Mowing Time

OkieFlyer

OkieFlyer

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Lindsay, OK
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Display name:
Andrew L.
For those of you who live in town or neighborhoods, in your opinion, what is an acceptable time to start mowing in the morning? Different on weekdays and weekends? What say you?


For those of you who have met me, you know I'm a pretty dang laid back kind of fella, however, my neighbor lately has been firing up the mower between 6:30 and 7 am, and it hacks me off a bit. Since my kids room is close to the property line, their heads are approximately 5 feet from the mower when it comes by, and they pretty much wake up instantly. Not a huge deal, but it is annoying and inconsiderate in my opinion. I, for one, would not even consider running mower that early in the morning, especially on a weekend, as I believe it is not neighborly.

Am I out of line?
 
not out of line, that is unacceptable.
 
I think check your local ordinances or whatever...

I agree. I don't run it until after 9:30, in case somebody had a late night.
 
08:30,would seem like an appropriate time to start,as most people are up preparing for their day.
 
8am is our local ordinance. Maybe it's the HOA rules, dunno. Very few people start up that early, though, unless they have a good reason.
 
I'm sure I've occasionally violated my own guidelines, but I probably wouldn't start before 10 on Saturday or 11 on Sunday. The professional crews which come through here start at 8 or 8:30 Monday through Saturday.
 
Sat 8 doesn't bother me, but Sun morning at least 11 IMO.
 
8 am is usually the earliest (weekdays and Saturday), and most places have been forced to put in place noise bylaws because of neighbors like yours.
 
I don't cut the grass until about 3PM as that is when most of the yard is in the shade.
 
Have a polite word with him, explaining the location of your kids bedroom. Ask him to please let your kids sleep a little later, and see what he suggests as a starting time.

If that fails, rock out loudly all night long the evening he mows . . . :eek:
 
The only reason I would start my mower that early would be because my neighbor had been out making noise until late at night. Although I can usually find something to make more noise than the mower. My neighbor drunkenly decided that the best time to shoot off his remaining fireworks was between 1 and 3 Friday night so at 7 Saturday morning I walked out back for some target practice with my rifle.

If my neighbor hasn’t ****ed me off I usually wait until at least 9 to do anything loud outside.
 
My guess is he's trying to beat the heat by starting that early. I normally walk the dog around 7 and especially here in the KC area (where it's often 73F and 90% humidity when I wake up) that's the best time to mow. So, assuming I'm right, can't blame him there.

That said, if his property is that close to yours, that tells me you live enough "in town" (what the hell are you doing there? Move out where you can't even see your neighbors) I'd agree that's not a neighborly thing to be doing.

Having a chat with him about the impact it's having I think is worthwhile. That said, lacking an ordinance or the like, there's nothing necessarily to stop him.

Go buy enough acres that you can't see your neighbors. That's what we did. :)
 
Thanks for the replies.

I did ask him politely this morning if he wouldn't mow so early. The kicker is that he's my uncle. He has a tendency to get butt hurt super easy and is not a very considerate man. I don't really care if he's butt hurt or not. It's his own great nephews he's waking up. It's an odd situation. Hopefully it will be a non-issue going forward since I spoke with him, but we'll see. He did cease this morning when I asked, but he also kind of stomped off like a kid without saying anything. Our relationship is somewhat fragile, so I hoped I wasn't out of line to make the request.

Personally, I feel like 8am or so is okay on the weekend. I don't generally start that early, but I wouldn't get upset if anyone else did. We don't have any ordinances or HOAs. I don't want ordinances or HOAs, just for neighbors to be neighborly. It's not hard. Just takes common sense and the desire to give a crap.
 
OkieFlyer said:
Thanks for the replies.

I did ask him politely this morning if he wouldn't mow so early. The kicker is that he's my uncle. He has a tendency to get butt hurt super easy and is not a very considerate man. I don't really care if he's butt hurt or not. It's his own great nephews he's waking up. It's an odd situation. Hopefully it will be a non-issue going forward since I spoke with him, but we'll see. He did cease this morning when I asked, but he also kind of stomped off like a kid without saying anything. Our relationship is somewhat fragile, so I hoped I wasn't out of line to make the request.
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He will be tudy-hurt, he won't "get it", and now "you are a dick".

