We had a good wet winter and spring in Reno this year. And everything has grown like crazy – including the weeds.

You know, at first you see a few and then all of a sudden, it seems like a whole new clump has just grown overnight.  It was my intent to take care of the unwelcome garden guests one weekend – when all it did was rain.

So, the next time I planned to set aside for this task was over Memorial Day weekend. Of the three day holiday, it was reasonable to spend one day sprucing up the yard.

On the Friday before the long weekend, a letter arrived … from the dreaded homeowners association.

And how did it start off?

Dear Janet (yup … named spelled wrong):

‘You are in violation of section blah blah … something about weeds …”

I completely shut down and stopped reading.

Really? Does your letter need to start that way, HOA?

Do you think that maybe a kinder approach could go farther? Especially since I have never heard from you before – about this or any other issue?

So here are some thoughts for a better approach. What about something like:

Our neighborhood is a source of pride and as an HOA, we are tasked with making sure that the CC&Rs are followed.  And then tell me that I am in violation. Or better yet, give me a warning and a period of time to correct the situation.

Now, I totally get that some people may not respond to a warning, but you are going to drive by my house one more time anyway to check on the status of my violation. So wouldn’t a warning get you to the same place with me? Because you won’t see a single weed outside the front of my house.

Jeanette