It has come to my attention that in life, there are some paradoxes that can’t be explained. Right now, one of them is bugging me no end:
Why is it that my Home Owners Association demands that we water our lawns and keep them green, but the city demands that we only water once a week, and for only an hour??
That’s not my lawn, but close enough. Thankfully, we had a nice day of rain yesterday. No deluge, but at least it was steady, and between that and watering my lawn on the sly, perhaps the backyard will be nice and pretty for Eldest’s party come Saturday. Oh, I do have a sprinkler system, but my water bill was astronomical, so now I have the wavy sprinkler and do hand watering when I remember to do it.
Sigh….
Sithy Things 
July 20th, 2011 at 9:43 AM
Our HOA strongly recommends we install “minimal water” landscaping. Of course, since we’re in CA, the “yards” are about the size of a Texas patio.
July 20th, 2011 at 10:35 AM
You live in an HOA…… Oh my.
July 20th, 2011 at 1:02 PM
I suspect it is because y’all haven’t killed enough of the wannabe totalitarian filth that make these rules and regulations…
July 20th, 2011 at 4:58 PM
Homeowners asso’s are truly assholes who spend their lives sticking their noses into business other than theirs.
This isn’t my website or I’d tell you what I really think about those leaching, cowardly, no good, rotten, stinkin’, lying, should’ve just been a nasty stain on the bed sonsofbitches.
July 20th, 2011 at 6:34 PM
I get your drift, Dick 😀
July 20th, 2011 at 8:32 PM
Dick – i concur!!!
i can’t stand having the nosy shit’s (can i say that here…? delete as necessary) from the village board walking the neighborhood with their clipboards looking for zoning infractions….. an HOA would drive me to the clock tower… (figuratively of course… *my attorney made me put that in there*)
screw them!
‘You may water when you are ready, Gridley.’
July 20th, 2011 at 5:07 PM
“Why is it that my Home Owners Association demands that we water our lawns and keep them green, but the city demands that we only water once a week, and for only an hour??”
Because these self important jackasses think that they are the “final” word on what you should do to your home. If they don’t like it, tell them to take it up with the city council.
OKC just said that we can water every other day. Eh, the yard is the color of a wheat field at harvest time…….
July 20th, 2011 at 10:32 PM
Let me offer a dissenting view from the prevailing winds here.
The “paradox” is one of circumstances rather than intention. Much of the Sierra-Nevada west to southwest regions have been in the pernicious grip of a drought for over a decade. The points of acuteness drift frequently and now one is centered squarely on much of Texas. The HOA regulations were written in better climatological circumstances and probably don’t include provisions for exceptional conditions. Or, perhaps they do. Ask your HOA board if there have been changes in the CC&R’s from the version you have Aggie. In Nevada local water restriction laws trump all HOA regulations. I suspect they do too in Texas. Water is an extremely vital resource for the entire community. When it starts getting scarce it’s use has to be prioritized. Green lawns are nice, but are hardly necessary.
As for HOA’s – you sign an agreement to abide by the community regulations when you buy the house. Don’t like the regulations? Don’t buy the house. HOA’s were set up so that city services wouldn’t have to maintain residential communities. As a former member of an HOA board I tell you all that it is an entirely thankless task that needs to be done. If you don’t like what your HOA board is doing, how about getting off your butt and joining the board? Hell, just actually attend a meeting once in a while and find out what’s going on? That’s always been a big problem at my old place – there’s absolutely NO community involvement in the community, but there’s absolutely NO shortage of people who sit around complaining about things who won’t lift a finger themselves to do anything. Bah.
July 21st, 2011 at 12:04 AM
Mitchell,
For every one member of the HOA like you who try to do a thankless job in a conscientious manner, there are a million arrogant power mad assholes in HOA boards.
I for one, will never live in a neighborhood where there is an HOA.
July 21st, 2011 at 8:30 AM
You have very good points, Mitchell. And yes, it is a thankless job. My friend used to be on the board and she ended up resigning her position due to locking horns too many times with the so-called president.
As to the regulations, I agree. I had no issues with them when I purchased the home. And the yearly fee is very low compared to most HOAs around this area. But we are under a constant state of drought in this area, beholden to the Edwards Aquifer, and subject to the whims of one water company. And our contract specifically states that city water trumps regulations. The problem that we have is that the president of the HOA is a power-hungry idiot who wants this neighborhood to look better than the one a street over.
I attend the meetings and have raised several questions about the conflict between the city and the HOA’s demands, and have been effectively told that “I’m doing it wrong.” So, I will not go to the city and report on the meetings 😀
July 21st, 2011 at 9:21 AM
Er, my HOA rant wasn’t directed at you Aggie, but rather the apathetic trolls that infest my former stomping grounds.
July 21st, 2011 at 9:24 AM
I know that!!! I’m not a philistine!!!
Sheesh…. 😉
July 22nd, 2011 at 11:46 PM
you could try painting the grass green. 😉
i remember a neighbor of my parents got so tired of keeping his yard up he had the front covered with concrete and astroturf. he was heartbroken when the dandilions sprouted the second summer.
July 23rd, 2011 at 7:24 PM
Drought-tolerant, no-mow:
http://www.romencegardens.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=plants.plantDetail&plant_id=1553&typeID=14
And it’s edible. 🙂
July 24th, 2011 at 9:41 AM
I love it, David, but I’m in Zone 9 😦
July 24th, 2011 at 5:09 PM
Well, there has to be something that’s
a. happy with zone 9
b. NO MOW and
c. drought tolerant
…somewhere… 😉