The Art of Untidying: Part 2

Kim and I have a messy yard. We leave our leaves and don’t clean up the flowerbeds or gardens in the fall. Intentionally.

I know it’s better for every variety of creature than when I kept a tidy lawn. Leaf litter is home to many insects and animals over the winter. It makes gardening easier too, as so many vegetables seed themselves and come up as hardy volunteers in the spring.

But keeping an untidy lawn was more difficult for me to learn than inside the house. Lawns are visible to everyone who strolls by, and in the past, I took those untidy lawns of my neighbors as a sign of their laziness. Every time I don’t rake or mulch my own leaves, I hear that judgment applied to myself. Lazy.

With practice, I’ve learned to shake off the judgment; first by seeing the messy lawns of my neighbors with admiration and then by applying that kindness to myself.

Learning a new way of doing something is hard because you first have to admit to yourself that maybe your way isn’t the best. It takes humility, and I’m still learning that.

But seeing a great-horned owl a few nights ago hunting in our backyard sure made it easier.

They say hard work is its own reward. But sometimes the reward of laziness is even greater.