4th Tee After

By simply removing a couple of cedars trees and capping the end of the hedge with a new one, creates a wider opening for members to access the tee.

Addressing Wear Issues

4th Hole

            The wear around the 4th tee has been an issue for 20 years and expanding the walk on/off is our only solution. We will be removing the first 15 feet of the cedar hedge to increase the amount of area we have to walk on and off the tee. We have sourced a 15-18ft cedar to replace the last cedar removed to hide the unsightly end to the hedge because there will be no foliage left on the exposed cedar. The area will then be leveled and sodded. 

            The front portion of the tee is still well protected by the pines near the ball washer and will allow members approaching to see the front of the tee and where the blocks are placed.  We may also look at pruning the hedge 2 feet off the ground to allow air movement under the hedge and across the tee.



4th Tee Before

            Staff will be widening and extending the curbing along a portion of the path where the carts park, giving members more room to get on and off the carts.  This area will be graveled for the time being until we can find an opportunity to pave.

After Photo To Follow!

Thanks

Mark Piccolo

USGA Advisory Service

At our last Greens Committee meeting  it was suggested we retain the services of a USGA  Turfgrass Advisor. This individual will help assess not only the difficulties we are having with our greens but will create an agronomic plan on the entire golf course to help guide the club forward similar to what an architect does for design. They will also help communicate to the membership what has been happening and what needs to be done to produce consistent playing conditions. We have scheduled a tour with our Greens Committee for next week and when the report has been completed will make it available for all members to read.
Here is a bit on what it is they offer.

The Value Of A USGA Turfgrass Advisory Service Visit

The Turf Advisory Service is a program of service. Its benefits to the individual club will be considerable. Countless times in the past one little bit of information from the Green Section has saved a club many times the cost of USGA service."

Richard Tufts, Chairman, USGA Green Section Committee 1953

The Green Section field agronomists:

• Have more direct contact with golfers and course officials than any other department in the USGA. They are ambassadors and representatives of the USGA in the field.
• Are the most knowledgeable, respected, and impartial golf-turf consultants in the world. Backed by the USGA, the Green Section's services provide dependable recommendations that course officials can count on.
• Have lots of experience - they see many (100+) courses each year.
• Know what to look for when observing the course and checking for problems.
• Ask probing questions to identify symptoms or problems that the course personnel may not recognize.
• Have seen symptoms countless times and can quickly identify problems and offer the best solutions.
• Help establish long range plans and preventative maintenance programs to mitigate future problems.
• Network frequently with other USGA agronomists for additional advice and suggestions.
• Catch problems early, before they get out of hand, thereby preventing turf loss and/or large expenditures.
• Serve as a sounding board for ideas.
• Keep up with the latest in research, products and techniques. Information is backed up by the largest private turf research program in the world.
• Serve as a key communications link between course officials and the golf course superintendent.
• Write reports that serve as a planning guide and as a benchmark to compare with future evaluations.
• Have only the club's interest in mind and have no financial interest in products or services recommended, unlike many private consultants.
• Know good specialists to turn to for more detailed evaluation, if needed.
• Have access to the cumulative knowledge of 18 USGA field agronomists who make nearly 2000 visits annually.
• Know that one small suggestion can save many times the cost of the TAS visit.
• Provide our clubs and courses with reports that deliver the only history of changes in maintenance practices and the actual physical design of the course over time.

Maintenance Day & Behind 6 Green

Maintenance this past Tuesday went well, no damage or set back to the greens and feel a few spots look much improved. Today was the first day we mowed the greens since Monday and they will speed up each day over the weekend as the growth regulators set. We purposely let our growth regulators run out over this past weekend, hence a serge of growth this week which was needed. We have re-applied today and it takes about 72 hours to set. We are not raising heights or changing the routine on 17 of our 20 greens. Speeds will resume once the sand works through which may take another day or two.

Sand dulls mowers which in turn provides a poor cut which as a result slows green speed. The sand sticks to the rollers and makes more mess than it does good. By far the worst part of aerating. We are sharpening mowers today for a better cut over the weekend and will see much improvement in the next 24- 48 hours.  On holes 1, 6 and 17 we will be reducing the amount we mow and roll which will affect speed but will improve chance for recovery. These greens require more time to recover from the July heat stress.

Staff have been busy behind the 6^th green clearing the area to improve airflow.  I think it was long over due! There is a pocket of dead air at the back of the 6^th green. When the pin is at the front it flutters in the wind when the pin is in the back it is still. You can feel the humidity increase as you walk from the front of the green to the back and hope the clearing helps with our efforts on this green. We will be spraying the cleared area with round up, grinding stumps, clearing rocks and converting it into grass. It also opens another view that no one thought was there.

We are not the only club that gave their course a break this week several other private clubs in the area aerated greens, fairways and tees this past week as well.

Poa and Green Speeds

            Finally a break, short lived but desperately needed. We are expecting significant rain tomorrow but we have not received any rain at the club in nearly 6 weeks, average daily temperatures have been in the 90’s and disease pressure is very high.  

           Some of our turf gave out in the extreme heat. Our greens are made up of two types of grass, Poa Annua and Bentgrass. Bent is the preferred species but Poa is the predominate type at about 95%. Poa is a very shallow rooted turf which has been very difficult to manage over the past couple years.  It is the species that seeds profusely in the spring and is not standing up to heat and drought stress as well as we would like .



