Garden Colour

Day 163: One of these things is not like the others, much to my dismay, and it heralds the approach of lawn-mowing season, something I tend to forget about over the winter months. It always takes me by surprise. Some morning, I'll look out the window and the grass (that coarse, sharp-bladed species which as kids, we stretched between our thumbs to make a whistle) will have sprung up to half the height of the bird-feeder poles. I don't have "lawn." I have a few blades of thin green stuff sticking up through moss, hawkweed, and assorted other unpleasantness. The sharp stuff grows in clumps where the poor soil contains any small amount of organic matter. It is astonishingly resistant to treatment, even (gods forbid!) Round-up. Naturalist that I am, when lawn-mowing season begins, there are two alternatives which spring to mind: a flame-thrower, or perhaps two or three acre-inches of green asphalt. What idiot decided houses should be surrounded by lawn?

Job Done

Day 192: What one job does the Crow despise more than any other? What does she try to postpone until it becomes imperative? What would create in her a desire to lay asphalt or to take a flame thrower to Mother Nature's beauty? There's a hint in this picture, a pretty big one. Have you got it yet? Look at the nice squared-off ends on all those grass blades. Yeah, I mowed. And because it was the first mow of the year (and hopefully only one of four or five), I am celebrating the completion of the job with the only beerish thing I ever drink: Moose Drool brown ale.

Before you get the wrong idea, a six-pack of Moose Drool generally sees me through a year. I couldn't remember how many I had left from last year's purchase, so I bought more this morning. When I put it away, I discovered I still had three in the fridge. I suppose it goes without saying that I'm not a big fan of beer, but Moose Drool goes down smoothly, and a whole bottle is guaranteed to set my eyes off on a stroll across the bridge of my nose to see what's on the other side. One thing's for sure...they won't find any of those yellow lawn daisies now!