A lawn of heroic proportions

A lawn of heroic proportions
                        

Our lawn is in the process of being mowed, and with the rain and hot sun, our grass has taken on heroic growth proportions. We encourage the clover as long as possible for the bees, but our clover was challenging the dandelions for height.

Our house expects us to keep her lawn looking elegant, and we do our best. But this year has been an exercise in timing. The lawn is mowed, the rains fall, the sun shines hot and the grass shoots up. Even the weeds can’t keep up with our grass.

Freshly mowed grass looks lovely and smells even lovelier. However, when tracked into the house on shoes and dog paws, it leaves a mess. Even our hard-working vacuum cleaner is having a problem scooping up those damp grass leavings.

Our dogs object strenuously to having their feet wiped every time they come inside. My Taller Half isn’t happy about having to clean his grass-covered shoes on the porch. The last time he had to do that, it rained, and his shoes got soaked. Even soaking wet, those shoes kept their grass coating.

No matter what we do, the cut-grass leavings will make their way inside our poor house. She will stay indignant, which does not bode well for her occupants, and I will stay frustrated at trying to keep her floors clean.

We have a friend who solved her grass-leavings problem by covering her lawn in small pebbles. The pebbles acted as a mulch for her trees, bushes and plants, and her house stayed clean. Pebbles do not need to be mowed or fertilized.

A pebble-strewn yard stays pretty much the way it is poured down, and its maintenance is negatable. While it does not encourage barefoot walking and heavy rain can slosh it about a bit, it is much cheaper than a grass lawn. Cheaper, that is, after the initial expense of having the pebbles brought in, spread about and then provided with edging. Our dogs have voiced their objections rather vocally — pebbles are tough on their feet and even worse to roll on.

Guess we will have to stick with grass and find a way to bag the leavings more effectively. How about starting another compost heap behind the shed? Not sure about the dogs, but our chipmunks will certainly love that.


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