More Spring Observations

Walked by a fenced-in grassy lot tonight that smelled of freshly mown grass, whatever those chemical compounds are that cut grass emits. Which reminds me that I recently read about "freedom lawns" in the book Suburban Safari, by journalist Hannah Holmes. Freedom lawns are free of pesticides and fertilizer and are basically the antithesis of the mini golf courses that some people cultivate as their yards. I no longer have the book handy, but the Christian Science Monitor reported on this environmentally friendly trend way back in 2004.

I saw Saturn on Saturday (well, I did!). Two men had telescopes set up by an entrance to the subway station. One telescope was focused on Saturn, the other was trained on Jupiter. Jupiter was a bright spot in the sky. But Saturn looked like a marvelous paper cut-out set against a nightlight. Although the image was small, it was possible to distinguish Saturn's rings from its body.

Filed in: Green Miscellaneous