Before this, I've always lived on wooded property. In my mind, nature is much better looking than artificial landscaping. I keep mine as natural as possible, and pay someone to hack down the grass (probably weeds) every week. My point....if you know your surroundings, you can figure out if the rules are okay for you. This family has kids...why couldn't they do the lawnwork?
Quite frankly, that's no ones business. I was a home owner at one point. I was also working frantically to keep up with the payments, and had a job in Ohio while I lived in WV. I was on the road a lot. Working upwards of 70 hours per week, with little down time. On one day I happened to be home, looking at my lawn that had grown maybe 2 inches longer than it normally was, when a County employee showed up. With a cop. It's not your home, no matter how much you pay on the mortgage, or in property taxes, and despite what the deed says, IT'S NOT YOUR PRIVATE PROPERTY.