Keeping a Lawn in the Forest

You are probably unaware of the challenges facing a landscape gardener at our place.  In the spring, Brian repairs holes dug up by moles.  He waits for an appropriate time, fertilizes the lawn and then sculpts it into beauty with a mulching lawnmower.  Things started getting rough for him about 10 days ago.  He had just mowed the front lawn when the starter pull cord broke.  He tried taking it apart to see if he could fix it (he is an engineer).  When all attempts failed, he finally took it into the dealer who promptly told him the repair would be more expensive with things taken apart.  They had to get a cable, and then found the starter had sharp edges on it which would destroy the next cable, and promptly ordered another part.

In the meantime, the side and back lawns flourished after a little rain to the extent that the chipmunk could no longer navigate unless it was willing to do it blind.

At this point, Helen heroically started to weed the dandelions and plantain out of the lawn to feed to the bunnies at the wildlife center.  This left rather big holes again because that fertilizer sure excites the weeds.  Brian went out, bought topsoil and grass seed, and repaired the biggest bald patches.  Checking only a few minutes later, he found the largest bald patch occupied by the turkey, who loved it as a dust wallow, and was happy to eat the seed while wallowing.

Here is the sign of a wildlife-friendly lawn:

Although he is still recovering from the flu, a call to the dealer determined the lawnmower was ready to go, and he was out like a shot to get his machine back.  We know how he is going to spend his recovery period.