MIA: Grass
Posted on Wednesday, May 14, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Editorial/225673/
The call came in: A buddy who knew a guy who went to school with this other fellow had come into some Grade-A, premium Zoysia sod. And he had to unload it. Quick.
We looked over the back yard / bayou, briefly wondered how many unidentified species of plants and bugs it contained, and then responded: We’d take all we could get. And be right over with a truck.
After a rough afternoon with the tiller and a bit of work with a machete, the back yard was brand new. Heck, you could practice your putts back there.
That was last spring.
Last week we wandered through the back yard—or what’s left of it. All that rain had left its mark. The weeds were knee-high and growing. Something with thorns and burrs got us on the ankle. The bugs were fierce. Was that a thistle or a palm tree ? And there was something missing.
Oh, yes, all that precious sod.
Poor little Zoysia. It didn’t stand a chance. Not in a back yard that gets plenty of rain, plenty of sunlight, and happens to be in a fecund place called Arkansas.