Now, understand that, growing up, our lawn was thick with dandelions, and we didn't care. It would have been deemed a waste of time to try to fight them. Besides, they "went away" by summer. Out of sight, out of mind. Our lawn was lucky if it got mowed once a week (and we cursed it then).
Don introduced me to a new philosophy of lawn care. The lawn is mowed multiple times a week, and dandelions aren't welcome. In fact, here in the Midwest, you can be fined for growing "noxious weeds" on your property. At least, that's what Don tells me. So I have a new appreciation for a dandelion-free landscape.
Don introduced me to the digger a few years ago, but I didn't get hooked until last year. This year, I'm downright compulsive about getting the little buggers. The digger is a two-pronged fork on a wooden handle that you use to pry the plants (tap root and all, if you're good) out of the ground. It's ultra-low-tech, environmentally responsible, and immensely satisfying.
There's nothing like spotting a lush, dinner-plate-sized dandelion and popping it out of the earth. Talk about instant gratification. The result is a clean slate for the grass to fill in, now that it's freed from the grip of the aggressive alien.
My mission is to clear the lawn all around the house of the unwelcome wildflowers (I'm not crazy enough to think I can make a dent by the barn). An overwhelming task, but I have a strategy. I go for the flowering ones every day. I figure that keeps them from multiplying, and eventually I'll get them all. So, I get a bucket or two daily, and the goats gladly destroy the evidence.
The only problem is, I've become obsessed by dandelions. I daydream about bagging the big ones. I'm tempted to bring the digger on my morning walk, to get those obnoxious ones on the side of the road. I'm constantly scanning for yellow dots on the landscape. I'm sure the neighbors are talking about me, as they twirl their index fingers beside their heads.
As obsessions go, I guess there are worse, and I don't have to worry about running out of targets soon. I just hope I'm not driven to fermenting the cursed intruders and losing myself in the dandelion wine. Admitting you have a problem is the first step toward recovery, right?
This is too funny as I am a dandelion digger myself. I too, have one of those marvelous dandelion pluckers. They are fantastic. My problem is all those growing in the rocky areas of my yard and on the banks - I have FIVE banks in this NC mountain country. They are all but impossible to remove. Cheers to a fellow dandelion digger. BTW, the young ones are delicious in salads.
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