Why are some people so lazy that they do not do yard work?

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: jwells777
I am truly sorry that your life is so uninteresting that wasting 3-4 hours a week on yardwork is not an intrusion into other pursuits. Regardless, you should learn to respect the fact that individuals have the right to have their own priorities in this country. It is called freedom...you may have heard of it.

Further more, I am quite glad that you are not in my neighborhood. People like you are half the problem in this country. Rather than take five minutes to walk over, introduce yourself to your neighbor, and simply ask that he mow a bit more often, you decided to call the authorities. Government intervention is not the answer to everything in life.

The neighbor is not free to lower the property value of the houses around his, nor is he free to disobey city ordinance. No-one should ever have to "respect" people who fall short of performing their basic duties. Part of owning a house is maintianing the house and yard. The freedom to own the house includes the duty to maintain the house and yard to acceptable levels.

You seem unfamiliar with how these things work too. When the city is notified, they do not immediately send out a crew. The first thing they do is send out a person to verify that the complaint is legitimite. If the complaint is legitimite, the person against whom the complaint has been lodged is given notice of the complaint and told to rectify the situation within a specified amount of time. If the person does not take care if it on his own within that timeframe, the city will then send a crew.

You must have been lucky never to have idiot neighbors. A couple years ago my family's neighbors of (then) 19 years moved away. Our first meeting of the people who had bought the house occured when we came home one night to find them in our driveway trying to covertly fix our basketball hoop after they had bent it by hanging from it. Mind you, this is an exurban (exurban = "a region or settlement that lies outside a city and usually beyond its suburbs and that often is inhabited chiefly by well-to-do families") neighborhood bordering a rural area, so it's not as though we were in the projects where such trespassing and vandalism might be expected. These people have also illegally run a commercial enterprise (some sort of gutter topper thing) from their home, violating zoning laws and keeping their driveway full up to the street with vehicles making it impossible to see traffic while pulling out of our driveway. They have also kept unlicensed and rusted/broken vehicles sitting in their driveway for more than 6 months without having a valid license on the vehicles (also a violation of zoning laws). They have openly shot at wildlife with a rifle (again, illegal under the village's zoning laws) and have, in general, done their best to transform a nice neighborhood into some Kentucky backwater shanty-town. No matter how many times we talk with them, they refuse to do anything. They didn't even pay to replace the hoop that they broke and because we had not been there when they broke it, we couldn't file any charges.

ZV

 

[nakedfrog]

I've got better things to do with my time, and a somewhat nasty grass allergy that really gets set off when I cut the grass. I don't really give a rat's arse about what anyone thinks about how my yard looks. I'll bet you'd hate my 8' tall shrub fence out front too.

 

[skace]

If you were my neighbor, I'd pave my whole lawn and save you the headache

 

[Yo Ma Ma]

We live in the country now. It is not as convenient, not as many resources (close by), and at times it seems people are a bit behind the times but THANK GOD I CAN BARELY SEE MY NEIGHBORS WHEN I GO OUTSIDE.

 

[Triumph]

My brother used to have a bumper sticker that said, "No one is so poor that they can't clean up their yard."

So true.

 

[Spencer278]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: jwells777
I am truly sorry that your life is so uninteresting that wasting 3-4 hours a week on yardwork is not an intrusion into other pursuits. Regardless, you should learn to respect the fact that individuals have the right to have their own priorities in this country. It is called freedom...you may have heard of it.

Further more, I am quite glad that you are not in my neighborhood. People like you are half the problem in this country. Rather than take five minutes to walk over, introduce yourself to your neighbor, and simply ask that he mow a bit more often, you decided to call the authorities. Government intervention is not the answer to everything in life.

The neighbor is not free to lower the property value of the houses around his, nor is he free to disobey city ordinance. No-one should ever have to "respect" people who fall short of performing their basic duties. Part of owning a house is maintianing the house and yard. The freedom to own the house includes the duty to maintain the house and yard to acceptable levels.

