They have to walk five minutes, oh boo hoo. Your friend and your sister don't own your property. ~ Tame_Iguana1 What exactly did your friend and sister say which would make you in the wrong ? If this ain’t bait…. OOP my sister feels like its a "rich person issue" and that they're not hurting anyone. my friend feels like anyone should have access to the beach and its rude to make parents with kids walk down during the summer Update March 27, 2024 original post here: https://www.reddit.com/r/AITAH/comments/1bohl1e/aitah_for_not_letting_my_neighbors_use_my_yard/ ​ I just wanted to start by thanking everyone for their suggestions! I did want to cover a few things. I do have a fence around my pool area, this is just to protect my yard. Secondly, we have indoor and outdoor cameras all around our house. Some are visible and some are hidden. We do already have a sign up that says that we are recording. The fence will also be finished by tomorrow afternoon, so it shouldn’t be too long for us to have it up. I also called our local police and they said that they did not have a right to use private property to access the beach so everything is clear for me to move forward with. The previous owners had the house for 10 years and only let people use it for the past 3 years so it’s not long enough for any legal action to force me to give up my yard (per our lawyer). ​ I called my realtor this morning and the owners called me after she talked to them and said a lot about the situation. They told me that they only used the house as a vacation home and so they did let people cross during the summer but when they were there, they put up a sign telling people to not use the path. They said that they didn’t let people do it at first but when they weren’t home people did it anyway. They also allowed certain people to use their pool only when they were in it themselves. It was never a free-for-all pool and they even put the cover on it before leaving. The previous owners did also say that it was smart to put up a fence and recommended calling the condo manager. ​ When I did call the condo manager, they asked if we could find a “middle ground” because they know that a lot of residents use my yard and kinda made it sound like they told residents that they could use this path. My neighbor thinks that they used it as a selling point because there were times where they would point towards our house specifically while people were looking at condos. Either way, my husband is having our lawyer send the condo a letter stating that no residents are allowed in our yard for any reason so that we have legal writing with them. ​ So basically people have used our yard in the past, but my husband and I aren't allowing it. I get them using it if we had it as a vacation home, but we are living in it year round so. A lot of my neighbors who live in the houses have messaged me and said that they’re really happy I'm cutting off the path, so I feel like it’s the right move. I have already put up no trespassing and no beach access signs and had permanent ones for the front of our hard and on the fences. I also am putting up a privacy fence in the front and adding trees right in front of it so it's harder for people to jump it. We are also connecting our gate right to our neighbors so that there isn't a spot on the side that they can try and squeeze through. Either way, I am going to cut off the path and I kinda don't care if they hate me for it. Thank you to everyone for your suggestions! ​ THIS IS A REPOST SUB - I AM NOT THE OOP DO NOT CONTACT THE OOP's OR COMMENT ON LINKED POSTS, REMEMBER - RULE 7 submitted by /u/Direct-Caterpillar77 to r/BestofRedditorUpdates [link] [comments]

Hey all. This area in my front yard has been an eye sore for years now and I’m ready to make it look nicer. I’ve never really landscaped before. Does anyone have any low maintenance suggestions to make it look nicer? The big tree in the middle is a Sycamore. Thanks so much in advance. submitted by /u/Fastball48 to r/landscaping [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/uclaustin to r/landscaping [link] [comments]

Background: I recently purchased several acres of wooded property, a good portion of which juts out into a rather large lake. My little peninsula gives me some great lakefront, there’s a smallish strip of “beach,” a dock and a few boat slips. Because of the woods surrounding the lake, I’m the only lot for several miles that has access to the water without going bushwhacking through the trees. Apparently, over the years my neighbors have gotten used to taking their boats down my driveway to launch, or going and spending time on the beach. I bought the place over the holidays and just recently moved in at the beginning of the summer, and before anyone introduced themselves to me I was met with a regular stream of traffic cutting through my lot to the water. At first I thought it was because I purchased the property and didn’t move in the right away, that everyone just assumed the house and land was vacant and could take advantage until that changed. So, I started walking out when I saw people and letting them know that I lived there now, and also making a point to make it obvious the house was lived in. Not much changed so I got blunt and started asking people directly not to trespass on the property. I wish I could say my direct approach solved the problem, but people would still trek right through. I put up a fence, and put up a sign stating “private property” as well as a sign letting folks know that my dogs were on the property. Once I put the fence up I started allowing them (the dogs) to roam the property and didn’t want any trouble. Unfortunately, my neighbors took the fence and the dogs, despite the fact I owned the dogs well before moving to this lot, as an act of aggression. I had a neighbor come to my door and literally yell at me because my dogs barked at her kids when they tried to pull their raft up onto my beach. That same neighbor advised me that my lot has always been the neighborhood entrance to the lake. Apparently, a number of the neighbors built the fire pit and put the tables and rocks and park like features out there. In chatting with a couple of the friends I’ve managed to make in my new neighborhood, they confirmed that what the neighbor said was true, that my property has always been more of a park than a private lot. Anyway, while I feel bad that the convenience of nearby lake access has been cut off, I live by myself and I’m personally not comfortable with anyone and everyone just traipsing through my yard. On one hand, I feel like it’s absolutely my decision to restrict access to my lot but on the other I’m wondering if I’m breaking some sort of unspoken rule of access that was established before I ever got here. Am I the asshole for closing off my property? ETA: I’m not asking for legal advice, I have a lovely attorney and I’m well within my rights to close down access to the property. There is no easement and I own the shoreline. ETA 2: the neighbors took me letting the dogs out on the property as a sign of aggression, they didn’t literally take my dogs. As the dogs are a pair of Malinois, good luck taking them someplace they don’t want to go. ETA 3: The lake has two public parks, complete with boat launches and docks that are open for anyone’s use. The nearest of which is a few miles down the road from my property. If a person were wanting to launch a boat, it would take about 15 minutes longer to do so by going to the public launch versus down my driveway. ETA 4: I’ll post my more comprehensive plan as an update later as a few people have requested, but this last update is going up to give you guys a thank you for all of your comments and a quick insight as to what’s rattling around in my brain after reading them. I still feel like my decision to shut down access through my yard and driveway is the correct way to do things. If there’s a particular reason my lot should be used, I’ll leave it open to one-on-one discussions. There’s an intercom by the front gate now, I’m going to modify it to a video system that I can respond to from my phone, not just from within the house. As for the waterfront, there’s no fence on the water obviously but there are signs alerting folks to the presence of the dogs. I really took to heart the comments about restricting access to the beach area, and I genuinely don’t like the idea of doing that completely, so I’m working out a plan that will allow boaters to pull up and enjoy the waterfront without compromising my privacy, their or my dogs’ safety. I’m sure some type of landscaping could be devised to make it clear where it’s okay to pull up and have lunch and where my expected privacy begins. Thanks again guys, I’m very glad I was pointed in your direction (even though I think the friend who suggested I post here may actually have been kidding… 😂) submitted by /u/newneighborsucks to r/AmItheAsshole [link] [comments]