If you are a resident of my locality, come buy a matted print!  I am participating in Sun Prairie Art Fest on September 11th, 2010.  I will have a selection of matted prints for sale.  This is my first foray into the art fair world and it will determine whether or not I do it again.

There isn’t an official website for the fair, but is listed on the city calendar of events, which also features the Sun Prairie Blues Fest on the same day!

Come for some art, stay for some blues.

I have been in the midst of a flurry of activity, my wife is due in two weeks, and I have a lot of loose ends flapping in the breeze.  I will be participating in Sun Prairie Art Fest on September 11th.  I haven’t done an art fair before, so we’ll see what the world thinks about grills and meat. If you are the area, come check it out – 10am to 4pm.

I am thinking I need to do this with many of the objects that I have already photographed.  Part of me feels this is just playing it safe, but on the other hand, I haven’t tried it so maybe there is something valuable and exciting waiting.   No matter what it is an excuse to photograph stuff in my yard. Not that I need an excuse.

I see a lot of these pesticide application signs around my neighborhood.  There is a smell that accompanies these signs.  It’s noxious, and sometimes a whole block has the aroma of herbicides.  It’s too bad people feel the need to feed into the commercial lawn care industry.  It’s not good for anyone but the lawn care companies.  There is a reason this little sign tells you to stay off the grass.

Some supporting evidence:

Pulling for the Planet

Farmers Cope With Roundup-Resistant Weeds

Lawn Herbicide Called Cancer Risk for Dogs

Pancreatic cancer linked to herbicides

The fact is, I can cherry pick tons of articles to support my stance.  There are times to use these chemicals, but it should be a rare occurrence.  I have seen lawns that are overtaken by weeds.

This is a section of a particularly weedy lawn, the dandelions are growing themselves to death after an application of lawn pesticides.  You could call this the nuclear option.  The weeds will die off, and if the home owner is serious about making things better, they will reseed the bare patches.  Often times this is not the case, and the weeds just take up residence in the bare spots in few weeks.

The biggest error I see is people mowing their grass too short. It’s like a forest, if there is dense canopy, the plants on the forest floor don’t get much light and the stay small.  Short grass gives the germinating weeds some rooms to edge their way in. Tall grass spends it’s energy growing roots.

Weeds aren’t inherently bad, I leave some of them alone. Clover is a nice texture, and if fixes nitrogen into the soil.  Wild violets are a nice addition too.  You can pick and choose, but diversity is healthier all around.

I may be descending into madness. I have been taking some photos of people’s grass when I walk the dog at night.  There are quite a few variations on lawn care happening.  Some lawns are manicured like a golf course, edged, trimmed and artificially green.  Some appear to be wannabe prairies, ankle deep and varied in their botanical composition.  Some are dotted with yellow dandelions and their more mature white tufted counterparts, ready to inoculate their neighboring lots, like weedy trench warfare.   Nobody seems to agree on their style of lawn care.  The lawns have definite borders. Not that it matters, I would just like to see fewer little white and red signs.

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