I have to admit it. I wanted the lawn. I wanted pretty, uniform cut, dark green grass surrounding our home. It was going to cut down on the dust, the heat and all the work we put into weed control around here. It was going to be a place for the dogs, kids and even the adults to enjoy. Other people have it. We had two lawns growing up - three if you count the far back lawn. It didn't seem too hard to grow or require that much upkeep. I thought once we had it in, we were home free... I was so wrong.
Our lawn is a time machine. It sucks up hours, if not days at a time. One day it's trimmed, green and beautiful. I smile as I gaze at it with pride. I work my 4 nights, squeezing in some quick sprinkler sessions when I get home and before I leave. It all seems okay -- until it suddenly doesn't. Dry spots, dull spots, brown spots, missing spots... Grubs, moles, sage rats, sodworms, aphids, june beetles, crane flies, over watering, underwatering, seeding, feeding, insecticides, edging, filling, mowing, moving hoses, changing hoses, changing sprinklers, moving sprinklers. My lawn is a Dr Seuss book just waiting to be written. It takes all of my attention, all of my time and uses every last bit of patience I have left. This is not fun. This is not easy. Then after spending all of my days off to care for the lawn -- it is trimmed, green and beautiful again. I smile with pride as I drive down the driveway and then much to my dismay, the cycle repeats itself.
I've reached the point that I've put so much time and energy into it - I can't walk away from it. I can't ignore those dry spots in the back and go enjoy myself at the lake for the day because I know, if I don't water them right away - they will turn brown and take weeks to come back. I can't ignore the mowing. It grows so quickly that if it doesn't get done -- it will be 10 times the work to get the cutting clumps raked off so they don't kill the lawn beneath them. If I give the mole a chance - the dogs will find him and that means filling 15 large holes instead of just 2 small ones. The grubs can eat the roots of very large chunks of lawn within a few nights. That grass is dead. It needs to be dug out and reseeded. Bindy weed needs sprayed at first sight or it will spread voraciously. Timers are a great idea but they limit water flow. If I use the timers, I get half the coverage so it takes twice as long - or longer - depending on how many times I have to move the hose or change the sprinkler.
So if you want to see us this summer (what's left of it), I'm afraid you will have to drive out. I will pour you a glass of ice tea and you can sit on the deck and I will work on the lawn while we chat. I haven't given up the battle yet. The thistle infestation might send me over the edge but I'm not going down without a fight. It's over the drainfield and really, who wants to hang out over that anyway.
