Grumpy

I'm grumpy.

I'm really hating spring... damn fickle. Spring is a tease. I hate her. Sunny and 70 one day and the next it's cold, cloudy, windy and there is rain or snow. (curse, curse, grumble, grumble, curse)

Yesterday was the first day it was dry enough to ride and get horses exercised but I had that water meeting to attend and chores to do. Furry Husband was gone again at a wine tasting event... I'm feeling very grumpy about being a wine widow right now.

The dogs are all wound up because we haven't had time to really tire them out and play with them or take them on long walks, our place is in dire need of clean up both inside and out before our "Goat Fest Party" next Saturday...

Furry Husband will be gone Fri and Sat this weekend.

There is a lot to do for ONE person at our place - enough that when you are feeding and caring for everything on your own, it's hard to accomplish much else during the week. I'm seeing everything piling up... I really hope it's nice this weekend so I can catch up a little. That will help me not be so grumpy.

I'm beginning to think of the yard - the stress of missing the window of opportunity is beginning to tickle my brain. We live where the soil is heavy and clay. The sun is HOT and bakes everything to red concrete. We don't have grass - we have kocia weed and bind weed and incredibly hard concrete-like clay.

I want grass.

I don't want a little green postage stamp lawn, but I want grass.

I researched grass, visited the Denver Botanic Gardens Xeriscape/Native areas, Googled and read and looked for a good grass to grow in our area... I decided on Blue Grama grass... it is best germinated from seed, it thrives in bad soil so your soil doesn't need to be amended... it is native... it is low growing.... it is xeric and doesn't mind drought conditions. I could toss in a few native wild flowers and we have this cool, native, "lawn" that doesn't need a ton of maintenance, reduces the mud around our place, increases property value/curb appeal and our place doesn't look so much like a set from Deliverance.

I'm also looking at Buffalo grass... but turns out it doesn't germinate very well from seed. Works best by planting plugs... I'm trying to find some place local that sells Buffalo grass plugs...

We tried last year to grow grass... the old farmer that was helping us out by tilling up the area we wanted to plant with his tractor and seeding with his drill seeder decided he knew best and he planted rye grass from another job he had for rich people near a golf course. Not my Blue Grama. Not even Buffalo.

He was proud that he saved us money and used the last of this left over rye grass seed from this other job... didn't matter about all the research I did... didn't matter that his previous job probably had a sprinkler system and a way to water constantly. I have a hose and a damn sprinkler.

Some grass grew... not much.

This year I'll scale back to a smaller area (suprise, suprise that I often bite off more than I can chew). I think we can keep a smaller area more evenly moist with a hose and sprinkler and decrease my frantic-ness. I'll rent a rototiller, buy the seed, and plant it myself so it will be done the way I want it done dammit.

I need a NON-windy, sun-shiny day to spray for weeds. Then I rototill. I water to trick any weeds that are still lurking to sprout and show themselves... I spray again. And FINALLY I'll be ready to plant my Blue Grama grass... I need to get started. My window of opportunity is appearing... can't plant seed too late or it fries in the hot sun...

I guess all these projects, this window, the weather and the absence of Furry Husband are making Shanster a pissy, pissy girl.