Yard lights

[Argee]

<font color="blue"> At a town meeting one night, after a "city slicker" had endlessly complained about a new problem for months on end (didn't want manure on the roads, didn't want farmers working in the fields within 600 yds when he was at his country home, didn't want to come around the corner and meet a 12' combine taking up the town road, etc.). The comment from a neighboring farmer was first the question "Did you really like this area when you first came here?" Answer "yes". Comment "Then leave it that way."
</font color>

I couldn't agree more!

[RAVeman]

I know I am new here, being my first day and all.

But I have to agree with Mosey, and Agree.
Especially when Agree quoted his fellow townsmen. “Then leave it that way”.

<font color="black"> </font color> The exact reason I moved to the country was I liked it that way. The only complaints I have of my newer neighbors are the fact that they all need and put up offensive yard lights. With out consideration of others. So Mosey, Agree, agrees with us, he just doesn’t realize it.

Have fun and enjoy life.

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.

RAVeman

[Al_Wa]

<font color="blue"> Agree, agrees with us, he just doesn’t realize it </font color> [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

A sense of humor is always welcome. I think what Agree is saying whether you agree or disagree is, his light, his land, his business. I find more comfort in the dark than the light and have no continious burning outside lights. I turn them on when I need them. I use the older Mercury vapor lights (cheap)and block the photocell so they will actuate with the switch. Welcome to CBN.

[Stoneheartfarm]

We have three other houses visible from ours. All three have sodium yard lights. The closest is about 300 feet from the house and the others are about double that.

It does not bother me that these people have lights, or that the lights are on all night. I kind of like being able to go out on a dark night and orient based on their lights. We do not have a light yet. When we do, it will be on a motion sensor or a switch, or both. Reason? A motion sensor or switch will turn off the electric so I don't have to pay for it.

As far as them turning off their yard lights so I won't know they're there: it would serve no purpose. I could still see the light shining from their windows, just like they can see it coming from mine, so I would still know there is a house there.

Here's a true story. A couple of years ago, there was a new waitress that hired on at a coffee shop owned by some friends of ours. One morning we ran over for breakfast and this girl was complaining about living here. She said it is much, much safer living in Detroit and and she wished she had stayed there. [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img]

"What happened to you", I asked, "Did somebody do something to you? Break into your car? Harrass you?"

"No", she said " But in Detroit all the streets are lit up and you can walk downtown at 2:00 am and feel safe".

"Yes, the streets there are all lit up. But, that is so the muggers won't trip while sneaking up behind you. The city can't afford a big lawsuit for faulty sidewalks." [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]

My eggs were cold that morning. [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img]

Steve

[RAVeman]

<font color="blue"> </font color> Thank You fro the welcome AL_Wa. <font color="black"> </font color> And thank you for picking it up as humour and not an attack. It can become a sensitive issue for some.

Good points have been made by all.

RAVeman

[mikell]

My lights are on timers and photocells and 1 40 watt light stays on all night way out back. The timer turns them from 5-7 AM if the eyel ets them and again from 5-8 PM for chores. We also have motion decetor lights on the garage.

[tdenny]

I spend a great deal of time outside working and walking my dog and in the long winter months much of this is during the dark. I have two sodium lights on all night (dawn to dusk) in the front of the house, motion lights attached to my pumphouse, and want several more either motion or dawn to dusk lights in the back "yard". I have one neighbor in the front and that is all. I like my neighbor very much and we get along well but if he mentoned that my light was anoying (although he wouldn't as he has one also) I'd probably have to say that I was sorry but I needed the lights. Many people on this thread have mentioned that they moved to the country for the dark or what have you - I moved away from suburban neighborhoods so I could paint my house any color I liked, park a rusty old car outside my house (not that I would), or just basically do anything I like. I moved to the country to enjoy the peace and quiet. So I guess I'm an inconsiderate light lover. [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img] At least electricity is cheaper here than pretty much anywhere [img]/forums/images/icons/cool.gif[/img]

[Bird]

You sound about like me, TD. When I bought my place in the country, there were 3 sodium lights outside with the electric eye to turn them on and off. When one became defective, I took it down and got rid of it because I thought two were enough, but I sure replaced those two when they went bad. And I'd guesstimate that at least 90% of the homes in the area had one to three outside lights on all night. Some, like mine, belonged to the homeowners, but others were on the power poles. The power company would put them up (on request of the property owner only) for $7.50 a month and lots of the people in the area preferred that because they were up higher and the power company did the maintenance if one burned out.

[egon]

Bird:
Yardlights on the farm:
What I call The Farm was a producing farm at one time. All the drumlins in the neighbourhood had a farm on them. The houses were all on the hill tops and could be seen from one another. At night everyone hung out a lit lantern to show all was well. If a lantern was not lit it meant something was wrong and a neighbour would drop by to offer help.
Egon

[Bird]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
All the drumlins in the neighbourhood

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, Egon, you taught me a new word; had to look it up in the dictionary; don't think it'll be used much in Texas. [img]/forums/images/icons/cool.gif[/img]

I suppose the most common reason for the yard lights is "security" to help prevent thefts (which were very rare in my neighborhood), but also in the event of a power outage, it didn't take long to look out and tell whether the power company had a problem in the area, or whether it might be your own breakers that had kicked (in my case it was always the power company rather than my own breakers [img]/forums/images/icons/smirk.gif[/img] ). In the summer, I frequently went out to the shop building to work before daylight while it was cool, and while it only happened rarely, I have gone out a few times to find a skunk wandering around the yard, and once a rather large snake. I certainly wanted to be able to see things like that and not disturb them. [img]/forums/images/icons/blush.gif[/img]