Lawn Care

Our landlords have a hired service come and take care of our lawn every year. Last year, they were terrible. They are supposed to come every other week to clean up the yard and cut the grass.

Every three weeks or so, an army of hispanic men would descend upon the property with huge machines and giant green waste buckets. Gas powered blowers attached to their backs, they would sweep in and out again in a matter of minutes. Sadly, most of their time here was spent looking at me and not at the grass they were supposed to be cutting. Big patches would be left uncut and there would still be bunches of sticks on the ground, right where they were before the men came.


This year, the landlords shopped around for a new service. Last week, a new service came every day to survey the property and give an estimate for the work. Some were here for just a few moments, one just sat in his car out front (there's a lot you can't see from the road) and another spent about a half hour studying the place, writing down the kinds of bushes and trees we had and where they were, as well as information about the current condition of the property.

This last guy is the one they hired, and he's here today. I feel a little bad, though. He's all alone . . . It's such a change from last year. He is slowly and methodically doing his job, carefully removing leaves from the bushes, using a blower where he can and a rake or even his hands where he can't. I don't know if he'll finish the whole job today or come back again tomorrow to cut the grass, but I feel like I should go out and help him. There is so much to do for just one person, it seems.