Posted on 11/13/2004 9:23:44 AM PST by Rakkasan1
A year ago, Stephen Rueff was sitting in his south Minneapolis back yard, reading a book and savoring one of those last, lovely autumn days.
"Ah yes," Rueff was saying to himself. "This is why we live in Minnesota."
But suddenly, serenity was blown away. One neighbor had fired up a leaf blower. Then, another. Noise, ear-piercing, peace-robbing noise, was all around him.
Sad, disgusted and perplexed, Rueff retreated inside his home.
"I asked myself, 'Why is it that people are in love with loud machines?' " he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
I have to listen to leaf blowers all weekend (there is one going now). I would be for limiting the allowable dBs for all lawn equipment. It would also help if we could burn leaves, too. I envy all you country dwellers.
And it should apply to Harley-Davidson's products, dimwit kids with a thousand dbA stereo in the car which rattles the windows as it goes down the highway, etc.---
American Communist idiots in MN on parade...
You mean, of course, the Godless Commie ba$tard$ manning the leaf blowers, right?!
There is also the independence that these machines give to older people. My 75 year old neighbor is able to do all of his own yardwork because he owns some of these machines. If he didn't, he'd have to have his son do it or he'd have to hire someone.
LOL!
People....
No, I mean the pathetic bastards that harp about lawnmowers and leaf blowers, initiating bans, etc.
A ban on "Mexican bagpipes", huh?
Instead, we put the burden of all the additional noise and pollution on our elderly neighbors!
What kind of Conservative would do that?
I really can't figure out what you are saying. Is it bad for someone to get out and do some work? My next door neighbor born in 1919 does it and it keeps him going.
We still burn our leaves here and all the driftwood that washes up at least four times every summer. The kids make huge piles of it and we through diesel fuel on it and let it roar. The lakeshore is all shale so there's no danger of torching the boat dock or any buildings.
The bonus part is if one can be patient about wind direction. Then, we get to smoke out and blow ash all over our obnoxious neighbor's yard, deck and boat. He cuts his grass at seven am on Sunday and let's his dog bark round the clock.
In my opinion leaf blowers DON'T advance the cause of work. They just move leaves around. Use a mower with a mulching blade. It'll knock down the greater mass of the leaves. The worms in your lawn will then eat the leaves ~ provided, of course, that you haven't killed all the worms off with insecticides!
We have people in this neighborhood who provide escort service for heads of state for various foreign countries. They have machineguns. Only guy around here with a leafblower is this Afghan ~ fortunately he only uses it for a few minutes.
This business of overuse of gasoline powered engines to do meaningless activities (blowing leaves around) plays into the hands of the international terrorists. We should save all that petroleum for the purpose of manufacturing MOAB grade weapons.
It's a bit hard for my brother and I to take turns mowing our folks grass since they live in California and we are in Texas and Oklahoma.
Time for Grandpa and Grandma to take a trip, eh?
What are you implying?
Leafblowers are generally useless, IMO. Two weekends ago, I finally got around to raking the last of the leaves on my front yard. My next door neighbor, who has the same huge silver maple in his yard that I do in mine came to the same decision about the same time.
I used a rake. He used a leaf blower. I finished WAY ahead of him, had all the leaves bagged and loaded into my truck, while he was still blowing the darned things around, trying to make piles.
Since I was finished, I went over and helped him, using my rake to actually assemble decent piles that could be bagged easily.
He was more tired than I was. Swinging a leaf blower around is harder on your back and shoulders than dragging a rake across a yard.
Now, that said, I own a big-ass snowblower. It's noisy, but it'll clear a driveway in no time. In Minnesota, that's almost an essential tool, seems to me, at least from my perspective as a 59-year-old new arrival to this frosty state. My neighbor does not own a snowblower. We have a deal. We share a driveway. I'm going to clear his side of the driveway, as well as mine. In exchange, I have free use of his ice-house for fishing anytime I want...all winter.
The neighbor on the other side of my house is 89 years old. I'm going to clear her driveway, too, along with the sidewalks at her house. The exchange? She's a nice lady, and doesn't have any relatives here. No exchange.
BWAAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!
LOL I knew you would see it my way!
Living out in the country I'd b hard pressed to complain about noise, considering all the farming that goes on around me!!!!
My new 20something neighbors informed me of a party they were having Halloween weekend and to please let them know if they were too oud or bothering us and they would tone it down. I saw one of the 2 days after the party and commented that if that was all the noise they were going to generate, I wouldn't' mind them having parties every weekend..........and they had a live band out back!!!
They are 2 brothers who have obviously been brought up correctly.
will be back a little later - hubby has to cut pwer to the kitchen and we're not sure if my computer is on the same breaker - so to be safe I need to shut down - talk to you in a bit!!
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