Signs of hope

Driving to Marathon today, all along the way the ditches were full of wildflowers. I made really slow progress, stopping frequently. Then, in Marathon, I saw this sign by someone's yard,

I had already talked to the Alpine man in charge of mowing, and he said he'd try to avoid mowing our square block, and when I asked, he said it was OK if I put up signs, so I did it. It can't hurt, and might help, who knows? It didn't cost anything except my labor. They may be more signs of wishful thinking than hope, but I put up 3 signs, and might do more. I don't think I dare put the signs as close to the street as was done in Marathon, though.

This is the street that flanks our block on the east side. This is the side that water runs off the street and makes the awesome wildflowers, though they're a bit past their prime right now. It won't be feasible to do this on the north or south side of our place, but if this works, I might try it on the west side.

As I explained to the city, we have 3 choices. Either water and waste city water growing lawn that needs mowing, or don't water and mow and have bare ugly ground all over town, or let wildflowers come up. Of course, we'll have to selectively pull out weeds, but there isn't much I consider a weed. I love thistles. And if a neighbor complains, it'll get mowed for sure, but I'm hoping the neighbors won't complain. The neighbors yards aren't well cared for, anyway. It's worth a try. If we get a citation, my husband will be out on his mower asap, I'm sure. But any hope is better than none. This is an experiment in progress. I'll keep you updated.

And if I can pull this off, my husband won't be so fearful of not mowing the area around the ponds.