In defense of the unkempt lawn

My wife and I have lived in our house for almost eight years now. We have always mowed the lawn, but not quite as regularly as our neighbors. We have one guy next store who is somewhat maniacal. He used to cut his grass twice a week, although he's slacked off lately, to about once a week. We're lucky to get to it once every two weeks, which means going three weeks between mowings hasn't been out of the norm.

We used to be considered lazy -- at least by our parents when they came visiting, and probably by our neighbors too polite to comment. But today, I think you could argue that we're environmentalists.

I was cutting my lawn Sunday afternoon when I suddenly realized that all of these years, my wife and I are probably doing the right thing, or at least, we're not doing the wrong thing. I completely understand why someone would want to have a well-manicured lawn. I look at such yards with a mixture of awe and envy, but it hit me today how much we're saving in money and energy, because we don't take better care of our lawn.