Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group discussion

Today I'm starting this topic with no date specified. That way it will keep on rolling along by itself whenever anyone cares to post to it.

So feel free to post here whenever you'd like, whether you're doing something special or not. It's just a way to keep in touch and develop a community atmosphere at this group.

Today I'm going to exercise in a hydrotherapeutic pool where the water is 96 degrees F.
I hope it helps my tired old muscles and joints.
See the following link for more information:

http://www.arc.org.uk/arthinfo/patpub...

The name of the article is:
"Hydrotherapy and Arthritis"

Hopefully I'm working a full day. Marg is getting a root canal & plans to drive herself home, but if things don't go well, I'll have to take off & get her. Her tooth is certainly infected - she's had an ear ache for several days & is on antibiotics.

With the time change & the nice weather, I got out last night to start playing with my new fish pond. It's about the size of a bathtub & I dug it in last Fall. No fish or plants yet. I have a small waterfall/stream going into it. I'm hoping it will attract a lot of butterflies & birds this year. I guess I'll have to put a heater in it next winter.

Anyway, last night I dumped dirt into the bottom in preparation for the gold fish & lilies I have for it. I got the pump all hooked up & a big rock set at an angle so that anything that falls in can get out. I have it in a corner made by the back deck & the house. I have Day Lilies along one side of the porch & a couple of Blue Smoke bushes & hostas along the house. It should be pretty once everything settles in & grows up.

Jim, I look forward to seeing photos of your new pond. Sounds very peaceful.
I googled for "blue smoke bush" which is a new name for me.
Didn't find much in the way of photos.

I found Royal Purple Smokebush:
http://www.naturehills.com/catalog/Bu...

I also found a pdf page:
https://rirdc.infoservices.com.au/dow...
A good photo of the Blue Smoke bush is on page 26 of that file. So you have to scroll down.
I see why they call it a smoke bush. It looks smokey. :)
Very pretty. Is it originally from Australia?

Hope Marg's root canal will go well. Ear aches are so painful. Hope the antibiotics work.

I think your second link is correct. That looks like it. I got mine from Mom, no idea where she got it. She just pulled some small ones out by the roots & they survived a hot, 10 hour drive home & transplanted without a problem, so they're tough.

I'll try to take some pictures of the pond & post them when I get it done & there's some growth. It's not really pretty right now. Cold today, too - in the 40's. I'll still have to get out there & clean the pump tonight. Ugh.

Marg seemed to come through her root canal OK. We'll see how she is tonight.

Jim wrote: "Cold today, too - in the 40's"

Cold? That sounds tropical at this point! LOL

Those Blue Smoke bushes must be tough! I wonder how they'd survive in the North Country of NYS. We lost a Mountain Laurel to the cold winters... or maybe I didn't water it enough. Who knows. Here's a pic: ====>
http://www.nicholsonprints.com/PhotoP...

Mountain Laurels are supposed to grow wild in the woods. We bought the bush in CT and the tag indicated it could survive cold winters. Oh, well, another failed garden experiment.

I'm only lucky with geraniums and basil... and maybe a few others like begonias.

See my flower pics here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Sea1934/M...#
http://picasaweb.google.com/Sea1934/M...#

You can't say I don't try. :)

PS-Hope Marg is feeling better.
This is for her:

Get well soon, Marg.

She says she feels fine & could have driven the bus this afternoon. No problem. Her ear & tonsils still hurt, so I guess it's an unrelated infection. She's on antibiotics for it & isn't feeling too bad. Thanks.

You're welcome, Jim.
Hope she's on the mend.

I hope your Marge has the same outcome my husband just had recently with Root Canal work..He, too, had a very bad infection above his tooth but minus the earache, thank goodness. But, after two weeks of antibiotics, and two office visits he is right as rain and now can at least eat on that side of his mouth again..Give my good wishes to your wife and hope she is on the way to mending.. nina

Thanks. She seems to be fine. Had to take Amber back in to the vet, though. Where her eye got scratched is bumping up. Blood vessels. Hopefully this new medicine will fix it. Our $1000+ barren dog!

At least Amber keeps you on your toes..Just today I looked at the portrait of my Irish setter and after all these years feel sad she is not barking to go out. Glad to hear your wife is better. Hope you got to look at the cycle pictures I sent by email. I am not as good as you and Joy at putting pics on goodreads..nina

I did get the pictures of the twins. How old are they?

