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Thursday, July 30, 2015

Dupery Reigns Supreme

So you think government officials are like Jimmy 
Stewart in "Mr Smith Goes to Washington," pure 
of heart and fighting tooth and nail in Washington 
for bills that will benefit the people. Yeah, well....
sorry your lobectomy went haywire. 

I bet you think this post is political.  No, not
really. Maybe just some leanings in that direction.

I remember life in the 1950's....... I was at a 
cocktail party wearing a new black cocktail dress,
similar to the ones Audrey Hepburn usually wore.
Of course everyone had a fancy-named drink in
one hand and a cigarette in the other.  Cigarettes 
and booze in a smokey room. The talk was, "Buy
chemicals and plastics." Yup Froggy, that was
the beginning of poisoning the planet and I 
stood there like an idiot, only caring if I was
making an impression on the sad joker in
a pin-stripe suit. 

Up to that time, lawns were almost maintenance
free because white clover lawns were the choice
of the day.  Clover lawns were beautiful AND
(get this) drought resistant, fixed nitrogen from
the air, needed no fertilizer and tolerated 
compacted soil. 

Can you imagine NOT spending a red cent for
up-keep on your lawn? How much do you spend
now, with mowing, aerating, fertilizing, watering, 
power-raking, and often re-seeding in the spring?

So after the war, big campaigns for beautiful
grass filled the hearts and minds of the new
suburbanites. Buy "Round-up," kill the clover, kill
the bees and we all know what happens after we
kill all the bees. Let your kiddies and pets romp
in that brilliant green chemical grass. Oh, so 
Sonny has allergies, too bad, wonder how he got 
that.

I do small patches at a time. I lay down card-
board and cover it with black dirt. I keep it moist
and during the winter, it's all covered with snow. 
Then I mix clover seed with more black dirt
and add a netting if it's scorching hot come
summer. My yard is terribly large for me to do it
all alone but I'm gaining on it. Today I unloaded
15 bags of dirt by myself. Yeah for my Bliss Work.

What's my point in all of this?  I don't really know. 
Maybe I'd like to influence just one person to 
think of what we're doing. Are we going to end
up as we did in "Planet of the Apes" with the statue
of liberty mostly stuck in the sand?????

Who knows and only time will tell.






33 comments:

  1. I do remember there was more clover, I also remember running barefoot and getting stung by those bees. I think an occasional sting was better than all the chemicals, mowing and stuff you mention.

    CLOVER! Go for it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. joeh
      Bees do love the clover flower but it can also be mowed shorter during the blooming season. The thought of losing all the bees is scary.

      Delete
  2. I remember the 50's. My parents only had a small patch of grass in the front yard. It was so hot in our house my sister and I would throw down a pallet on that patch. When we saw car lights coming we would jump up and run into the house.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Paula
      I guess that calls for being "fleet of foot."

      Delete
  3. Oh I hope you get your clover growing and get lots of bees back!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. River
      Thanks....I hope so too. I just put down large pieces of used cardboard boxes and the dirt is still in the bags but sitting on top of the cardboard. That won't be so hard to cut them open and spread around. I did a nice size area in the back last year and that turned out very well.

      Delete
  4. Too many are either honest or enjoy their blinders too much to do anything.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Holy Ghost
      Oh yes, it appears more and more that people WANT to be told what to do. Doesn't matter if it's killing them or not.

      Delete
  5. We don't spend anything to maintain our "lawn." Just the energy it takes to whack down the weeds when they get too tall. We figure, if it's green, it's good enough for us, so we have a wide variety of weeds as opposed to a manicured lawn. But then again, one man's weed is another man's wildflower. Clover, dandelions, and violets make a yard look colorful. :)

    By the way, I read an article the other day that said the bee population has actually increased dramatically... all thanks to the many beekeepers who've worked so hard to make it happen.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan
      It's amazing too, that all the weeds and dandelions remain green long after the grass has turned brown. I applaud you for thumbing your nose at the manicured lawn. I get out that little tool and actually dig my dandelions. No one does that. I can remember when I was young, it was a fun, family thing to do. Also the City would set aside certain days for the kids to dig dandelions in the public parks for free hot dogs and soda. The parks would be swarming with kids and it saved the city money. I'd like to see the vacant response to something like that now....
      kids would laugh at the idea. I'm remembering how much fun it was ....or would I have rather been sitting home playing video games. (I mean......even if there had been video games.....hahahahah).

      I hadn't heard that about the bee population but yeah for that. They say, mankind will die 3 years after the bees are gone.

