Well it started out looking good...

Please excuse this particular post; as a science/documentary Blog my personal life rarely appears in here.
Well wow... what a weekend. I get the additional day off as Saturday was not a lawn care sort of day. Cold, raining, windy and all the other things associated with a non conducive day for lawn treatment. So things actually did start as a plus. Found out my favorite local band was to make an appearance at a local venue, like about 2 miles from my place. That is road travel mileage not "as the crow flies." So I make it to the bar to meet up with an old work friend. Not to say the friend was old, but the friendship was. We were watching the band from what I would call the choice house seats... having a great time; beer and other adult beverages great conversation and shenanigans galore.  A beautiful female walks up to me, introduces herself, and hangs close by as the evening progressed. Things were really starting to take steps in the right direction. Yea, I got her number... we will see where it goes from here. Sunday things took a sharp turn south. Started with the plan to get some new sneakers (gym shoes); place up the road called Shoe Carnival is first store I think of. To beat all of the box office bests Kroger is in the same Plaza (shopping center). I did need to pick up a few items there. As I walk through the Carnival all I can say is "I can't believe this" and "you are kidding right?" The lowest price I saw was $39. Who in their right mind would pay $120 for a pair of sneakers? Thinking a new plan, but head over to Kroger since I am right there with coupons in hand. First couldn't find the orzo, even knowing from past experience it might be in the rice aisle (fat rice it is also known as). Next; could not find the garbanzo beans had to settle on chick peas (no problem, they are one in the same). The problem with a different Kroger is they are not Universal in set up, not being one to shop this particular store made matters a bit time consuming. Part 2 of the one stop shopping expedition was go to Wally World; the ever famous Walmart. Choice of closest was tough. Eastgate; yes that traffic nightmare, or the one on Red Bank, oh god how I loath the customer service at this one. Red Bank did get my business, $20 for a pair of sneakers. So... I finally get home about 5:30 (oh forgot to mention another "worst coffee ever" from the UDF). Plan is to roast a chicken for dinner; this will take at least 2 hours. Dinner will be late tonight. Get the bird out of the fridge, and yes, it was still frozen. Adding more time to the venture as I needed to soak the bird in cold water to thaw a bit more. Stuffing the bird can only get 1/2 the stuffing in the cavity as it was still frozen but I am running out of time. Guess is I will "stove top" my home made stuffing. argh! After bird is prepped and in the oven realize I left my cigarettes in the truck... down about 8 flights of stairs to retrieve and go back up the steps I just came down. To end on a positive note, I had a great night out with the girl I met on Friday night. Went to do see another band at the same venue.

Its coming soon

This slime mold I have seen hundreds of times in my lawn care experience. Its largest danger is that it prevents sunlight getting to the leaves and thus prevents the plant from forming food through photosynthesis. If left unchecked will bring a pale color (turf in my case) . Not a lawn disease requiring fungicide. You can simply sweep the dust off of the turf. I have seen it in small areas, about fist to open hand in size; a square foot is a large area of turf grass slime mold. I usually come across this beast in unshaded areas early to mid summer. Also notice the tip of the grass blade; this is caused by a dull mower blade, important to keep the blades sharp so the mower will cut the grass rather than rip or tear it. Once a year you should take the blade off to sharpen on a grinder. Once or twice in the mowing season it would be good to drag a metal file across the blade 5-10 times, much like honing a steak knife.
Avoid mowing when the grass is wet, alternate mowing patterns weekly, side to side one week, front to back the next (I always preferred diagonal lines corner to corner) looks more professional.

Another lawn disease known as Red Thread
Early spring, end of March is the time to watch for this disease. An application of Round 2 (late spring application) fertilizer abundant in nitrogen will clear this mess up.

The numbers on the fertilizer bag or analysis is in order, N-P-K nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Phosphorus has been reported to leach into the ground water and most lawn care programs leave this macro nutrient out of the fertilizer. We use one application in our 6 app program containing phosphorus. The analysis on a fertilizer to clear up Red Thread would be some thing close to 24-0-4

or you can just hire a professional like me :)

Taunt Vortex, some advice if Robert goes belly up

How to choose a good plumber!

1. Ask your friends, family and neighbors first who they would recommend. This is usually the best way to find a good plumbing company!
2. Take into consideration that they usually will remember who not to call instead of who to call!
3. Always ask if the pluming company they recommend gave them an upfront price and stuck to that price when it was all said and done.
4. If you are close then ask how much they paid for the services they received and maybe even ask to see for yourself.
5. Ask them if they called or contacted several different companies before they chose the one they used.
6. Ask if they called the first big plumbing ad in the phone book and stopped there.( If they did, then you might want to try shopping around yourself ! ) Remember those big ads get paid for by consumers like yourself.
7. Ask if this was the first time they used the company they are referring and if it is, then ask if the company was referred to them by someone else.

8. Remember to refer the company that you used and liked to your friends, family and neighbors no matter what profession or service they provide!

and if you are a hermit like me or new to the area just tack the yellow pages to the wall throw a dart at it and where the dart lands is who you should call(unless it lands on "central service")