You seem unfamiliar with how these things work too. When the city is notified, they do not immediately send out a crew. The first thing they do is send out a person to verify that the complaint is legitimite. If the complaint is legitimite, the person against whom the complaint has been lodged is given notice of the complaint and told to rectify the situation within a specified amount of time. If the person does not take care if it on his own within that timeframe, the city will then send a crew.

You must have been lucky never to have idiot neighbors. A couple years ago my family's neighbors of (then) 19 years moved away. Our first meeting of the people who had bought the house occured when we came home one night to find them in our driveway trying to covertly fix our basketball hoop after they had bent it by hanging from it. Mind you, this is an exurban (exurban = "a region or settlement that lies outside a city and usually beyond its suburbs and that often is inhabited chiefly by well-to-do families") neighborhood bordering a rural area, so it's not as though we were in the projects where such trespassing and vandalism might be expected. These people have also illegally run a commercial enterprise (some sort of gutter topper thing) from their home, violating zoning laws and keeping their driveway full up to the street with vehicles making it impossible to see traffic while pulling out of our driveway. They have also kept unlicensed and rusted/broken vehicles sitting in their driveway for more than 6 months without having a valid license on the vehicles (also a violation of zoning laws). They have openly shot at wildlife with a rifle (again, illegal under the village's zoning laws) and have, in general, done their best to transform a nice neighborhood into some Kentucky backwater shanty-town. No matter how many times we talk with them, they refuse to do anything. They didn't even pay to replace the hoop that they broke and because we had not been there when they broke it, we couldn't file any charges.

ZV

If you don't like how your neighbors park in their driveway maybe you should buy more land and stop telling people how to use the property they own.

 

[SilverThief]

I live next to an abandoned house, the grass has been over 4ft high at times. It gets cut about once every 6 months or so.
Small town...lazy ass people

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: ChinamanatNCSU
forgive my naivety (sp?), but aside from it being the law/it looks nice, is there a benefit to mowing lawns? I just ask because I really don't see a point in mowing our backyard. No one in our family ever uses it, and our property is pretty heavily wooded so no neighbors can see in our backyard. I mean we still mow it just because if I'm mowing the front lawn I might as well go ahead and mow the back, but I don't really see the point...

1) Controls weeds
2) Doesn't give rodents and snakes a place to hide
3) Helps control insects and mosquitos
4) Good exercise.

#4 is not true!

heh i have a rideing mower. i get to drink while i mow! :beer:

anyway mowing 2 acres is NOT fun.

I dont care about rodents or snakes (can't stop them on a farm anyway) and weeds? pfft long as they are not in my little part where we play then im fine heh.

 

[Trygve]

I've only had my lawn mowed once in the last twelve years. I have other things that are higher on my priority list and, personally, I don't see the point. I don't particularly like listening to the rest of the world's lawnmowers either.

There are a few people who keep bugging me about it, but the funny thing is that they also keep trying to get me to give them money, too. Maybe they could try getting some work done themselves instead of thinking up more things they think I should be doing instead of working.

 

[thomsbrain]

some people have more meaninful things in their lives than worrying about how their fvcking lawn looks to their neighbors.

this guy doesn't sound like one of them though, he just sounds lazy.

 

[PanzerIV]

Originally posted by: gotsmack
I solved the lawn problem. I don't water the lawn, unless it is scorching hot, then I'll water it at night. Then when its time to mow, I cut it to about 1"

I also really like moss and crab grass. I want to know where I can get crab grass seeds.

Here is why crab grass is better then real grass,

1. never have to cut it and it looks like grass from afar.
2. It is hearty and never have to water it.
3. if it dies, who cares! it's crab grass.

Hehe.

Thankfully all of my neighbors (6 on a cul-de-sac and the lady behind me) keep their lawns well maintained so dealing with the OP's problem is not a concern of mine.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: Red

Originally posted by: hdeck
once every 2 weeks is bad? wow

Right here, right now it is. It seems like the grass grows about an inch a day. Over summer, when it gets really hot and dries out a little, it won't grow so fast. But right now, especially with a bag mower (who leaves the clippings on the ground?) the lawn needs to be mowed twice a week.

