Slightly More Interesting than Watching Grass Grow
When I mow the lawn, I like to think of my yard in sectors. It makes the sometimes Herculean task seem easier (and more rewarding) when I can say to myself, "Alpha Sector secure, moving on to Beta Sector."
Alpha Sector is the northern half of the back lawn. It is the most physically demanding sector because it is the largest and the steepest. It's also where the grass tends to grow the fastest, and there's a tricky acute corner where the north and east fences meet (right at the top of a hill, no less). I usually mow this part of the lawn first. I usually have to empty the bag after 1½-2 circumnavigations of Alpha Sector—when the bag will stay on the mower, that is. It hasn't done that very well lately. I guess it's a good thing we own a rake.
Beta Sector is the southern half of the back lawn. It's not as large or as steeply hilled as Alpha, but it is challenging for two reasons. First, there's a low-hanging box elder tree in the southeast corner of the lawn that's hard to mow around. Second, not far from that tree is a swingset/slide unit we got from Mr. and Mrs. Lumberjack last summer. Aside from these two obstacles, though, it's not bad. I need to use a trimmer to clear the grass under the playset, though; it's boxed in, so there is literally no way to get the mower under it.
Gamma Sector is the side/front lawn. It is the smallest and flattest part of the yard and is separated from Alpha and Beta Sectors by a tall wooden fence. Due to the layout of the circle where we live, Gamma Sector essentially consists of two connected triangles. The upper triangle (next to the house) is larger and pretty much flat. The lower triangle (next to the driveway) is smaller, generally gets less sun, and is more sloped. This is the easiest part of the lawn to mow, and I usually save it for last.
This time last year, we didn't even have a lawn. We had flooding in our basement about a year and a half ago due to a burst sprinkler pipe. They ended up having to dig up and seal the foundation to fix the problem. This pretty much trashed the yard, and there wasn't time (or money, apparently) to put in new sod at that time—winter was coming, and the cold would have killed the new grass before it could take hold. So we waited until spring...and then until summer...and then we waited some more. When our 'yard' was full of waist-high weeds at the height of fire season, the landlords finally did something about it. The new lawn looked amazing.
The lawn is looking a little ragged right now. I mowed it on Thursday, and parts of the lawn are starting to look dry and brown. That's because we've had temperatures in the 90s for the past week and a half, and the landlady still hasn't had anyone come out and turn on the sprinklers. I've been spot-watering for the past few days, but our lawn is about a fifth of an acre, so there's only so much we can do with a hose and a rotary sprinkler head. The guy was supposed to come and turn on the sprinklers yesterday or today. We'll see, I guess.
Alpha Sector is the northern half of the back lawn. It is the most physically demanding sector because it is the largest and the steepest. It's also where the grass tends to grow the fastest, and there's a tricky acute corner where the north and east fences meet (right at the top of a hill, no less). I usually mow this part of the lawn first. I usually have to empty the bag after 1½-2 circumnavigations of Alpha Sector—when the bag will stay on the mower, that is. It hasn't done that very well lately. I guess it's a good thing we own a rake.
Beta Sector is the southern half of the back lawn. It's not as large or as steeply hilled as Alpha, but it is challenging for two reasons. First, there's a low-hanging box elder tree in the southeast corner of the lawn that's hard to mow around. Second, not far from that tree is a swingset/slide unit we got from Mr. and Mrs. Lumberjack last summer. Aside from these two obstacles, though, it's not bad. I need to use a trimmer to clear the grass under the playset, though; it's boxed in, so there is literally no way to get the mower under it.
Gamma Sector is the side/front lawn. It is the smallest and flattest part of the yard and is separated from Alpha and Beta Sectors by a tall wooden fence. Due to the layout of the circle where we live, Gamma Sector essentially consists of two connected triangles. The upper triangle (next to the house) is larger and pretty much flat. The lower triangle (next to the driveway) is smaller, generally gets less sun, and is more sloped. This is the easiest part of the lawn to mow, and I usually save it for last.
This time last year, we didn't even have a lawn. We had flooding in our basement about a year and a half ago due to a burst sprinkler pipe. They ended up having to dig up and seal the foundation to fix the problem. This pretty much trashed the yard, and there wasn't time (or money, apparently) to put in new sod at that time—winter was coming, and the cold would have killed the new grass before it could take hold. So we waited until spring...and then until summer...and then we waited some more. When our 'yard' was full of waist-high weeds at the height of fire season, the landlords finally did something about it. The new lawn looked amazing.
The lawn is looking a little ragged right now. I mowed it on Thursday, and parts of the lawn are starting to look dry and brown. That's because we've had temperatures in the 90s for the past week and a half, and the landlady still hasn't had anyone come out and turn on the sprinklers. I've been spot-watering for the past few days, but our lawn is about a fifth of an acre, so there's only so much we can do with a hose and a rotary sprinkler head. The guy was supposed to come and turn on the sprinklers yesterday or today. We'll see, I guess.
posted by Michael at
5:23 AM
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