Amber Summer Lawns

Growing up on the east coast, like most kids I had lawn cutting jobs all summer long. Back there we would have heat waves that would be broken by thunder storms. It rained there during the summer and the grass would grow.

Here in Oregon it is different. It usually stops raining on the 5th of July and doesn’t start again until October. This year we even had a dry spring. We had little rain in May and June. It was so dry that my honey crop suffered this year. Without moisture there is little nectar. My harvest this year is less than a quarter of my normal crop. Normally I’d have stacks of boxes of honey frames; this year only six boxes.

The thing about the dry summers here is that all our lawns look like straw by the time August comes around. On the good side is you don’t hear many lawn mowers at this time of year. The down side is the fear of a wild fire. I was visiting a friend in that lived in a development that was surrounded by a dry field. A little fire started by the road where I suspect someone tossed a cigarette. The breeze drove that fire down the field faster than a human could run. There was a house at the end of the field that exploded into flame when the flames got within 20 feet of it. I was amazed.

Soon we will be getting some showers that will ease tension around here, but I looking forward to the rains that will return color to the grass.