OkieFlyer said:
Personally, I feel like 8am or so is okay on the weekend. I don't generally start that early, but I wouldn't get upset if anyone else did. We don't have any ordinances or HOAs. I don't want ordinances or HOAs, just for neighbors to be neighborly. It's not hard. Just takes common sense and the desire to give a crap.
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You are again thinking logically and sensibly; not everybody thinks like that.

I sincerely wish you the best of luck, and leave you with one simple thought: "people suck".
 
Ted DuPuis said:
My guess is he's trying to beat the heat by starting that early. I normally walk the dog around 7 and especially here in the KC area (where it's often 73F and 90% humidity when I wake up) that's the best time to mow. So, assuming I'm right, can't blame him there.

That said, if his property is that close to yours, that tells me you live enough "in town" (what the hell are you doing there? Move out where you can't even see your neighbors) I'd agree that's not a neighborly thing to be doing.

Having a chat with him about the impact it's having I think is worthwhile. That said, lacking an ordinance or the like, there's nothing necessarily to stop him.

Go buy enough acres that you can't see your neighbors. That's what we did. :)
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Can't afford the country yet, Ted :(

A decent country home and a few acres is easily 3-4 times the price of a house in town.

I'm working on getting out very soon, though not quite the full blown "can't see the nearest neighbors" kind of place.
 
StevieTimes said:
He will be tudy-hurt, he won't "get it", and now "you are a dick".
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There's some truth to that. My uncle is the type of guy that is nearly impossible to please, and thinks any way but his way is stupid. However, he has other rather good qualities, and he's family, so I still desire to get along despite difficulties at times. He'll get over it. We're moving out soon anyway ;)

Doesn't everybody have an uncle that acts like a kid?
 
Need me to come up and stand behind you and look intimidating?
 
JCranford said:
Need me to come up and stand behind you and look intimidating?
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Not sure it'll work. He's 6' 6" and about 285 lb. Either way, I don't think a little early morning mowing is worth calling the fuzz. :eek:


ktup-flyer said:
Play him a song on that coustic guitar
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Funny you say that. His guitar was the first one I ever strummed. You might say he was instrumental in me playing guitar. Pun intended ;)
 
Weekdays and weekends makes no difference.
7:00 is not too early. It’s what time I start work during the week and I’m up by then on weekends.
Getting yard work done before it heats up is smart.
If the kids need more sleep, they can get it by going to bed earlier.
Postponing my necessary work in case someone had an optional late night makes zero sense.
No matter what time you do it, you risk disturbing the sleep of shift workers.
M-F dayshift folks constantly do things that bother shift workers. They deal with it.
 
SkyDog58 said:
Weekdays and weekends makes no difference.
7:00 is not too early. It’s what time I start work during the week and I’m up by then on weekends.
Getting yard work done before it heats up is smart.
If the kids need more sleep, they can get it by going to bed earlier.
Postponing my necessary work in case someone had an optional late night makes zero sense.
No matter what time you do it, you risk disturbing the sleep of shift workers.
M-F dayshift folks constantly do things that bother shift workers. They deal with it.
Click to expand...

I get up for work at 5am. Does that mean it's reasonable for me to mow at 5am when I'm off?

Why does YOUR schedule dictate what us appropriate?

I can beat the heat by mowing at 9pm. Is that appropriate?

Should i inquire as to my neighbor's sleeping schedule and put my children on it so they are up when he decides it's time to mow? Should i also reqire that they are zonked out in the recliner after supper so they can't sleep past 5am, like their great uncle?

Point is, being neighborly requires that your decisions involve more than just YOUR schedule and YOUR desires.

No offense intended, of course.
 
I don't think your request is out of line, but it's just the reality that some folks are early birds and others aren't, especially younger kids. We usually don't mow until 9a or so on most weekends.
 
