Out and About – Week of September 14th

Three Rivers has many beautiful parks and the city does the best they can to keep them looking nice. The Club of Little Gardens has, as one of their projects, the task of maintaining the flower beds at Bowman Park on North Main Street, and the volunteers do an excellent job. Unfortunately, the volunteers have also had to pick up the litter left by uncaring and inconsiderate citizens who visit the park. All the parks in St. Joseph County belong to the tax-paying citizens of the county. It would be nice if a little more pride were shown by everyone when visiting these public places. Hopefully, you wouldn’t litter your own lawn, so why would you act differently with “Your” park. If your mother picks up after you, this probably doesn’t apply to you. Kudos to the members of The Club of Little Gardens and to all other volunteers who give of your time to make Three Rivers a place we can all enjoy.

I’m probably about a month late with this, but with the changes we’ve been having with the weather lately, most of this can still be applied. This is mainly of interest to those with lakefront lawns and have an interest in having a lawn that Martha Stewart would be proud to call her own. I’m sure you have done the best when it comes to fertilizing and caring for your lawn since early spring. It has been suggested that fertilizer should be applied in May and again in late August. I don’t think that it is too late to apply the fertilizer in mid-September, especially with the warm weather we’ve been experiencing. Since the objective is to have the grass utilize all the fertilizer before leaching through the soil to the pond or lake, never apply at rates heavier than recommended on the label. On lightly fertilized lawns, thatch shouldn’t need to be removed. It will eventually decompose and provide part of the nutrients needed by the lawn. It’s not necessary to bag and remove clippings. The clippings rapidly decompose and recycle both nitrogen and potassium to the lawn.

If you have trees on your property, rake and remove the leaves in the fall. This will keep them from shading the lawn and getting into the water.

If it’s feasible and desirable, maintain a zone of natural vegetation between the lake and the lawn. This zone allows the surface flow of heavy rainfalls and intercepts nutrients on their way to the lake or pond.

“The miracle is this – the more we share, the more we have.” ~ Leonard Nimoy

This Friday, September 18, Rosh Hashanah begins at Sundown. To my Jewish friends, I wish you all the very best and Shalom.

In sports you hear many terms that are unfamiliar to those not interested in a particular sport. If the game of hockey doesn’t interest you, the term “Icing” means nothing. The same can be applied to “Clipping” in football. The game of golf can be as exciting as watching paint dry, unless you are a golfer.

In golf you hear the words “Bogey” and “Birdie” quite a bit. A “Birdie” is better than a “Bogey” and an “Eagle” is much better, but isn’t heard that much. For my buddy Sticks, I’ll explain more in detail about the term “Birdie”. A “Birdie” is achieved when you complete a hole one stroke under par. The story goes that the term was first coined by a golfer at the Atlantic City Country Club in the early 1900s. After completing a par four hole in three shots, he remarked what a “bird” it was. Evidently, at that time, “bird” was a slang term for a rarity. If you’re interested where the terms “Bogey” and “Eagle” came from, you’ll want to check with Sticks. He is probably more familiar with the term “Bogey”.

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” ~ Henry Bucher

Stay safe and I’ll see you Out and About!

Submitted by Norm Stutesman