Grassy Grams

2006-11-17T12:32:00.000-08:00

It's been a while ........

Our 1 year anniversary has come & gone, and it's been a loooong time since we've updated our blog.

We're regretfully posting that due to circumstances beyond our control, Grassy Grams is temporarily closing our doors.

We hope to be back sooner than later! We truly enjoy the happiness we're able to cause by sneaking around at night, surprising folks across Metro Detroit!

If you have any questions, or would like to find out about scheduling a future flocking, please feel free to email us at info@grassygrams.com and someone will respond just as soon as we can!

If you need something done ASAP, please visit http://www.flamingoed.com/flamingo/ for other lawn greeting businesses in Michigan & beyond.

A big thanks to all of our past customers!

2006-06-27T12:36:00.000-07:00

TEENAGERS!!!!

So far, we've had the random critter stolen; that's expected in this business when we leave 25-50 critters out over-night repeatedly.

But, it's summer-time now ... the kids are out of school. Our delivery hours haven't changed to accommodate this .... yet!

Tonight, when I went to pick up a flock of flamingos, I got to meet the sender (I love meeting flockers!), and the receiver .... the sender filled me in on the events surrounding the birthday boys surprise flock!
She was unable to sleep in anticipation of the flock being delivered.
She peeked outside around 1:30AM, and saw it was there so she nodded off.
She went outside around 6:30AM just to check it out and read the Yard Card.
SOMEONE HAD VANDALIZED THE YARD CARD! Kids must have been out and about, and they changed the letters around to spell out nastiness! This poor woman spent an hour re-arranging the words to spell out the phrase she had requested! Luckily, she was a great sport and understood some things are beyond our control.

But, I ask .... what happened to the rules of 'be in when the street lights come on'? Oh, how I miss those days, and could really use them as our delivery hours suit ours & our customers needs quite well!

Keep your eyes peeled for the random kid on the street after midnight, looking for something to keep them occupied for a short amount of time - and, potentially destroy a birthday surprise for some unsuspecting person!

We are researching ways to make our Yard Cards un-changeable!

2006-05-01T12:25:00.000-07:00

References?

Our 1 year anniversary in business is July 11th (yippee!!) ... for the first time since we began, we had a customer request a reference from past customers. Truthfully, it surprised me that this was the first time!

We gladly accommodated this request, as we know that we have many happy flockers over our short time in business!

But, when I called back with the name; they had stumbled onto our blog and decided the reference wasn't necessary as this showed we really are who we say we are.
That's great news!
Our blog has proven handy for more than just sharing our wild stories of midnight flocking!

2006-04-25T11:39:00.000-07:00

Cooking in the garage

This is becoming the norm in the nicer neighborhoods we've flocked.

BBQ'ing at midnight, in the garage with the door wide open & all the lights on.

Makes sneaking difficult when the garage is facing the victims bedroom window (where the light is still on!), but does help a bit for the odd noises we tend to make.

Cook on!

2006-04-22T11:38:00.000-07:00

Mosquito suit

Well, it's that time of year again!

Tonight, delivering a flock of flamingos for a birthday celebration - the battle began!

Walking into swarms and being covered (note, MUST wear pants and long sleeved shirt - no t-shirt & capri pants anymore for the season!) from head to toe with the little buggers!

And of course, the random little fella's that managed to stick inside the flockermobile to get us at a later date!

BBBBZZZZZZZ .... it's going to be an itchy couple of days!

2006-04-09T20:30:00.000-07:00

Our first expo is done and over with!

Whew, what a weekend!

I was alone for the show as my partner in crime was out of town. Luckily, a friend had a booth near-by so I wasn't completely alone!

Who knew how many items it took to fill a booth space!?

A small table, critters, buckets, a chair, business cards, entry forms for the contest, a game for the kiddies, and many other items!

The flockermobile was packed to the gills!
So much so, that my fear driving the 25 miles was I'd have to make a quick stop & get forked in the back of the head by a flamingo! Eek!

Next month, we will be drawing our winner! We had lots of entries and interest! :)

2006-04-03T18:49:00.000-07:00

Ooh, the excitement!

We are preparing to take part in a Home & Garden show this weekend at the Novi Expo Center.
It's amazing the work this is taking!
We will be offering discounts & a drawing to win a FREE Grassy Gram!

More details as the planning progresses ..... :)

2006-03-31T23:46:00.000-08:00

Look Mom, no coat!

Tonight we were able to finally flock minus noisy winter coats! YAY!
It rained a bit, but it wasn’t cold at all!
Come on Spring!

2006-03-04T00:42:00.000-08:00

The guard cat …..

When receiving an order, we ask a number of questions.
One that is important b/c they tend to bark at slight noises in the middle of the night is; does the recipient own a dog???
This time, I was told there was no dog, but they have a cat!
Immediate thought is a cat? No problem, they don’t bark!