Amber doesn't keep us on our toes as much as our wallets flat on the ground.

I put a couple of new pictures up on my family photo page.
http://www.wysiwygwood.com/pictures.html
At the top is a spooky moon picture & at the bottom is a picture of my son with his dog in a back pack. Apparently they ride that way to work every day. A guy who has a blog did one on bike riding in Louisville & took his picture. I got this copy of it.

Jim wrote: "I put a couple of new pictures up on my family photo page.
http://www.wysiwygwood.com/pictures.html
At the top is a spooky moon picture & at the bottom is a picture of my son with his dog in a ba..."

That moon pic is spooky and wouldn't it make a great Halloween pic. You can almost imagine a witch riding her broom against the moon. The twins are twenty five years old and still full of IT. When we in the family would figure out for the day which one was which they would sneak into the bedroom and change clothes. They drove their teachers crazy; changing desks etc. For a long time when they were toddlers they refused to talk to others but only spoke to each other in their own language..It drove their parents crazy. nina

I've always thought it was a good thing I didn't have twins. I'd have killed them. It was close with our boys at times & they were 20 months apart.

Jim wrote: "I put a couple of new pictures up on my family photo page.
http://www.wysiwygwood.com/pictures.html
At the top is a spooky moon picture & at the bottom is a picture of my son with his dog in a ba..."

Jim, that link doesn't bring me to the moon picture page. It brings me to the "Family Pictures" with pics of you Jack Russell at the top.

Just came back from my first walk of the pre-spring season. It was lovely. Our dog, Romeo, our Maltese, thought so too. You can imagine how muddy his paws are. It sure shows up on his white hair.

I went to church. Now I'm with GR. I hate waiting. I found out Wednesday that I have "a few" nodules in both lungs. I took a PET scan on Friday to see if they are cancerous or not. I have been on knives and swords (pins and needles) all weekend. If I could just know one way or the other, I will know what I am dealing with.

Perpendicularandi wrote: "I went to church. Now I'm with GR. I hate waiting. I found out Wednesday that I have "a few" nodules in both lungs. I took a PET scan on Friday to see if they are cancerous or not. I have been..."You are in my prayers. nina

Perpendicularandi wrote: "I went to church. Now I'm with GR. I hate waiting. I found out Wednesday that I have "a few" nodules in both lungs. I took a PET scan on Friday to see if they are cancerous or not. I have been on knives and swords (pins and needles) all weekend. If I could just know one way or the other, I will know what I am dealing with."

Oh, Randi, this must be a terrible waiting period for you. I hope everything turns out alright. I'm sending good thoughts and wishes your way. What were your symptoms?

Joy H. (of Glens Falls) wrote: "Jim, that link doesn't bring me to the moon picture page. It brings me to the "Family Pictures" with pics of you Jack Russell at the top."

You've been to the page before & are caching your web pages. Refresh the page by going there & hitting the F5 key. You should change your Internet settings to refresh every time you visit a page. In Internet Explorer 7, that's Tools - Internet Options - Browsing History - Settings - 'Check for newer versions' - Every time.

I had a good weekend. Marg wasn't feeling well, but Erin & I went to a class on 'Backyard Birding Basics' at the Salado Center. It was fun & I learned some stuff.

Yesterday, we had 2 of the kids over for a corned beef, cabbage & red potato dinner - my usual birthday dinner. Cheese cake for dessert - yum! We fiddled with the pond some, took a walk & James replaced the keyboard & touch pad on Erin's laptop. We played a few games of dominoes, too. Nice & relaxing.

Jim wrote: "Joy H. (of Glens Falls) wrote: 'Jim, that link doesn't bring me to the moon picture page...'
..You've been to the page before & are caching your web pages. Refresh the page by going there & hitting the F5 key..."

Ah, so it's my browser that caused the trouble! Thanks for explaining, Jim.
Today I went back to your link and it worked this time. I guess it finally refreshed itself.
It certainly was a spooky moon with those spooky cloud formations.
The moon is always such a beautiful thing to behold.

I'll remember to press F5 next time the hang-up happens. Don't know how to find the settings on my Mozilla Firefox browser. I don't use IE.

