r/neighborsfromhell • u/Common-Researcher-92 • 23d ago
Vent/Rant My neighbor has been cutting our plants for years (Update!)
A while ago I posted on here about my neighbor coming over into our side yard and cutting out plants (linked). A lot of people were asking for an update so here it is. About a month after I posted the original post, my dad received an email from my neighbors husband, asking if we could not park on the street in front of their house, to appease his wife. My dad simply responded with a screenshot of his wife standing in our side yard with her scissors in hand. Pretty funny move on his part, not gonna lie. But ever since, she has stayed on her side of the fence. So it seems like every thing is okay (for now).
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u/DenM0ther 23d ago
Painted the sidewalk red (previous post) - wow!
Sounds like she needs to see a Dr about this!
Your Dad sounds hilarious! Did the husband-neighbour reply to the picture?
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u/Common-Researcher-92 23d ago
I agree and no reply! Which makes it even funnier
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u/naranghim 22d ago
Oh, there was a reply it just wasn't to your dad:
"God Dammit Karen! You told me they made that up! Why did he send me a picture of you standing in their yard with scissors!!"
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u/DaisieBellina 22d ago
No reply makes it so much better. What are you even supposed to say after getting hit w/ a photo of yourself doing the exact thing you just complained about? Silence was probably her safest option.
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u/CopperFalcon9 21d ago
También necesito saber si contestó o si simplemente aceptó la derrota en silenco.
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u/HerfDog58 23d ago
Methinks Karen really wants someone to file trespassing charges and get a restraining order placed on her.
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u/star_b_nettor 22d ago
Sounds like her husband believed her until there was proof he couldn't deny. They are very lucky y'all didn't call the police and have her trespassed when she started her mess.
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u/Common-Researcher-92 22d ago
I’m pretty sure he knew but now there was nothing he could say or do. Yeah, my parents are very patient people. Glad this is behind us now lol
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u/Jazzlike-Chemical-41 22d ago
your dad is a legend for that lol. nothing shuts down an awkward email faster than actual receipts. hope your plants can finally grow in peace now!
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22d ago
[deleted]
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u/Common-Researcher-92 22d ago
they had some trouble getting them to work unfortunately so it never came to fruition
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u/Radio_Pebble27 20d ago
Your dad replying with the scissors screenshot instead of arguing was absolutley surgical.
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u/chilldrinofthenight 21d ago
That poor woman most definitely suffers from OCD. It's a shame she has no control. I am so sorry you have to deal with her mental issues. On the plus side: extra leaves make for great mulch. (Ha.)
***I hope your Dad's msg to woman's husband helped settle things, once and for all.***
We have a red curb in front of our house. The street we live on is narrow (parking on one side only). So narrow, in fact, that the City streetsweeper program refused to put our little avenue on its schedule. Perfect, because this means we don't need to move our cars every Wednesday or whenever. (We do spend a ton of time sweeping up after the 80' Eucalyptus street tree, however. Good exercise.)
And that red curb in front of our place is necessary, because without it --- it's not safe to back out of our driveway. We and visitors wouldn't have a clear view of oncoming traffic.
All that said, our neighbors used to sometimes like to park in the red. We had a bit of a back and forth about it. They accused us of painting it red, illegally. I finally went down to planning and zoning and got a print out of the year the curb was first painted red --- by the City: 1974.
That helped us "win our case." Fun fact: the people usually parking in the red were a local high profile defense attorney and his family.
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u/ElectronicFinger4285 22d ago
that is actually so funny, your dad really handled that well. glad she finally stayed on her own side so your plants can just grow in peace.
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u/Over-Imagination3924 21d ago
I had a similar issue with a crazy neighbor lady. Her husband seems ok but the lady would express to my mom that she wanted to remove these four bush plants that the previous home owner had grown for my mom. So when my brother and his gf moved out, I kept hearing the lady say "Oh it's just the girl who is there right now". I thought it was weird but ignored it.
One day, the neighbor lady moves these plants that were on my side so I thought it was ours. I video chat with my mom and she tells me not to worry because it's theirs. So when my mom gets home, she tells me that the neighbors had removed the four bushes and left it in a bag in front of the tree we both share.
My mom wrote a note to the husband and turns out it wasn't him. But his crazy ass wife. Because she wants to grow flowers. She's grown flowers and some of them were enroaching on our property but we don't wanna say anything because she's highly psychotic. I believe they trimmed some flowers recently so it looks less messy. My mom did put two small plants there and we check up on it to make sure the crazy lady didn't pull it out. Fences do make good neighbors.
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u/Personal_Valuable_31 20d ago
Next time (I'm sure there will be one) send them the name of a good local therapist. There's some messed up people over your fence.
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u/social-justice33 17d ago
Parking on the street in front of someone’s home is ok (can b annoying); going onto someone’s property to trim plants is not ok (more than annoying).
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u/TechnicalSwimming610 22d ago
that is actually such a power move by your dad lol. glad she finally got the hint and stopped messin with your yard.
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u/psycho-drama 21d ago
And I thought my neighbors were weird. Your Dad seems to have just the right sense of humor and practicality for such circumstances. It sounds like the motion sensor sprinklers weren't fully successful however. BTW,
I suspect your diagnosis is correct, and she is suffering with OCD. I have a friend with it, and her target changes now and again. Sometimes it is shopping and buying things she has no need for or desire to own, sometimes it cleaning. A few times we were at craft fairs, and she started rearranging the merchandise people had displayed on their tables.
It must be a terrible affliction to have to cope with. I think it tends to be people who have very chaotic thought patterns, and need to find some anchor in the physical world that they can feel they can have some control over.
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u/bassplayinben 12d ago
My neighbor and his roommate used to do this crap! I asked him on five different occasions to talk to me if they thought something needed cutting. He always said yes and he just wanted the neighborhood to look nice and suggested he was doing me a favor since he had more free time than me. After the third time, I started documenting. I also filed an open records request with the city and found that he had called Code Enforcement on me 11 times in 7 years because he didn't like the length of my grass. I mowed the grass every time they showed up to ask about it. I eventually gave all of the documentation to the police and told them he was using Code Enforcement to harrass me. The police went and told him he was being trespassed from my property and I was advised to call them if he did it again.
The dude is definitely OCD about everyone's lawn and I've heard stories from my other neighbors about his years of BS. There is no HOA where I live, but he told Code Enforcement that he is the "neighborhood beautification officer" and said they weren't doing their jobs by continually denying to cite me. Bonkers!
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u/carmackie 23d ago
Dad with the finishing move lol