[alt text: Text that says, “People [say] 'I never see butterflies or lightning bugs in my yard. Their yard: (colon)”. Below the text is a photo of a birds-eye view of a large house with an equally large yard. The lawn is covered in standard turfgrass (probably Kentucky bluegrass) that has been recently mowed.]

  • LallyLuckFarm@beehaw.orgM
    44·
    5 months ago

    We mow in sections, on the highest setting, and so infrequently that our neighbors were surprised that we even have a lawnmower (battery powered, charged by solar). For a year or two we didn’t mow at all, just walked around with a sheet of plywood with a tow rope and some wood screwed into the bottom to act as crimpers. There are thousands of lightning bugs at our place again now, as well as dozens of species of solitary native bees and wasps. It’s super rewarding watching the dragonflies perching on the tall native bluestem in between their hunts.

      • LallyLuckFarm@beehaw.orgM
        21·
        5 months ago

        The plywood was to provide extra weight for crimping the grasses, which helps to keep them acting as a cover for the next round of grasses and herbaceous plants coming up instead of standing back up. Some operations use a weighted crimper/roller on a tractor, some folks use railroad ties, Ray Archuleta used to use his daughter’s old honda civic… I had leftover plywood from a project.

      • LallyLuckFarm@beehaw.orgM
        6·
        5 months ago

        The fun thing about HOA boards is that, like many smaller semi governmental bodies, they can be overtaken with generally modest changes in voter turnout and engagement. Usurp the board; fines for ecologically detrimental parcels.

  • Ephera@lemmy.ml
    13·
    5 months ago

    I recently bought these roasted pumpkin seeds and they’re a bit too chewy for me, but I figured a bird could probably swallow them quite happily. So, I chucked a few of them on my balcony.

    That was a week ago. I’ve seen only a single bird grab a seed so far.

    It is awkward to land there, I’m not saying I did everything perfectly. But it made me painfully aware that the balcony + house wall is probably just some barren rock in their eyes. There’s just no reason to go looking for food there.

  • cheesymoonshadow@lemmings.world
    8·
    5 months ago

    Recently moved into a house surrounded by really tall (like 45ft) and old trees. At night, we see so many fireflies flying among the shrubs, and I was surprised to see them high up in the tree canopy too.

  • Swedneck
    3·
    5 months ago

    fuck grass, grass will do just fine no matter what we do.

    meadows are shrubbery is where it’s at.

    • coyotino [he/him]@beehaw.orgOPEnglish
      2·
      5 months ago

      native grasses are good for pollinators and the soil! But yeah, I mean my goal is to have some sort of pollinator garden as well, at least in a portion of the yard. I have zero gardening skills so i’m trying to temper my expectations. lol

      • Swedneck
        2·
        5 months ago

        i’m not saying native grasses aren’t good, just that they don’t exactly need our help. Even in a meadow you’ll just passively get native grasses because that’s how grass does.