The Sound of the Lawn Mower

Its almost time here in Maine. These warm days will eventually cause people's lawns to grow and then: roaring, clattering, flying stuff as one walks or drives by --- more pleasantly, the smell of new cut grass, the good times in the yard, the control of mosquitoes.

I grew up in a house where the lawn, and lawn care, were a revered passtime. My dad mowed, watered, studied, fertilized, pulled weeds, sprayed for weeds, spread stuff for weeds, and even installed underground irrigation and a special well so the lawn could thrive. It was His matter of pride, and the neighborhood apreciated it, often stopping to talk about lawn care. My Dad was the local expert!

I was more interested in the mechanics of growing: I played with starting shrubs, understanding effects of fertilizer, and the garden that was hidden out back.

Recently, I participated in the "White House Garden" project: I signed a petition, blogged in the NY Times "Well" section, forwarded articles and petitions to friends etc. I was pleased when the Obama's decided to tear up some lawn for a garden.

There have been some things written about the amount of pesticides used on the White House lawn. So, as I was catching up on Email I thought this was worthy of consideration: something from a publication I receive twice a month.
"Big green: Lawns in the U.S. cover 40 million acres, making them the largest agricultural sector in America.

And paying to keep it that way: Americans shell out $40 billion annually for seed, sod, and chemicals to keep their lawns green.

Chemical hogs: Lawns use ten times as many chemicals per acre as industrial agribusiness farmland.

With an insatiable thirst: Lawn watering consumes 270 billion gallons of water a week.

More than its share: One-third of all residential water use in the U.S. goes for landscaping.

Food not lawns: The land and water used for lawns could instead produce over 80 million acres of organic vegetables."
The publication is called "FoodLinks America" and it can be found at this web site, along with an Email address for subscription. http://www.tefapalliance.org/
There are often things worth reading in Foodlinks.
And, back to the lawn of my youth? My Dad died after a long battle with Parkinson's Disease. Research has shown that exposure to pesticides is a cause that often leads to Parkinsons. I think the lawn is kind of nice with dandelions...