Recap: The Beginning

I have been neglecting my yard off and on since I bought this house. Frankly, I never liked yardwork… growing up, my dad assigned mowing to me as a chore, and I hated it. The suburban house where I grew up had a large yard - front and back - and, of course, it was in Texas, so it was hot. I hated getting grassy and sweaty, and it certainly wasn’t worth the $5 or $10 I got in return. I never learned how to use a weed eater, so I just mowed as well as I could without doing any edging.

My elderly neighbor, who was like a grandfather to me, had an affinity for yardwork that I did not understand - until recently, anyway. He had a full array of tools and would attempt to give me advice. I was an ungrateful teenager and didn’t really pay attention. He repaid my inattention and lack of care by going behind me with his edger and making things look much sharper than I left them. I wish I’d listened. I could have learned so much from him.

All of that to say: I tried to avoid doing yard work from the moment I bought this house. I inherited a lawnmower, and I did mow here and there with it, but I eventually hired someone to do it regularly. When that stopped, I looked for others, and it was hard to find someone who was reliable, reasonable with cost, and capable of quality work. I eventually gave up the search and decided I needed to do it myself to save money. I bought an electric mower - having to deal with the gas was one part I hated - and a set of electric lawn tools.

My first spring here, weeds popped up everywhere. Pre-pandemic, I had a busy life out of the house, and I didn’t address the weeds with any sense of urgency. They became quite tall, and eventually, I spent a few days pulling them. I filled an entire garbage can - the big one that gets put on the street once a week for pickup - with weeds from my backyard. It was painful! I quickly hired a company to come treat the yard for weeds, and I’m still enjoying a yard that’s 99% free of weeds thanks to them.

Fast forward to this summer: I had mowed a week prior when I received a letter from the HOA about the length of my grass. I was instantly frustrated. My grass was what, 4” tall, maximum? I read their quote of the bylaw and realized it also called out edging, among other things. I had never edged. I would typically let the grass that had crossed the line over into the sidewalk grow until I could fold it over the main part of grass and do my best to cut it that way. It wasn’t effective. The edges of my yard hadn’t looked neat in years, but they weren’t terrible. In my annoyance, I thought, “Fine! Complaining about 4” grass and imperfect edges? I’ll make this yard look great! I’ll show them!” And so it began, with spite.