Minnesota Prairie Roots

Last week Tuesday, trenching for a new water line. MN Prairie Roots copyrighted photo.

LIVING IN A FISH BOWL, translation along an arterial street through Faribault, means our property is exposed to anyone who passes by. We try to keep our yard looking nice with the lawn mowed, weed growth curbed and flowerbeds tended. I’ve received many compliments on our flowers, especially.

Two sections of sidewalk were removed to access the water connection, leaving part of our front yard and boulevard dug up. The sidewalk has since been replaced. MN Prairie Roots copyrighted photo.

But things look a lot different a week out from a major excavation of our property to replace the broken/leaking/corroded water pipe into our house. Our north side yard, a portion of our front yard and sections of the boulevard now showcase dead grass and dirt. It’s a mess. I don’t have any other words.

Our dirt yard. MN Prairie Roots copyrighted photo.

I look across the spacious hard-packed dirt parking lot of a lawn and see this: work and money filtering into the earth, adding to the estimated $5,000 expense of replacing that water line.

The heavy excavator packed the soil rock hard. MN Prairie Roots copyrighted photo.

This past weekend Randy and I stood on our lawn destroyed by digging, by the treads of the excavator and by piles of dirt and considered our options—seed or sod. We measured and debated and discussed…and then decided to wait. Whichever option we choose, this is not a good time to restart a lawn due to the heat of summer and the current drought. A KNOW YOUR WATERING SCHEDULE notice included with our water bill on Monday reaffirmed that delay. Under current rules, we can water only three days a week, although exceptions can be made for new sod or seed. Yeah, we’ll just wait.

I don’t feel good about waiting as I like to be a good neighbor. Yet, there are other issues in our neighborhood that have been ongoing and reflect poorly on our neighborhood and remain unresolved. It’s frustrating.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your perspective), ours is also a neighborhood where people cannot afford lawn care services. Springtime brings a bountiful crop of dandelions. Creeping Charlie creeps. Pristine yards are not a priority. But my neighbors keep their lawns mowed, so we’re good.

Once we’re ready to begin this project, we’ll need to till, rake and level the dirt. As Randy pounded the tines of a garden rake into the soil on Saturday, he suggested miners and pick axes. Yes, the ground is that hard—rock hard. But, hey, at least there’s a new indestructible non-metal water line buried deep below that ground. And we have water. And the hydrangea were spared. And the old pipe didn’t burst to the point of water gushing into, and flooding, our entire basement. And we were home when this happened…

TELL ME: If you have any suggestions for our yard, I’m listening.

© Copyright 2021 Audrey Kletscher Helbling