I always waited until 8:30 or 9 on weekends and pretty much only mowed late afternoons in weekdays since I work weekdays...
 
OkieFlyer said:
Can't afford the country yet, Ted :(

A decent country home and a few acres is easily 3-4 times the price of a house in town.

I'm working on getting out very soon, though not quite the full blown "can't see the nearest neighbors" kind of place.
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Our house isn't fully one where we can't see the neighbors, but we're far enough away that in the 3 years we've lived here, the only time we've talked to them was once to introduce ourselves and say hi, and once when one of their horses wandered off and ended up on our property. Nice folks and neither of us cause eachother issues.

That's a big jump in price. When we were looking out here, it seemed like the house we bought was around 40-50% more for the land than a comparable subdivision house. 3-4x would be more than I imagine we would've been willing to spend.

My guess is you probably won't get much of anywhere. Maybe you will, but it seems like your uncle doesn't see anything wrong with what he's doing, in which case he probably won't change.
 
When I was working midnight shift with Tuesday and Wednesday as my days off, I was sleeping when the rest of the folks in the neighborhood were doing their thing and often making noise. I never once asked them to rework their schedule to adapt to me. I just dealt with it the best I could. After all, it wasn’t an everyday affair and my schedule wasn’t the norm just like sleeping past 7:00 isn’t the norm for most people.

Now I’m working days. I worked last Thursday July 5. Though I start work at 7:00am, I get up at 5:30. I normally go to bed around 10:00pm. The neighbors were shooting fireworks off until 11:00pm July 4. Did I raise a fuss? Nope.

You see, I don’t make it about me or my schedule.
 
I use the when to call rule. Would I call someone at 7am or after 9pm? Nope. I 9am to 9pm is acceptable.
 
OkieFlyer said:
Thanks for the replies.

I did ask him politely this morning if he wouldn't mow so early. The kicker is that he's my uncle. He has a tendency to get butt hurt super easy and is not a very considerate man. I don't really care if he's butt hurt or not. It's his own great nephews he's waking up. It's an odd situation. Hopefully it will be a non-issue going forward since I spoke with him, but we'll see. He did cease this morning when I asked, but he also kind of stomped off like a kid without saying anything. Our relationship is somewhat fragile, so I hoped I wasn't out of line to make the request.

Personally, I feel like 8am or so is okay on the weekend. I don't generally start that early, but I wouldn't get upset if anyone else did. We don't have any ordinances or HOAs. I don't want ordinances or HOAs, just for neighbors to be neighborly. It's not hard. Just takes common sense and the desire to give a crap.
Click to expand...
Ha, ha! This is sooo funny! I'm the "Uncle" across from my inconsiderate nephew. He's running a professional "property enhancement business" (lawn service) out of his grandmother's house. This is a 40 y/o man with a business partner and several employees, plus trucks, a dumping trailer, a big bright red covered equipment trailer, a Bob Cat, and umpteen zero-turn mowers, blowers, trimmers and such. Every morning at the crack of dawn he uses the driveway as a staging area, running mowers into the trailers and jockeying equipment around. Through the day, they come and go to use the bathroom. After dark, they return. Did I mention they use my driveway to back up the trailers and trucks? I finally put a stop to that after I power washed and sealed the concrete. This has been going on for three years and the neighbors are fed up. I can't say anything officially to zoning because "he's family", but they know I'm not happy about it. Why they won't enforce the home occupation rules is beyond me.
 
Years ago my parents had a neighbor that would cut the grass at 1am. Not really the coolest part of the night.

My dad gave him a (used) electric lawn mower. Noise problem solved.