Twice a week? Geez. I think for us it's every other week.

Who leaves the clippings on the ground? Us. Only one of our mowers is a "mulching mower" and it tends to choke if the grass is wetter than Mars, or if it's taller than Gary Coleman. Everything else leaves the clippings - no need to fertilize the lawn if it's all being recycled.
Of course, sometimes we do mow the front lawn more often, like, when the dandelions, which outnumber the grass plants, and I'm not making that up, start to grow at an astonishingly fast pace. Fortunately the front lawn is small. But I still have a fantasy about being able to poison the entire lawn, and either cover it with asphalt, or else maybe a native vine plant....or else solar panels. In the words of the moderators though, It won't be happening.

 

[Thump553]

Am I the only one shocked that here in "the land of the free" we have governments so meddlesome and intrusive that they have the gall to mandate lawn mowing?

I grew up in a bedroom community in New England. Between our house and our neighbors was a vacant lot owned by a back neighbor who never mowed it (we kids loved it that way). Back in the "liberal" sixties our neighbor, who was on the town council, proposed adopting a town regulation mandating mowing to 12" or less. It was a huge controversy and never got anywhere.

(Alleged) conservatism is all the vogue these days. Those of you who claim to be conservatives, and see nothing wrong with such regulations are hopelessly confused. If vermin are a problem, the government can easily address that with existing health regulations.

My property is about an acre and a half. I mow a small portion around the house because my wife likes that. The rest is natural woods or gardens.

 

[StageLeft]

Am I the only one shocked that here in "the land of the free" we have governments so meddlesome and intrusive that they have the gall to mandate lawn mowing?

No, there are others with the knee-jerk "Government should butt out" reaction as well. These people didn't read a single post in this thread that made the valid point of property values. If my neighbor's yard is a desert and has tumbleweeds it in turn makes my house nastier by association. I don't personally like driving up to my house and beholding the wild forest that's attacked my neighbor's yard. It's nasty, and anybody who would want to buy my house would agree and as such offer less for it. It's like seatbelt laws: Some times people just need to be told how it's going to be because they don't know any better and need to be babied by Big Brother. They cry about invasion of such and such but if they had any common sense in the first place it wouldn't be an issue.

 

[Eli]

Uh, you're an asshole.

Why do people have to be such dicks? I'd be royally pissed off if a neighbor called the city on me because my god damn yard doesen't live up to their vision of "perfect".

dear lord.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: PanzerIV

Originally posted by: gotsmack
I solved the lawn problem. I don't water the lawn, unless it is scorching hot, then I'll water it at night. Then when its time to mow, I cut it to about 1"

I also really like moss and crab grass. I want to know where I can get crab grass seeds.

Here is why crab grass is better then real grass,

1. never have to cut it and it looks like grass from afar.
2. It is hearty and never have to water it.
3. if it dies, who cares! it's crab grass.

Hehe.

Thankfully all of my neighbors (6 on a cul-de-sac and the lady behind me) keep their lawns well maintained so dealing with the OP's problem is not a concern of mine.

We're in a cu-de-sac in a subdivsion too. 69 out of the 89 homeowners voted to do away with a Homeowners Association so the grass can be as high as the County allows which is 18".

 

[TechnoKid]

I mow my lawn once a week in the summer, any longer than that and then the grass gets too high to cut. If you cut the grass more than 1/3 of its total height, it will shock the grass.



Most city subdivisions have ordinances that must be abided by if you live in that particular subdivision. It is something that you agree to, for instance about the grass height, when you decided to live their. Now, if you are in a gated comunity, then you really should abide by the rules their. If you live out in the country, I wouldn't care.

 

[jwells777]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Am I the only one shocked that here in "the land of the free" we have governments so meddlesome and intrusive that they have the gall to mandate lawn mowing?

