As my bio and picture indicates, I don’t live in New York City, Milwaukee, Madison, Eau Claire, or even Chippewa Falls. I don’t even officially live in Jim Falls. I guess no one does because, despite the fact that the 2010 census lists the population of Jim Falls as 237, it is not incorporated, so the boundaries are pretty arbitrary. In fact, I live on the opposite side of the Chippewa River from the (unincorporated) village of two taverns, two churches, a Cenex station, a cafe, an elementary school, one of the biggest dairies in the state, and a baseball field (Much more about that in a future post.)
There are a number of advantages and disadvantages to “living in the sticks.” To me, the former far outweigh the latter. In time, I’ll make note of many of both, but for starters, I want to consider my lawn.
I have plenty of friends and relatives who live in Suburbia. Many of these poor souls are bound by neighborhood compacts to keep their lawns thick as a 60s shag carpet and green as the tops of the pool tables in our two bars. No dandelions allowed. Wildflowers need not apply.
Then there is my lawn. For a good share of the year I don’t mow everywhere. Is it because I’m lazy? Well, maybe I am, but my mowing eccentricities mean extra work and judgment. What should I circumnavigate? Where do I need to be ruthless, and where do I draw the line?
I guess I’m slightly in love with some of the wild plants (The unenlightened call them weeds.) that I grew up observing in the pasture. Seasonal flowers provide beauty and a bounty of nectar for the bees (the nice ones, not the ground wasps that nailed me last night when I was mowing). I’m always trying to promote milkweed, the cornucopia of the monarch butterfly. And mullein, ah what a versatile plant with more bee friendly blossoms that ripen to seeds for birds to snack on. But the best thing about mullein is the stem that dries out to yeild spears for target practice the next year.
Well time to quit bending your eyes for one day. I will forgo rhapsodizing about gooseberries and blackcaps for now. One day, maybe. The uptake for now: I love living in the sticks.