Once again it begins, the race, the competition, neighbor against neighbor! Every year it happens and every year were all sucked into the race. Well this year I struck the first blow. I started the garden tractor up and mowed my lawn yesterday. The steady rain over the last week had made our grass shoot up like crazy. If I had waited any longer I would of had to rake the whole lawn after cutting it.

This action on my part of course was not to go unnoticed by my neighbors. I had now made them look bad! They wouldn’t say anything to me. Its more of an unspoken look of disgust as they now have to keep up with me. Their long grass against my manicured grass is what everyone sees so I would bet that within two days they will do theirs also.  Its not so much about the quality of the grass, like who’s is greenest or thickest its more just keeping up with the length.

My neighbors have an edge over me in that their commute to work is about ten minutes where as my commute is anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half so I get home much later at night so by the time I get the tractor out I have to try and cut the lawn with the tractors head lights on. My straight lines look like a Picasso painting in the morning when we view my handy work from the night before. We each have almost a whole acre to cut so it takes a bit of time. Then there is the property line issue. Since both of my neighbors are new they each asked me where the line was so I told them to just watch where I cut they could see the edge that I left . What I didn’t tell them was I gave them each an additional twelve to 18 inches to include all the utility companies equipment sticking out at the corners of my property so they nicely trim it for me with their weed-wackers. I am getting smart in my old age.

Having an acre of land it just doesn’t make sense to me to try and replicate having the beautiful golf course grass. You know really thick deep green color and edged to perfection. The cost to keep it up would feed a small third world nation! Not to mention all the animals, insects and worms I would kill with all the poison chemicals I’d be dumping on the grass. I’ve got to wonder  if any of it gets down to our well that supplies our water? Maybe that’s why I’m growing an extra limb?