Green acres

My down coat is still hanging on the clothes tree. I have not yet come to grips with the reality of warm weather. In my heart of hearts, I just don’t believe that winter is gone. It seems like only yesterday that I stood shivering outside with my coat and hat on waiting for the dog to investigate every squirrel track in the yard.

Come to think of it, it was yesterday. The temperature still takes an overnight plunge on occasion in an attempt to smack the optimism out of those of us dumb enough to plant this early.

When I can no longer see the dog in the yard it is time to drag out the lawnmower for the annual breath-holding startup attempt. This year it cranked right over, giving me no excuse to put off cutting.  Some spots are much taller than the rest of the yard. Very early in the morning, just when the robins come to test my will to sleep in, I swear I sometimes hear a chorus of “Feed me, Seymour.â€� There are bones in the yard that the dog will have nothing to do with.

The speed of your mower blade may surprise you. The average lawnmower blade tip revolves at about 176 mph (at 3,300 revolutions per minute for your little 5 hp Briggs & Stratton engine and an 18-inch cut mower, the distance the blade tip travels in one revolution is about 57 inches or 4.7-feet [pi x diameter of the circle = circumference] 3,300 rpm x 4.7-feet = 15,510 feet in a minute or 930,600 per hour divided by 5,285 [feet in a mile] = 176 mph). You might want to think about this before putting on sneakers to cut the grass.

    u    u    u

The big evergreens out front have really gotten out of hand. It was recently pointed out to me that they extend halfway into the front yard. I would jump in and thin them out except I am not quite sure what is living in there now. I tried sending the dog in to check it out, but he just gave me a look. He may be a “dumb� animal, but he is not stupid.

Another bit of runaway growth is the 10-foot high hedges, which are making my driveway narrower every year. They have grown tentacles or something that grabs me by the shirt if I get too close. I never did get my baseball cap back. Maybe that’s what happened to the cats?

Yow! Low of 36 tonight. I’d better get those sunflowers covered before dark. That’s when things go bump, you know.

Bill Abrams resides in Pine Plains.