Lawn Memories
By Sylvia Johanneson, Becketwood Member
Long, long ago, when I was a child, my sister and I loved to play on our grandmother’s lawn. We rolled on it, crawled in it and, yes, even ate it. We created fancy salads for our dolls—fat grass, skinny grass, clover (white and purple), and dandelions. The other lawns in town were much the same. No one had even heard of lawn chemicals.
Now when I walk through the neighborhood west of 46th Avenue I feel proud of our neighbors. Lawns are creative, varied, strange and beautiful. “Chemically treated” lawn signs are almost non-existent. One lawn has a sign that says, “Our lawn is designed to protect our watershed.”
I’m proud of Becketwood, too. I’m not at all tempted to dine on lawn salad but because our lawn is chemical-free, dogs can safely sniff it, birds, bees and butterflies can hover, land, and survive, and our grandchildren can run barefoot through the grass.
Much said in a few beautiful words! Thank you, Sylvia.
Sylvia, you were so instrumental in influencing the decision made to ban chemicals in the Becketwood lawns. I thank you for all the talks we had about this subject! I have never regretted the stances we all took to make that a reality.
I remember braiding long chains of clover to wear as a crown on hot August afternoons. We were all royalty back then. Fun memories.
Wonderful memories Sylvia–Thanks for sharing! And good for Becketwood and our neighbors for eschewing toxic chemicals so that children (and adults, if they want to) can play in the grass–and even eat it!
I remember laying in the grass with my sisters sharing what the clouds looked like.