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HEADS UP
FATHER NATURE'S
MOTTO:
IF ITS WORTH DOING, ITS WORTH OVERDOING
There is reason to believe that there are two Natures.
Mother Nature is the gentle one who showers as with gifts of warm sunny days,
fragrant breezes, colorful flowers, cheerful song birds and clear, gurgling
mountain streams.
Then there is Father Nature. (She calls him FN) He is responsible for the really
big stuff like the forests, the oceans, the ice caps and other things that don't
require a lot of constant attention and devotion to detail.
Before they met, be didn't have any responsibility at all. She took care of
everything herself and did an admirable job. However, after a few short
centuries of blissful coexistence, there came that long and serious conversation
about (I can't believe he didn't see it coming) how she could not be expected to
do everything herself and the least he could do is...you know how it goes.
Well, Father Nature becomes the proud owner of a forest, an ocean, an ice cap,
some mountains ranges etc. He figures, "no big deal" and be goes back to being
"otherwise occupied"
Of course you know that is not the end of the story. After a non-eventful, short
few million years. Mother Nature has an issue that needs to be resolved.
"FN, Honey, I know how busy you are," managing to keep almost all sarcasm out of
her voice.," I'm sure you remember back about 10 million years ago we had a
conversation about your ice cap. I know I reminded you at least a million times
that it was, well, growing. Do you have an explanation as to why you let the
Father Nature ice cap 'alter' the landscape so completely?"
"Well, yeah. Do you remember when you said the dinosaurs were eating people and
you thought there must be a way to stop that? Well look. No more dinosaurs.
Pretty cool, huh?"
"FN, do you really think that sending the Father Nature ice cap almost half way
around the world, destroying everything in its path, was the best way to address
that challenge?'
"Do you understand, that your ice cap moved billions of yards of soil and rock?
Now there will be large lakes in place of grass lands. You have changed the
habitat of countless species. I'll have to create new species. New flowers and
trees and lawns... and what about the birds and butterflies?"
"Please warm the Earth so your ice cap will recede. Thanks to you, I have a lot
of work to do."
They are still at it.
As recently as 200 hundred years Mother Nature was
reminding FN that some of his forest in Colorado and other western states in the
USA, needed some maintenance.
Well you could make the point that Father Nature was never one to micro-manage
things. If there is tree in the forest that is old, diseased and insect
infested, FN doesn't say, "that tree needs some attention. I think I'll remove
that tree from the forest before it causes some serious problems for the rest of
the forest "
This is what happened in 2003. He got kind of busy watching the geo-political
games on the big screen, hi-def. So he kinda forgot about rain and snow
for Colorado for a few years.
Then Mother Nature dropped the hammer. "Father Nature, I've been telling
you for 200 years to get the Father Nature forest in Colorado cleaned up, and I
am not going to tell you again!
"O.K. fine, Fm tired of hearing about it I'm sending some lighting and wind to
my forest to burn out the trash, right now."
That done, he went bade to watching the games. Days later Mother Nature comes
running back screaming, "what have you done!!! The whole FN forest is a blaze in
Colorado."
Of coarse he didn't know that some really stupid people also started fires with
love letters and cigarettes.
He should haw let the dinosaurs eat a few more people. They might have gotten
the ancestors of these really stupid ones.
DAM THE WATER OR DAMN THE WATER!
"God, giant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to
change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference."
Can we keep a tsunami from ever happening again? No. Can we use what we have
learned from the study of tsunami to prevent the deaths of tens of thousands of
people? Yes. Should we? Of course!
Our recent drought brought us water restrictions, forest fires and staggering
economic losses. This year we are seeing record snow and lain causing mud slides
and floods. Water is washing away homes and lives and causing staggering
economic losses.
Can we control the rain and snow so they come only where, when and to the degree
we want it? No. Can we mimic nature by building holding areas for water during
times of excess and
release water safely in times of shortage, thereby preventing the loss of life
from flood and drought? Yes. Should we? Of course! Life, as we
know it in Colorado and all the western states would not be possible if we had
never built a dam.
IT'S NOT EASY BEING
GREEN
Grass develops thatch. Thatch is a layer of
rhizomes (the glass plant uses these to make new grass plants) that get very
tightly woven into a mat The surface tension of the water (the thing that causes
water to bead on a car) tends to keep water from
penetrating the thatch. Much of the water in the thatch will evaporate before it
can get to the soil. If some of the water gets through the thatch mat, it may
roll away due to the waxy coating on the soil particles.
GREEN LAWN WITH LESS WATER
1. Cote aerate twice a year.
2. Apply a surfactant, such as Revive, each time you fertilize.
3. Use an organic fertilizer.
Why?
Core aeration breaks through the thatch layer
and allows water to penetrate into the soil. Research suggests that even if the
aerator does not penetrate very deep into the soil it is still beneficial.
Revive is a natural product that breaks the service tension of the water. It
helps the water get through the thatch. It also causes the water to bond to soil
particles even if they have developed a waxy surface. This makes water available
to the roots.
Organic fertilize improves the water holding capacity of the soil.
That's it?
Well, pretty much. The trees need extra attention. Many tree roots are under the
lawn. The tree roots will benefit from getting water through the thatch and into
the soil. It true that some of the tree root are deeper then the grass roots. So
you do need to
deep root water the tree.
"O.K., WHAT CAN LUKE'S SPRINKLERS & LANDSCAPING DO TO
HELP ME SAVE WATER, MONEY AND TIME AND MAKE MY LANDSCAPE MORE SUITABLE FOR MY
PRESENT LIFESTYLE.?" NOW, THAT IS A VERY GOOD QUESTION!
Option 1 is to sign up for our Revive,
fertilizer, and aeration program. It will open up the soil to the spring rain
and make more water available to the root of the grass and trees.
Option 2 is to have us install an efficient sprinkler system if you don't
already have one or if yours is old and wastes a lot of water or needs a lot of
repair. We have a $100.00 off coupon in this web site for anyone who has us
install the automatic
sprinkler system of his or her dreams.
Option 3 is to have us install a rain sensor. It will automatically turn
off the sprinklers when we get a certain amount of precipitation. I never liked
these things much but I found one that works quite well. It can be set to turn
off the timer after we receive a certain amount of rain. For example, if it's
set for 1/4 inch, it will only turn the system off if we get more than that.
It can be set for I/S inch, 1/4 inch, 1/2 inch and so on. It is also wireless.
It costs about $150.00 installed. As the cost of water goes up, it won't take
long for it to pay for itself.
Option 4 is to have us reduce the size of your lawn to a more manageable
size. If you have wall to wall grass and you would like a place to plant some
low maintenance shrubs, we can help you with that. Please note low
maintenance doesn't mean no maintenance. The best that can be done is to turn
drip irrigation
to the plants of your choice, cover the area with weed barrier and wood or rock
mulch. You will still get a few weeds but it will bemanageable.
Option 5 is to have us evaluate and modify your system so that it is as
efficient as it can be. We could, for example, install a drip system or put your
drippers on their own valve if they are presently being watered with the lawn.
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