Right now, it's 7:37, Sunday morning. I'm finishing up my breakfast, getting ready to head over to our church's building for worship. For the past ten minutes, I've been listening to a neighbor mowing his lawn!
Apart from qualms that some might have about laboring on the Sabbath, what is this guy thinking? (By the way, I labor on the Sabbath each week.) After all, some people--even Christian people who've attended Saturday afternoon or evening worship celebrations--might like to sleep in on Sunday mornings. That's tough to do once a 6.5-horsepower Briggs and Stratton has started grinding outside your window!
And it isn't like this is a special case. This guy mows his lawn every Sunday morning that the grass is growing, always about this time.
Granted, most of us in hyper-humid Cincinnati are ensconced in our houses, windows shut tight, air conditioners purring. And, obviously, he doesn't really bother me personally. But the people who live directly beside this guy must have the most un-Christian thoughts when he revs up his mower.
Does this guy violate lawn mowing etiquette? Or am I overreacting?
11 comments:
Mark:
First, thanks for the encouraging comments about our trip.
Now, as a kid in hyper-humid Indidnapolis that cut 2-3 lawns a day (I worked for a contractor in a developing development) I would get really hacked when neighbors would make me wait until late in the day to cut the grass. Partcularly when the forcast called for hotter than...
I am a very early riser naturally, I realize I am bizarre that way but I do wish the world would accomodate us morning people a little more thna it does.
Here's the municipal code regarding gardening noise in my community (Santa Monica CA)
4.12.180 Restrictions on gardening or landscaping activities.
(a) No person shall engage in any gardening or landscaping activity by use of any internal combustion, motorized or electromechanical means during the following times anywhere in the City:
(1) Before eight a.m. or after eight p.m. on Monday through Friday, except that gardening or landscaping activities conducted by employees of the City of Santa Monica or public utilities shall not occur before seven a.m. or after eight p.m. on Monday through Friday;
(2) Before nine a.m. or after eight p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, or on New Years Day, Martin Luther King’ s Birthday, President’ s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, as those days have been established by the United States of America.
(b) A permit may be issued authorizing gardening or landscaping activity during the times prohibited by this Section whenever it is found to be in the public interest. Applications for such permits shall be in writing, accompanied by any applicable fee as the City Council may by resolution establish, and shall set forth in detail facts showing that the public interest will be served by the issuance of the permit. Applications shall be made to the Community Noise Officer, whose decision shall be final and not appealable to the City Council. (Added by Ord. No. 2115CCS § 1 (part), adopted 2/24/04)
(I would have just linked it, but direct links to specific code isn't possible)
(besides, who doesn't love a heaping dose of legalese on the weekend?)
(and don't mess with the Community Noise Officer, they mean business! (though the local Water Police, really, really mean business and are quick to fine folks for wasting water))
Dan, John, XWL:
Thanks for your interesting comments.
I'm totally on board with the notion of beating the heat by either mowing early in the morning or just before sundown. But I do think that 7:30 on Sunday morning is a bit early.
Like you, John, I spent many summers making a living from mowing lawns--even one summer when I was in seminary. Especially during rainy stretches, mowing in other than early morning hours could present some real difficulties. But this guy was mowing his own lawn and almost always does so early on Sunday mornings. The earliest I had noted it previously was 8:00, though. In our huge suburban development, I have only ever noted one other guy, a few streets over, who mows early on Sundays. But that isn't his ordinary routine.
Thanks again for the comments, guys!
Mark
We have a few neighbors who occasionally do loud yardwork at 7 a.m. or earlier, and it's always annoying to me.
A week or two before th 4th of July one of our neighbors was setting off fireworks at 5:30 in the morning. Now that is inconsiderate, not to mention also illegal.
Purple:
The loud yardwork at 7:00 AM may also be illegal.
Mark
BOB:
I wasn't really reacting so much to the mowing on a Sunday as a holy day as I was to its being a day of rest, holy and secular.
And, as to the good old days, when I was growing up, we had no air conditioners unless perhaps in a single room. Back then, the neighbor who dared to mow the lawn prior to 9:00 in the morning would have been drawn and quartered, irrespective of the day. The general rule of our neighborhood, not formal, was: Make no loud noise before 9AM or after 9PM.
But things have changed, which is why my post title was a question, not a statement.
Thanks for your thoughts. I loved your characterization of the "seasons" in Houston.
Mark
Pacific Grove, California
Saturday Morning
Noise pollution can kill you!
My next door neighbor mowing her tiny backyard for two hours from 9AM, today is Saturday!
American Dream
Big house -
Fence -
SUV -
Mowing your lawn too often -
Her mower drive me crazy!
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landscape design
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