The Grass is Always Greener...

... in someone else's lawn!

I freely admit my lawn is not the most well manicured property on our street.  Many of our neighbors have immaculate lawns requiring many hours of work in the evenings and weekends as well as constant reminders to their children (and others) to stay off the grass.  I resolved years ago not to be one of those parents.

I do appreciate the property the Lord has given me and understand I am to be a good steward of this gift.  But I also believe the Lord intends for me to do more with it than simply have it looking as pretty as a picture.  I'm not a big outdoors person (and both my physican and dermitologist are glad about that) but I also wanted my children to have a place to play.  So, when we moved here years ago, I forfeited any idea of a perfect looking lawn in order to give my kids a place to play.

And we have!  Basketball, wiffle ball, lawn hockey and many other outdoor activities right there on our front lawn.  We have played in sunshine, snow, and rain; the lawn has paid the price.  Furthermore, over the years our lawn activities have included the children of those neighbors who would not permit anyone on their grass.

For years my children have taken turns mowing our lawn to earn some spending money.  Again, that's great for them and for me.  This is especially true today since my body does not tolerate the heat well at all.

On Wednesday, I received a letter from the City of Saint Chares entitled "Code Enforcement".  My property is listed as case number 10-00003942.  There, in bold print, all caps, and underlined, are the words:

NOTICE OF GRASS/WEED VIOLATION AND HEARING DATE

In part, the text reads "The above mentioned property was inspected by this Department and the following violation(s) were found:  Grass/Weeds in excess of eight (8) inches in height."  I'm given 4 days to correct this violation.  I also have an optional hearing on Monday in case I want to defend my long grass.

Well, I will not argue that, as of this past Monday, my grass was long.  We mowed on Friday, July 30 and then left for a week long mission trip in Kentucky on August 2.  Upon returning home, the temperatures in our area reached the upper 90s and 100 every day the following week with heat indices upwards of 110 or higher.  Obviously, being out of town prevented us from mowing one week and the high temps prevented us from mowing the next week.  There is no way I could have mowed in this heat and I did not feel my children should have to do so either.

On this past Monday, the temperature broke and my girls mowed the lawn.  The letter arrived on Wednesday.  So, I guess we "complied" with the mandate.

Now I understand perfectly well well why the city has such a code.  Tall grass and weeds on a property do nothing to enhance the value of neighboring homes, especially those on the marketplace.  Furthermore, while I do not maintain my lawn with the care and precision of others, I also do not like tall grass.  So, yes, I was in violation and for that I am sorry.  There have been periods in the past when my lawn has gone 3 or 4 weeks without mowing (e.g., our mower was being repaired) and nothing was said. 

What I am curious about, though, is what prompted this "inspection" of my property.  Does the city have someone driving around town checking on lawns?  Do they actually get out and use a ruler to measure the length of the grass?  If so, that seems like a terrible use of tax money.  But, deep in my gut, I suspect someone in my neighborhood called an authority to report my tall grass.  If that is the case then it is a perfect example of a serious problem with our society:  take no responsibility and let the government resolve your problem.

If I found the lack of care given to one of my neighbor's lawns to be bugging me, I would go to that neighbor and simply request that he do something about his lawn.  Who knows?  Perhaps that neighbor has a broken mower and needs help.  Who knows?  Perhaps that neighbor is ill or caring for an ailing loved one and cannot take time to work on their lawn.  Who knows?  Perhaps I could offer to mow their lawn for them.

Now if my neighbor simply refused to do anything then I might call the authorities.  Knowing my attitude towards lawns, probably not.

Again, I am making the assumption someone turned us in.  If that is true then what we have is some neighbor who is upset at me for not taking care of my lawn.  But they don't want to get involved and take the initiative to check with me on why I am not mowing.  No, heaven forbid they check in on me and offer to help.  No, there's an easy way out:  call the government!

The note from the city is interesting in 2 other respects:

1.  Our case number is 10-00003942.  Does that mean we are the 3,942nd household cited in 2010 for long grass?  Wow, if so, then maybe there are more people around here who have the same outlook on their grass as I do!  Let's all ditch our mowers, save on gas and air pollution, and use goats again.

2.  The note also indicates if the grass/weeds grow on the same property and result in a second violation during the same growing season, "the City may without further notification" have the weeds removed.  Does that mean that I can let my grass grow more than 8 inches again and the city will mow it for me?  Will they do it at no charge?  Will they come back if I violate the ordinance a 3rd or 4th time?  Wow, maybe I could get my lawn mowed by the city for free (i.e., on the tax payers nickel) every couple of weeks!

If you are reading this post and happen to be the person who "turned us in", please, come visit me the next time before calling the authorities.  My goal is to keep my lawn looking as nice as I can (1) without jeopardizing my family's health in maintaining it and (2) without preventing my children and grandchildren from using it to have fun.  I'm sure we can reach a compromise (e.g., you can mow my lawn).