The Yard Police

This morning I found a note taped to my front door from the yard police in my neighborhood. Although it was addressed to me personally, I don't think it was to just me. It had been up there for 4 days 'cause I rarely use my front door.

It was from one of the ladies on the board of the homeowners association. She has been spending her money on Round-Up and her time digging up the grass in the cracks and along the curb. She told me that now that it is cleaned up I need to keep it that way. I should not leave any clippings or dirt by the curb because that promotes weed/grass growth in unwanted places. I did actually spray round-up about 6 weeks ago on all the cracks and crevices in my driveway and the sidewalk. I just didn't think to do the street.

The reason I don't think this was for just me is because there are several of us who don't cut our grass every week or spray the weeds as soon as they come up. I saw the weed killer lady working on the sidewalk across the street from me about 7 AM a week or so ago. And I saw the lady who lives across the street sweeping the street and getting up the dirt a day or two ago. Although she sweeps her driveway every couple of days, I've not seen her do that before. I'm not sure anyone cares quite as much as those on the board. Every time I get minutes of the quarterly meetings, the only people in attendance are the same 3 or 4 people out of the 76 homes in the neighborhood. I've been here almost 3 years and no one new has come on the board.

I understand that it is important for home values and safety to keep the neighborhood looking well groomed and sidewalks free of trip hazards. And I admit my yard very rarely looks well groomed - the grass gets cut but that is about it. I am trying to make myself care about it but I just can't seem to do it. There are so many more things in life that I care about and prefer to give my time to.

I probably should not have bought this property because I really am not a good owner. Maybe if the economy makes a rebound, I'll put it on the market and see if I can sell it and go back to renting and letting someone else take care of everything.