Saturday, March 10, 2007

Spring clean up.....

Today was the day I dread, to some degree, every year. The first mowing and real yard cleanup since Fall. Apparently, if by signal, many others in the neighborhood had the same urge.

It was the day for mowing up the dead grass, blowing the dead leaves from the flower beds and picking up the multitude of sticks dropped from the trees due to winter ice storms, wind storms, dust storms and rain storms. Not too bad this year and I was gratified to see that by watering the back lawn almost every day over the winter, that it is in better shape than it has been in years. Everything is ready to apply my Boy Scout high nitrogen fertilizer.

The work is not done however thanks to the variety of trees on the estate. They're always dropping something; the pecan trees are preparing to drop "lint" and the insidious live oak trees shed their leaves this time of year. Good trees, green all year, but a real pain in the keester now. Now for a shower. I'm always amazed in West Texas that after having soaked the lawn yesterday in preperation for the mowing, still a cloud of coughing sneezing dust is raised from the lawn. Why I'm amazed, I don't know, I've been mowing lawns out here off and on for 47 years.