Keep Meadows, Not Lawns. That's the title of a Front Porch Republic post (more on the FPR later), the sole content of which is this 16-minute video:
I have nothing against lawns, per se. We had a large yard when I was growing up, and its lawn was the perfect surface for our volleyball, croquet, and touch football games, for whiffle-ball hitting contests, picnics, tumbling runs, tag, and running through the sprinkler on a hot summer afternoon. We didn't baby our lawn, though: aside from mowing in the summer and clearing of leaves in the autumn it received minimal attention, but it grew tough and we grew up thinking dandelions were a positive addition to the landscape. That said, we do need to rethink our use of the land, and the resources it costs to keep the now-common sterile, pristine, perfect lawn. Let's not overlook the fact that meadows don't require mowing, except for use as baseball fields—and for that even a teenage boy might crank up the lawnmower without being asked.
Despite the title, however, the video is less about lawns than about bees, what's happening to them, and why this is a serious problem. It's well worth the investment of 1% of your day to watch.I note that the video does not show up in my Google Reader, though it does in Bloglines. If you can't see it, try looking at the blog post directly.
Excerpt: The young lady at the grocery store was right: a chopstick makes a great cherry pitter. Until I was nine years old, I lived in a small house with a yard that was small by American standards, but large enough to support four beautiful trees:&...
Weblog: Lift Up Your Hearts!
Date: May 30, 2009, 4:13 pm
