I live in a neighborhood that can be compared to the one in the movie Pleasantville and one that WANTS to be as cool as the real one in The Truman Show. Manicured lawns, ticky-tacky houses, a town center. A TRUE planned community with a serious Property Owner’s Association. We’re lucky enough to have fairly low POA dues that we have yet to pay this year, but I’m pretty sure a good portion of their budget is spent on stamps and letters sent to us.
We tend not to live up to the expectations our POA require for us to reach.
Though we don’t keep old cars on our front lawn (they’d have to be Smart Cars with the size of our mini-front lawn), we do keep a nice selection of weeds decorating the yard. Weeds have flowers; flowers are pretty. I see nothing wrong w/ using weeds as a decorative accessory to our landscaping. However, the POA tends to think differently, and we frequently receive letters from them annoying letting us know our chosen medium of scaping our lawn is unacceptable. To them, I say, “You no likey my weeds, I’ll give you something to REALLY pick on.”
So, we are too lazy to put away have decided to decorate our front porch with other accoutrements like tricycles, a plasmacar, a diaper wipe container full of acorns (don’t we all?), cut-down tree branches, the occasional trash can, and white post office containers.
Suck on THAT, POA!
*Author’s note: Since deciding to stick it to the MAN, we’ve received at least 10 more letters from the POA, each a separate infraction and a separate postage stamp. In their effort to stick it to us, they’ve spent $4.20 in stamps. And they wonder why we don’t pay their silly dues.
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Twitter: LaurinEvans
October 27, 2009 at 10:12 am
You could scatter wildflower seeds on the lawns of the homeowner’s association officers, but that would just be wrong. And evil. :)
Twitter: claritychaos
October 27, 2009 at 10:30 am
Your yard sounds like mine. For about nine months we had my 6 yo’s ‘art installation’ in the front yard (next to the trike and plasma car) – it consisted of a broken end table, a metal dog gate, a wooden dowel, and rusty metal. Lockjaw waiting to happen. *sigh*
No letters from the neighbors, though. Our German Shepherd (also part of the lawn decor) must have scared off the mailman. ;)
Twitter: SillyJaime
October 27, 2009 at 4:10 pm
I feel bad for those people. They make it sound like it’s a serious offense. I bet your porch is lovely!
Twitter: MommaIncredible
October 27, 2009 at 5:12 pm
OH MY GOD I am totally with Laurin. Want me to head down there? We could first, spread wildflower seeds, THEN, we could FORK them! They would NEVER know who did it!
Twitter: tenakim
October 27, 2009 at 5:33 pm
I love you. Although I gave into the man and keep my lawn very well manicured- I wanted to paint my house yellow and the guy in the ASSociation that fought me wears a toupe and black knee high with shorts when he mows his lawn AND plants FAKE flowers in the ground.
I make sure my dog does his business in his yard whenever I get a chance.
Twitter: lpgill
October 27, 2009 at 5:54 pm
Ha ha ha! I LOVE Laurin’s idea to sprinkle wildflower seeds on their lawn. That is deliciously evil, especially when doing it to someone like the “MAN” who would be so twisted by it.
Weeds are my favorite to photograph. And, you saw our hill, right? All weeds, all the time. Weeds get no love, man. I’m glad to hear you are part of the WAM*.
*Weed Advocacy Movement
I think you are a bucketful of awesome.
In the words of Mr. Rogers:
Please won’t you be my neighbor?
Twitter: mommabird2345
October 29, 2009 at 11:06 am
I’m with you, stick it to the MAN! We used to live in a HOA & the president of the HOA lived across the street. We got letters all the time for stupid stuff. Once she complained that the Christmas lights were still on the house. First of all it was only Jan 2, & second they were only around ONE window on the INSIDE of the house. So my husband left them up for 2 yrs. He didn’t think they should decide how we decorate the inside of our house. We never fixed anything that they complained about and we were never fined. I bet they were glad when we moved.
I bet your house looks AWESOME!!
I don’t have a yard. Well, a front yard that the housing office “takes care of.” By that I mean we have brown grass b/c they won’t fix the auto sprinklers. And it looks a-w-ful. I would gladly trade beautiful weed lawn for ugly brown lawn any day.