My neighbors think I'm crazy
I've been letting our grass grow since we moved in (which was back in September). It was already fall and most of the lawn looked dead because the seller didn't live here and didn't bother watering at all after the offer was made. So I figured I'd see where the good and bad stuff was by letting it go. Plus, Tini and I are trying to make our yard as Green and sustainable as possible.
A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that there were at least a hundred giant thorny weed plants growing in the back yard, with more in the front and by the AC. Some of them were 2 feet high, and it was kind of an eyesore. Plus, they hog the water from everything else. So I went outside with some gloves, a garden spade, and a garden claw and went to work. I was trying to get the taproot out, which is not easy. Our next-door neighbor happened to notice and mentioned that he uses weedkiller spot treatments on his, even though he knows he should be more green. His kids just looked at me like I was nuts for digging out all these weeds. It took a long time, and Tini and I didn't get all of the roots out, but it looked a lot better.
So then we started noticing the johnson grass and other tall weeds and grasses. The front had some pretty high patches, which stood out on our pretty well-manicured street. And, since I haven't taken the time to go buy the reel mower I want (not to mention that it doesn't work well on tall grasses), I went with the alternative: I grabbed the Belizean lawnmower. Yep, I cut my grass with a machete. Our across-the-street neighbor came over and mentioned that her husband does odd job and could mow our lawn. I told her I was just getting it ready for a pushmower and that I didn't mind. I guess I could have mentioned that I was trying to be carbon neutral, that the only energy I was burning was my lunch, but I was tired and just thanked her.
Anyway, I'm pretty damn sore right now, and the backyard still needs to be done, and I still need to buy and assemble a reel mower. But the front yard looks pretty good.
A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that there were at least a hundred giant thorny weed plants growing in the back yard, with more in the front and by the AC. Some of them were 2 feet high, and it was kind of an eyesore. Plus, they hog the water from everything else. So I went outside with some gloves, a garden spade, and a garden claw and went to work. I was trying to get the taproot out, which is not easy. Our next-door neighbor happened to notice and mentioned that he uses weedkiller spot treatments on his, even though he knows he should be more green. His kids just looked at me like I was nuts for digging out all these weeds. It took a long time, and Tini and I didn't get all of the roots out, but it looked a lot better.
So then we started noticing the johnson grass and other tall weeds and grasses. The front had some pretty high patches, which stood out on our pretty well-manicured street. And, since I haven't taken the time to go buy the reel mower I want (not to mention that it doesn't work well on tall grasses), I went with the alternative: I grabbed the Belizean lawnmower. Yep, I cut my grass with a machete. Our across-the-street neighbor came over and mentioned that her husband does odd job and could mow our lawn. I told her I was just getting it ready for a pushmower and that I didn't mind. I guess I could have mentioned that I was trying to be carbon neutral, that the only energy I was burning was my lunch, but I was tired and just thanked her.
Anyway, I'm pretty damn sore right now, and the backyard still needs to be done, and I still need to buy and assemble a reel mower. But the front yard looks pretty good.
Labels: carbon neutral, green, lawn, machete
posted by jlowe | 7:35 PM
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