As 2021 wears down we have much to be thankful for. Sometimes that can lapse us into inactivity, so please review my Wisdom on Preparing for a Real Winter. In December we have the time to protect our flora.  

Things I Am Thankful For

First, the armyworms are to be a one and done. That was more excitement than I want and occupied almost two months of the season where we could do nothing else.

Next, no thunderstorms in winter. Two floods in 2021 was two too many, but a storm now is just snow.  

Also, the summer rainfall was adequate to keep the lawns growing, even though we were putting out fires most of the season and not able to do our normal diligence.

Lastly, I’m thankful that even though my princesses both limp with bad right legs, they are healing and getting better every day. We have been blessed by the community support, our clients’ support, and BNI!  All of you don’t understand how much that has meant to us.

’Tis the Season for Leaf Mulching

Where did all these durn leaves come from anyway? We don’t have any trees!

This is a common complaint we hear. Leaves are mobile and can travel great distances for the first month or so. That means it really makes no sense to get serious about dealing with them until they get soggy and land somewhere where they won’t just “leaf” the next time the wind blows.  

Normally this is after Thanksgiving, so please do one more cleanup, blowing all the leaves from the beds, driveway, patios, and walks into the lawn to be mulched up with your mower. See our October 2020 newsletter for more.

Mulch, Then Fertilize

Why do I fertilize on top of leaves? This is a pretty easy answer and only confusing because we often don’t think of the purpose of fertilizer.  

Sometimes it’s as we expect—to make the grass grow and reproduce—but other times the reason is more circumvent. We mulch leaves into the lawn so they can degrade. Degradation is God’s way of turning us all, including leaves, into humus.  

The newsletter referred to above explains the use of humus in the soil, but how do we compost? Simply, the leaves (carbon) rot actively when combined with adequate grass clippings (nitrogen). But guess what? There isn’t much in the way of clippings right now, so I come to the rescue with the nitrogen. Think supplement.  

Insanity often is insinuated simply because we don’t understand the system. Is the system, right? It is. And the joy in my life is constantly learning how to tweak it. Except for armyworms.

My Princesses

Diane is doing much better. Hip repaired and therapy continuing. Starting to roam with the walker and doing better than expected. She has a couple of surgeries to go, so it will be spring before she is back to normal. We are enjoying each part of the process, however. Thanks to all of you for your prayers.

The pet of the month I got to pick while Diane’s convalescing, so of course it has to be my dog, Magic. Having two princesses is hard, particularly when they compete for my attention, so no surprise that Magic blew her other knee and had to have her second knee replacement.  

Surgery was in early November, and she is doing fantastic. The hardest part is the Elizabethan collar she has to wear when I’m out working. The best news about that is Diane didn’t have to wear one, and believe me, Magic constantly complains about the unfairness of that.  

Second hardest for Magic is that she is my companion, going wherever I go. Not being able to get in and out of the car is a problem with the knee. Her return to joy riding will also happen in the spring.

Contracts Coming Soon

Finally, renewal time is here. However, between getting the last applications down and being a full-time nurse, I haven’t even started them. My current goal is to mail them on the 15th of December. I seem to have little control right now but promise to do my best.

It’s been a busy month. We’re blessed to have all of you and BNI behind us right now, and we’re thankful for all our friends who allowed us to survive 2021.

See you soon in your lawns.