Are bright lights with animated characters synchronized to music your thing? Or do you prefer wreaths and bows and a few twinkling lights?
![What Do Neighbors Actually Think Of Your Holiday Display? [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/790386/20231201/114642/styles/patch_image/public/patch-ed-arlington-holiday-lights-ma-fisher-1___01114438244.jpg)
There’s always that one neighbor who wouldn’t know a snow shovel if hit over the head with it — not that we’re advising that for shirkers.
![Slackers Who Won’t Shovel Their Snow Test Neighborliness [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20231122/012142/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-243809152___22131859232.jpg)
Readers defending gas-powered leaf blowers huffed and puffed — “Move to another country!” one implored — as others stood up for pollinators.
![The Great Debate Over Leaf Blowers [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20231110/113043/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-339354644___10111738086.jpg)
Whatever the age of the trick-or-treater, Halloween is a time for spirited fun in neighborhoods across the country.
![Too Old To Trick Or Treat? Not Unless You’re Dead, LOL. [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20231027/092901/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-70173520-1___27092146857.jpg)
Is it OK for kids to trick or treat when they’re 17 or 18? What about 15 or 16? Or is this a Halloween ritual for the under-9 crowd?
![How Old Is Too Old To Trick Or Treat? [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20231019/114136/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-1183817920___19233333170.jpg)
Lighten up and enjoy your neighbors’ creativity, many readers said. Others said blood and guts may be too much for young trick-or-treaters.
![Halloween Is For Fun; Haters Should Hide In Their Homes [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20231012/065712/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-2225305373-1___12184955381.jpg)
“Living in a community means letting other people live their lives while you live your own,” said a reader who thinks that’s lost on some.
![Noisy Dogs And Roosters Aren’t The Problem; People Are [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20230928/045102/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-2032148207___28164332916.jpg)
The bottom line on neighborhood smoking etiquette, one reader said: “Personal freedoms end when they negatively impact others’ well-being.”
![Secondhand Weed Smoke: Chill Out, But Be Courteous, Too [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20230908/011106/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-525897103___08125642871.jpg)
Readers spoke clearly. Persistent door-to-door solicitors are rude, they said; why should they put on manners when shooing the pests away?
![Solicitors: What Do You Do When Politeness Doesn’t Work? [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20230824/115345/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-1745140238___24114628546.jpg)
Readers raise a stink about dog walkers who let their pets “squat and go,” leaving their neighbors to clean up the mess left behind.
![When Dog Walkers Don’t Bag Poop, What Should You Do? [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20230811/115022/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-724874689___11112527388.jpg)
Many readers get over it if dog owners drop the doo in their empty trash cans; another wants to know “who is sniffing trash cans, anyway?”
![Is It OK To Put Dog Poop In A Neighbor's Trash Bin? [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20230727/121933/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-1538617463___27121545214.jpg)
If you’re still in bed at 8, are you the problem? Do climate and gig jobs change weekend power tool rules? Is dawn to midnight OK with you?
![How Early Is Too Early To Use Power Tools On The Weekend? [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20230714/105014/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-160848248___14104421211.jpg)
When neighbors don’t mind their own business but are harmless, chill; some readers described situations that escalated far beyond nosiness.
![Nosy Neighbors: Should You Be Kind Or Call The Cops? [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20230630/122642/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-34548568___30115102011.jpg)
Many readers are down with their neighbors’ DIY 4th of July fireworks shows, but there are exceptions — ones they say should be respected.
![The Bottom Line On 4th Of July Fireworks Is Respect [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/getty/790386/20230616/092914/styles/patch_image/public/gettyimages-155032275___16092340797.jpg)
Good neighbors don’t get up in other people’s business but will clean up the blood if you cut yourself and have to go to the hospital.
![Good Neighbors Send Wine And Own It If They Break Stuff [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/getty/790386/20230601/013405/styles/patch_image/public/gettyimages-1221676427___01132823551.jpg)
Loud music, trashy yards and gawking neighbors are annoying, but what do you do when a dog lifts its leg and mock pees on your inside pup?
![The Definitive List Of Traits Of Annoying Neighbors [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/getty/790386/20230518/070132/styles/patch_image/public/gettyimages-889507050___18185727669.jpg)
As the No Mow May movement gains ground, not everyone thinks letting flowering weeds grow does much to help bees and pollinators.
![No Mow May: Science, Or Blowing Sunshine Up Bee’s Behind? [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/getty/790386/20230505/113852/styles/patch_image/public/gettyimages-94394792___05113816864.jpg)
Try talking it out, readers say, but because these dogs have been allowed to trespass and act like galoots in the past, that may work.
![What To Do When Neighbor Dogs Jump On You, Poop Wherever [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/getty/790386/20230420/060335/styles/patch_image/public/gettyimages-1404274080___20175630352.jpg)
“It’s the greatest thing ever,” one reader says of “curb mining.” Others concur, but point out a difference between usable items and junk.
![If It’s On The Curb Or Stoop, It's Yours — Mostly: [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/getty/790386/20230405/075536/styles/patch_image/public/gettyimages-184851647___05195138351.jpg)
Describing close calls between kids playing outdoors and speeding drivers, readers share frustrations that little is being done to stop it.
![‘Not A Drag Strip’: Things Neighbors Want To Tell Drivers [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/getty/790386/20230323/074310/styles/patch_image/public/gettyimages-471078105___23193627679.jpg)
Many readers practically hissed their disdain for outdoor cats, but a few think felines should hang wherever it suits their fancy.
