Our Grass: Shame of the City

[Flunking Lawn Care] Nothing like coming home after a long day at the salt mine to a written reprimand hanging on your front doorknob.

But there it was last night, from the TruGreen Chemlawn guy we hired to treat our lawn and trees for nasty bug infestations (mites, grubs, some sort of rot--you don't want to know the half of it). The note on the door informed me it wasn't a bill, but merely an "audit."

"The grass in back looks very bad," said the hastily handwritten report. "It needs a lot of good watering. The patch in the very back looks the worst. You better water it soon or you're going to lose it."

Hey! Aren't we living in a desert? Aren't we supposed to "slow the flow?" Nothing like a report card--a scolding one at that--from the guy who sprays stuff on the lawn. (Holly Mullen)