echo
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Post by echo on Apr 26, 2024 11:40:37 GMT -8
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Post by va3pinner on Apr 26, 2024 17:15:12 GMT -8
I really am diggin' it. Little miniature fields of wildness. Varied. Heterogeneous, not homogeneous. Makes me smile a little bit just walking to the pole barn. "I wonder what those tiny little blue flowers are? I would never have seen them if I mowed this area."
The little blue flowers are known as 'Speedwell' also known as Veronica. I have them every year. I keep the mower raised high enough to leave them alone until their season is over. Always the first bit of color in my yard.
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Post by tallgrass on Apr 26, 2024 19:33:31 GMT -8
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echo
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Post by echo on Apr 27, 2024 6:14:40 GMT -8
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ErnieW
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Post by ErnieW on Apr 27, 2024 9:47:08 GMT -8
It seems like a lot of people don't think of grass as a plant that you have to let grow. My neighbors ask me advice on how to keep their lawn green. "What fertilizer do you use?" None. I let the grass grow long and healthy in spring then cut it long. I occasionally aerate the yard. That's pretty much it. The long grass has longer drought resistant roots and shades out a lot of weeds. They cut their lawns like two inches high at the slightest look of scraggly.
Edit: I do tell them this but I guess it seems too easy and they somehow don't believe me and don't try it. Addicted to the short lawn look.
Also maybe I do fertilize. I tend to mulch mow the leaves in the fall instead of raking.
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reuben
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Gonna need more Camels at the next refugio...
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Post by reuben on May 2, 2024 9:43:42 GMT -8
Another neighbor has offered to mow my grass. Maybe I should sell my mower.
I DID mow one area where I'll start the wild meadow.
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Travis
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Post by Travis on May 2, 2024 9:59:53 GMT -8
I hope your neighbors are just being friendly and considerate. But I suspect there is something about mowing that can be addictive. Maybe it gets kind of obsessive-compulsive.
There have been times when I was hiking a narrow trace of a deer trail that I contemplated bringing my push mower up and mowing an easy path to follow. I wouldn't really, of course. But I think humans have a long history of finding it difficult to leave nature be and let it be wild.
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Post by va3pinner on May 2, 2024 10:05:07 GMT -8
aIt's a goofy obsession on the east coast. HOA's will dictate how long the grass can be - and send out a Nazi to measure it. In my case- I set my mower as high as it will go. People comment on how green my lawn is, (because the grass is long enough that it can photosynthesize in summer heat) When I tell them why, they get this totally confused look on their face about the grass height. Wished I lived in a boreal forest.
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reuben
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Post by reuben on May 2, 2024 10:16:10 GMT -8
I hope your neighbors are just being friendly and considerate. But I suspect there is something about mowing that can be addictive. I believe that the ones who have offered are being kind. I could be wrong, and don't know about the others. But I think humans have a long history of finding it difficult to leave nature be and let it be wild. We can't even leave each other alone. What makes you think that we won't exert our enormous brains to put Mother Nature in her place?
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Travis
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Post by Travis on May 5, 2024 9:41:06 GMT -8
Come to think of it, I know of small Wyoming towns (2000 to 3000 people) that have city ordinances against not mowing lawns. People have been ticketed for overgrown lawns despite the small lawn being green (not a fire hazard), entirely enclosed by fence, and not even visible from the street.
I can't imagine the ordinance being evenly enforced. In the same town will be abandoned properties with dry yards that haven't been mowed in years, and nothing is done about them. It seems some folks consider naturally grown yards to be offensive.
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ErnieW
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Post by ErnieW on May 5, 2024 10:12:46 GMT -8
Near my parent's home growing up there was a house across the street from a salt marsh wetlands. One of the owners was a ecology professor. He redesigned his yard with native species some what mimicking the marsh vegetation. No lawn. It was artistically done. It was very pretty but his neighbors hated it. There was over two years of law suits about it. This was in the 80's. He basically won but had to put a small walkway from his front door to the mailbox on the curb.
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reuben
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Post by reuben on May 5, 2024 11:02:14 GMT -8
Come to think of it, I know of small Wyoming towns (2000 to 3000 people) that have city ordinances against not mowing lawns. People have been ticketed for overgrown lawns despite the small lawn being green (not a fire hazard), entirely enclosed by fence, and not even visible from the street. I can't imagine the ordinance being evenly enforced. In the same town will be abandoned properties with dry yards that haven't been mowed in years, and nothing is done about them. It seems some folks consider naturally grown yards to be offensive. If there's one thing at which we imperfect bipeds with our big brains are proficient, it's selectively judging things - people, lawns, religion, etc.
This is part of the back. The front is taller. And there's a small side area which is above my waist. You can't really tell from the pics, but maybe you can get an idea. A lot of areas are anywhere between 6 and 24 inches tall, with the small area over 36 inches tall. Again, it's hard to tell from these pics, but there are a lot of different kinds of grasses, flowers, etc., in there.
I think my neighbors are OK with it, just curious and friendly. The two nearest neighbors and one other seemed to be excited about the wild meadow I'm starting to work on. Time will tell.
Small side area, where you can see some of the varied grasses, maybe a few flowers, and their heights a bit more clearly. The little yellow flowers, whatever they are, are in their glory all over the place, but kinda lost in these small pics. I really do need to learn A LOT about the locally native trees, grasses, flowers, etc., just so I know what I'm looking at.
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Travis
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Post by Travis on May 5, 2024 12:01:39 GMT -8
^^ Looks good. ^^
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Post by Coolkat on May 6, 2024 4:18:31 GMT -8
reuben, I'm all for what you're doing there and I'm glad that people like you do that. My nephew is middle of doing something very similar on part of his property. He has gotten rid of a lot invasive plant species (sp?) and is going to plant native things in the hopes of attracting wildlife, especially birds. However, after dealing with lymes disease a couple of summers ago I think I'd be mowing most it. I have a friend who spends 6 hours a week on his riding mower just to keep ticks away.
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ErnieW
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Post by ErnieW on May 6, 2024 5:47:10 GMT -8
However, after dealing with lymes disease a couple of summers ago I think I'd be mowing most it. I have a friend who spends 6 hours a week on his riding mower just to keep ticks away. How does mowing more grass than you need help with infected deer ticks?
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