Tonight we arrived near midnight; I saw the cat in an upstairs window staring down at me! (I admit to getting a little freaked out that it was RIGHT THERE after having the above conversation. lol)
I set up the entire display, thinking the cat was in the window looking down - when I went to hang the goodie bag on the front door; he met me at the downstairs window! He rubbed against the window as if wanting me to open the door and come on in!
Hmmm, guard cats.

2006-02-15T17:24:00.000-08:00

Hi out there!

It has been brought to my attention by our friend Flamingo that it has been a LONG time since we've checked in! We are still out there flocking and freezing! lol

Look for more stories, specials and updates soon!

Keep smiling!

2005-12-10T18:43:00.000-08:00

A very proud moment….

We received a call from a military wife, her beloved husband was returning home after serving our country in Iraq. And, she wanted our assistance in welcoming him home!
To be even the smallest part of this families lives, and welcoming a soldier home was by far, our most memorable flocking experience.

2005-12-04T09:43:00.000-08:00

Last night, we were caught on tape!

This flocking was sent by the victims sis and she helped execute the surprise by hanging at her house and keeping her occupied.
It wasn’t our victim that caught us on tape, it was her hubby that snuck out to video tape the flock … only to find me still on the lawn!
He stopped and said, you guys are still here!? I whispered, yessss, but I’m almost done!
He slowly backed up, camera still to his eye video taping as he went!

Proof has been captured that the night time bandits exist………

2005-12-02T02:01:00.000-08:00

The snow is here!

This will be our first winter, spreading cheer and celebrating occasions throughout Metro Detroit! And, we have had our first snowfall ... wow!
Let's just say, other than the bitter cold that everyone is fully aware of - the ground is frozen... solid as a rock!
This requires a drill to secure our critters legs into the ground! I wonder how many times we'll get caught this winter due to the buzz of the Dewalt - we'll keep you posted!

Look closely for the flamingo poopsicles dangling off the tushy of our pink fellas!

2005-12-01T02:50:00.000-08:00

The friendly sender and the flu …..

We’ve talked before about enjoying talking to neighbors, this time it was the sender herself! It was her Mom’s 50th birthday and Mom was knocked down from the flu (lovely Nyquil!), as the sender went to let the dog out, she caught a glimpse of us on the lawn and reconsidered releasing the pooch! (Whew!)
Instead, she grabbed her smokes and came out to chat as we finished turning a winter wonderland into something more tropical for Mom’s birthday surprise! Such fun to meet the folks that are part of the occasion!
Upon pick up, we also got to hear from a neighbor! He said the display was ‘very cool’! He must be the neighborhood watch b/c he saw our headlights when we arrived to set up at 11:00 at night, and watched us in action …. future flocker potential for that one!

Happy holidays to all!

2005-11-14T20:58:00.000-08:00

Seriously considering changing the title of our adventures page into something along the lines of getting BUSTED b/c there sure seems to be a lot of it happening!
Does anyone else see a pattern?

2005-11-13T21:08:00.000-08:00

The chatty neighbor...

It seems inevitable, if someone see’s us out in the neighborhood, mid-flock they think they should stop and chat – in their outside voice, AT MIDNIGHT as we try to creep and make as little noise as possible.
This hasn’t happened just once, as of this post, it has happened around 3 times. Every time, it seems one of us must say ‘ssshhhh’ to the friendly night time visitor.

If you should stumble on a flocking in progress - try to use your inside voice, or we'd really prefer a whisper!! We do like to hear from neighbors though!

2005-11-05T13:59:00.000-08:00

This was a 40th birthday and we had the warning, “he is a very light sleeper!” trying to be extra cautious. (Note) Whenever trying to be extra cautious – the chances of the following items happening, greatly increase!
You WILL bang metal mingo legs together!
You WILL accidentally slam a plastic mingo body into some type of cement!
You WILL leave the back end of the flamingomobile open and the police WILL come barreling up to it with dual high beams blaring.
That’s right, stopped by the police again!

Already knowing the drill (I certainly hope this doesn’t become a regular occurrence!), I moved quickly to the officers, asking them to turn off their lights.
Once they were able to see the back end of the flockermobile, lined in pink bodies … he turned off the burning bright lights and slowly checked things out in the yard.
I continued on my way, the officer that had gotten out to talk, slammed his car door shut behind him and they slowly drove by the house, as they checked out the portion of the display that had been set up.
Nearly 10 minutes later, another patrol car drove slowly past. I wonder if they have a special birthday coming up or if they were verifying my story. I like to imagine it being the first thought!!

2005-11-03T15:27:00.000-08:00

I've realized that normally, I am very wordy.