      Delete
  6. My yard is almost all pure white clover and all I do is mow. I put the blade high enough that a lot of the clover remains after mowing.The bees love it as much as the rabbits.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Patti
      You are one lucky duck to live in clover. I'm struggling to get some. I love bee balm flowers (or Monardo sp.) and that really does attract the bees too. Cody is so funny. She will sit in front of a plant for absolutely hours, very intent on watching the bees and then tries to bite them. I've never known that she has been stung. I guess they can't get through her fur. Ha

      Delete
  7. My lawn is made up of mixed grass and weeds. In the Spring Dandelions sprout with their colorful yellow.
    I suspect that if Dandelions were difficult to grow people would buy them to decorate their yards.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John
      How correct you are. I guess that is what makes a weed a weed, it's too prolific and easy to grow.

      Delete
  8. I remember clovers in the lawn of the first house that I remember living in. When we moved, I wondered what happened to the clovers in the lawn. I had no idea. Well, you've got me on board. Our lawn is brown right now. Drought. It's supposed to rain big time in the fall, so I'm going to look for clover lawn seed and toss them around. Clovers may drive the Mama nuts. But, then maybe she remembers the clovers, too, and wondered what happened to them. We shall see.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susie
      Yay for you. An all clover yard is gorgeous with it's varied forms amd irregularities, flowers , bees and butterflies. I have always thought of those well manicured lawns as being BORING. But I guess I've alwlays marched to a different drummer. I think you do too and that's a compliment.

      Delete
  9. I can remember clover in my grandparents yard. You don't see it very often anymore.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sandra
      Rarely do you see clover in yards but you do see lots of dandelions. Ha

      Delete
    2. Grin. Isn't that the truth.
      Thanks for stopping by:)

      Delete
  10. Pat
    Nope no mowing unless you want to, of course. I actually would love my own bee hive because I have so many bee-attracting-flowers in my yard. BUT, right now, I have tooooo many critters to take care of and I know nothing about bee-keeping. (I could learn though.....hahaha)

    ReplyDelete
  11. I didn't know about clover lawns but then I grew up in the tropics where lawns are mostly unheard of. I wonder if clover would work here in Texas where it can be so hot and dry? Mostly our "lawn" right now is a native/wild Bermuda and weeds. It's looking pretty scruffy at the moment. We haven't watered it in years because of the drought.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bish
      Water is expensive, here. It would be a treat to eliminate that extra summer expense. I know clover does well with our extreme winters. I have patches here and there in the yard and I've noticed that the clover stay green right next to the grass that can be withered and brown. I'm starting another large patch in the front lawn. My neighbors ask me what I'm doing. lol
      You were fortunate to grow up without lawns. They are a pain to keep up. My son planted some kind of mixture in his new yard and I love the look of it. No mowing and very little watering.

      Delete
  12. Very informative, keep posting such good articles, it really helps to know about things.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mobile App
      Thank you for stopping by. I wasn't aware of your company but I am now.

      Delete
  13. I remember the smell of clover--wonderful, and hard to describe.

    Like Bish, our yard is heading down the dusty road.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan
      Some parts are badly in need of rain and I talked to a gal in PA and she said it rains every day and the lawns are turning yellow. I don't think I like the yellow lawns (or the yellow snow in the winter). LOL

      Delete
  14. Hi Manzanita,

    Wow, that's such a meticulous effort to maintain a lawn with a nice clover touch. I like me a bit of grass :)

    Have a lovely weekend, my lovely friend.

    Gary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Garry
      Hahaha
      Yes and that too. You can't smoke clover....
      or can you?

      Delete
  15. I don't think I've ever seen a Clover Lawn. How strange that it's thought to be better to use all the gunk most people do now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pam Trees Sea Breeze
      Thanks for dropping in. Clover lawns seem to
      have gone the way of "buggy whips." But I still
      like things that don't take extra effort and money.

      Delete
  16. I read somewhere that the concept of beautiful green lawns was brought over from England. I swear our lawn in Illinois was half clover.

    ReplyDelete
  17. ...as for me, Manzi, can you imagine, i don't like lawns at all! :D don't know why, but i love when the garden flowers are growing right in plain soil, or among white or colourful decorative stones and sand, but not the grass. But if it comes to lawns, i prefer 'em to be covered with clover. looks joyful and its fine scent is spreading all around.
    Never understand, why civilization should always be eco-dangerous?! :(
    I admire you always doing your bits for a better ecology, it matters!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I don't put pesticides on my grass nor do I fertilize it. My neighbor does, and you should see his grass right now his is brown while mine is green.

    ReplyDelete