Quite the change for me after two summers of drought just west of Mpls. I keep track of my mowing as sort of a running joke with farmer friend in Iowa as I track my mower hours (actually it's mower minutes with my mini yard). I only mowed five times last summer and six the summer before.
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Quite the change for me after two summers of drought just west of Mpls. I keep track of my mowing as sort of a running joke with farmer friend in Iowa as I track my mower hours (actually it's mower minutes with my mini yard). I only mowed five times last summer and six the summer before.
Seems lately like I'm buying more gas for the mower than for my car.
I live on an acreage of a little over 4 acres. Having farmed for most of my life I have an obsession to weeds and therefore mow it all. If you eliminate the area occupied by trees, buildings, etc., I figure I (conservatively) mow over 3 acres. According to Wiki there are on the average 3000 blades of grass per square foot. Math says I clip over 400 million blades of grass each mowing. With all the wind we've had it's almost impossible not to ingest a share of the clippings. I know this has little to do with weather, but I have one looming question: Why does my wife insist I eat vegetables with every meal?
Hard to sing along with my headset without opening my mouth--the job takes over 4 hrs to complete. (wow, just realized that 100 million blades per hour)
Want to Help Bees? Take a Break from Lawn Mowing
www.usda.gov
I mow regularly but have converted considerable space to ground covers and natives. I’ve never seen as many fat, happy bumblebees as I have this spring.
I can mow 3 acres in a little over an hour. Others must have way more trimming than I do.
We have several flower beds that more than replace any dandelions or clover that I don't appreciate in my lawn. Directly across the road is a 4 or 5 acre patch of wildflowers still enrolled in the "pollinator project". Can't say I've noticed more or less bees over time before or after it was planted. I try to be "bee conscious" with any pesticide practices.Want to Help Bees? Take a Break from Lawn Mowing
I mow regularly but have converted considerable space to ground covers and natives. I’ve never seen as many fat, happy bumblebees as I have this spring.
We have lots of native plants...or weeds as some people call them. But remember, a weed is just a plant growing where a human doesn't want it to grow! We have had a high bumblee and honeybee population for about ten years now.Want to Help Bees? Take a Break from Lawn Mowing
I mow regularly but have converted considerable space to ground covers and natives. I’ve never seen as many fat, happy bumblebees as I have this spring.
We have a large brush pile for over-wintering birds to shelter in, and find bugs to eat. We burn that after the weather warms up and the birds have moved out. In addition to the birds that are here all winter, we have a lot of migratory birds that return every year. Seeing all our birds and bees makes me much happier than a closely trimmed lawn. It's why we moved to an acreage. To each his/her own, I suppose.
And yeah, yeah, I know. I tried to think of a better way to word that but couldn't. So have at it with the TWSS jokes!
KidSilverhair
Well-Known Member
Sitting here lazy on Memorial Day afternoon in CR, enjoying the sunshine and the cool upper 60s breeze through the windows - and then my weather radio goes off. Severe Thunderstorm Warning? For Linn County?
And now the radar shows a developing line that’ll probably come swooping through here in an hour or so. What a spring.
And now the radar shows a developing line that’ll probably come swooping through here in an hour or so. What a spring.
Haven't tried using that one on the wife yet--yea, I don't like running the string trimmer either
Dandelions are an early flowering plant that absolutely saves the bees in early springtime. The dandelion pollen provides the energy/carbs the bees need to survive. Here's a late April photo. The orange pollen pollen is a key factor in hive health.
I have over 200 trees (with a little over half in windbreaks), 5 buildings, raised flower beds, two vegie gardens and areas divided by driveways which severely limit the amount of straight line mowing I can do. Using a 54" deck as anything larger would limit some of the areas I could mow and increase trimming. I maybe could reduce some time with a zero turn, but like using the tractor for the road ditches, pulling the trailer sprayer, and yard wagon. Recommended mowing speed to get a good cut is between 3 1/2 to 4 mph and you would have to approach 6 mph with a 60" deck and few obstacles to get 3 acres in an hour
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91 tornadoes confirmed in Iowa this year. If you count the one over the Mississippi River in the Quad Cities. This is a preliminary count that could fluctuate.
Last time we saw more was 2021... we picked up more than half of the 114 in December alone that year.
Last time we saw more was 2021... we picked up more than half of the 114 in December alone that year.
Did Iowa become a state in 1985?
No.......in the last 38 years of "RECORD KEEPING" this is probably the most since 1986. And even that can be questioned because of the advancement of technology and the glorifying of storm chasing along with the paranoia that comes with watching a bunch of wing nuts constantly screaming "INSANE"!!! Add to that every local channel's wanting those ratings for "keeping you safe"...............this record will not stand very long. Because it won't be long when the sirens will go off when a cloud drifts over on a otherwise sunny day.
