Re: green lawn equipment, not green

I live on a corner. The front yard is bordered by hemlock trees and the back is fenced.  We let the lawns go to meadow.  This summer someone cut my front lawn on a day I wasn't home.  I don't think it was one of my neighbors, but I don't know.  The lawn really isn't visible from the street.

I grew up having to maintain "country club" appearance in the yard, so my fallowing reaction is possibly a bit extreme.  I've got 2 mowers, a JD 42" rider and a Toro 20" 5hp mulcher.  Neither one burns oil, I don't see why a good engine should.

We never watered the lawn (except when newly seeded) and never used fertilizer either.  It wasn't as thick & green as it might have been, but it wasn't scrawny either (except outside the hemlocks).

But here's the thing.  The property value has taken a **HUGE** hit!  Gotta be honest, when we go to sell, the lawn will be bright green new turf, well fertilized, watered & clipped.  I just can't see forfeiting tens of thousands of dollars to a buyer who'll do the same thing the day he moves in.

Anyone want to start a "Meadow as Lawn" organization and give it a the clout to demand higher real estate prices?  As it stands now the 2-3 pints of black blackberries we get are worth about $6-$9 (retail).  Any takers for next season?