Monday 30 April 2007

Off with their heads!


I felt that I accomplished a lot today. I vacuumed the whole house (well, I didn't venture into the teenager's bedroom, that would have been potentially life-threatening) which is one of my usual Monday tasks. The to-do list included mowing the lawn, so I decided to get that done while the weather looked good. I used my gas mower (sorry, Samantha). We have nearly half an acre and it takes an hour and half with the self-propelled mower. Many dandelions were beheaded during the process!

I have a theory about the intelligence of dandelions. The first ones to come up in the Spring are usually tall. However, when you start mowing, the subsequent flower stalks get shorter and the heads get lower to the ground. VERY sneaky - they fly under the wire and the mower can't get them.

Anyway, by suppertime the bathrooms were clean, the houseplants were watered and all was well with the world. I can wash the dishes this evening and admire the neat lawn from my kitchen window.

2 comments:

Heather said...

I love the whole dandelions-get-a-shorter-stem-the-more-you-mow-them thing, it is a very easy, quick, visual example of how evolution works, really. I think it is very cool to see their instinct for survival and reproduction. (and if I think of it that way I tend not to get as grumpy when I have to pick them)

Mary-Sue said...

Aaah, we picked dandelion heads today and put them into a basket to dry... for making dandelion tea! As we picked I wondered why everyone doesn't see these beautiful flowers as valuable as they are? SO bright, so beautiful, and so healthy for us and for the soil! and now I read that they're smart and highly evolved too! ha! the perfect combination!