I understand, this time of year especially, everyone is super eager to get started on the lawn and gardening. You see your neighbor’s green grass and colorful flowers and feel that jolt of inspiration (or envy) that gets you out of bed at the crack of dawn. I understand! Weekends go by way too fast — you’ve got to get going early. But weekends are also for rest so let’s compromise.
Here’s my story: Saturday morning, before the clock struck 9 a.m., a neighbor’s lawn mowing was well underway. Not too loud. Just back from an early walk with my dog, I barely even noticed it. Until they cranked up the chainsaw. A few minutes after that, my husband, a restaurateur who didn’t close shop until 2 this same morning, grumpily stomped into the living room and peered through the blinds. He let out a laugh. Not a happy laugh. More like the laugh of the insane or very confused. I had to laugh too when I look out the window. They had a crew out in the yard — not one but two chainsaw-equipped men were annihilating a tree. Another was mowing. Another was edging. And yet another was attaching a blower to his back — which would surely complete the unwelcome cacophony. And this was a relatively small front yard — nonetheless, maybe the team of trimmers was totally necessary. But shouldn’t they wait until 10 a.m.? My mom taught me, when I was a kid, not to call people between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. (I regularly break that rule but not with Mom.) I always adhered to a similar time frame when it came to noisy activity etiquette.
I certainly understand the necessity of early mowing when the heat becomes unbearable — but it’s still pretty nice at 10 a.m. Am I being unreasonable?
