The Best Grass

I can relate to Joe. I'm beat because I had a very active Birthday weekend and at the same time I can hardly breath due to a cold. Today is better, so far. I'm not sure if I'm better or if it's the ton of over the counter cold medications I consumed over the weekend.

I think I tried everything and not in the labeled serving size recommendation, maybe double or triple that. 😣 Oh well, at least I am feeling better.

As far as Titus & Philemon's turf war, in some sense I can relate to that as well.

When I purchased my first home back in 1972 my neighbor to the North was a professional grounds keeper (Bob & Dorothy Morken) and his yard was as perfect as a yard could be. It was something like the one below but not as "busy".

Bob, Dorothy & I became good friends over the years, it reminds me a little of Tim The Tool Man Taylor and his neighbor Mr. Wilson. We had many conversations over the fence and about once a week Bob & Dorothy would invite me to come join them for "Bloomer Droppers" in their backyard (I have no idea what was in that drink but it was pretty good).

And then there was Julies Jess across the street. He wasn't a professional groundskeeper but he held his own with Bob. Between the two of them I got a lot of advice on having a nice lawn.

Bob was in his late 60's, Jess was in his 70's, and I was still in my teens. We all got along well and our common bond was the neighborhood and our yards. There were no turf wars, just a brotherhood of grounds keeping. 

I lived in that home for about 30 years and as time moved on both Bob and Jess passed on.

Since that time, looking back 60 years ago, I have tried to maintain a nice lawn.

My turf war was between me and my yard. After the flood of 2011 I tilled and replanted the entire yard and it looked great for about two years. Somewhere around 2016 I gave up and surrendered. The flood of 2011 brought so many weeds that laid dormant until 2013 and then they grew as if Satan himself was pushing them up from hell.

While I look back fondly at what Bob, Jess, and I had so many years ago I also remember that after Bob and Jess died, their yards looked like everyone else's in just a few short years.

Maintaining a beautiful lawn is expensive. Between the cost of chemicals, water, and time it became a losing battle for me.

The moral of my story is: If you want a beautiful lawn you really need to put in an underground watering system and hire a lawn service to maintain the lawn properly. Bob and Jess spent their retirement years maintaining their yards... and that is all they did. I am rapidly approaching the age that those men became one with the dirt once again. My plan is to be more active with family and community before the preacher says "From dust to dust".