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It's
Finally
Spring !!
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Spring won’t officially arrive
for another week or so, of course. But we
Wyobraskans are accustomed to spring-like weather
well before the calendar makes it official, and this
year an unrelenting winter didn’t allow the
customary January or February thaw, so Wyobraskans
that last year had their spring landscape clean-up
completed by the first of March are still wondering
if it’s safe to even begin by the middle of the
month this year. Wonder no more, it’s time to begin
the spring clean up. It’s actually high time to
begin some of the earliest spring landscape chores.
Now is the best time to prune trees, clean the
accumulated winter debris like escaped grocery bags,
flattened paper soft-drink cups, and candy bar
wrappers out of landscape beds, cut back the
cool-season ornamental grasses, and begin cleaning
up perennial beds.
In recent winters we have been able to begin these
early spring chores in mid to late February, but
this year’s hard “person-winter” has most
Wyobraskans starting their yard work already a few
weeks behind schedule.
It might also be a good time to tune up the lawn
mower in preparation for the coming lawn care
season. It’s not too early to begin thinking about
doing that first short mowing to cut off all of the
old dead blades left from last fall. Then it won’t
take long for that new green growth to show up and
make your neighbor jealous.
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If you’re wondering what’s in
store in these columns this year, be forwarned. I
spent some of the past cold winter reading up on the
subject of global warming. The reading is both
disturbing and fascinating. It is an issue about
which few people, myself included, are adequately
informed. But, based on what I read this past
winter, I think it is likely to become the dominant
political, social, and economic issue of the next 50
years.
There is a growing chorus of naysayers with a
fondness for Al Gore jokes, some of which are quite
funny, by the way, but I have yet to find an expert
with a convincing argument that the phenomenon is
not real, serious, and caused primarily by human
activity.
The overwhelming body of scientific information
seems to say that global warming will continue occur
into the foreseeable future even if we were able to
reduce carbon dioxide emissions to a fraction of
current levels. So our human flight through the
universe on this unique blue-green planet is likely
to encounter some “turbulence” in the coming
years.
The evidence seems to say that the required changes
in our lifestyle will be significant, and will
likely occur much sooner than most of us now
realize. That can be a very sobering thought. But
after some initial pessimism, I am becoming
optimistic that those changes are as likely to
enrich our lives as to impoverish them.
As with all major issues we ordinary citizens will
likely be well on our way to addressing the problem
before our |
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Previous Articles
2006 Articles
2007 Articles |
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Circle the dates March 27-29th
on your calendar. Wyobraskans will have a unique
opportunity to hear and meet several exceptional
horticultural speakers at the Mari Sandoz Heritage
Society Conference being held on those dates at
Chadron State College. The keynote speaker will be
Roger Swain, now of HGTV, formerly the host of the
popular PBS gardening show The Victory Garden. The
entire cast of the popular Nebraska gardening show,
“The Backyard Farmer” will also be at the conference
leading workshops on various topics. And someone
you probably have never heard of, but who is the
main attraction for me is Dr. Gus van der Hoeven,
extension specialist in landscape and environmental
horticulture at Kansas State University. Gus van
der Hoeven has inspired many high plains landscape
designers, including this one, to incorporate the
essence of the high plains experience into our human
residential and commercial landscapes.
The conference is being jointly
sponsored by the Mari Sandoz Heritage Society of
Chadron and the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum. It
will be a rare opportunity to get this caliber of
workshop experience this close to home. For
registration information contact Cindy Evert Christ
at
marisandoz_society@windstream.net or call her at
402-304-8103.
You can view the entire workshop info at
http://www.marisandoz.org. I hope to see you
there.
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politicians even agree that a
problem exists. When businesses as diverse as
Walmart and Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream are already
exploring how they can reduce their carbon
emissions, it’s probably time for us
independent-minded Wyobraskans to do the same. So
after you’ve ordered your hybrid vehicle, changed
out all of your light bulbs, and installed
programmable thermostats in your home, you may want
to also consider some changes to your landscape.
We Wyobraskans face the challenge of making our
landscapes not only water-wise, but also GREEN,
functional, inviting, and colorful. I am
convinced that we can do it all. More, much more,
on this subject in the weeks to come.
I would like to note, with
sadness, the passing this week of friend Paul
Hobson. Paul’s wife, Deanna, and daughter, Amy, have
both been dedicated long-time employees of
Scottsbluff Landscaping and the Village Garden
Center. I met Paul through his wife and daughter,
and the Hobson family became a part of the
Scottsbluff Landscaping family.
Paul and Deanna graciously hosted recent company
Christmas parties and summer picnics at their Lake
Alice cabin. I had many pleasant conversations
with Paul as he “hung around” the garden center
waiting to take Deanna to lunch or to take her home
after work in the evening. Paul was a loving
husband, dedicated father, and a successful and
unusually optimistic farmer. I will miss him.
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