[alt text: Text that says, “People [say] 'I never see butterflies or lightning bugs in my yard. Their yard: (colon)”. Below the text is a photo of a birds-eye view of a large house with an equally large yard. The lawn is covered in standard turfgrass (probably Kentucky bluegrass) that has been recently mowed.]
We mow in sections, on the highest setting, and so infrequently that our neighbors were surprised that we even have a lawnmower (battery powered, charged by solar). For a year or two we didn’t mow at all, just walked around with a sheet of plywood with a tow rope and some wood screwed into the bottom to act as crimpers. There are thousands of lightning bugs at our place again now, as well as dozens of species of solitary native bees and wasps. It’s super rewarding watching the dragonflies perching on the tall native bluestem in between their hunts.
I’m a bit new to this. What is the plywood for?
To make crop circles.
I KNEW IT
The plywood was to provide extra weight for crimping the grasses, which helps to keep them acting as a cover for the next round of grasses and herbaceous plants coming up instead of standing back up. Some operations use a weighted crimper/roller on a tractor, some folks use railroad ties, Ray Archuleta used to use his daughter’s old honda civic… I had leftover plywood from a project.
You’re doing that good good work!
Tell me you don’t have an HOA without telling me you don’t have an HOA.
The fun thing about HOA boards is that, like many smaller semi governmental bodies, they can be overtaken with generally modest changes in voter turnout and engagement. Usurp the board; fines for ecologically detrimental parcels.