It Finally Worked (I think)!!

We 've been having lawn frustrations ever since our grass was mowable this spring. Our homeowner's association mows the lawns in our neighborhood (I know what you are thinking..."what snobs"), but it really isn't like that. We honestly would prefer to mow the grass ourselves than pay a hefty association fee, but it wasn't an option. It's just part of what comes with the house, so we are trying to deal with it. Eric and I don't really mind mowing the grass, but even better, we were really looking forward to sending Alex out to mow the lawn this year too. I want our kids to learn how to work, so really, I wish we didn't HAVE to pay for someone else to do it. But, that's the way it is.

Anyway, back to the story. So in the spring, here come the mowers to mow. They mow the front "sodded" grass, they mow the side "sodded" grass, they skip the back "seeded" grass. The next week, they mow the front "sodded" grass, they mow the side "sodded" grass, they skip the back. . The third week and fourth week, the same. (Yes, we all prefer sod, but we don't all have the luxury of it.) Well, after several weeks of the "no-mow-the-backyard" system, the grass was knee-high and those of you who've ever lived in the South know what that means...ticks, chiggers, fleas and the likes make a home in your grass. Not to mention the fact that it is an eyesore!

Now, I've always been a fan of thick, lush, soft, short grass, so the "no-mow" system wasn't really working for me. It's not like I can even attempt to get it growing better while wading through knee-high, bug-ridden grass to distribute seed and fertilizer over the whole expanse of it. So, what to do...

(Plan #1 Just Ask Them Nicely to Mow It!)
At the peak of my frustrations one day, I see the mowers out mowing the next-door neighbor's yard. So, I nicely go and ask him if he could please mow our backyard. He does have excuses like, "it's too wet" or "there's not enough grass", but he finally agrees to try. And lo and behold, he mowed it and there WAS enough grass. So I'm thinking, "Our problems are solved!", now it's been mowed once, they won't be afraid to mow it anymore.

A few weeks later, I realize, Plan #1 only worked once. The following few weeks, they returned to the old "no-mow-the-backyard" system again. After talking to a neighbor with the same problem, I realized that it wasn't just me, but they weren't mowing any other backyards that weren't sodded either. So, I figured it was time to try Plan #2

(Plan #2 Get the association manager involved...I mean we are paying for it!)
So, just before we left for vacation to Washington, I set Plan #2 into action. I e-mailed the manager about the problem in hopes the lawn would be mowed on our return.

When we returned from Washington, it still WASN'T mowed. But wait...on closer examination there was proof they HAD been there: deep grooves where the lawnmower had gotten stuck! Great, I thought, now they can prove that it's "non-mowable" and they won't have to mow. I bet it was intentional! :) The thing is, we have a place (from the slab to 5 feet out) just beyond our basement patio that stays wet all the time. We are working with our builder to get the drainage issue resolved, but the rest of the nearly 3/4 acre was perfectly dry, but now they'll say they can't mow cause they got stuck! ERGHHH....

(PLAN #3: Mow it first ourselves to prove it mowable.)
Probably not my brightest idea with a push mower at our dispense, but what else could we do? Me: "Hey Alex, you want to earn $20?" Alex: "Sure" And so, it began. The first day: Eric weed-eated the back area immediately behind the patio. The girls and I picked up buckets and buckets of rocks in the grass, and Alex mowed. The second day: Alex : "The lawn mower isn't working, it keeps quitting and won't start and I'm not doing anymore". I go out and it starts the first time...that kind of long grass has to be mowed over, backed over, and mowed over again, not just plowed through as quickly as possible. (Mind you, it was 11am, 90 degrees, and 90% humidity). After about 30 minutes with the push mower and the thigh-high grass. I came in hot and exhausted. Our conversation went like this, "Hey Alex, how does $40 sound?" Yes, he's back on-board! So for the following two days, he mows in the mornings and the evenings. Finally on the 4th day he finishes! He definitely earned the $40! He finished Thursday and guess what, Friday morning, the mowers came and mowed the ENTIRE LAWN!!! I was SO happy! It worked, (I think). We'll see what next week brings. (The picture above shows the mowing service mowing our backyard yesterday).

Note: Our yard actually goes back to that big tree on the left, but it's a good chunk more than was mowed before!