Lawn care?

My family has said that I should post the video that last week's blog was based on. So I will put it at the bottom of this week's installment. Then if you didn't read last week's you can watch the video and flow right into the rest of the conversation that you hear in the video. While the point of the blog is to enjoy life without watching in on youtube or tv or whatever. The context does add a little flavor.

Finally, enough heat to cut the grass. I like cutting grass the first time each year. Actually, I like the second time each year. The first time is really just a game of connect the dots using dog poop piles instead of numbered inky spots. It is like a 16 year old shaving for the first time. You know on one level it needs to happen, but it is hard to see where you have gone. I have thought about transfering my dad's advice the first time I shaved ("Just smear some milk on it and get the cat.") to the yard but I don't think I can get the cat to lick milk covered dog poo. They are just so independent.

Sharritts have never been big lawn care providers. We transferred our lessons about fertilization from the dog poo tufts. The rest of the yard is 2 inches tall interupted by 8 inch jungle grass islands. You hit one of those with a mower and you are going to do some damage. So no fertilizer for us. Keep as much of the yard growing slow until the drought of July and you may only have to cut the grass three times a year.

No weed suppressant for the Sharritts either. We like the yellow danelions each spring. It gives you another dot to drive to while waiting for the nutrient starved areas to start growing in late May. Plus I have always enjoyed the smug sense of superiority I have felt telling the following story. When we farmed, we hosted preschools for tours to help out the early spring income. One April at the end of a tour during the question and answer session, one young humanoid asked what are those yellow flowers all over your yard. "Well honey those are danelions." "What are dandelions farmer Sharritt?" "They are the pretty flowers you get when you don't use chemicals on your lawn." "They are pretty. I wish that we had some. Mom can we get dandelions." I must admit that I felt a twinge of pity for the little girl knowing she wound never play "Momma had a baby and its head popped off", or that she had never blown a puff ball launching the little missles of chaos into the neighbor's yard.

Nope, no insect suppression either. We try to grow grubs the size of horseflies. We know that the moles prefer that size. It is also a goal at the Sharritts to have lots of robust moles. Because you go out to cut the grass on an acre of farm yard and you need something to distract you. Hitting a 4 inch tall pile of mole excavations, sending a cloud of dirt into the air will break up the monotony in a hurry. You do it into the wind and you quickly become an expert at planning ahead to avoid trouble. Anyway the grubs ate the grass, the moles ate the grubs, the dogs dug for the moles and randomly caught and killed them, and the dogs brought the moles to the house as a gift for the family, and I would skin the moles and using their pelts to protect the corns on my feet. Circle of life. Everybody is happy.

Then last year the whole circle broke down. It got dry. It got hot. The grubs weakened the root systems of the grass. Crab grass sprung up in copious amounts in the areas vacated by the Kentucky blue. The grubs were small because they don't like crab grass. This made the moles small, sluggish, easily caught and killed by the dogs. A process that happened so rapidly that the dogs had 4 months of nothing to do. They could see me hobbling out to the car every morning on my unprotected corns. Being very empathetic dogs and having ran out of American moles, they started searching for Chinese moles. Not much success yet, but if we have a WWI re-enactment, we will have authentic military grade trenches already provided.

As the spring wore on, I sensed that there was a deeper message in my mess of a yard. I must admit that I contemplated reseeding, getting the Scotts turf builder, putting down some milky spore, and bringing in back-fill to make my ride smooth as silk, but I couldn't figure out what it was. I knew that Nature was trying to tell me some deep mystery. That all of these forces had come together for some higher purpose. My frustration grew and grew. Then at the end of my rope, I decided to go to the place I go to seek out all of the life's deeper meanings. Yep, I went to Google Earth to look at our yard from space and this is what I found.

Happy Earth Day.

Take Care

Don't forget the tornado video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgwJfoZ-12c



Roger