Hey, check out this photo of the moon at the North Pole: ====>
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/images/nor...
(I found it via Google images.)
About the pic, the website says:
===================================================
"A scene you will probably never get to see, so take a moment and enjoy God at work at the North Pole. This is the sunset at the North Pole with the moon at its closest point. And you also see the sun below the moon. An amazing photo and not one easily duplicated."
ABOVE FROM: http://www.hoax-slayer.com/issue59.html
(Scroll down to the area toward the bottom of the page.)
====================================================

Jim wrote: "I had a good weekend. Marg wasn't feeling well, but Erin & I went to a class on 'Backyard Birding Basics' at the Salado Center. It was fun & I learned some stuff.
Yesterday, we had 2 of the kids..."

Sounds like a wonderful family day and a great way to celebrate your birthday.
Happy Birthday!


What did you learn about Backyard Birding at the class?

Hope Marg is feeling better.

I'm not sure where that page refresh setting is in Firefox either. It's what I'm using here & now, too. I've never had that problem with it.

Marg is feeling better, thanks.

Marg & I go to Salado a fair amount. I started it because they have a good native plant program. One of the Extension Office people, Kim, told me about it, so I went there last year for a Winter Tree ID Hike that was given by a professor from Kentucky University. Now they send me a flyer every month with a list of all the programs they're teaching.

Next weekend is 'Planting with Native Plants'. I'm thinking about it. I have a meadow in the middle of the woods that I'm trying to get back to a more natural state. It was full of multifloral rose & honeysuckle, but I cleared it out & planted some native grasses last year. They didn't seem to take well, though.

We have so much stuff that we planted in the past 2 years, that I don't think I want to do much more right now. Let things settle in some. We planted over 100 bulbs, mostly Daffodil, last Fall. I also planted a lot of lilies & liriope, especially on the steep hill between my shop & the road. It's a pain to mow, so I'm hoping to cover it in flowers. I put 5 forsythia bushes at the top of the slope, too. It should be a jungle in a few years.

I also got 3 hazelnut bushes from the Arbor Day Society. I put them in my garden to winter, but it looks like 2 died.

Thank you, Nina and Joy for your concern. I have almost no balance, am dizzy, am always extremely tired, don't sleep well, have very much trouble breathing for any length of time, my appetite has gone way down, wheezing. That's a lot of symptoms. I'm trying to keep a positive attitude about the whole thing, but it is hard when I don't know what I am dealing with. I am hoping to get the answer today.

Perpendicularandi wrote: "Thank you, Nina and Joy for your concern. I have almost no balance, am dizzy, am always extremely tired, don't sleep well, have very much trouble breathing for any length of time, my appetite has gone way down, wheezing. That's a lot of symptoms. I'm trying to keep a positive attitude about the whole thing, but it is hard when I don't know what I am dealing with. I am hoping to get the answer today."

I hope you get good news today, Randi.
Good wishes are coming your way!

Jim wrote: "...We have so much stuff that we planted in the past 2 years, that I don't think I want to do much more right now. Let things settle in some. We planted over 100 bulbs, mostly Daffodil, last Fall. I also planted a lot of lilies & liriope, especially on the steep hill between my shop & the road. It's a pain to mow, so I'm hoping to cover it in flowers. I put 5 forsythia bushes at the top of the slope, too. It should be a jungle in a few years..."

Sounds like you're doing the right thing garden-wise, Jim. The forsythia are always bright and cheery harbingers of springtime. They're usually very hardy too. They're the first thing my dad brought to our garden when we bought our Mahopac, NY, house in 1966. They always looked great and were easy to take care of.

You've reminded me of a poem we copied into our notebooks in Mrs. Van Hoesen's 5th grade back in the 1940s. I still have that notebook. The first verse:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The rest of the Wordsworth poem is at:
http://www.poetry-online.org/wordswor...
I always get a little thrill from it since it's part of my youth.

Hope your garden thrives after all your hard work.
Glad to hear Marg is better.

Joy H. (of Glens Falls) wrote: "Jim wrote: "Joy H. (of Glens Falls) wrote: 'Jim, that link doesn't bring me to the moon picture page...'
..You've been to the page before & are caching your web pages. Refresh the page by going the..."
That north pole photo is awesome. Overused word but how else to describe it..nina

Joy H. (of Glens Falls) wrote: "Jim wrote: "...We have so much stuff that we planted in the past 2 years, that I don't think I want to do much more right now. Let things settle in some. We planted over 100 bulbs, mostly Daffodil,..."Also, one of my favortie poems and partly because I did wander near Wordsworth house and had sticky pudding in his old kitchen. also saw a host of daffodills(they call them daffys in England.) Jim, you may have a jungle when you are through but at least it will be yellow. nina

Nina - How lucky you were to visit Wordsworth's house in the UK. I've never crossed the ocean.

