I'm not dead!

[sstodvictory]

Conforming to peer pressure......or not.

I live alone on a rural platt. I had never owned a yard before moving to my present place. I cut my lawn a few times this spring, did some traveling, fell into procrastination, and soon grass was a foot tall. The weather got dry and it stopped growing. Being that my yard is patchy, I decided to let it go to seed, to see if that would help fill it in. A zone of 6-ft tall weeds growing along the foundation between my house and the road completes the look. My new trees aren't dying so I'm content.

Yesterday a very nice farmer down the road dropped by to see if I was dead, and I explained to him that I wasn't. I really do appreciate the gesture of this man. This evening the Cerro Gordo fire chief dropped by to see if I was dead because a different neighbor had asked him about it. I explained that I was not dead and his wife got a big laugh out of it.

At first I thought the whole thing amusing, but now I'm thinking that I'm creating a nuisance for my neighbors by broadcasting the impression that I'm dead. I've wondered if I should put a sign out by the road informing that I'm not dead, but that could be interpreted as a smart-ass way of dealing with it - perhaps a sign of disrespect to my neighbors!

This is very different from the usual pressure one normally thinks could happen because of not cutting one's lawn. Perhaps my road sign should say "Naturalized lawn in progresss"...............or maybe I should just give in and cut it?

:notdead:

Steve
.

[Sparky_Bill]

Conforming to peer pressure......or not.
A zone of 6-ft tall weeds growing along the foundation between my house and the road completes the look.

Maybe cut these or cut a pattern in them from time to time. :)

[RickJ]

I think that was your neighbors subtle way of telling you to cut your grass.

[JohnnyIron]

Well at least your neighbors care enough to check on you. In the big city here, they wouldn't come over or call anyone until they could smell your rotting carcass down the street! Then they would complain about it and wouldn't give an F about you being dead.

This is ironic because yesterday they were talking about neighborhoods on the Dan Barreiro show on KFAN. The topic was basically about letting your kids loose or not due to the kidnapping epidemic in these modern times. One great comment from a caller was that in our days of growing up, you knew if there was a strange car in your neighbor hood and these days they all seem strange! People don't seem to be a "neighbor hood" anymore, more like a bunch of strangers that live next to each other.

In a way, I miss the neighborly feeling you get when you live in the country. People are just friendlier and actually give a crap about their neighbors.

Oh well, I will just try to be a better neighbor and hope it rubs off.

And I am glad you are not dead! :friday:

[Joe_WaZoo]

This is all an interesting topic. Personally I am glad that your neighbors checked on you. Yes it could be that they are being subtle about telling you to cut the grass. But that also shows that they care about the look of the area where you live.

One day I was discussing my block with one of the wild single mom that lives across the street. She always has these hoodlums that visit occasionally, normally at night. And every now and then the ruckus is loud, with their Bling-Bling cars and that ever popular Boom-Boom music (ever notice that they are always killing each other in Rap music). So I told her that if I see anything out of line I will call the police. She tells me that it is none of my business what happens outside of my property. I explain that I am an equal tax payer just like the rest of the neighbors (for the record Hennipen county tax rolls show her to be past due on her taxes) and that if it brings down the property values because of something that happens at her place then I have a vested interest. So now when something gets even slightly offensive on the block, I merely explain my discern to the appropriate neighbor and they fix the problem. If they don't I will have the law there shortly.

Joe_WaZoo

[sstodvictory]

Both neighbors live more than a mile from me and I'd met and talked with both of 'em before. The next closest neighbor's a half-mile away except the lady accross the street. Anyway I stopped by to visit the one that called the fire chief. It was just concern for whether I'm OK or not. They didn't think anyone out here really cares what they do with their property - we're all too spread out for it to affect each other.

Thanks for all your feedback. It is interesting and gratifying that out here where the population is thinnest people seem to look after each other more than in other living arrangements.

Guess I'll knock down those weeds this weekend to let everyone know I'm still kicking!

Steve

[Victorydad]

Happy to hear you're not dead Steve.

Two words for the tall grass: Crop circles :lol:

Harry