Yard Mowing Blues

The yard-mowing blues, I have them and I'm tired of it. Usually, by August the growth rate of yard grass in the Mississippi Delta has slowed enough that once per week is sufficient to keep a lawn looking cared for. By September, the grass as slowed enough that three mowings will cover the whole month. By October, two cuttings do the trick. November only requires one, and then I am done until the next spring.

This year has been different. With climate change bringing us monsoons now, my lawn has launched into an unprecedented growth rate that saw me cut three times in one week during the middle of September. I am not happy about this. I want the slow down. Always, I look forward to being able to use the time and energy expended on following a lawn mower into working out, getting ready for the Chicot Challenge to come, and other important things like watching television and hanging out with the cats. Not this time.

I keep looking for the slowdown. In the past, I thought the longer nights resulted in slower grass growth. I thought. Now I know that the dryness we normally experience this time of year is the true cause. There is another cause to grass slowing and that is the nighttime temperatures. When they start dipping into the 60s, the grass slows way down. But lately, besides a lot of rain, we have has some real heat and high night time temps. We haven't hit 69 at night yet, although the weatherman keeps predicting it.

Somewhere along the way, we have to get to fall and then winter, don't we? According to the Bible, Genesis 8:22, we do. That verse promises us the continuation of the seasons and contrary to popular belief, we do have four seasons in Mississippi. I have always enjoyed them which is another reason I am missing fall this year. September has been hotter than August. I'm ready for some reasonable weather. I'm ready to go outside and not sweat. I'm ready to mow the lawn and for it to stay mowed. Whoever heard of mowing three times a week in September? That's blasphemy. Make it stop, Lord, make it stop.