What other countries have you visited? The only places I've visited outside the USA are Canada and Bermuda.

I've been to UK, Italy, Germany, Austria, France, Belgium, Holland, Mexico, Panama, Colombia, Aruba, Caracou, Jamaica, and Hawaii (out of the continental U.S.A.).

Perpendicularandi wrote: "I've been to UK, Italy, Germany, Austria, France, Belgium, Holland, Mexico, Panama, Colombia, Aruba, Caracou, Jamaica, and Hawaii (out of the continental U.S.A.)."

That's quite a list, Randi!
What kind of souvenirs did you bring back?
I treasure all my little souvenirs, even if they're inexpensive baubles. Below is a link to one of my favorites: ====>
http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL25/9...
He's only about 4 inches high. :)

I can see why he's a favorite. He's a cutie. I was collecting owls heavily at the time, so that is what most of my souvenirs were.

Perpendicularandi wrote: "I can see why he's a favorite. He's a cutie. I was collecting owls heavily at the time, so that is what most of my souvenirs were."

Owls seem to be very popular. One time I gave a co-worker a gift of an owl figurine, representing her wisdom. She said to me: "How did you know I collect owls?". Actually, I didn't know. It was just a great coincidence!

Have you heard any news from the doctors yet, Randi?

Randi, any word yet?

I am probably going to take off a 1/2 day today & all day tomorrow. Last night, Erin & I expanded the little fish pond. We used plastic & rocks to about double the surface area to make a spot for birds to bathe/drink & butterflies to cluster. It was warm yesterday, about 60 & beautiful. Today & tomorrow are supposed to hit 70 with lots of sun & very little wind. Perfect for spraying.

While collecting rocks for the pond, I noticed that the Multifloral Rose & Honeysuckle are starting to really put out leaves. Most of the native vegetation is still dormant, so I'm going to use an herbicide to kill those back. I use Luv-Esther (2-4-D) which kills broad leaved plants, but not grass & since the natives are still resting, they'll be OK, too. I'll just kill the invaders! Garlic Mustard too. Nasty stuff.

I use a 4 gallon backpack sprayer to do this. Over the years, Mom & I have found that Solo makes the best one.
http://solousa.com/store/browse/backp...
We both use the top one, the 425, not the deluxe. They've sure gone up in price! They were steady at about $80 for 15 years or so. Now they're $130. Ouch. Glad I have 2.

We've tried other, cheaper sprayers & the big problem seems the pump leaking, which is really bad. The pump is on the bottom of the tank & when it leaks, the contents trickle down your back & into your pants. Not only uncomfortable, but dangerous. It's a poison, after all. I don't know why companies even make such garbage.

Jim wrote: "...I noticed that the Multifloral Rose & Honeysuckle are starting to really put out leaves. Most of the native vegetation is still dormant, so I'm going to use an herbicide to kill those back..."

Jim, I googled for "Multifloral Rose" and found the following webpage:
http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/chf/outreach...
(Scroll down for text.)

I had just wanted to see a photo, but as I read the various hits, I found the following:
=========================================================
"Effects Upon Natural Areas
Multiflora rose readily invades prairies, savannas, open woodland, and forest edges. It is a thorny, bushy shrub that can form impenetrable thickets or "living fences" and smother out other vegetation. It is a serious pest species throughout the eastern United States.

"Current Status
Multiflora rose is categorized as an exotic weed under the Illinois Exotic Weed Control Act of 1987. As such, the sale or planting of this species within Illinois is prohibited."
=========================================================

So I suppose that's why you're trying to get rid of it. I wonder how it got there in the first place.

Anyway, please be sure to post pics of your pond when it's finished.

I bought a spray to kill the grassy weeds which grow between our patio blocks. I have to be careful that it's not harmful to the dog.

When is the best time to spray? Can I spray in the cracks before the grassy weeds starts to show up?

It's probably grass, but when they it grows up where I don't want it, I call it a weed. :)

Multifloral Rose was another horrible mistake by the Department of Agriculture, just like Kudzu. they brought it in to control erosion & beautify hiways. They even tested it to make sure it wouldn't spread by seed, but the 3 species of birds they tested it on all had gravels, which grinds seeds up, like a turkey. Song birds don't have gravels & a seed eaten by them is twice as likely to germinate given that it comes pre-fertilized. So now it's taken over millions of acres.

