Re: Leaf blowers in cohousing/grass | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: Berrins (Berrinsaol.com) | |
Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2003 21:16:09 -0600 (MDT) |
I have to agree with Liz, these kinds of decisions are best made after move-in. Before move-in several people wanted us to have minimal grass and use hand mowers instead of power mowers. One of those folks now has one of the nicest lawns and likes riding our new lawn mower regularly. Other folks complained earlier this year that our riding mower, which is fairly loud, was used too much. But their main gripe turned out to be timing. Unfortunately, an informal poll showed there is no real good time. So now the folks who do the mowing do it when it fits their personal schedules. Your future community may be able to find a good time. You can ditto that for leaf blowing. We are lucky in that our open lawn arrangement actually reduces the amount of leaf blowing necessary because the wind doesn't get caught up in barrier bushes and fences, so most of the leaves end up getting blown into the woods. We've only had to do leaf blowing once or twice a year, usually for an afternoon or two (this is despite being surrounded by over 30 acres of woods with mostly deciduous trees). This year, when it comes time to do leaf blowing, we'll simply bag when we mow (instead of leaving the clippings like we usually do) and that'll take care of the leaves. On the other hand, I can see where it would be a problem if lots of people had leaf blowers and were obsessive about keeping their lawns cleared (although I just can't see this happening in cohousing). Should that be the case, instead of outright banning gas powered blowers, your future community could encourage electric ones by buying a couple, try to hammer out a respectable time (like when you aren't home) and work at getting a crew of dedicated rakers. But to address the main issue, re: outright banning of powered leaf blows in cohousing. Are you prepared to do most, if not all, of the work by hand yourself? As often as it takes to get the job done? If you require that people do things by hand (which most certainly takes a lot more time) you may end up with fewer people willing to do the work, not to mention some resentment from those who don't like to be told how to do things. That may not be a big deal in a small, urban cohousing community with little open space and few trees, but the work required, of course, is directly related to the number of trees and open space. You could end up with a large task and few volunteers (or not!- who knows?). This question also touches on the much larger issue of work. Some folks have physical problems that prevents them from doing much, if any, physical labor. Others feel that they shouldn't have to do physical labor because they keep the books, or cook or garden a lot, or simply don't want to feel obligated to do any specific kind of work. So you end up with a small pool of people willing to do a specific task on a regular basis. Out of almost 50 adults at Pathways, perhaps 6 mow on a regular basis, with 1 or 2 others pitching in occasionally. Our riding power mower has made this task much easier and, more importan tly, take MUCH less time (it's also more fun). All this hinges on the value you as a community place on having nice lawns (the primary reason for leaf blowing is to stop the leaves from killing off the grass). I like lawns. I like the open space, the feel of grass on my bare feet and the relative ease of walking from place to place. I love seeing our children play games together on our central commons. And there are plenty of good resources for organic care of lawns. (A rule of thumb- get good soil and make sure to take real good care of it from the beginning. A thick, dense ground cover is the best way to get and keep a healthy lawn). There are two main ways of restricting the amount of grass; hardscapes, such as pavement, pavers or gravel, or other plants, such as ground covers, perennial beds or bushes/shrubs. Not too many people want a lot of hardscape. The alternative plants are excellent choices in the right places, but restrict movement and can't be played on. Restricting movement is an issue in cohousing, because one goal is to foster interaction, which is literally more difficult when things are in the way. Bushes/shrubs and ground covers don't take much maintenance (except in the beginning) but perennial beds, if you want nice ones, tend to be labor intensive. Okay, as usual, I've gone on much too long and I'm "digrassing". But like many things in cohousing, issues are seldom simple. Its too late to sum up, so- good night! Roger (on the land committee at...) Pathways Cohousing Northampton, MA _______________________________________________ Cohousing-L mailing list Cohousing-L [at] cohousing.org Unsubscribe and other info: http://www.cohousing.org/cohousing-L
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