Today, I have just a couple of things to say.

It's fall.... sneaking around at night is quite interesting when each step screams crunch, crunch, crunch....

Motion lights?
Recently having one installed, and for the first time dealing with it first hand.... I am thankfully, no longer fearful of them while flocking at midnight! That darn thing seems to be on ALL the time!! Leaves blowing in the drive? A cat crossing the side walk? It's only been a month and the ignoring has already begun!
Is this common? I certainly hope so as I feel like super flocker when I think of them going off at midnight.

Happy flocking my friends!

2005-10-31T14:49:00.000-08:00

How visible is your address?

Most people don’t think twice about what the address looks like on the front of their house. Explaining how to get there to a friend is fairly simple, right? Well, what about late at night, driving around a sleeping neighborhood, trying to creep up silently without being noticed? Not so easy!

Now, before becoming a flocker, I will admit I hadn’t given much thought to this topic either. However, recently redoing our siding and trying to determine what the address looked like from the street was very important! Especially after many nights of wandering through neighborhoods, praying just to catch just a glimpse of an address - we did kick around the idea of neon lights plastered across the front of the house… but, as touchy as Dearborn Heights has been, we figured they wouldn't approve of that look!

Instead, we went with numerous address decals! Rather than placing the small mailbox back on the front of the house, we decided to put a new post mailbox in our shoe box yard (saving a few steps for our mailman in the process!).
The mailbox has been labeled on the front and both sides… the house itself has yet another! North, South, or East you WILL find our house!

Just having numerous addresses on the front of the house won’t necessarily do the trick. In order to see it from a distance, the number decal should be at least 3 inches tall.

And, this is your tip of the day courtesy of the night time bandits. Now, get on outside and see if you’re visible for the flockers to get you tonight!

2005-10-27T21:09:00.000-07:00

There was a man walking his dog as we were mid-flock for a milestone birthday, headed our way.
With a flamingo tucked under one arm, my partner in crime, walked slowly over to him and whispered, 'ssshhh, it’s a surprise!'
The response was a bellowing; “yeah I’m from Indiana we used to do that all the time!” as he kept on, walking his pooch as if it were 12 o’clock in the afternoon.

We will have to visit Indiana and snap some pictures of the local flocks in action! (please don't worry, no photo's will be posted without consent)

2005-10-25T21:05:00.000-07:00

A night time delivery for a surprise flock of storks from brother to sister, the neighbor pulled up in front of his house immediately next door, parked at the curb and walked right toward me.
At first I thought maybe it was the new father returning from a store run until I noticed the curious look on his face - wondering what a strange person was doing, in the rain, hunched over in the neighbor’s yard with a big white card placed in the middle.
He walked toward me and I turned to show him the front of the sign, it read “It’s a boy!” … he says in his outdoor voice, ‘oh! You’re doing that with them in there and they don’t know it?’ I nod my head and he continues talking as he walks up the driveway and I give the ol’ ‘ssshhh’ sign as I realized he'd had a few cocktails this evening.
Surprisingly, Mom, Dad, or newborn baby woke to the sounds of the neighbor talking, setting his car alarm, slamming the screen door, and dragging the trash cans out.
Exhaustion must have set in for those new parents!

2005-10-14T21:03:00.000-07:00

I was flocking alone, 70 flamingos to be exact! It was a very special occasion and keeping it a surprise was very important to the flocker!

Across the street and nearly a block down, I saw the hot end of a cigarette walking my way; I waved as he got closer hoping he didn’t speak! I gave the old ‘ssshhh’ gesture, without making a sound.

The early 20’s fella walked all the way into the yard, looked at the message board and whispered “that’s awesome!” Turned on his heels, and walked away. Whew, one that didn’t use their outside voice!

2005-10-08T07:50:00.000-07:00

Actually busted!

Flamingos busting.... just had to post this pic! See the comment posted under "The closest call yet...."
See the window in the background? Flamingo bounced down the stairs, right past that spot and caught a glimpse of a WHITE t-shirt! Egads!!
From then on out, we're very careful about our choice of clothing...

2005-09-30T19:21:00.000-07:00

One of the closest calls yet….

