What is wrong with these people?

First let me state that I do not believe in watering lawns. If you live in a climate where grass is not supposed to grow, do not try to make grass grow. (Exhibit A: Arizona) Especially since California has been in a drought situation for the past few years! And we're in the dry season anyway, for crying out loud! We only have two seasons, and their names tell you when things are supposed to grow and when they're not!

I say this because I experienced another stunning display of Berkeley hypocrisy today. These people are all high and mighty about saving the environment, and yet they maintain their unnaturally lush, green yards year round. Today I was outside actually doing some gardening - trimming back a bush and doing some weeding - and my neighbor across the street (the one I particularly don't like) comes over and says, "You know, when you first moved in here, there was a sprinkler system that would come on and water the plants. We have one just like it, it's really simple..."

Awkward pause while he stares at me condescendingly.

"Uh yeah, I know," I say. "We turned it off because it was using so much water."

"Is it broken?"

"No, we just turned it off. It was really expensive."

"Did you turn the water down or turn off the timer? Because I know how the timer works. I can show you right now, if you want." And he starts heading for the side of our house!

I'm stunned. In retrospect, I should've countered his unbelievable rudeness by launching into the rant I started this post with and trying to make him feel guilty for deepening the drought with his ubergreen landscaping. Instead, I said something like, "It's in the backyard" to stop him from tinkering with our watering system. And then he offered to come over some time and turn it back on for us, and I said thanks and hoped that he would go away faster.

I can't believe these people are so obsessed with our yard! Being obsessed with how your own yard looks is weird enough, but other people's too? First the weeds, now the fact that our grass is turning brown. It's supposed to turn brown, you idiot. I refuse to water the grass for 8-9 months out of the year. I take that as a sign that we do not live in a climate that supports grassy lawns.

The thing that really gets me is that he's not saying it in a friendly way. It's not like he's genuinely concerned that we might not know how to work our sprinkler system. He's just informing us that he does not approve of the fact that some of our grass is turning brown, and he intends to do something about it. I would like to add that our front landscaping is really not that bad. The plants are still quite nice, there are absolutely no weeds (anymore), and there are lots of purple flowers. It's just that some of the grass has started to go dormant because it hasn't rained since March, and it's not going to rain again until November.

I am so glad we're moving.