Picking up from where I left off the last time talking about Cutting the Grass, there are two types of people in the world:
People Type 1: Those who like cutting the grass, and
People Type B: Those who HATE cutting the grass.
I am of course among the Type B, the smaller elitist-should-have-been-royalty-class-that-hates-cutting-the-lawn-and-should-have-been-rich-enough-to-have-someone-cut-it-for-me. Just HOW Much do I hate it ?
If I weren’t to have HATED cutting the grass so much, I could have been a millionaire, no billionaire, no Trillionaire at the age of 10. Quite simple — I offered my father this proposition: I would cut the grass for just a single penny (back then they were made of copper, not zinc, and quarters were made of silver, not copper). And the second time it would cost him just a mere 2 pennies, and then 4, etc., etc., etc.. And my idiot father accepted that offer, and he was good for his word. At the end of the season (assume 6 months and 2 lawn cuttages per week) I told my father what an idiot he was, because if I were to have cut the lawn, he would have owed me 2.8 Trillion Dollars just for that last lawn-cutting. And he said, “I know, but I also knew you would never cut the lawn”.
If only I had some Capital and knew about business. I would have just hired someone to cut the lawn on credit. Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda.
So, anyway, why do people cut grass? There is a simple reason: where I live, if you don’t cut grass, you will eventually have a forest. Plain and Simple. But, still, how many times do you NEED to cut it?
My prairie I never cut — I just burn it every year or two in the Spring.
Now, for where I have a “lawn”, and one day might want to play croquet, my definition is: “If the lawn mower can make it through the grass, then it probably doesn’t need cutting yet”. And really, if it gets too much worse than that, I do have a 10 hp bush mower I got from my brother, and it will go through anything. Anyway, last year I cut the grass 5 times. I’m wondering if that might have been a bit excessive. This year I’m recording the dates that I cut it (so far just once, 17 May).
But, I have two other DATA points:
Joan, who lives in town, and is obviously rich because she can afford to hire someone to cut her lawn, has it cut about 1/week for about 8 months, so I’ll say 30 times/year.
Now, my brother in MX has a gardener who comes twice a week, and he cuts the lawn each time. So, that’s about 100 times a year. And Miguel is an amazing gardener, so I’m sure not going to argue with him.
So, to make a long story short, the exact number of times one needs to cut the lawn is:
Arithmetic Average: 43.7, and
Standard Deviation of 50.9.
I really hope this information helps all those people who have also asked that very important question, “Just how often does one NEED to cut the grass ?”
But, after living here in the forest for 37 years, I finally understand WHY people cut the grass and here it is, short and simple:
If you don’t cut the grass, you will have a forest;
If you cut (or burn) once every year or two, you will kill the woody plants and have a prairie; and
If you cut 5 (or fewer) times a year, you will have a lawn.
And to say it a different way:
Your prairie will take over your lawn if you don’t cut your lawn often enough; and
The forest will take over your prairie if you don’t cut or burn your prairie often enough.
That’s the way it is in Southern Indiana where forests are the climax community, though you sure wouldn’t know this since at least half the state is corn and soy bean fields.
Thank doG I don’t live in the city or have Neighborhood or Home-Owner’s Association to deal with. If I did, I’d probably spend more time cutting the grass, and couldn’t have a wolf running around without a leash, and pooping where ever he wants and not have to pick it up. Nor have turkeys and bobcats and coyotes running around my property.
I know, not a very good picture; I’ve seen better. But the best picture of a bobcat I’ve gotten so far — wish I were faster with my camera when it was up on my deck!
Grass looks short to me! It's hard to take pictures of wildlife. I'm hoping the cows come back if you don't cut the grass here you end up with snakes