On the Wild side

A monthly observation of the seasons and surroundings, as they change throughout the year.

Mowing. ?!?

It seems as if summer has come a bit early to Randolph County. High humidity and lots of grass and weeds growing everywhere, wow, what happened to those nice cool days and nights? Mowing and weed-whacking is the order of the day. Yes, if you can get to it before the next gully washer. Just about time your lawn or acreage dries out, the next rain comes, boy howdy.Well, how do you get it all mowed? Do it in shifts. I know, that sounds like a real nightmare, especially if you have to schedule it around work and play. The work part might be easy, the play part takes all the fun out of summer weather. You have to mow while others are enjoying the nice warm evenings. You are whacking the weeds to the ground while others are catching a ground ball or taking in a summer league game. You are weeding your way to China, while others are floating in a cool pool lost in their thoughts, maybe in the tropics. It just doesn’t seem fair, all this work on an ever growing piece of sod, and only a few will really enjoy the fruits of you labor.

What to do? I remember in my travels spending a summer in Philadelphia, PA. There are many areas of Philly where there are row houses. These are block-long structures that share common walls, built in a long row from one street to the next, extending for a whole city block. Each row house is an up and down stairs building, including a basement with a small yard in the front and a flat space on the alley in the back for a car. Each yard is maybe 15 square feet at the most, too small for a gas mower, too large for a pair of scissors. What to do? Now mind you, this was over 30 years ago, but I remember many a row house yard that was paved over in asphalt, green asphalt. Now I’m not advocating paving your yard over in green asphalt, but it was a solution there in Philly, maybe not here in Randolph County.

There are some places, especially at the state parks and conservation areas where they are now planting native grasses. Guess what? You don’t have to mow native grass but maybe twice in a season. Of course, you may run the risk of having buffalo roam or a wild turkey, prairie chicken or some other denizen of the old prairies may show up on your lawn. All kidding aside, there is an effort to educate homeowners across the nation about alternatives to the traditional green well-manicured lawn. In this vast nation there are so many biospheres where native grasses and plants have adapted to the climate and weather conditions of the region, that maybe it would be better to go “native” and save some time, money, gas and even the environment.

So as you mow this growing season, think about all the other ways you might approach what seems to be a never ending job. There are choices out there. Look them up. See what might work for you.

Happy mowing. Until next month, enjoy the verdant waves of herbage.