Our deliveries are made between 10pm and midnight; normally, we’re not very close to 10pm, but tonight was different… I was flying solo AND managed to arrive right at the start of our delivery window!
I parked 1 house down as usual, in front of their next door neighbor with their garage door open, lights blazing…it appeared they were cooking a midnight snack in there! I paid them no attention, started unloading and began walking toward the recipients’ house with the message board disassembled and tucked under either arm…. as I walked onto their grass, I caught a glimpse of a man in the window! I turn quickly on my heels; unsure if he saw me too, I leaned the boards against the flockermobile’s open side door and call my partner in crime (who is safely out of town).
Nervously waiting, giving a running commentary of the happenings, discreetly hidden behind a tree in the flockermobile…. the light in the window of the recipients’ house goes dark, I see a shadow going down the stairs, and assume they must be locking the car in the driveway as I see the lights blip. I plan to wait 10 more minutes for the house to be locked up for the night, and then commence flocking!
When a woman walks out the front door, purse in tow… oh no, they had been UN-locking the car! It’s obvious she’s going somewhere as she starts the car!
The flockermobile’s side door is wide open; the message boards are leaning against the side! I quickly jump from the car, throw the boards in, slide the door shut, and jump back in my hiding spot in the drivers seat... when the man appears and gets into the car!
I quickly crunched as far onto the floor boards under the steering wheel as humanly possible so I wasn’t spotted!
The car pulled out toward my hiding spot, as the headlights cleared the corner…I jumped from the flockermobile! Unloaded the board, tombstones…. and managed to set up in 5 minutes flat! Placing the goodie bag on the front door and snapping a picture, I bolted for the flockermobile and got the flock outta there!
It will be quite a surprise when they return from the store with their gallon of milk!

2005-09-08T01:57:00.000-07:00

Night time bandits busted!

We arrived for the first delivery of the night, around 11:30PM, approximately 85 miles from home base (yes, one way). The victim lived on a semi-busy street in an unfamiliar neighborhood; we parked on the street and without a second thought, unloaded the Yard Card and quickly began to set up. We were in our flocking groove, with 50 pink flamingos partially set up when the police car appeared and the lights began flashing. My partner in crime was near the van in the street and I was in the yard... I began sprinting toward the lights with a flamingo in hand yelling, please turn off the lights!!! We explained that we were setting up a surprise display for a 50th birthday and he was fabulous! He said he'd pull back a bit and wait so the flocker-mobile wasn't hit by traffic.
A few minutes later, he turned his lights back on! The street was busier than we realized and cars continued to stop behind the officer because he only had his hazard lights on. Not sure if they thought he needed help or if they were afraid to go around the cop broken down! He had to turn the flashers on 3-5 more times as we set up the display! Very nerve racking as we normally tip toe through the lawn. Happily, the homeowners weren't aware.... and, our officer friend let us snap a shot of him to share on our site, as he assisted us in the perfect crime. Another successful smile...

2005-07-22T17:05:00.000-07:00

Our first official flocking!

We received the call late, it was around 9:00PM and somehow managed to miss the call… we played phone tag till approximately 11:00PM, booked the order and sprung into action!
Being our first flocking, we did fumble a bit. But, we managed to pack the goodie bag…. placing a pair of flamingo shades, a keychain and some confetti into the bag with the informative letter telling of the sender! Load the Yard Card and flamingos into the flockermobile and headed out!
We found the house without issue, but as we pulled up…. it began to rain! We parked the flockermobile in front of the neighbor’s house so we wouldn’t be seen, as we’d learned from our fellow flocking friends at http://lawn-greetings.com/ and slowly climbed out. The butterflies were really buzzing in our tummies! We stood in the street for a moment, trying to determine the best approach for entering a perfect stranger’s personal property! We had NO idea it’d be so nerve racking once we were out and ready to flock!
As we stood in the rain, next to the flockermobile (street side) trying to regain some composure and decide where to place the Yard Card … someone drove by and honked their horn right in front of the house!! Egads!
After we calmed ourselves from that episode, we decided the only way to over come this was to jump right in and we went to work! We placed the Yard Card out first, one put out mini flamingos while the other put out the larger flamingos to fill the yard! And, the porch light came on. Oh my! Did we wake someone? Was it a security light?
We ran back to the flockermobile and huddled in hopes we weren’t caught, we still had the goodie bag to place on the door! We waited what seemed like an eternity, the light went off so we concluded it was just a security light. My partner in crime made a run for the porch and hung the goodie bag from the trestle, to the side of the front door! We crossed our fingers in hope that it wouldn’t rain harder and soak the contents and got the flock outta there!
Despite being rained on, honked at and surprised by the security light… we were definitely ready for more flocking excitement!!!

2005-07-10T05:51:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Grassy Grams Adventures!

This blog has been created to share the behind the scene adventures of being a night time bandit... to share the off the wall situations that senders or their victims rarely find out about.

A litte about what we do... we quietly sneak into yards while our victims sleep, set up outrageous displays with a fun message for the entire neighborhood to share in the celebration! When the intended wakes in the morning, goes out for the newspaper or rushes off to work, they are surprised to find they've been flocked!
Imagine the excitement of waking to a yard full of flamingos, tombstones, dinosaurs, even mini storks!

Check back often for Grassy Grams exciting advenures!

(factual names and places will not be used to protect our customers privacy)