No, there are others with the knee-jerk "Government should butt out" reaction as well. These people didn't read a single post in this thread that made the valid point of property values. If my neighbor's yard is a desert and has tumbleweeds it in turn makes my house nastier by association. I don't personally like driving up to my house and beholding the wild forest that's attacked my neighbor's yard. It's nasty, and anybody who would want to buy my house would agree and as such offer less for it. It's like seatbelt laws: Some times people just need to be told how it's going to be because they don't know any better and need to be babied by Big Brother. They cry about invasion of such and such but if they had any common sense in the first place it wouldn't be an issue.

Hmmmm....I am not sure what to say here. Your property value is neither a right nor a valid reason to implement laws which intrude on personal freedoms. If you don't like driving to your house and feel that you are nastier by association, you have the freedom to move.

As for seat belt laws...don't get me started. If someone wants to remove themselves from the gene pool because they chose not to wear a seatbelt, that is their choice. The cost of freedom is high. Occassionally, that cost includes allowing people to make choices that are not in their best interest which might even result in the death of said individual. This should not be the concern of the government.

 

[azazyel]

It always surprises me how far people will go to protect their habitat. Things must always look pretty. But how many plants do most of you have in your yards that are indigenous to your area? What plants in your yard provide food for your indigenous insects, birds, rodents? I say we start controlling this mass immigration of foreign plant and animal life and start irradiating the ones already here. Death to daisies, murder the marigolds!

----------------
1) Controls weeds
2) Doesn't give rodents and snakes a place to hide
3) Helps control insects and mosquitoes
4) Good exercise.
--------------------

1) gives life to 3) which gives life to 2).

I know not many people would like to live next to someone who has an non-manicured lawn. But it is because you want to live in a place that is pretty and neat which is fine. No real point here just a Friday rant.

 

[PanzerIV]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: PanzerIV

Originally posted by: gotsmack
I solved the lawn problem. I don't water the lawn, unless it is scorching hot, then I'll water it at night. Then when its time to mow, I cut it to about 1"

I also really like moss and crab grass. I want to know where I can get crab grass seeds.

Here is why crab grass is better then real grass,

1. never have to cut it and it looks like grass from afar.
2. It is hearty and never have to water it.
3. if it dies, who cares! it's crab grass.

Hehe.

Thankfully all of my neighbors (6 on a cul-de-sac and the lady behind me) keep their lawns well maintained so dealing with the OP's problem is not a concern of mine.

We're in a cu-de-sac in a subdivsion too. 69 out of the 89 homeowners voted to do away with a Homeowners Association so the grass can be as high as the County allows which is 18".

We have no HA but my neighbors seem to keep tidy lawns which I am very happy about. It looks neater and like people care about their property. I see a few of them outside doing yardwork all of the time but they are the older residents.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Spencer278

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
You must have been lucky never to have idiot neighbors. A couple years ago my family's neighbors of (then) 19 years moved away. Our first meeting of the people who had bought the house occured when we came home one night to find them in our driveway trying to covertly fix our basketball hoop after they had bent it by hanging from it. Mind you, this is an exurban (exurban = "a region or settlement that lies outside a city and usually beyond its suburbs and that often is inhabited chiefly by well-to-do families") neighborhood bordering a rural area, so it's not as though we were in the projects where such trespassing and vandalism might be expected. These people have also illegally run a commercial enterprise (some sort of gutter topper thing) from their home, violating zoning laws and keeping their driveway full up to the street with vehicles making it impossible to see traffic while pulling out of our driveway. They have also kept unlicensed and rusted/broken vehicles sitting in their driveway for more than 6 months without having a valid license on the vehicles (also a violation of zoning laws). They have openly shot at wildlife with a rifle (again, illegal under the village's zoning laws) and have, in general, done their best to transform a nice neighborhood into some Kentucky backwater shanty-town. No matter how many times we talk with them, they refuse to do anything. They didn't even pay to replace the hoop that they broke and because we had not been there when they broke it, we couldn't file any charges.

ZV

If you don't like how your neighbors park in their driveway maybe you should buy more land and stop telling people how to use the property they own.

