This time of year, in coastal Mississippi, it can be tricky to find dry lawn time to mow your lawn. Mowing your lawn wet is a big no-no, but you wouldn’t know it by watching the local lawn companies out mowing wet lawns, even puddled lawns.
Doxie enjoys healthy, natural lawn. Image by The Garden Maiden, copyright 2014.
Yesterday my doxies were happy to find a brief stint of sunshine to go out and enjoy the green grass. As I watched them I thought about one of my favorite John Denver songs, “Sunshine on My Shoulders.” So I altered the lyrics and began singing to them. I sing to them all the time and make up songs for them. I really should have grabbed the mower (I use an electric cordless mower and love it) to trim it up for them, but I was in a hurry to get back inside and get to work on an article that is due. My little wieners love to look for dead earthworms to eat or dead insects or poo to roll on. Though sometimes if they find the rabbit poo before I do, they snack on those large round morsels before I can grab them. Seriously, they look like cocoa puffs cereal. We got some big bunnies ya’ll!!
Doxie enjoys healthy, natural lawn. Image by The Garden Maiden, copyright 2014.
I don’t use any herbicides on my lawn. I don’t fertilize it, overseed it, or spray it for anything other than the occasional hill treatment for fire ants (I hate this, but its a serious problem down here). If you’ve ever had your feet swarmed by fire ants biting and stinging you, you’d agree). I keep enough lawn to play on and give my pups space to roam. I encourage a variety of grasses, “weeds” and native flowers. I try to convert as many sunshiny places to garden beds.
I love a healthy lawn. A healthy lawn is one that you and your pets can feel free to roam in barefoot, knowing the soil below your feet is as happy as the grass you walk on. I want my soil to be teaming with bio-activity. Not dead from constant spraying of pesticides (remember pesticides are any “cide” such as herbicide, insecticide, fungicide, etc). I hope to encourage more clover in my lawn. Its good for the soil, the rabbits love it (they in turn give me lots of big poops that I gather for my garden), and it is cool to walk on…curl your toes, lift your nose and enjoy the sweet perfume when the clover is flowering. Many homeowners apply excess fertilizers and pesticides that are washed away (by irrigation or rain) into our ditches, storm drains, waterways, streams, lakes, and drinking water. Very unsustainable.
I’m always amazed by the intensely monocultured lawns of suburbia, especially those owned by folks who never venture out to enjoy their lawn. Some feel peer pressure from neighbors or home owners associations and others think it is the only way to have a lawn. FIGHT THE PEER PRESSURE.
Keep on Growin’,
The Garden Maiden
PS Here are the lyrics to the John Denver song. Beautiful. Timeless.
Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy
Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely
Sunshine, almost always, makes me highIf I had a day that I could give you
Id give to you a day just like today
If I had a song that I could sing for you
Id sing a song to make you feel this waySunshine on my shoulders makes me happy
Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely
Sunshine, almost always, makes me highIf I had a tale that I could tell you
Id tell a tale sure to make you smile
If I had a wish that I could wish for you
Id make a wish for sunshine all the whileSunshine on my shoulders makes me happy
Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely
Sunshine, almost always, makes me high
Sunshine, almost all the time, makes me high
Sunshine, almost alwaysSongwriters
Palmer, David / King, Carole
All images and text copyright 2014 The Garden Maiden
The Garden Maiden 