Yard watering: WHY?

Do you ever wonder why runners find dead people? It’s because we wander through places we’re not used to, and we actually pay attention to things despite the weird looks on our faces. This is the first of what I hope will many posts under the label “Observations.” I get so focused on what I’m doing while running that I have neglected to write about the weird things I’ve seen out and about. Today’s subject: yard watering.

In my old Lynchburg neighborhood, not many people cared about their lawns. Sure there were some people who did, but there didn’t seem to be any “My yard is prettier than your yard” competitions. My new neighborhood, though, is quite different. While it’s a great place to run with many connecting streets and a nearby park, I’m beginning to wonder if people have any clue to how dry it’s been lately. We’re under “voluntary” water restrictions in Chesterfield County, but that doesn’t stop the sprinklers from going at full speed.

Every morning I dodge at least a half dozen sprinklers - often more - wasting water away on the streets. On otherwise warm days, it’s not so bad, but lately the temperatures have been fairly nice at 7 a.m. before the sun comes up and I’d rather not have any extra water on me. For people who have grass that can’t get any greener, I don’t understand what would be so wrong with cutting back just a bit. Watering every day and every night baffles me. Perhaps it’s my distaste for mowing. Don’t get me wrong, I love having a green yard and mine looks great, but it’s almost October and I really don’t want to mow too many more times this season. In a few weeks, I’ll have to worry about the leaves and I’d rather not have six-inch high grass to deal with.

Next time: Rude people.