Neighborly Conduct

I have some neighbors who are very nice and kind. They always get Makena little gifts and say hello. However, they are very unmotivated. There is a patch of dirt, about 4 by5 ft area, between our homes that belongs to them. It has been a patch of dirt for 18 1/2 months. Now, our homeoweners association tends to be a tad obnoxious so why haven't they done anything? This piece of dirt bugs me immensly. Infact, last weekend, our neighbor said that he was just going to lay mulch there. Well, as we know them very well, we both do not think that it is going to happen. They tend to be "all talk." Ok, so here is another issue. They have strips painted on the side of their house to check out paint colors. (Yes folks, it has been there since June.) They do not even know when they are going to paint their house b/c their air went out. So while I feel for them and thier lack of motivation, I am still annoyed. Should I contact the homeowners and mention something or not???? Well, I am not going to say anything b/c I am too nice and they are too nice. Plus we are currently painting our front door red. . . w/o permission . . . so we do not want to draw any attention. It looks really good but it will take Ryan awhile b/c of the drying time. So now that my gripe session is over, I feel better! Thanks for listening!