When to spray & what to spray with is a tough question. I'm doing it now because I don't have to worry about the herbicide killing off good stuff. I got about 1/4 of the woods done today. It was just beautiful out. A great day to be out walking around & working in the woods. I also got more rocks for the fish pond & put the gold fish out in it. It's been a wonderful birthday. Lots accomplished & yet it was a relaxing day.

Glad you had a good birthday, Jim.
You certainly deserve it.
You're very knowledgable and I enjoy reading your posts. I enjoy your enthusiasm for your projects.

Thanks for explaining about the Multifloral Rose. There's a purple flowering weed around here that's taking over the wetlands, but I can't think of its name.

I don't know how knowledgeable I am. Curious, anyway.

Well, the fish pond lost 10 gallons of water the first night. Hopefully I got it fixed yesterday. I guess I'll find out tonight. It's amazing how a tiny dribble of water can do that.

I got the fields harrowed last night. I use a chain harrow, sometimes called a chain drag to go around the fields to break up the piles of manure. It also aerates the soil a bit & levels out some spots. Along the woods, it breaks up the leaf piles so grass can grow, too. It only takes me a few hours twice or 3 times a year, to drag our 10 acres of fields, so it isn't too bad.

No fertilizer or over-seeding this year, which saves time. The soil samples were good last year, nothing needed but a bit of lime & some nitrogen. The fields can always use both, but they weren't bad last year, so this year I'm sure they're fine.

Nitrogen is very expensive &, due to Homeland Security, the kind we get stinks. No one will sell ammonium nitrate because of the paperwork required. The urea, which we now have to use, is pelletized with coating, so it doesn't go into the ground very well on grass. Washes away real easily, too. It's no good for snow melt, either. I think we're paying too high a price to be safe.

Jim wrote: "I got the fields harrowed last night."

Jim, to me, 10 acres is a good sized field!
BTW, did you do that in the dark?

You mentioned nitrogen. On the info sheet that comes with Peter's Plant Food, they explain the different ingredients of plant food and their ratios for different purposes,
i.e., Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potash (potassium) etc.
I've always found the ratios interesting:
e.g., 20-20-20 ... or 15-10-15 (standard Miracle Grow ?)
See: ====> http://en.allexperts.com/q/Fertilizer...

Certain ingredients encourage blooms & certain ones encourage other aspects of plant growth.
The ratio in Peters "Blossom Booster" plant food is 10-30-20.
For Peters "Super Blossom Booster" it's: 10-50-10.

The first number is for nitrogen.
The second number is phosphoric acid.
The third number is for soluble potash.
==================================================
BELOW ARE EXCERPTS FROM: ====> http://en.allexperts.com/q/Fertilizer...
"The 3 numbers on the bags of fertilizer are always NITROGEN-PHOSPORUS OXIDE-POTASH in that order. These lables gives information about the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium which is in the bag. e.g. bag of 20-10-10 will contain 20% nitrogen, 10% phosphorus oxide, and 10% potash (potassium). Another fertilizer like 10-2-6 will have 10% nitrogen, 2% phosphorus oxide and 6% potassium.

"Generally leafy plants (ferns, hostas, grass, etc) require high nitrogen fertilizers as they consume relatively little potassium and phosphorus. Flowering plants on the other hand have a very high need for potassium and especially phosphorus (the second number).
Fruiting plants are similar to flowers except they benefit from added potassium and calcium also."
===================================================
The following pages below go into detail about the benefits of the different ingredients in plant food. ====>
http://justsopress.typepad.com/garden...
http://www.elsenburg.com/info/els/046...
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/ind...

Jim, I know you know all of the above. I'm just gathering it for my own records. So I might as well post it here too. :)

Joy, our farm is a little one, just 15 acres. The lawn & buildings use an acre or so, the woods 4 - 5 & the rest is fields. Just barely enough for our 3 horses & pony, especially in a bad year.

That's a good explanation you came across. Plenty of calcium in the soil is needed for tomato plants, although a wet year will also require calcium sprays to keep the level up high enough. Otherwise leaves will shrivel & you get blossom end rot.

You have to remember Lime, too. It sweetens the soil or makes it more basic. Depending on the plant, the PH can be very important. The forage grasses tend to like it a bit more basic. Urine, poop & decaying grass all add to soil acidity, so a good spread of lime is needed occasionally.