![The Poop On Free-Range Cats — And Your Lawn And Garden [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/getty/790386/20230302/043551/styles/patch_image/public/gettyimages-1224128588___02163329709.jpg)
Geese, ducks and swans not only get along fine without our help, even in cold weather, they’re better off without it, Patch readers say.
![Feeding Geese Makes Messy Walks And Neighbor Relations [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/getty/790386/20230217/111830/styles/patch_image/public/gettyimages-1006854858___17111500963.jpg)
For many readers, fetching and delivering packages that end up at the wrong address is part of being a good neighbor. Thieves, though.
![Package Delivery Mistakes: Be Neighborly, With Exceptions [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/getty/790386/20230202/054427/styles/patch_image/public/gettyimages-1221264208___02173542817.jpg)
Trash toters abandoned at the curb trigger some folks. But, one reader pointed out, “life is bigger than a garbage can left at the street.”
![Neighbors Talk Trash About Garbage Totes Left At The Curb [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20230119/021915/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-35972236___19141546198.jpg)
People help their neighbors — unless the person is a “known jerk,” one guy pointed out — but it’s not just a neighborhood issue, some said.
![We Got A Shovelful When We Asked About Snow Removal [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/getty/790386/20230106/015805/styles/patch_image/public/gettyimages-52052141___06134611954.jpg)
To kids selling magazines, “I say I never learned to read,” one reader cracked. The pressure to support fundraising isn’t a joke, though.
![Door-To-Door School Fundraisers Ring Some People’s Bells [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/getty/790386/20221221/044932/styles/patch_image/public/gettyimages-610877066___21164510627.jpg)
Readers blow off steam about neighbors who leave leaves on their lawns— and others who get up in their business over how they tend theirs.
One reader detests inflatables “with every fiber of my being.” Another wonders what Mickey Mouse, tin soldiers have to do with Christmas.
![Outdoor Christmas Displays: What’s Tacky, What’s Not? [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/790386/20221123/113908/styles/patch_image/public/christmas-house-lights-1___23113056245.jpg)
Some people think tipping is out of control in the pandemic era, but others continue to tip, sometimes adding as much as the original bill.
![Tipping People ‘Just For Doing Their Job’ Strikes A Nerve [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/getty/790386/20221111/010253/styles/patch_image/public/gettyimages-938547524___11125757323.jpg)
People aren’t hiding because they’re Halloween-hating misanthropes, but because kids don’t show up. Also, who says a treat has to be candy?
![What People Really Think About Trick-Or-Treaters [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/getty/790386/20221027/012212/styles/patch_image/public/gettyimages-1229385442___27131901548.jpg)
Political signs have First Amendment protections, but some say they’re an outdated way to reach voters and provoke neighborhood conflict.
![Political Yard Signs: 7 Takeaways From Patch Readers [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/getty/790386/20221013/020959/styles/patch_image/public/gettyimages-1283401353___13140350566.jpg)
From “Mr. Neighbuhr” — yes, really! — to Mr. J, good neighbors help out without being asked, Patch readers say.
![For Good Neighbor Day, Readers Share Stories Of The Best [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/getty/790386/20220927/011546/styles/patch_image/public/gettyimages-1334660356___27131458718.jpg)
Leaf blowers, especially those with gas-powered engines, can be as loud as a motorcycle. Patch readers made a lot of noise about their use.
![When Is It OK To Use Leaf Blowers? Or Are They The Devil? [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20220915/064101/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-1144041080-1___15183717219.jpg)
It’s proper etiquette everywhere to curb dogs. But what do you do about neighbors who don’t clean up after their dogs do the deed?
![Your Neighbor’s Dog Poo: What To Do About The Doo [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/getty/790386/20220825/015258/styles/patch_image/public/gettyimages-1164939048___25132524224.jpg)
Your neighbor may have forgotten about borrowing a weed trimmer — or may have broken it. In any case, it can be awkward to ask for it back.
![Neighbor Borrows But Doesn’t Return Stuff: What To Do? [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20220803/114000/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-1325790116___03233607502.jpg)
“Love the laughter, giggles and shrieks of joy,” one reader wrote. “Kids are the heart of a neighborhood” another said.
![Get Off My Lawn? Not So Much. Let Kids Be Kids. [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/getty/790386/20220722/011152/styles/patch_image/public/gettyimages-2115453___22130806405.jpg)
Patch readers say the best gifts from neighbors don’t cost a lot — or anything at all. And new moms may not want what you think they do.
![What’s The Best Gift Your Neighbor Ever Gave You? [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20220708/092439/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-1510585994___08092156605.jpg)
As America’s birthday approaches, is it fair to ask neighbors to end fireworks shows by 11 and confine them to the 4th of July weekend?
![When Is It OK To Set Off Fireworks In The Neighborhood? [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20220624/093655/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-1332317171___24093219680.jpg)
What should you do if the party drags on? Join the fun and request a song? Call the police? Retaliate and mow the lawn at 5 in the morning?
![How Late Should You Play Loud Music At Outdoor Parties? [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20220609/090356/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-592709111___09205144086.jpg)
Readers advise: Get a dog. Move to a high-rise condo and never see a cat again. Promote TNR—that is, trap-neuter-release. Don’t be a Karen.
