This would be *awfully* early for you to be having leaf spot or Helminthosporium issues in your lawn. If you're in N IL then you have to be somewhere near me in Chicago and we've had frost and snow in the last two weeks and those are not conditions that favor most fungal diseases. Leaf spot in particular isn't an issue most often till we've been in the +65 degree range for awhile. In your pic that one small spot to the left does look a little like leaf spot but it doesn't explain the dead blade to the right. Without a pic of a larger area of lawn its hard to say exactly what you're dealing with but if it is leaf spot then that's a pretty good indication that you've wayyyyy over-fertilized. Leaf spot loves excessive N, short mowing and thatch. If you feel like that's what you're dealing with fungicides aren't going to do any better for you at this point than proper culture.

Michael - thank you for the correction. Rose Stem Girdler, of course! Duh! Thank you for posting that link. Maureen, it is not that the stems are "hollow", but that the insect larvae go around and around inside just under the outer covering of the cane and usually about a foot or two off the ground causing the plant to swell a bit, hence the "bump". They only damage about a 1/2" or less of the cane, but it cuts off the flow of nutrients to the cane above that spot causing dieback. The rest of the cane, above and below that one spot will look normal to the eye (except that the top turns brown!) Sometimes it can be a very subtle swelling. After years of seeing it in my rugosas and Explorer roses too (these pests like the prickliest canes!) I can spot it a mile away and now before the leaves come out is the perfect time to inspect all of the canes and prune it out. If that's not what has caused your dead canes, then perhaps you can post some photos for us. In zone 6 and having been established for several years, your rugosas should have survived winter with no problem. I have some planted on a slope and mine never receive supplimental water; they winter over just fine. These are pretty tough plants. You say yourself that there is lots of new growth already so you can see they aren't that easy to wipe out. Rose Stem Girdler is the only drawback I have found to rugosas and although this pest can be annoying or even infuriating, it doesn't kill the entire rose. The only other thing I can think of is that some of the canes are aging and need removing - after 3 or 4 years you should be removing a few of the oldest canes at pruning time anyway for continued best bloom and to make room for those new canes coming up. (But even so, the old canes shouldn't just be dying off.) I sincerely hope some of this helps you!

Some more beauties today.Love GRANTS PLAY. and CLASSIC EDGE.Love the looks of that purple looking lily, Trumpet? its very pretty. I am so tired that I can't think any more for today :) my Norton's Virus protection runs out tomorrow,and I bought a new one last week to put in.I have worked with the thing all evening trying to get it in the pc and it seems as tho its not in, so I tried to uninstall the old one and then install my new one,and it wont un install either.So need a good nights sleep to get rested up.Did not sleep last night, again, awake all night, till 6am, then slept about 3 hrs.Oh well, one of them days again.I dug up BEAUTIFUL EDGINGS ,I guess it was last week,and today,I see new leaves coming up, so that is encourageing.So, yesterday evening just before dark,I went out and dug up BIG YELLOW TAXI and my VICTORIAN LACE, and I hope they will make it now, too. Jean

A forensic scientist could estimate how long the bird has been laying on the ground by examining the stage of the magots. In my opinion, the carcas has been there for at least 24 hrs. Since you did not see any injuries, this suggests the worst: The bird died of a quick acting disease, probably a virus. Our DNR has asked people to collect and turn in birds that have died from no apparent reason. They want them for lab tests. They are tracking a few diseases. There are some other causes: 1. Old age. 2. Not likely for a purple martin, but the bird may have struck a pole or other object and broke its neck while in flight. 3. Struck a vehicle on the street and made to your back yard before collasping. 4. Struck an aircraft and fell in your yard. 5. Was shot by a pellet gun. 6. Poisoned. 7. Got too drunk on fermented mulberries.