One homeowner's disturbing experience with a bad neighbor highlighted just how far some people will go to try to get others to conform to their way of living.

The situation was detailed on Reddit, with a handful of Facebook screenshots documenting how the neighbor felt about supposedly overgrown grass, though the turf didn't even appear that long and was well within the city's 12-inch limit.

The hateful assault was full of misspellings and poor grammar and even included a slur.

"'I'm to dumb [To cut my grass]' … the irony," one commenter wrote.

Someone else said: "I've been in a similar situation and it just boggles my mind that of all the things people like them can do to occupy their time, the best they can come up with is doing shit like this."

The original poster was not violating any homeowners association rules — their neighborhood didn't even have an HOA — and, as noted, their lawn did not seem to be the least bit unruly, with the grass along the sidewalk neatly trimmed. A crepe myrtle on the corner of the property may have been growing into the walking path, and the small strip of vegetation along the street was growing freely.

Anyway, they were well within their rights to do with their property as they pleased. And many folks have taken more extreme action, including rewilding their yards, creating meadows, or planting wildflowers that don't conform to traditional lawn culture. 

These avenues do, however, offer savings in both time and money, and they boost the environment by offering habitat for wildlife and support to vital pollinators. Natural lawns don't need as much water, fertilizer, or pesticides as turfgrass, and you can cut back on your mowing and other maintenance, too.

Start with native plants or by removing a small section of grass, and see how you like it. The aesthetics are enough for most people to get on board, and your non-curmudgeonly neighbors will enjoy it as well.

🗣️ Should HOAs be able to force homeowners to change their yards?

🔘 Absolutely not 💯

🔘 Yes — it's part of the deal 🤝

🔘 Only in extreme circumstances 🏚️

🔘 We should ban HOAs 🚫

🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind

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