Sometimes kids just do the darndest things without thinking. In my new neighborhood the little rascals think itâÂÂs funny to bang my door knocker and take off running and hide. I have no idea why they get such a kick out of it. It wasnâÂÂt so funny yesterday when I was up on a ladder in my little nightgown sanding drywall and had to get down dust myself off and scrounge something to put on quickly to answer the door with no one there. I gave my Rottweiler a signal to guard the door so the next attempt at foolery scared the daylights out of them. These types of things are usually not personal itâÂÂs just someone bored or clueless or they have a strange sense of fun. It is annoying though.

IâÂÂm glad your pumpkins survived!

{{!gwi}}

This post was edited by jterrilynn on Mon, Nov 17, 14 at 8:01

I'm sorry. :( We had our ornaments torn off our lawn. They didn't steal them, but by pulling them up one got broken. (One was found down the street.) They did it to other people's, too.

Very annoying. I guess kids need more to do!

Folks nearby are on a corner lot and have a short length of rail fencing diagonally on the corner and for decades now, they have decorated it for all the seasons and holidays. I've always enjoyed what they've come up with.

As fate would have it, we were at an event and I met that couple for the first time. Delightful people. I complimented them on their decor and they complained how many times the display has been damaged or thieved. They said it was very disheartening, but still they persist. More power to them!

I think what bothers me is that it almost had to be an adult. It was cold, dark and rainy (hmm, that sounds like a good way to start a story) and a Sunday night. No kids would be out. Our street is very friendly. It's not as if I am a stranger. They know who lives here. I guess the temptation was too much for someone. In the end, no harm was done except for my estimation of the perpetrator.

I know these sorts of meaningless pranks go on all the time, and I was not above pulling a few myself when I was a kid. For some reason, it just really bugged me this time.

I need a Rottweiler. ;)

A while back a large plastic Santa was drifting around the neighborhood. One neighbor said they saw it rolling in the street, later someone had put it up on the slide in the tot lot, eventually it blew into another neighbor's yard. Since she didn't observe Christmas but knew I do, she gave it to me. DH hated it, but I set it up in front of the lit shrubbery, retro before retro was in!

Well, one night rocking the baby to sleep, I heard a "bang", giggle, car door slam, looked out the window to see a car peeling away. Later saw that they had taken a bat to poor old Santa! He was okay, just broke his "inner glow" lightbulb, but gee whiz!

Of course I laughingly (mostly) accused DH of hiring a hit. I mean, how do you take a bat to Santa!

WouldnâÂÂt it be funny to rig holiday décor with some low voltage electric? I donâÂÂt mean to try an hurt someone but more along the lines of the low voltage stuff used in in haunted Halloween houses or displays.

Bpath that is a funny story! It reminds me of my sistersâ girls only cabin getaway every summer. Someone bought a big life sized clown as a joke to scare one of the gals who hates clowns. Now the clown goes to the cabin every year and the pictures captions they post on FB are hilarious. Sometimes the clown is thrown on the roof sometimes hanging from a clothes line or sitting in a chair around the camp fire with a drink. One time it was curled into a ball in the back of a pickup truck with debris. If anything goes wrong itâÂÂs the clowns fault and they are very witty with the stories and pictures.

I hate that happened, dedtired. Senseless really, and I'm sorry it happened to you.

Jterrilynn, that's a funny story about the clown. My DD also hates clowns and I'm afraid that would give her the creeps, but she'd probably be a good sport about it and find her own revenge.

Vandalism is usually senseless so there is likely no reason at all for it other than someone was bored. Or maybe one of your neighbors was annoyed that the pumpkins were up so long after Halloween had ended, and he/she didn't like the way they were looking as they rotted on the fence. You know how people always complain about the neighbor that leaves their Christmas lights up after the holidays are over? Maybe this was their passive aggressive way of letting you know that it's time to remove your decorations ... ? Perhaps they didn't consider that the pumpkins were left there for the squirrels ... ? Not condoning their behavior, but it could be a possibility that one of your neighbors saw them as more of an eyesore in the neighborhood then a meal for the squirrels. But it's probably more likely that someone did it without giving it any thought whatsoever.

Funny stories about the Santa and the clown. Maybe I should paint angry faces on the pumpkins in response to being knocked to the ground.

The pumpkins are not rotting. They are as solid as the day I got them. Once they get a bit soft, I put them on the ground behind the fence for the squirrels.

I'm over it now.

I know around here kids often smash porch pumpkins in the street after Halloween. Never understood it.

As far as the dog poo goes...My DH always leaves next to a neighbor's mailbox the grocery bag he uses after cleaning up after one of our Aussies during their walk. He doesn't like carrying it, and then picks it up when they pass on the way home. He always tells me to do the same, but I'm always afraid I'll forget it. I suspect that's what happened in your case, with no ill will from anyone intended.

I once worked with a woman that thought Halloween was devil worship, and would go around the workplace tossing any pumpkin she found in the trash. Really.

We had our mailbox hit a few weeks ago. Thankfully, we have one of those heavy duty Rubbermaid boxes that just snaps back together, but my neighbors all down the road with metal boxes had to replace theirs. People can be real jerks sometimes.

Jterrilyn--my twins are 12 and they call it "Ding Dong Ditching". Since we have kids we get ding dong ditched regularly. I don't think my boys do it but they probably do.

Really annoying, isn't it!?

Dedtired -that's not a prank..it's vandalism. Just mean.

People can indeed be jerks. I could never understand being destructive (even as a teen). I think it's a wonderful idea to keep the pumpkins as a treat for the squirrels. Our hens LOVE pumpkins. They also love cabbage. It is healthy for them and keeps them from being bored!

Paint a word on each pumpkin and get a good laugh. It should say I KNOW WHO YOU ARE. lol

Teenagers here go around and smash every pumpkin late on Halloween night. Seems to be a tradition. This year it rained, so all the pumpkins were intact on the morning of November 1. Likely just a teenager doing what teenagers do, stupid stuff.

I love yaya's idea! You should do that. I am sorry it happened though. It stinks and I bet they came to your house for candy, too (doesn't everyone? Heehee-we used to)

NEWS FLASH PEOPLE
The world wasnt built to suit your fragile views of perfection(s)
The world has always been immoral,dont be so surprised you finally realized it after it picked on you

I see squirrels everywhere ... Even in news flashes.

Well, I wouldn't call knocking pumpkins off a fence exactly immoral. Mean spirited maybe, but not a moral failing.

The timing of the dastardly deed made me think that it had to be an adult, which is why it bothered me most. I understand pranks pulled by kids.

I love Yaya's idea. Now I kind of hope someone does it again so I can write on the pumpkins. It's amazing how long they last. I also put pine roping and white lights on that fence for the holidays. Some years I still have a few pumpkins sitting on the fence at the same time. Maybe I'll put Santa hats on them.

It has been so darn cold this year, I will have to check to see if they have frozen over night.

A few years back when those white wired reindeer usually sold in pairs were popular, someone went throughout our small town and placed one on the hind quarters of the other in many yards.

During my early morning walk I couldn't help but laugh at all the pairs of mating reindeer!

ML