At what point do we punish a group of people for the actions of a few, because cranky, middle aged men have been ruining this subreddit for months, and I'm ready to have y'all fined for abusing the privileged.

The lights are activated 100-300 feet before stopping. If OP didn't have the reaction time to stop, they were going way too fast and will incriminate themselves with this argument.

Get fucked :)

Dr. Parrish at Hickory Ridge Animal Hospital is the best vet I've ever been to. I have 3 elderly pets with chronic illnesses, so I am a frequent flier at her practice. She explains things very well, and lays out treatment options and her professional opinions in a way that is accessible and without undue pressure. When referring out to specialists, she always recommends great doctors and goes to bat to make sure the referrals are processed in a timely manner. She genuinely cares about her patients, and is overall a stellar human being.

While I would say HRAH is very responsive, they are not an emergency vet office. They do triage patients in regards to urgency, but if you need care ASAP, I recommend the Pet ER on Old Columbia Rd. As far as ER vets go, they are reasonably priced, compassionate, and knowledgeable.

I did not know that!

Any ideas for increasing awareness of this issue beyond Reddit and just word of mouth?

JFC the whole Symphony of Lights thing is such a weird hill to die on.

Dok Khao Thai has a lot of vegetarian and vegan options. The setting is beautiful too, and they have amazing desserts and cocktails.

Honestly, it's validating to know we aren't alone in our struggles.

And that high pitched sound you're hearing is a deer deterrent device. It's so fucking obnoxious.

One piece of optimism that I try to keep in mind is that younger generations moving to this neighborhood seem to be much more sensitive to causing indiscriminate nuisances and preserving the naturalistic setting.

While I see where you're going with this, that would be a truly unpleasant experience for all involved lol. Actually, maybe it would turn people off to gas powered leaf blowers altogether?

My elderly neighbors hire out, and they all hire the same crew consisting of two guys in their 60s. Today, they have been working on the same yard for at least 3 hours, though the last hour has been spent putting the leaves through a chipper. This is the second pass they've done on that one house alone this week.

There is this other guy who does it himself for hours at a time that I think might have OCD or Aspereger's. He maintains a very tidy property and otherwise seems very independent and competent, so I'm not super concerned that he needs adult services or something.

They don't cite for excessive leaves around here. Again, we live in the woods. Over half of the properties don't even have true lawns because of the full shade and large amount of leaves. These neighbors are actually the exception to the norm because most folks here take a much more conservative or efficient approach to managing the leaves.

I moved in last year and have gotten standoffish vibes from the neighbors in question. They are all in their 80s (original homeowners from '71!) and in poor health, so I've been reluctant to rock the boat. But at the end of the day, that's probably the only thing I can do.

I'm not exaggerating. PM me and I will gladly give you a location that will allow you to experience the same conditions I deal with every single day.

If you read my post, I was asking about UPCOMING regulations. I am aware the current ones don't cover this problem. Sound proofing my 50 year old house with giant windows, or spending thousands of dollars to move away, are not realistic options for me right now.

Kinda confused why people are reacting so poorly to this idea. As Columbia residents, we literally sign contracts relinquishing all sorts of rights to how we maintain our properties. But the idea of restricting in someway the use of insanely loud and highly polluting machines is a step too far, it seems.

Bro... we've got a guy just like this. He's super friendly, and clearly sees the condition of his yard as a sort of public service. He has some beautiful plantings, so I appreciate his hard work. But he blows leaves ALL DAY. Dual wielding at times. Pretty sure he's done it in the rain.

That's what we do. The neighbors in question are really not into letting nature do its thing. We are in the woods, so there isn't much sun. They seem desperate to have green yards despite this, and are constantly blasting them with fertilizers and pesticides. And after all that, their yards really don't look that great anyway.

At my last house, we turned a shaded yard that was mostly dirt into a really beautiful mixed lawn through a combination of mulching leaves and sowing clover. I respect my neighbors' differing opinions on what makes an "ideal" lawn, but it would save them so much time and money if they would take a more conservative approach!

All of my neighbors use the same team of two elderly men who ride around on giant mowers while holding the leaf blowers. They're definitely not the fastest crew you've ever seen. Usually it takes them about an hour and half per yard. So, I have three neighbors who all hire these two same guys every 2-3 days. Then there is this other guy who is nice, but I genuinely think might be mentally ill, because he's out there blowing EVERY DAY for hours on end.

Like I said, I'm not the type to get worked up about this kind of thing. But they're so inefficient, and it's gone on so long, it's starting to really bum me out.

And to answer your question, we do get a TON of leaves ourselves. But we mulch them using a battery powered mower, which is supposed to be good for the soil.

Not a novel concept. In DC you cannot sell or use gas powered leaf blowers because of the noise and air pollution. Electric are fine. There are also other counties in MD looking to impose similar regulations.

I've never experienced anything like what's going on in my neighborhood. It literally goes on for hours a day, multiple days a week. And now looking outside, their yards are once again full of leaves because we (checks notes) live in the woods.

It's spots like that that make me wonder if the civil engineers who designed it have ever driven in the region. Did they really think people would take turns?

Hahaha, good point.

I think about that a lot. Also, I try to imagine if something I consider beautiful because of its age, like the Victorian row houses in Charles Village, was ever considered an unfortunate new development similar to how some people see luxury apartments today. I also try to picture what things will be admired in the future. Are people going to be psyched about an early 21st century McMansion in 50 years?