Snow Day Grass Day. It's the 4th of May and it is one of those days. The sun was shining yesterday and I was out in the yard doing work. I have a mud pit for a front yard because last year I started to dig up all the patchy grass and lumpy soil...but never had time to finish re-sodding or whatever. The whatever is what I've been thinking about. I've been thinking a lot more Green lately. As in party. A gentleman who is a candidate for the Green party has asked me for some help, I'm thinking I could put some of my business skills to use for a real cause.
But as far as the personal aspect of all this, they have just passed law in Ontario that most herbicides are illegal now, because they are persistent and harm our environment, thus causing harm to us. So why wait until they pass it here? If that's true, why are we even bothering with grass? I heard an interview with a couple from Ottawa that are just letting the weeds take over. "Actually I find the yellow flowers kinda nice...".
Indeed. Well my back yard has never had a weed problem - but that's because I never mowed it for 3 years. It's this really nice thick prairie grass that grows about 1-2 feet tall. I'm pretty sure it's way too dark for the weeds down near the soil so they don't stand a chance.
Here we are, trying to force our environment to fit to a certain model, a model that really makes no sense, and just makes more work for us! White picket fence, grass lawn, etc. Herbicides to kill the weeds, pesticides to kill the ants. I tell yah, when my neighbours had ants in their lawn it was awful...but my 'forest' didn't have any problems. So perhaps trying to fit nature into a box forces it to 'fight' back by using it's natural (lol) balancing mechanisms. If you don't want tall grass in your front yard, perhaps you shouldn't have grass at all.
Then I start thinking, well since grass takes lots of maintenance and natural resources, mowing, poisoning, watering, etc. Why not remove it?
What I was going to do last year was lay down some scotch moss which is pretty native to the northern part of NA. But I'm not entirely sure how to do that. I know I have to acidify the soil, but don't want to spend a bunch of money on something that will just die.
I also have the option of laying down brick or something like that. But then I'm reducing the amount of food available to the animals that live in my area. Perhaps I can tell them to use the back yard :-)
Another thing snow day reminds me of is a few years ago, when I was just getting into photography. I shot a set that later became titled "Snow Day" on suicidegirls.com. My friend Vesper and I went out into my back yard at around 8am or so on a Sunday. The sun was bright and the colour was beautiful. We had tons of fun, and she got a little cold. But it's one of those memories that just gets burned into your mind...not to mention that it's reinforced by having digital images. That was the set that got us both into SG, though I declined to sign the contract because I didn't want to work for them exclusively (anyone hear about Apena and Lithium Picnic being sued, it's total BS those fracking sellouts!!!)
I digress.
Lol I always wanted to say that actually. I'm glad I'm writing again. I'm had the block for about 2 years. Or so. I think really there was an even that happened that hurt me...and I've been asleep ever since. But some of the things that are happening in my life right now are not necessarily repairing things, but are waking me up. I've come into some sort of great source of power, something that gives me influence over people, and events in my life. It's nothing tangible, and no it's not some sort of cult or religious thing either. Just an understanding. I'm starting to truly see how things in my world work, or don't, and I'm using that.
Being able to see deeper into the meaning of the events into my life have given me the ability to re-tapp into the creative side of me that I thought I had killed. It was after all the side of me that allowed me to live a little too much, and hurt me greatly in the end. But now with the knowledge that I've gained over the past few years, I have the wisdom to control that again, because, of experience I guess.
It's weird how when you're a kid (or at least when I was) that you think everyone is dumb, and don't understand why people do the things they do. Well with age comes experience, and if you've been paying attention, wisdom. Now I see why people do the things they do. I still think a lot of them could be doing better things with their time, but I don't blame them, think they are dumb, or misunderstand them. I know that people are just trying to live their lives according to their own experiences, impulses, and influences.
Now I just try to understand things that are unknown or confusing, instead of shunning or hating them. That is the great awakening I am talking of.