Peace and Quiet on the Pond

Saturday was to have been a quiet day. A few weeks ago I mentioned to a neighbor that I had some timber from a couple of trees affected by the ice storm of December that I was going to burn. He said he was going to rent a chipper to take care of quite a few trees he had on his property and that I could add mine to his. Saturday turned out to be the day.

About 9:00 I had gone outside to get the paper and noticed his SUV in his driveway with the chipper in tow behind it. By 10:00 his wife, son, the son’s friend and he had the chipper in place and started it up. I was still reading the paper when Debbie, who had noticed the noise and activity, encouraged me to get our timber over there before it was too late. I knew their pile of trees was going to take a while. But she insisted I get ours over there. Well, I had not even finished all my coffee but I know when to shut up so I got up and put on some work clothing, got my work gloves and went to work.

I spent 10 or15 minutes getting my pile of lumber to their chipper but felt guilty about just dumping mine and leaving. So three hours later we had reduced the huge pile of timber to a very small pile of wood chips. The hum and growl of the chipper brought several other neighbors running with some limbs of their own to add. I somehow resented them although I had done the same.

At 2:00 I sat down at our kitchen bar and ate some lunch. After lunch I noticed the rocks needed the weeds whacked. So the whirr of the weed whacker was heard for another hour. Shortly after that the neighbors' yard crew showed up and mowed and trimmed two entire yards in less time than it took me to weed whack. (see my blog of 03-19-2008)

Finally quiet and peaceful. Then Maverick reminded me I had promised to take him to the Tulsa Talon’s Arena Football game Saturday night. So, I cleaned up and it was off to Tulsa for a noisy indoor football game.

Sunday afternoon was beautiful but I did not get outside to enjoy it. I stayed in where it was quiet.

Spring Arrives Tomorrow

Spring officially arrives tomorrow, March 20^th. Here on the pond we have seen signs of Spring for a while. We have had a few days of warm temperatures and the past couple days two inches of rain have fallen. This can only mean one thing in Oklahoma – mowing season is about to begin.

Yard Maintenance

I looked out the window yesterday and saw henbit growing in the back yard. The purple flowers on the weed makes for pretty Easter colors. However they stand out against the brown Bermuda grass like a sore thumb. And they grow tall and fast! The battle is about to begin! I will make the annual pilgrimage to the Wal-Mart garden center this week to find the chemicals to attack the purple plague.

Living on the pond was a dream of mine. We live in a patio home that was to keep yard maintenance to a minimum – no side yard and a relatively small yard. When I think of a lake home I think of au natural turf. If the grass grows you mow it, if the sun burns it up even better. We are here to enjoy the view and why should we spend time worrying about yard maintenance? There are only two problems with that philosophy: Debbie and the neighbors.

Debbie And Her Flowers

Debbie loves flowers. On the pond gardening is a major effort; a small war. Out here rock grows best and we have a bumper crop. When we built the house we hauled in some good soil to place in front of the house and Debbie had her flower bed. But a couple of years later she had a vision of a garden out back. I thought I could deter her by telling her to dig a garden out there would require blasting caps and helmets. She had read some gardening books and had a plan that included gardening bricks, 100 bags of soil and a strong back of a cheap laborer. It consumed one very long three day weekend but we got it constructed. I was never so happy to see a Monday morning come and the opportunity to sink into my chair at my desk. Here is the result of that effort. Debbie plants a fine garden.

Neighborhood Green Envy

My neighbors keep their lawns like golf courses. They have sprinkler systems, lawn treatment companies, and landscapers all keeping the yards immaculate. I have seen the mowers converge on the neighborhood and have all homes mowed, trimmed and driveways and cuttings blown from sidewalks, patio and driveway before I can get my mower started. Their yards are emerald green all Summer while I pray the heat will kill mine to keep it from growing.

I fertilized my yard for a couple of years but have decided that creates more work. When you live on the lake fertilizer washes down from your yard to the rocks. This gives the weeds on the rocks the ability to come up more pretty and green than your yard. I can mow my yard in 25 minutes but weed-eating the rocks at the back of property takes 2½ hrs. The neighbors’ yard crew gets 4 men out on the rocks and they are finished in 10 minutes.

Ecology Friendly

The price of gas is rising. Everyone loves the peace and quiet of the lake. Why pollute the air and sound with lawn equipment? Its time to get concerned about the environment. I am going green this year. I figure 3 goats should do the trick. And it will give me more porch and pondering time.