September – it never ceases to
amaze me! Labor Day arrives and Mother Nature turns off the heat bringing
cool nights, and pleasant warm days; poof! summer’s over.
While it’s sad to see long warm
summer days fade, fall brings its own unique and welcoming sights, colors and
scents. And with the fall, many
homeowners will turn their attention to the yard, raking leaves, pruning, and planting
flower bulbs for spring bloom.
No matter what your lawn care
practices are, there are some things to keep in mind to help protect water
quality of lakes, ponds and streams.
Yard waste makes really good fertilizer, which is why many people
compost it. If you rake leaves, consider
mulching them, and put the mulched leaves around your trees and shrubs to help
protect the roots through the winter months.
If you live along a stream, pond, or lake, don’t rake the leaves into
the water; it adds excess nutrients, such as phosphorus, which feed aquatic
plants like algae. It also makes for
good leech habitat, so unless you, your children, or grandchildren want to swim
with leeches, don’t rake the leaves into the water.
If you’d like to learn more about yard composting, check out
the Backyard Conservation information sheet “Composting” which can be found at http://belknapccd.org/pdfs/compost.pdf.
Also, for a little humor about our lawn care habits, continue
reading the discussion below found online
. . .
GOD AND ST. FRANCIS DISCUSSING LAWNS
GOD: Francis, you know all about gardens and nature.
What in the world is going on down there? What happened to the dandelions,
violets, thistle and stuff I started eons ago? I had a perfect, no-maintenance
garden plan. Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and
multiply with abandon. The nectar from the long lasting blossoms attracts
butterflies, honey bees and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast
garden of colors by now. But all I see are these green rectangles.
ST. FRANCIS: It's the tribes that settled there, Lord. The
Suburbanites. They started calling your flowers "weeds" and went to
great lengths to kill them and replace them with grass.
GOD: Grass? But it's so boring. It's not colorful.
It doesn't attract butterflies, birds and bees, only grubs and sod worms. It's
temperamental with temperatures. Do these Suburbanites really want all that
grass growing there?
ST. FRANCIS: Apparently so, Lord. They go to great pains to
grow it and keep it green. They begin each spring by fertilizing grass and
poisoning any other plant that crops up in the lawn.
GOD: The spring rains and warm weather probably make
grass grow really fast. That must make the Suburbanites happy.
ST. FRANCIS: Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it grows a
little, they cut it-sometimes twice a week.
GOD: They cut it? Do they then bale it like hay?
ST. FRANCIS: Not exactly, Lord. Most of them rake it up and
put it in bags.
GOD: They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they
sell it?
ST. FRANCIS: No Sir. Just the opposite. They pay to throw it
away.
GOD: Now let me get this straight. They fertilize
grass so it will grow. And when it does grow, they cut it off and pay to throw
it away?
ST. FRANCIS: Yes, Sir.
GOD: These Suburbanites must be relieved in the
summer when we cut back on the rain and turn up the heat. That surely slows the
growth and saves them a lot of work.
ST. FRANCIS: You aren't going to believe this Lord. When the
grass stops growing so fast, they drag out hoses and pay more money to water it
so they can continue to mow it and pay to get rid of it.
GOD: What nonsense. At least they kept some of the
trees. That was a sheer stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. The trees grow
leaves in the spring to provide beauty and shade in the summer. In the autumn
they fall to the ground and form a natural blanket to keep moisture in the soil
and protect the trees and bushes. Plus, as they rot, the leaves form compost to
enhance the soil. It's a natural circle of life.
ST. FRANCIS: You better sit down, Lord. The Suburbanites
have drawn a new circle. As soon as the leaves fall, they rake them into great
piles and pay to have them hauled away.
GOD: No. What do they do to protect the shrub and
tree roots in the winter and to keep the soil moist and loose?
ST. FRANCIS: After throwing away the leaves, they go out and
buy something which they call mulch. They haul it home and spread it around in
place of the leaves.
GOD: And where do they get this mulch?
ST. FRANCIS: They cut down trees and grind them up to make
the mulch.
GOD: Enough. I don't want to think about this
anymore. St. Catherine, you're in charge of the arts. What movie have they
scheduled for us tonight?"
ST. CATHERINE: "Dumb and Dumber", Lord. It's a
really stupid movie about.....
GOD: Never mind, I think I just heard the whole
story from St. Francis.
MAKING
PROGRESS TO PROTECT DRINKING WATER RESOURCES IN THE LAKES REGION: