I am so happy that I grew up and live in a rural area. My neighbors don't complain about my loud car, the shooting I do or when I burn tree limbs and we help each other out when needed. Hopefully I'll never get the "get off my lawn" neighbor.

I burn rubber at night. I took my regular trek last night...about 6 miles. I go through a lot of New Balances. Having to mix walking and running right now. The street where I do most of my running, there were no wood fires going. Have to admit, for me, it makes for a more pleasant outing.

I tried to put this thread out of my head. I stirred up a hornets nest on this one!

Your are right. There is a big difference between a rural life and living in the suburbs. Growing up I heard "don't cut through my yard", "have you guys been picking my pears", "don't ride your bicycle down my driveway", etc. That is the only life I have ever known. And I don't intend my statement to be an excuse for my opinion.

I like where I live. Been here for 23 years. I have lost a number of my neighbors. Most of them having passed away. They are being replaced by younger couples...drawn here because of the school system. There is definitely a generation gap between us. And that is a factor also.

I live in a rural area and still have to put up with idiots.What you see is a pile of old plastic pools,old plastic lawn chairs ,some roofing shingles a few tires and god knows what else,one hundred yards across the road.The township I live in has codes to cover this and a host of other violations.That pile of garbage will be burned by weekend,probably Sat evening. We don't have a code enforcement office any more,said was not cost efficient,hell if they would enforce and collect the fines that are designated ,they could pay a decent salary and still make money.

You want to see smoke,stop by !!

Hey man, I'm sorry an honest question got turned into a political affair. Tis the season I suppose.

Anyway, you said this neighbor is new. Have any interactions with him before? I moved into a house in a sub and within a week I had the city called on me without warning. Neighbor to the left of us, someone whom we had never even talked to took issue with the way we positioned the new downspouts. This neighbor was in the right, and I would have happily moved them once it was brought to m attention. Instead I got a visit by code enforcement. Soured our relations for some time after that. She was an older lady and I encountered her that winter trying to shovel her way out of the driveway after the plow came through. I'm not that big of a vindictive dick, so I walked over with my blower and cleared it for her. Things improved after that.

I guess I'm saying stake your concern, but do so in a non-confrontational way. This could have a huge impact on how relations go from here on out. Only escalate legally with code enforcement if you absolutely have to. Your concerns to a reasonable, empathetic human being are valid.

Something I never thought about. How do people living in a rural area dispose of their garbage? Is there a facility that you can drive to that will accept it? When I moved into this neighborhood, we were unincorporated, so I had to pay for pickup. When we got annexed into the city bordering us, the city started paying for the service. But my property tax more than doubled.

By the way, I spent 13 years on and off, working on a project in the Lehigh Valley. Beautiful country. When I wasn't working, I used to cruise the countryside. Loved those stone farmhouses and matching barns. I used to fly into ABE every week when work ramped up. Still mad at myself that I never made it to the Martin Guitar factory. Good thing I didn't have a home there. I would have never got anything done....would have spent to much time going to car shows and cruise-ins.

David

Mark, I agree with you 100%. Looking back, I should have toned down my original post. This issue deals with individual rights and personal freedom. So it became political. In a nutshell, this is my philosphy on the matter: Yes, a family should be able to enjoy their backyard as they wish. On the flip side, I don't own the air in my yard or my neighbors yard. Nor do I own the air in my neighborhood. So I have no right to control it or alter it or pollute it. We all have to share the same air. I believe that everyone is entitled to clean fresh air.

I have only had a couple of conversations with the couple next door. Both were very cordial and friendly. They moved in about six months ago. I am not going to go knock on the door and complain. I am going to try to catch up with them when they are outside and have nice conversation with them. If the moment feels right, I will bring up the smoke from their fire pit. If not I will wait for another time to discuss it.

I wish people would switch to natural gas for their fire pits. It would be so much more healthy for all.

David

I live in the middle of nowhere. It's 12 miles into the woods off the 2 lane road. We have garbage pickup and mail delivery. Garbage pickup is once a week, up to six bags for $46 per quarter. But it has to be in a bag. They bring a smaller shuttle truck back here as a regular garbage truck can't get back here.
We have been cleaning up 3 old burn sites at the rear of the property, what a mess. Broken glass, bed springs, nails, you name it. The place has been here for over 100 years, no one knows for sure how old it really is so I'm sure that was the only way to get rid of trash for a very long time. There are two scrap piles as well back there, they are next to get cleaned up. Thankfully there aren't any dead vehicles on the property that I know of yet, but haven't seen all of it either.

i will add to the garbage topic.

where i live is semi rural. i didn't have garbage pickup so i just took my garbage and tossed it into the dumpster at work. i wasn't the only one doing this.

Here is my new burn pit, increased it's size this spring. I cut down a few trees a year, and clean up dead fallen trees, and burn them. I keep asking people if they want free fire wood. But nobody comes for it. I guess they want me to deliver it and stack it for them. This picture faces my closest neighbor, who burns garbage 3 to 5 days a week.

Burn pit facing back of my property.

I started camping when I was 5 (now 64) so I was raised on campfire smoke and love it. My Dad and 8-10 other families would pitch in and buy loads of firewood or go out on cutting days. This weekend at the race track we will have a fire Friday and Saturday night with friends after racing. Nothing as relaxing as a beautiful evening around a fire with friends.

Usually when I start the fire pit going the neighbor asks what they can bring and we end up having a nice meal and good conversation. Did it a lot during quarantine times in fact. Now through this summer we didn't get together much as I have been working every night on a home remodel. Once it is done I'm sure we'll be back to almost nightly fires to cook on or stand around. BTW I do live in the country and have 40 acres to do what I want on.

I enjoy sitting around a fire, it's relaxing, add a few friends, some hot dogs and a cold beverage and it becomes a big time. I grew up using wood for heat and used it myself until I was 36, nothing feels better after being out in the cold than backing up to a good hot wood stove.

We have trash pick up available but the dumpster location is just a couple miles from me so when my can gets full, usually 6 bags, I take it there. It cost me $3 about every three weeks. I do burn all my cardboard and paper trash.

Interesting stereo equipment. Is it ever audible past your property lines?

No sir. Would not be fair to my neighbors. Plus, I'm worried about damaging my hearing too!

OK guys, this city boy got a "beat down" on this thread. I am definitely in the minority on this one. So far it is about 52 to 1. I am officially raising the white flag and retreating to the Restoration and A12 forum.

I don't think there is anything wrong with your post. Smoke can be a really big hassle or downright dangerous depending on how much there is. Where you live sounds like smoke is going to be an issue. 1/2 acre lots are a little too small for everyone to have a fire pit. Most of my neighbors are on 5 acre lots so we have 10x the space. Even on 5 acres I can smell the neighbors burn piles or fire pits. Since they are 100 yards away I typically only get a whiff now and then which isn't a problem. If the smoke was blowing towards me all the time while I was trying to enjoy a drink on the patio then I'd go say something about it.

If you were in the city then fire pits would not be allowed. If you were further in the country then nobody would care. Sounds like you're right in between so it will most likely be an issue that doesn't go away.

I wish I had some of the problems you guys complain about. Life would be great.

My biggest problem is trying to keep the shopping cart from rolling away while I unload the groceries in to the truck.