- 11302 Piney Point Cir. [HAR]
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Tag: Back Yards
- 5531 Dawnington Pl. [HAR]
- 3711 Olympia Dr. [HAR]
- 7911 Greenbush St. [HAR]
Metalab recently collaborated on and completed this so-called “architectural folly” commissioned by those staunch advocates of play, The Art Guys. Dubbed the “Tumbling House,” the private playshack rests atop a 50-ft. galvanized arch of rolled pipe; the pipe spans much of the backyard and branches off into a manic jungle gym of swings, slides, monkey bars, and ladders. Metalab declined to give many more details about the project, since it’s a private thing and all, but you can see more photos of the whimsical whozee-whatzit from the firm’s blog:
- 6813 Appleton St. [HAR]
- 8710 Winston Falls Ct. [HAR]
- 640 E. 8 1/2th St. [HAR]
FACEBOOK COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHY THERE’S NO BRICK AROUND THE BACK SIDE OF THE HOUSE “Masonry-front houses [are] the reverse mullet of housing — party in the front, business in the back.†[Alice Pavlak, on Swamplot’s Facebook page, commenting — and voting — on Favorite Houston Design Cliché: The Official 2010 Ballot]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: MICROLOTS BY THE PARK “I think most people flee because they think they need yards for those kids, and with X amount of money you can either buy a house from the 50s on a lot or a townhome from the 80s to now on a microlot. I have a five year old and moved from my last two homes on lots (including Lazybrook) to a townhome in the 77007 and couldn’t be happier. We live next to the biggest, most amazing parks in the city, the arboretum, etc – why would I mow my own yard when I can walk a block to that?! This is turning out to be a better place to raise my kid than any of those neighborhoods were.” [Brandy C, commenting on Comment of the Day: Moving for Kids]
What do you do when you’ve got one of those pesky neighbors who just won’t take care of her overgrown back yard?
“We’ve had nutria rats — the ones that look like beavers — caught in the trap in my backyard. . . . I have had run-ins with large snakes. My dog has been sprayed by a skunk. … My children are not allowed to walk the property unless I go out there first.
“Anytime you try to entertain with friends, you have to explain why there is a jungle next door creeping through the fence. … It’s just the craziest thing.”
Sounds bad. But here’s a suggestion: Do you have any sway with the neighborhood homeowners’ association? Are you, say, its president? Well, then, why don’t you just have the reluctant gardener next door put in jail until she agrees to take care of the problem?
The Kirkmont Association first sued Ballew and won a permanent injunction against her in 2004, requiring her to mow her entire lawn twice a month and trim her trees and shrubs once a year. Ballew failed to appear in court at that time to respond to the lawsuit, which resulted in a default judgment.
But little has changed since then, Carroll said. Only the front yard has been mowed.
During a follow-up hearing in April 2006, Ballew was found to be in contempt of court for failing to comply with the injunction. She was sentenced to three days in jail, but that sentence was suspended for four months to give her time to do the required yard work, homeowners association attorney Michael Treece said.
She was ordered to return to Davidson’s court for a compliance hearing in August but failed to appear.
Davidson issued an order for Ballew’s arrest last fall. She was taken into custody Friday. The judge told Ballew he sought her arrest “very reluctantly.”
After the jump, the advice mowing scofflaw Linda Ballew took too far: tips for a healthy but shaggy lawn from the Kirkwood South website. Plus, more Kirkwood South yards of the month.
