An interesting thing happens every spring and summer on upper Main Street in Vestal New York. It is, a male bonding thing that I can never understand. For one, I don’t mow the yard. For two, I am a female.

My neighbor, Chris, is mowing his yard. That means that my husband will soon mow our yard. He will see that Chris’s is nicer than ours, and he will mow his. This creates a domino effect. Once my husband mows his yard, my neighbor, Frank, will mow his yard.

Sometimes my husband, John, mows his yard first. Always followed by Chris and Frank. But no matter who goes first, the others will surely follow the next day or within hours of each other. Men and their yards. It is a very interesting thing to witness. I personally, plant flowers. So do the wives of my neighbors. This harmony between neighbors has probably been going on 4 decades before my existence.

Years ago, before Chris and his family moved in, a family rented the home for a year. The homeowners had terrible troubles with them. They purposely would put their garbage in a shed out back, instead of the weekly garbage pickup, just to be mean! But worst of all, they did not take care of their yard. It was snake friendly, having not been mowed enough, and filled with toddler toys on used. Needless to say, no one minded when they moved out and Chris bought the home.

You can tell a lot about a family from their lawn. Who mows your lawn? How often do you mow it? Do you take pride in your lawn? Or is it just something annoying you have to take care of so the village does not fine you.

No matter what your reason for caring for it, know that good yards make good neighbors.