GOD'S TAKE ON LAWNS - I think this has been posted in other (gardenweb) forums here. Let me begin by saying "To me Grass is a perennial weed That invades my vegetable garden". :-) This may be a good time of year to re-visit this conversation... ************************************************************** GOD'S TAKE ON LAWNS: Imagine the conversation The Creator might have had with St. Francis on the subject of lawns: God: Hey St. Francis, you know all about gardens and nature. What in the world is going on down there in the Midwest? (or Quebec) 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 bail 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 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 are not 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. The 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. Sister Catherine, you're in charge of the arts. What movie have you scheduled for us tonight? Sister Catherine: "Dumb and Dumber", Lord. It's a real stupid movie about..... God: Never mind, I think I just heard the whole story from St. Francis.

Xuan - I would be happy to send you a few seeds! I have two pods on Limona so far... I have promised to trade some with Dizzy, but I think there will be enough to share with you, as well... I will let you know when they are ripe, and we can arrange something... I have several flowers bred, and should have a few more varieties to breed soon... I still have lots of bulbs growing scapes, and I plan to breed everything! Since I know that Limona is a fertile plant, I know that I will get more seeds from it next year, too! Elizabeth - I have one seed pod ripening on Exotic Star so far... all the others aborted. I've had a lot of breedings abort, but I understand that there will be lots of failures, as well as a few successes... Mother Nature has her reasons for what she does, and we must abide by her decisions! The more I think about it, the more I believe I should make more self breedings, as these seem to take much better! Plus, the ensuing seeds will be offspring, and not necessarily exactly like the parent plant! If you got a late start, then you will have flowers after all mine have faded! I would love to see some pictures of yours! Please do post when your bulbs bloom!

((((everybody))))) All this hugging going around is making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Well it's either that or this budlight I've been drinking.....hiccup! :) KYgirl - Yep, they got the copper pipes too. Don't ya remember...we're building "up in the hills" of KY LOL. We're not in a neighborhood. There is only one house close to us. It's across the street and he didn't hear or see anything. You know, you would think that the people that buy the copper would wonder where Joe Blow gets a truckload of copper per week. I'll never understand the mentality of any of the people involved in this. Kharma seems to be trying to get my attention lately. I think I'll follow BJ's advice in another post and hide out for a while.

I had never seen houses moved until I moved here. They moved a 2 story house down the road from me about 10 years ago.. the first truck had guys with chainsaws cutting down branches of trees the second and third trucks had 1/2 the house each. roof removed. I actually tested this house for air infiltration once it was set up and found that where they joined it back together was the main leakage areas. thankfully it was on piers so that the sealing of the floors was easy it was the attic & interior walls that were difficult to re-seal. People around here move homes quite often. usually a give away home or really cheap price just to get rid of the house. I know several people who purchased these homes for less than five thousand dollars..and one guy who paid $1.00 set up of moved home runs 5 to 10 thousand...so I'm told. My house was moved here about 20 years ago from a small town about 30 miles away. Sure wish they would have oriented it north south insead of east west!