Yesterday the sun chased the day away late in the morning. I felt like the characters in that story/film about the planet where it rained all of the time and was only sunny once every how-many-years. I walked between buildings at work, despite the "waste" of time, went for a jog as soon as I got home, and then made myself paint James' room (because I'd promised) but with the window flung wide open! Beo was outside with the kids all day, catching up on various projects. Our organic, no-mow lawn is being challenged by the weeds and quackgrass that were present in the "topsoil" we purchased. After trying to get ahead of them with hours of pulling and gallons of vinegar last year, they are back in full force this year, despite a pre-emergent organic fertilizer. Most of the invasives around here have taken over for a reason, and even purchasing weed pullers hasn't helped us to get all of the roots. We're losing the battle as the weeds get bigger and try to take over our beautiful grass. Beo is struggling deeply with what to do. We need to either buy a mower or apply a broadleaf herbicide. Weighing the two "evils" is difficult. We think that in terms of long-term impact and sustainability, a one time herbicide application is the best choice. However is goes so against our grain that it's a very difficult decision. I'm hoping Beo will blog about it soon.
After I finished painting James asked if we could ride our bikes to the local coffee shop for dinner. We've been trying to say "yes" more to the little guy, so we agreed. We took a detour and went down to a bend in the river that's accessible from a little used bike trail. The fields were draining across the paths, and everywhere wildflowers were springing up and waiting to bloom. We saw yarrow everywhere. I can't wait to see it in bloom. I want to find out if it's native here, or invasive. Either way it will be beautiful. We saw birds everywhere, revelling in the long lost sun. It really felt like we were feeling the Earth wake up.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
That is a tough call on the grass. It's so cool what you're trying to do, but so hard to get established. You might see if your local library has a copy of "Noah's Garden". Lots of info about native plants and grasses. It's more anecdotes than how-to's but you might find something good.
Weeds, and even standard grasses like bluegrass can be hard to defeat. I keep Roundup on hand for extreme situations. I probably use it once every two years for one problem or another. Depending on the situation, I sometimes change course rather than get out the chemicals. But that would be a shame in your case.
Good luck.
"Planting Noah's Garden", a follow-up to "Noah's Garden" may have more practical information.
Say Hi to the Sun for us. We miss it.
Post a Comment