{"id":1209,"date":"2014-12-12T09:42:33","date_gmt":"2014-12-12T14:42:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.townehouse.net\/phoenix\/?p=1209"},"modified":"2014-12-12T09:42:33","modified_gmt":"2014-12-12T14:42:33","slug":"thoughts-on-grass-and-leaves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=1209","title":{"rendered":"Thoughts On Grass and Leaves"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/rake-leaves.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1210\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?attachment_id=1210\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/rake-leaves.jpg?fit=113%2C150&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"113,150\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"rake leaves\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/rake-leaves.jpg?fit=113%2C150&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-1210\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/rake-leaves.jpg?resize=113%2C150\" alt=\"rake leaves\" width=\"113\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>I have never been known as one who tried toachieve\u00a0the perfect yard. Far be it from me to deny anything that wishes to grow in my yard the opportunity to do so. I have a very liberal philosophy with regards to yard greenage (is that a word?). In short, I believe if it is green it is grass. In my opinion, grass is a very generic term that refers to anything green that grows in the yard to help hide the spots where traditional grass refuses to grow, in my case that includes most of my yard. There also seems to be this socially accepted standard with regards to the length of grass, and grasswannabees, that pass as my lawn. In my opinion, the higher the better, but the law, and my neighbors are not on my side with regards to that point of view. So I try to cut my grass at least once or twice every summer. Just trying to be a good neighbor.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Also of concern to the neighbors, but not necessarily to me or to the law is the issue of leaves that have fallen to the ground. I personally like the look of leaves on the ground. For one thing, they help to cover the bare spots that the grass and its allies failed to cover. Most people are very fickle when it comes to leaves. They love them in the spring as it indicates that old tree will live to see another summer, and they love them in the summer for the shade they provide. They even love them for a while in the autumn as they change colors and signal us they will soon fall to the ground and upset the neighbors. I like them on the ground. I like walking through them hearing the crunch and watching them flutter away when I shuffle through them on the way to the mailbox. I even enjoy a certain thrill and shot of adrenalin when I almost slip and fall on the wet leaves. Adrenalin rushes are few and far between at my age so I take all I can get. The advantages of having leaves on the ground notwithstanding, there is this social norm of removing the leaves that must be annually addressed.<\/p>\n<p>The process of collecting the leaves and encapsulating them in green plastic bags is the worse. In our yard we have about six large trees and four of them are Pin Oaks. Pin Oaks tenaciously hold onto their leaves far into fall and even into winter. They only release more leaves after the trees have noticed ones effort to clear the yard of those leaves that had the common courtesy to drop in a timely fashion. We have these things on the edges of our roof which I assume are leaf magnets. Although they do quickly fill up with leaves, their capacity is not nearly enough to collect all of the leaves that choose to fall. Of course, once full, they tend to provide a spectacular water fall effect whenever it rains. I don&#8217;t understand why the makers of the leaf magnets did not anticipate and calculate the size of the devices to attract all the leaves. But what do I know. Unfortunately the designers oversight still leaves (no pun intended) me with the dilemma of removing the remaining leaves from my yard.<\/p>\n<p>I have noticed that some people seem to enjoy burning leaves, local ordinances be damned. The smell of burning leaves is a pleasure to many, but to me it is just another way of spreading the noxious content of trees and leaves that merely serve to clog up my sinus cavities. However, I am open to the idea of donating all my leaves to any leaf pyromaniac who wishes to come and get them. I will even provide the rakes.<br \/>\nThose are my thoughts, what are yours?<\/p>\n<p>Feel free to comment, disagree, share and subscribe. Thank you for patronizing the Townehouse Phoenix.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I have never been known as one who tried toachieve\u00a0the perfect yard. Far be it from me to deny anything that wishes to grow in my yard the opportunity to do so. I have a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12911,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_daextrevo_audio_file_creation_date":"","_daextrevo_text_to_speech":"","_daextrevo_document_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[13,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","category-humor"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/THFI.png?fit=214%2C200&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14221,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=14221","url_meta":{"origin":1209,"position":0},"title":"Adopt-A-Yard","author":"Tom Lind","date":"September 6, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The yard next door is truly a masterpiece, a vibrant tapestry of rich green hues, where a dense carpet of high-quality grass flourishes, unencumbered by the presence of pesky weeds. It stands as a testament to pride and care, a genuine sight for sore eyes. But alas, when it comes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Humor&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Humor","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=18"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/TH-09-05-24.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":16,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=16","url_meta":{"origin":1209,"position":1},"title":"That Neighbor!","author":"Tom Lind","date":"September 16, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"It seems as if no matter where you live, or who you are, you will always end up with \"that neighbor\". You know the one I am talking about, the neighbor who is so busy minding your business they have no time to mind their own. And if you don't\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Rants&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Rants","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"Toilet Bowl Planter","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/toilet-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":834,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=834","url_meta":{"origin":1209,"position":2},"title":"Wives and Wooly Worms","author":"Tom Lind","date":"February 8, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I am not much for yard work. I have never been much for yard work. I find no joy in mowing the grass, trimming the hedges, or even picking up sticks. About the only thing I like with regards to yard work is burning refuse. I find this enjoyable because\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"Wooly Worm","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/woolyworm-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1294,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=1294","url_meta":{"origin":1209,"position":3},"title":"Cabin Fever","author":"Tom Lind","date":"March 7, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"So this is what cabin fever feels like. In the past I have often heard people speak of cabin fever but I never quite understood the concept. After all, I was never restricted to my \u201ccabin\u201d I always had the ability to come and go as I pleased, or even\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"cabin_fever_letterhead-r76979205b60340ae80044944df029907_vg63g_8byvr_324","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/cabin_fever_letterhead-r76979205b60340ae80044944df029907_vg63g_8byvr_324-115x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":387,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=387","url_meta":{"origin":1209,"position":4},"title":"Snake In The Grass","author":"Tom Lind","date":"March 16, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The other night while lying in bed waiting for blissful slumber, the term \"snake in the grass\" popped into my head. I have no idea where it came from as I was not thinking about snakes or people who I consider to be snakes.(Do not look away, you know who\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Miscellaneous&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Miscellaneous","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=19"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snake In The Grass","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/cute-snake-cartoon-vector-986776-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":67,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=67","url_meta":{"origin":1209,"position":5},"title":"I Really Hate Winter!","author":"Tom Lind","date":"February 9, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I hate winter. I mean I really hate winter. I am not talking about disliking winter. I am not talking about extremely disliking winter. I am talking pure, unadulterated hate. I do not mean the classic definition of winter, which is from the third week in December to the third\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Rants&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Rants","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"I hatge Winter","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/winter-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p38YRh-jv","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1209\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}