When I raced I lived in a fairly nice neighborhood on a Cul-de-sac. At times I would get home from a race with the race car on the trailer, usually late Sunday nights. I never ran the engine (big V8s in real cars, not go kart engines in a toy chassis) at home. But anytime anyone made any type of unusual noise, my phone would ring.
 
dtuuri said:
Ha, ha! This is sooo funny! I'm the "Uncle" across from my inconsiderate nephew. He's running a professional "property enhancement business" (lawn service) out of his grandmother's house. This is a 40 y/o man with a business partner and several employees, plus trucks, a dumping trailer, a big bright red covered equipment trailer, a Bob Cat, and umpteen zero-turn mowers, blowers, trimmers and such. Every morning at the crack of dawn he uses the driveway as a staging area, running mowers into the trailers and jockeying equipment around. Through the day, they come and go to use the bathroom. After dark, they return. Did I mention they use my driveway to back up the trailers and trucks? I finally put a stop to that after I power washed and sealed the concrete. This has been going on for three years and the neighbors are fed up. I can't say anything officially to zoning because "he's family", but they know I'm not happy about it. Why they won't enforce the home occupation rules is beyond me.
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Yeah, that's a little much. Running a business in a residential area can get a little touchy in a lot of ways. Even someone with a home day-care can cause traffic problems during morning and evening "rush" hours.

I used to have a neighbor - every Saturday and Sunday at 8am sharp, out would come the HD onto the driveway. And it can't be a Harley Davidson unless the muffler is punched out. He'd get it all revved up and warmed up for the weekend rides. Since he got one his wife had to have one too, so they'd have both of them out, rattling windows all up and down the street. But it was 8am, so they met the letter of the law, or HOA, or whatever. Not too many people miss those days.
 
So any thoughts on how early is too early to start up an airplane, do a run up, and takeoff? Does it make a difference if it’s in a residential airpark?
 
We usually cut our grass in the late afternoon - after work. This is usually in the timeframe between 5 and 7 pm. Every once in a while I am out mowing during lunch break but that’s rare.

Our neighbors are reasonable BUT if anyone would start earlier than 8:00 am I would be miffed... Ok, once would be ok because you never know what the plans are for that day / weekend. I would not be amused if it would be on a regular basis - I need my beauty sleep... :D:):D
 
SkyDog58 said:
So any thoughts on how early is too early to start up an airplane, do a run up, and takeoff? Does it make a difference if it’s in a residential airpark?
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I think airports (usually? sometimes? no idea) publish noise-abatement procedures that address this. I seem to recall Flying Cloud in MN had some early morning "no run-ups at this corner of the airport" type of rules. I could be mis-remembering. Let me google. This will seem like zero time happened to you, the viewer.

BOOM!
https://www.macnoise.com/pilots/flying-cloud-airport-fcm-pilots
and
https://www.macnoise.com/pdf/fcm_na-plan-2017.pdf

I think I was wrong about where the run-ups could be done, it refers to "no maintenance run-ups" at certain times.
 
SkyDog58 said:
When I was working midnight shift with Tuesday and Wednesday as my days off, I was sleeping when the rest of the folks in the neighborhood were doing their thing and often making noise. I never once asked them to rework their schedule to adapt to me. I just dealt with it the best I could. After all, it wasn’t an everyday affair and my schedule wasn’t the norm just like sleeping past 7:00 isn’t the norm for most people.

Now I’m working days. I worked last Thursday July 5. Though I start work at 7:00am, I get up at 5:30. I normally go to bed around 10:00pm. The neighbors were shooting fireworks off until 11:00pm July 4. Did I raise a fuss? Nope.

You see, I don’t make it about me or my schedule.
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Yeah, I'm with ya, Skydog. My shift schedule is not normal, and thus I don't expect anyone to change anything to suit me. Just like you.

I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree about "most" people being up at 7am on a weekend. Anyway, my neighbor's last two mowings began at 6:30am and 6:45 respectively, so no need to argue about 7am. Not cool, anyway you slice it, especially when you know full well that your niece is trying her level best to take care of your 3 tiny great nephews every day and the last thing she and the kids need is to be awakened by a crying two year old because their inconsiderate uncle doesn't want to wait an hour to spend the 30 minutes it takes to mow the lawn in 3 degree warmer weather. You'd think that would factor in somewhere. Oh well.
 
It’s cool. While I wouldn’t necessarily change my schedule for the average person, I most likely would for family or a good friend. But as I’ve never asked anyone to adapt to me, I’d find it odd if someone asked me to adapt to them.
 
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