be a good neighbor.

I have been focusing on my neighborly relationships by doing some yardwork the past few weeks. Seems any time you are out working in the yard, it provides opportunity to chat with a neighbor, and many smile and wave as they go by. Keeping good care of your yard and property is neighborly, makes people happy, and inspires others to do the same. I need to keep this in mind to stay motivated on maintaining the place! Today I filled 2 large yardwaste containers after trimming back a lot of shrubs, mowing the lawn, weeding, and edging!

said “hi” to our neighbor across the street. She tried to converse but her dogs were overly vocal so we mutually agreed we’d talk later.

I did however rake the leaves today, so maybe keeping my yard nice is part of being a good neighbor. I subscribe to the “Broken Windows” theory of crime….that is the more unkempt your yard/neighborhood, the more it invites crime.

This hit home today, as I was reading my newspaper and saw that my previous residence, which had never known crime in or around the home, had at least two episodes in the last 2 weeks of car theft and vandalism, directly involving my former tiny street of about 10 homes. Maybe I timed the move right??