Yeah, good idea. Let them violate city ordinances without reprecussion. Brillient. How about we do away with all punishment for everything? It is not legal to park cars such that they obstruct the vision of people pulling out of their driveways. It represents a hazard when one cannot see oncoming traffic while backing out of a driveway because some dumbass hick has his 1970's full-size van parked with its bumper hanging out in the street.

I also absolutely love how you conveniently ignore the fact that these people vandalized our property, and discharge weapons within the village limits. I am not alone in my dislike for these people. Everyone who was in the neighborhood prior to when these people moved in is upset with them. They let their little kids wander into our yard unsupervised; the fence in their backyard is rotting apart and becoming an eyesore. Because of their inability to properly maintain their house and land, they are driving down the value of every other house in the neighborhood.

If you move into a neighborhood, you agree to abide by the laws and ordinances of the city/town/village/township/whatever. You may prefer to allow people to break the law, but I tend to think that everyone needs to obey it. We tried talking with these people. It didn't work. When they don't respond to talking, there is only one avenue remaining.

ZV

 

[Eli]

I'm curious if we even have such retarded laws around here. Then again, we don't live in a cookie cutter subdivision with houses a foot away from eachother(and neve will!) either.

We always neglect mowing our lawn for about the first month of spring. Sure, it gets about 8" tall.. but it also gives the wildflowers a chance to flower and seed. I hate mowing them all down before they get a chance to complete their lifecycle, it feels like I'm doing my yard a disservice.

Further, we have a 1/2 acre field behind us that has never been mowed or anything. So f'in what? It looks fine to me. It looks natural. It would not look as good if it was a nicely manicured lawn. It also wouldn't support all the wildlife if it was a lawn.

I would much rather have all the thistles, wild berries of several types, wildflowers, etc... that reside in the field. Not to mention all the habitat and feeding grounds it gives birds and insects.

I dislike cookie cutter yards with non-native plants. It may look "clean cut", but it sure as hell doesen't look natural.

 

[NuclearNed]

I live outside city limits, so no ordinances for me. I do just about anything I please with my property, and my neighbors can't do much about it.

With that said, whatever happened to being a good neighbor? I try really hard to keep my yard looking neat and trim, largely because I don't want my house to look like the neighborhood slum and I want to do my part to make the neighborhood nice. And my neighbors, for the most part, reciprocate.

Why is it so tough to make a small sacrifice (i.e. spending time mowing the lawn once a week) in order to keep good relationships with neighbors?

 

[PanzerIV]

Originally posted by: wells777
If you don't like driving to your house and feel that you are nastier by association, you have the freedom to move.

So he should be forced to up and move each time a neighbor neglects his property? What happens if he settles in his new home and someone moves in a month later next door and trashes their yard with an overgrown lawn and rusted cars? Is the burden on him to have to move everytime? At what point do the fellow home owners have to take some responsibility here?

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: jwells777
Hmmmm....I am not sure what to say here. Your property value is neither a right nor a valid reason to implement laws which intrude on personal freedoms. If you don't like driving to your house and feel that you are nastier by association, you have the freedom to move.

As for seat belt laws...don't get me started. If someone wants to remove themselves from the gene pool because they chose not to wear a seatbelt, that is their choice. The cost of freedom is high. Occassionally, that cost includes allowing people to make choices that are not in their best interest which might even result in the death of said individual. This should not be the concern of the government.

Those city ordinances are perfectly within our rights. Freedom extends only until it impinges on others. They are free to landscape as they please, but they are not free to impinge upon my ability to get a fair value for my property. You may like living in a place that looks like the projects. I don't.

As for seatbelt laws, they lower insurance costs. Un-belted drivers create higher medical bills that get passed on to the rest of us in the form of higher insurance premiums. Again, this is a case where the "freedom" to drive without a seat belt directly infringes on other people's right to pay a fair cost for their insurance. Same goes for people who ride motorcycles without protective gear and helmets.

ZV