My neighbor gave me a laminated warning about my dandelions.
By @sagehm · Social
He's obsessed with his perfect, golf-course lawn and claims the dandelions in my yard are a threat to his turf. I work for a living and mow my lawn, that's it. Now there's a weird tension between us.
The full story
The guy next door has a lawn that looks like something out of a magazine. It's greener than a dollar bill and has perfect stripes. Good for him. I work a physical job, sometimes 50-60 hours a week. When I get home, I want to relax. My lawn is green, I mow it on the weekend, and my kids can play on it. That's my standard. Last week, I came home from a long shift and found a laminated piece of paper taped to my front door. It was a "Friendly Neighborhood Notice." they said that the dandelions in my yard were reaching the seeding stage and posed a risk of "cross-property contamination." He even included a printout from a university website about controlling broadleaf weeds. A laminated note. He went to the trouble of laminating it. I saw him the next day while he was outside with one of those spike-roller things. they asked if I got his notice. I told him yeah, I got it. He starts explaining that he spends hundreds of dollars a year on aeration, fertilizer, and special seed, and that my dandelions could ruin his whole investment. He called it an "unneighborly condition." I just told him, "It's a lawn, man. They're weeds. I mow 'em." He got all stiff and said that wasn't enough. I don't get it. I'm not running a golf course. I pay my mortgage, I keep my house in good shape, and I don't blast music all night. I feel like that's what being a good neighbor is. Not spending my Saturday on my hands and knees pulling weeds because his hobby is creeping over the property line. Now whenever I'm outside he just kind of glares at my yard. Do I really have to start buying special chemicals and wasting my weekend just to keep the peace?
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