Posts Tagged ‘grass growth’
Different Worlds
One fact I have failed to report about the lake place is that the water level of Round Lake is the lowest anyone we’ve talked with can remember. The long dry months up there have taken a visible toll. Oddly, in addition to the unbelievably low water level, we’ve suddenly got beaver activity in our lagoon. There isn’t even enough water to flow all the way through to the culvert on the far end, but a beaver has started to build a dam near the entrance to the lake.
Underneath the walk bridge, there is a pile of branches that have been assembled. Nearby, the obvious tooth marks are all the way around the trunk of a good-sized birch tree. It would be a shame if it has already been doomed as a result. Our caretaker has been notified, and the proper agents are being contacted about pest management.
If it involves live capture and relocation, I hope it goes to a completely different lake. I’ve heard there are places that are seeking beaver dams to improve certain wetlands. That would be a perfect match.
Meanwhile, we have returned to Wintervale, where the horses seem content as ever, and Asher looks thrilled to be back on his usual territory.
Just as I suspected, I have my work cut out for me in controlling the growth of grass blades in all the areas that get regularly mowed. Unfortunately, I won’t get much done today, as I will be heading to the suburb of Hopkins, MN, this afternoon for a reunion of past employees of the company I was at for eighteen years at the beginning of my technical career.
I was unavailable for a gathering they held earlier in the summer, so it’s important to me to be able to make it this time. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen these folks, and I have fond memories of most everything about the place and the people who I had the good fortune of working with for so many years.
That period of my life feels like it is worlds away from where I am now. I’m looking forward to catching up with folks who meant an awful lot to me during our shared work lives at a very interesting company that manufactured high-technology surface analysis instruments used by industries (particularly semiconductor-related), universities, and government research institutions.
That’s a long way from caring for rescued horses and managing 20 rural acres in western Wisconsin.
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Suddenly Blades
They appeared days before our daytime temperature reached 73°F. The mound of manure I have been creating all winter in the large paddock, just a short distance upslope from Lake Paddock, has sprouted blades of new grass!
The cracked grains we feed the horses don’t all get fully digested. There are also scraps of hay that get mucked and tossed on the pile that could contain seeds.
It adds proof to my theory that I can get grass to grow without even trying, in places where it is not intended. It’s a completely different story if it’s a bare spot in the middle of our yard. Then, abject failure. Yet, blades sprout through the asphalt of our driveway.
Maybe I should pave over the bald spots in the lawn. 😑
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Reclaiming Pathway
One place that suffers when we get behind during periods of fast-growing grass is the labyrinth. I tend to leave it until last when trying to mow all the other grass areas. In addition to the front, back, and side of the house, I cut grass beside the shop garage, along both sides of the driveway to the road, between the road and our hay field fence, around the hay shed, around 2 sides of paddock fences, around the perimeter of the back pasture fence, the space in front of the labyrinth, and two pathways: the north loop and the south side of the hay field fence.
When that is done, I roll the push mower down to the labyrinth and remove the grass discharge chute to close the mulching cover. That’s required to fit between the rocks of the labyrinth pathway but it also provides the bonus of eliminating grass clippings.
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The grass that the mower can’t reach is beginning to swallow the rocks. At least the pathway becomes clearly evident upon a fresh cut.
We have experimented with different techniques (no hazardous chemicals allowed) for trimming grass and pulling weeds around the rocks but haven’t found anything more effective than the time and labor-intensive hand-cutting/weed pulling. When things are growing at this crazy pace that we’ve been experiencing this summer, we can’t dedicate the time it would require to focus solely on the rocks of the labyrinth for a few days.
Maybe if we didn’t go galivanting off to the lake so often, it would be easier to manage the entire property to the level it deserves. We leave this morning with Cyndie’s mom for another dreamy 4-day getaway to Wildwood. [First World Problems®]
Horse Behavior
Both Cyndie and I have noticed that, for the most part, the horses appear to be ignoring the recently mowed back pasture since I opened that gate. I’m hoping our perception is off and they are spending time out there when we aren’t looking. Still, the amount of manure we find beneath the overhang offers reasonable evidence that they are lingering by the barn more often than not.
It could be they are waiting for the hay field to be opened back up to them instead. It may be available soon if the baling happens today as planned. Then we will be able to open all gates like they are normally granted, giving them full access to go wherever they want, whenever they want.
It won’t surprise me if the back pasture needs a second round of mowing by the time we return home from the lake. I’ve decided we should plan to mow that field regularly since it is obvious there’s no interest in cutting it for baling.
More tractor time!
Sorry, labyrinth. You may be waiting even longer between trimmings.
Don’t worry, though. I’ll still keep the pathway open for you.
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