So I'm pushing that manual mower the other morning, 7 AM, supposedly before the heat of the day but sweat is pouring from me and the humidity is already stifling and then I hit that patch, that patch that has gotten thicker and thicker each week this summer. It is smack in the middle of my front lawn, where there is a slight hill, and pushing the mower up the hill has been increasingly difficult there.
I'm supposed to alternate between back-and-forth and up-and-down each week, but in reality I can't seem to shake myself from mowing a big rectangle, Zamboni-like, and then closing in on the center. Because of the pie-slice of my property, the sides tend more toward triangles, but the front, where this lawn is deepest, is most definitely a rectangle.
I stand there this week, practically motionless yet pushing with all my heart (my heart beating rapidly) and realize, "I have to tell them. I have to tell them this has gotten hard," and I know full dislosure is what you expect of me on this experiment.
I somehow discover that if I go to the top of the rectangle and mow down, dragging the mower back up with me without mowing, that I can muddle through. The rest of the lawn is easy, and I fall into my usual "Om of Mowing" meditative state. But I know next week will come quickly and I will have this nearly impenetrable challenge once again.
And then it comes via email.
Roger's video . Showing the metamorphosis of a major section of his front lawn into a food garden (and encouraging the planting of a vegetable garden on the White House lawn). It is four minutes and fifty two seconds of creativity and inspiration. What's more, if you superimpose Roger's front lawn onto mine, the section that he rips up is exactly where my problem is.
Interestingly, neither of the presidential candidates have embraced the food/sustainability challenge as a campaign concept, even though food prices are through the roof and tainted food in our vast mess of a commerical food system has become a regular occurrence. I keep telling my husband that one of these candidates will say the words that I am waiting to hear: Victory Gardens. My friend Richard of the Worms tells me that if one of them does, he will eat his worms. Now, if you don't already have enough reasons to sign
Roger's petition for a White House lawn food garden, then that might clinch it for you. (I'll videotape!)
As for my lawn, maybe I'll mow twice a week now. Or maybe it's time for another
Open Garden .
Who wants to push first? Line up. Don't fight. You'll all get a turn.
Nurturing sustainability close to home and around the world. (And other food for thought!)
So I'm pushing that manual mower the other morning, 7 AM, supposedly before the heat of the day but sweat is pouring from me and the humidity is already stifling and then I hit that patch, that patch that has gotten thicker and thicker each week this summer. It is smack in the middle of my front lawn, where there is a slight hill, and pushing the mower up the hill has been increasingly difficult there.
I'm supposed to alternate between back-and-forth and up-and-down each week, but in reality I can't seem to shake myself from mowing a big rectangle, Zamboni-like, and then closing in on the center. Because of the pie-slice of my property, the sides tend more toward triangles, but the front, where this lawn is deepest, is most definitely a rectangle.
I stand there this week, practically motionless yet pushing with all my heart (my heart beating rapidly) and realize, "I have to tell them. I have to tell them this has gotten hard," and I know full dislosure is what you expect of me on this experiment.
I somehow discover that if I go to the top of the rectangle and mow down, dragging the mower back up with me without mowing, that I can muddle through. The rest of the lawn is easy, and I fall into my usual "Om of Mowing" meditative state. But I know next week will come quickly and I will have this nearly impenetrable challenge once again.
And then it comes via email. Roger's video . Showing the metamorphosis of a major section of his front lawn into a food garden (and encouraging the planting of a vegetable garden on the White House lawn). It is four minutes and fifty two seconds of creativity and inspiration. What's more, if you superimpose Roger's front lawn onto mine, the section that he rips up is exactly where my problem is.
Interestingly, neither of the presidential candidates have embraced the food/sustainability challenge as a campaign concept, even though food prices are through the roof and tainted food in our vast mess of a commerical food system has become a regular occurrence. I keep telling my husband that one of these candidates will say the words that I am waiting to hear: Victory Gardens. My friend Richard of the Worms tells me that if one of them does, he will eat his worms. Now, if you don't already have enough reasons to sign Roger's petition for a White House lawn food garden, then that might clinch it for you. (I'll videotape!)
As for my lawn, maybe I'll mow twice a week now. Or maybe it's time for another Open Garden .
Who wants to push first? Line up. Don't fight. You'll all get a turn.