Repost from Listening for the Sounds of Summer.

Listening for the Sounds of Summer Blog.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, … in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.” Charles Dickens

I wrote the following essay the first week in March after I spied the first Robin, bob bob bobbin, around our neighborhood. I have included the essay in a midweek article due to the serendipity of events occurring in our neighboring state of Michigan.

Now, when I wrote this essay, I was, as Dicken suggests comparing the silence of my neighbor’s pristine green lawn to the cacophonous chorus of my own. In the pictures, the view of the lush lawn seems idyllic. Of course, idyllic is in the eye of the beholder, and there are so many more eyes to do the beholding in my yard that think it is so beautiful they have come there to live.

Lansing Michigan, “Say’s No to No Mow May!” (That’s my headline)

East Lansing, Michigan “East Lansing, BEE-autiful! (Also my headline)

Lansing pushes back on No Mow May (Lansing State Journal’s headline)

Let’s compare then, shall we?   My neighbor’s lawn (Lansing, Michigan)

Let me set the scene for you. Northern Cardinal perches high in the Norway Maple in your front yard. It sings its territorial mating call during the morning hours. You might even hear it on your way to your car in the morning if your garage door doesn’t squeak too loud.

While you’re at work, the Robins may cheerily dig some Worms from your lawn. Ants may colonize a few square feet of the precious lawn if it is in some far out of the way corner of the yard. But if they are discovered, they will have to die. After all, they are disturbing the perfection of the lawn.

The lawn care company comes by during the day and applies fertilizer to help your lawn stay lush and green. They use some herbicide to take care of those pesky weeds and a bit of pesticide to kill grubs and other insects that may be considered pests. Of course, they also kill countless other insects, both harmless and those that are beneficial.

The mosquito spray company stops by to give the yard the once over. Spraying or fogging their poison into the shrubs. What’s the use of having a yard if you can’t use it?

A dog on a leash may come by and relieve itself on your mailbox post, but its owner yanks the beloved pet back the second they see the informative signs stating that highly toxic chemicals have been applied to the area and pets and children should wait a day or so before they roll around in the grass.

The dog owner may not give the poisons another consideration, as if the toxic chemicals stayed there on your lawn and didn’t run off into the street and into the creek that leads to the lake. They also sink deep into the soil and find their way into the groundwater. Yes, it can and is found in drinking water.

In the evening, the yard is bug-free and Silent. The backyard is lit up with festive lights, and the drive and front yard have bright flood lights not just for their cheerful ambiance but to keep the darkness at bay.

You sit on your porch, just you and your grass and your poisoned soil, water, and air. Ah, this is the life, you say. But where exactly is all the life?

Alternatively, My Yard or East Lansing Michigan

The bright red Cardinal is calling from high atop the White Oak tree, and a second male calls on the other side of the small half-acre property from the top of the Cherry tree, whose white blossoms are sending forth an intoxicating scent as the petals drift across the landscape carried by the soft breeze. Robins are bathing in the bird bath; they have started a nest above the downspout and in the Black Spruce that overhangs the fence in the backyard. The Gold Finches are decked out in bright summer yellow and zip into the finch feeder, as do the Black Cap Chickadees and the Red Breasted Nuthatches.

A pair of Sand Hill Cranes make their way through the yard, picking and pecking at the smorgasbord hidden within the Clover, Self-Heal, and yes, even Fescue of my lawn. They avoid the neighbor Guys’ lush green monoculture lawn because it is void of the crickets, grasshoppers, and the myriad other insects they find in your lawn to snack on. The mother hen and her Turkey poults scurry about chasing after the hopping bugs as they scratch amongst your Day Lilies and Hostas for fuel to grow.

As you walk to your car in the morning, you see a Cotton Tail Rabbit scurry away to the small woods adjacent to the baseball field a few houses away. You sigh, knowing it will return when things quiet down. The Clover and herbs in your lawn are a little too inviting. You are glad you sprayed the nontoxic deer and rabbit repellent on your more coveted plants. During the day, the Green Tree Frogs hop, the Beetles wander, and the Aphids are hunted by the Lady Bugs. Butterflies flutter in your native perennial wildflower garden, and the Bees and Wasps buzz all day. A Hummingbird Hawk Moth looking much like its namesake visits the blooms of the Bee Balm, which dazzle with their bright red flowers. And the Ruby Throated Hummingbirds buzz and fuss over their territory of the flower garden.

Later a group of Blue Jays hop around the Sugar Maple tree calling to each other as they search for food. A flock of Grackles peck in the yard as a swarm of flying ants erupts from the ground creating a variable smorgasbord for the local birds. In the backyard, the resident House Wren is flittering about snatching White Moths amongst the Lilac bushes to feed its hungry chicks.

And at night, when you sit on your porch Listening for the Sounds of Summer, they are all around you. The Cicadas buzz loudly in the trees, the Crickets playing their love songs as they seek a mate. Then the light show begins as the Lightning bugs fire up their own chemical enticements seeking to find their own partner looking to continue the beautiful dance of life. Above, you see a twisting, twirling display of acrobatics and wonder at the sensorium of the Bats as they sweep overhead, collecting Mosquitoes and Moths as they go.

Now, this is the LIFE!

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Thank you for taking the time to read my article. Please take a moment to like and subscribe. Next week we will look closer at the effects of lawns on the environment and how we can Save the World One Yard at a Time. Thanks for Joining me in Listening for the Sounds of Summer!