Guest Blogger Marlene Rodak

The Harmony of Commotion     I just walked out my front door and nearly ran into a Monarch butterfly. I placed an outgoing letter I carried in the mailbox, turned and walked back in. I nearly ran into that butterfly again. Earlier today, I took two vases of chilled water out back. Taking my time while enjoying the quiet of nature, I snipped Narrow-leaf Sunflowers from along the lake and carefully selected beaded segments of Wild Coffee from along the back of the house. I meticulously removed the lower stems and arranged them artfully into the vases.  Even earlier than that today, I drank my coffee and read the newspaper. Afterward, I took the coffee grounds from the pot out to feed it to the worms that are happily eating and creating fertilizer for me. I can honestly say that I truly believe I enjoy my yard more than most, if not all others in my neighborhood. How can I not? There is always something going on. I walk around the house and appreciate life. Yes, my yard is a little different from most other yards in the neighborhood. When I walk down the block, most houses are quiet and peaceful. When I get to our house, there is commotion -- butterflies, bees, sometimes bunnies, and nearly always doves. Sometimes the doves are hiding, but most of the time they’re hanging around on the roof. Yes, there are times they scare the bejeebers out of me! Even when I expect them to be there, they scare me when I walk through the break in the buttonwoods to work at my potting benchI’m not here to criticize other yards. I’m simply here to tell you that we turned off our sprinklers. Yes. In a day when people smarter than me estimate 50% of our water consumption here is used on irrigation, I can say, “Not In My Back Yard!” When people smarter than me are predicting yet another drought in this area this winter, I say N.I.M.B.Y! When people smarter than me are saying the red-drift algae, red tide and enormous dead zones are caused by fertilizer runoff, I can say N.I.M.B.Y! Oh yes, I have “awful things” in my yard, too. One day, while a few girlfriends were chatting on the lanai, they spotted a black snake in the Dwarf Fire Bush. They squealed with excitement as they grabbed their iPhone to videotape it. They squealed even more as they stood a foot or so away from all the commotion as it coiled around the shrubbery where the bees were buzzing. Then, the snake started eating the bees! Yes, it was striking away, picking off the bees gathering nectar for their honey. Yes, the ladies were only about a foot away from all the commotion, but no, there was no danger. There was harmony!  Sometimes we have a red-shouldered hawk land on the corner of our pool cage looking for those black rat snakes. Sometimes we have an osprey landing on the still-too-weak top of our south-Florida slash pine trying to dodge mockingbirds who are protecting their nests. Sometimes, we have fresh-water turtles digging around and laying eggs. Sometimes the crows are watching them only to fight over those freshly-laid eggs. It wasn’t always this way. Several years ago we had a vision. We submitted a 10-page Architectural Modification Request that included the Florida-friendly yard. With the Request we attached a $500 damage deposit. The Request was unanimously approved by ARC and the Board. Several months later, when we asked for the return of our damage deposit the management company said the sidewalk was damaged. The Board president and the ARC chairwoman met my husband on the front sidewalk and declared there was no sidewalk damage. The Board president then told my husband that she would return our $500. Instead, the damage deposit check was deposited into the homeowners association’s account. We were then told that they were keeping the money because they didn’t like our yard. To make a long story short, we were forced to request presuit mediation with the Board over this issue. In the time that Board president lied to my husband about giving us back our money and the mediation, the ARC Chairwoman quit. She had two very angry public confrontations with the Board because she (and her husband) very strongly believed our money should be returned. The Board then installed an angry old man as the new ARC Chairman. Around this time, I was voted onto the Board by the homeowners. This made for some very interesting Board meetings where I was completely abused. It was truly so bad that for a time after every Board meeting, neighbors would call or stop by my house to see if I was okay. It was truly unbelievable! This mean old man worked every angle to make our lives miserable. He would argue one point then change to a different point. His arguments were a constant moving target. Later, I found out that this mean old man had even met with our local Florida Yards and Neighborhood staff at the UF/IFAS extension office here in Lee County. They reported that he spent an hour or two explaining to them why their principles were all wrong and how he demanded that they remove the Florida-Friendly-Yard sign from my front yard! Finally, I had the revelation that I needed to start videotaping these meetings. I researched it and the law allowed it. In the meantime, my husband and I met with the Association’s attorney and also exchanged several letters. Unfortunately, presuit mediation was inevitable. The day we met with the mediator, my husband and I were across the table from the Board president and vice-president, the insurance company’s claim representative, our CAM, the Association’s/insurance company’s attorney. There were five of them – and would have been six, except we objected to the mean old ARC Chairman participating. So, he sat out in the lobby. The mediation began … and continued for seven hours. The actual mediation is confidential, so I can’t go into detail, but the settlement agreement is not confidential. The Board paid us back the $500, plus 18% interest. We planted another Florida-friendly bush on the southeast side of our house. The Board spent a bunch of the homeowners’ money on a case they didn’t have a chance of winning. (My husband called it "the $4,400 day" which was his estimate of their expense.) We spent nothing. Despite the two attorneys drafting up an airtight settlement agreement the mean old ARC Chairman could not admit defeat. He actually tried to get his committee to override his approval on the Architectural Modification Request that the Association’s/insurance company’s attorney insisted upon. Yes, that’s right. Part of the mediation settlement agreement included a new ARC Request that the ARC Chairman himself signed. (Remember? He was sitting in the lobby for seven hours.) Then, evidently when he heard the complete results of the mediation, he decided to try to void his own signature approving the Request! I truly could NOT make this up. The bottom line is that his efforts were in vain. The day after the mediation where the mean old man approved the ARC Request, we had a Board meeting. I videotaped it. This very old man threw a temper tantrum like I’ve never seen before in my life! His voice was raspier than I’ve ever heard it. The stress of his meanness had taken a toll on him. Shortly afterward I heard this mean old man was diagnosed as terminally ill. He is gone now and that whole ordeal is behind us. Today, my husband, our very old cat and I truly enjoy every moment in our yard. We often get e-mails requesting tours or information. Several neighbors requested information and I know of at least one neighbor who has installed a Florida-friendlier yard as a result. I am not one to hold a grudge. I do try to find good in everything. It is certainly difficult after dealing with this very mean old man and our Board of Directors. However, as a result of this ordeal, I have met some of the smartest and finest people I’ve ever known. I am truly blessed by that … and I thank God each time I am enjoying the harmony of commotion.