Evergreens, Azaleas & Rhododendrons like & need soil more acidic, as a rule. They'll get fungus if it's not acidic enough & other issues.

I mentioned that Erin & I went to a Backyard Birding Basics class last Saturday at the local Salado Wildlife Center. It was a good class & we learned a fair amount.

Some of the keys to identification aren't just the feathers of a bird, but where you'll find it & it's habits. Of even more interest to me was the bird calls. For instance, the Black Capped Chickadee & the Carolina Chickadee are very close in all the above mentioned areas, but their songs are completely different. Ditto with Sparrows. So how do you learn bird songs? Well, apparently all you do is contact:

Ohio Division of Wildlife
2045 Morse Road Bldg G
Columbus, OH 43229
1-800-WILDLIFE
1-800-945-3543
www.ohiodnr.com/wildlife

They'll send you a free CD with 103 different bird songs & a birding guide for FREE!

That sounds like a lot of bird songs, but it really isn't. There are a lot more birds than that you're likely to meet, but it's a good start. It was recommended that you listen to the CD over & over again, maybe on your commute to work, & you'll get to know them.

Jim wrote: "I mentioned that Erin & I went to a Backyard Birding Basics class last Saturday at the local Salado Wildlife Center. It was a good class & we learned a fair amount.

Some of the keys to identifica..."I will send for that CD. We have lots and lots of black capped chickadees. nina

I thought we had Black Caps, turns out we have Carolinas. The only Black Caps are in the very eastern most portion of KY. I also found out one of our Woodpeckers was the Red Bellied, although I've never managed to see any red on their bellies.

That's why feathers aren't the only thing used to identify them. Often you can't get a good enough look at them. Range/habitat often overlaps, too. It was quite an eye-opening class.

Jim wrote: "Plenty of calcium in the soil is needed for tomato plants, although a wet year will also require calcium sprays to keep the level up high enough. Otherwise leaves will shrivel & you get blossom end rot."

I'll have to tell Eddie about the calcium being important for tomato plants. He gave up because he wasn't having any luck with them.

Your farm sounds big enough for me. Do you raise your own hay for the horses?

Thanks for the info about the bird songs. We have a clock which puts out 12 different bird songs and I still don't know which is which, except maybe the cardinals and the black-capped chickadees, who are among my favorite birds.

We don't have enough land to make hay for the horses. I guess we could get some, if we had to, but Marg prefers an alfalfa - meadow grass mix which isn't a good cover for our pastures. We mostly have fescue, which is better at holding the soil & puts up with more abuse.

Marg found a nice farmer down the road who makes excellent hay. We bought 400 bales a year from him last year. Hopefully we'll keep being able to do so. It's not delivered, but that's OK.

Do the horses show a preference for hay or alfalfa?
Do they graze on the fescue?

I've never thought about all these differences.
Eddie's father used to like Zoysia grass, for its hardiness, I think. But in its dormant season it was a tan color and didn't turn green as fast as other grasses.

I found a good web page about different types of lawn grasses here: ====>
http://www.gardenplace.com/content/ca...
Like everything else, there's more to grass than meets the eye. Eddie has never been fussy about our grass. He keeps it mowed but that's all. Some people make a big fuss about having beautiful grass. It's nice, I suppose, but it's an awful lot of work.

I'm not fussy about our lawn either. It gets overseeded with the same Kentucky 31 Fescue as the fields. It's patchy & full of crab grass, though. Oh well. I only have so much time & the lawn, like vacuuming the house, doesn't make the top ten list.

Alfalfa is a type of hay, but it's a legume & fixes nitrogen in the soil, so it's not a grass like Timothy or Meadow Grass, which are also hay types. It's not great for pasture, although some doesn't hurt. It's very rich, but doesn't carpet the ground the same way or stand up to high usage.

Fescue is considered an invasive by the Extension Office as it displaces a lot of the native grasses. It can be an issue with cows & pregnant mares since it has some kind of fungus or something. It makes cattle have 'hot belly' I think & it can make a pregnant mare abort. Since we already had it in the field & only have geldings now, I don't mind it.

It's tough to get rid of, anyway. We tried after one of our mares lost a foal in MD, but you basically have to kill everything, plow & reseed (expensive!) with other grasses & then you still wind up fighting it. Not worth it for us.