In the above photo the bluish green turf in the middle is bentgrass

 The newer bents we have been seeding into the greens are doing very well. If you look closely you can see the bentgrass loving the heat and humidity and is flourishing under these conditions. The importance of core aeration can’t be anymore evident than it is now. You can easily see healthier turf and specs of new grass in the old aeration holes.

We are not sure if our membership is ready for a bentgrass conversion program but it will be discussed at committee level and something we may need to look at to simplify maintenance, ensure longevity and improve consistency. Unfortunately there is tough love involved that may be difficult to swallow.

         Green speeds have slowed  because we had no choice but to raise the mowing heights during the heat, especially durring last week. Recovery of damaged turf and green speeds don't go hand in hand and a decision had to be made. Tomorrow we will be lowering the heights and grooming and rolling as necessary to achieve the desired green speeds for our club championship and hopefully maintaining these regular heights for the remainder of the summer.

So what do we do? We use our maintenance day to aggressively seed the greens. We will decide over the weekend what method depending on the weather and how they withstand the stress of the weekend. Coreing with ½ inch tines to a depth of 1” at a very tight spacing and double seeding with our spike seeder is the best chance we have to establish more bent. Unfortunately we are not confident our greens could handle such a disruptive practice and may cause more damage than good if the extreme heat continues. We may have to postpone the aeration as we did last year and just seed. In a bent grass conversion program this would be the best time to be aggressive setting back the Poa and giving the bentgrass the best chance possible to establishing its self.

Looking forward to Club C's. 

 Mark Piccolo

Japanese Beetle Traps

You may have noticed this past weekend we placed the Japanese Beetle Pheromone traps throughout the course. These green and yellow containers are scented with a pheromone that attracts the beetle into the containers which they cannot get out of. We then dispose of the beetles.

It is incredible how efficiently it works and the traps need to be emptied daily. We remove approximately 2 gallons of Beetles every day.
Japanese Beetle and European Chafer  (June bugs) are the two most common types of white grub we find on the course. Each of these will lay several eggs and can devastate the course and home lawns quickly, especially during hot dry summers. The Japanese Beetle adult will defoliate Linden, Horse Chestnut and other fragrant trees in a matter of days. We will spray many of our trees as a preventative measure to protect them over the next few weeks.

Poa Stress

Greens 13, 15, 17 really didn't like what we did to them Thursday.  We spiked the greens and top dressed. These are 3 of the shallowest rooting greens we have and the Poa stressed Thursday under the brushing in of the topdressing sand. We are watching them closely and will not mow these 3 greens this weekend and just roll to allow for recovery.  Playability will not be affected it’s the visual that gets people talking.  I am somewhat concerned how little heat and wear stress it took to turn these greens off and we will be very careful over the next few days as temperatures rise to keep them cool with syringing in the mid afternoon. An application of soluble fertilizer will also help the recovery. A good rain always fixes everything and there is a chance of one today. Rooting is shallower than usual this year on all of the greens probably due to the wet spring. I will keep you informed if anything changes and we expect recovery to take a couple of days. We have seen this happen before, they will bounce back.

Keeping Our Head Above Water

You know that feeling, and it's not a "Loving Feeling", when it seems you can never get caught up. It's been like this for our staff until a week or so ago. Our staff have been tremendous and have persevered through horrible weather and long days and it finally seems as if we can cross some items off the list.

There are always limbs to be pruned and willows to be clipped.

Seeding and soiling thin and rutted areas under the trees.

 Stopping to smell the flowers just for a minute. If not, is any of it worth it?

Next time you play take a moment to enjoy the scenery and wildlife Galt has to offer...

Poa Seed

If you’ve been out on the course, you may have noticed a ‘whitish’ haze developing on the greens.  What is it?  A disease? A Different type of grass?  I wanted to take a moment to fill you in a bit.

Once again it is that time of year when we see the development of seed heads on the Annual Bluegrass (Poa annua) population within our greens.  Every year in early to mid May, Poa annua produces a flush of seed head that lingers for about 2 or 3 weeks.  It’s a frustrating and challenging time to maintain greens as we see speeds fall off and the greens begin to feel a bit ‘sticky’ or ‘puffy’.

Even if our putting greens were sodded with Creeping Bentgrass, they will gradually transition to a Bent/Poa mix because of the nature of our property. Poa annua is a native grass species and has the ability to establish almost anywhere there is bare ground due to its prolific seed head production.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Poa annua has many positive attributes and, when properly maintained, can provide exceptional putting surfaces.  In fact, many of the top older golf clubs in our region and around Canada and the US have Poa greens, and  many major tournaments such as the US Open are  hosted on courses with Poa greens.

Poa annua does have some problems though; shallow roots which is a significant issue on our greens, disease susceptibility, ability to out compete Creeping Bentgrass and its seed head production among them.  As you can see in the close up photo below, it is quite capable of producing seed heads at extremely low heights of cut. (1/8” or less)

As you play the golf course, you may notice that the seed head is heavier on some greens vs. others. This is in part due to the amount of Poa that is established on each green.  A green like #6  for instance is one of our heavier producers.  I don’t think there is any coincidence that this is most often the green that shows the most disease stress through the summer.  It is widely believed, and I would agree, that greens that do not produce a heavy seed flush will be comprised of stronger rooted Poa plants better able to withstand the stress of summer. Poa Annua the older it gets produces smaller seed heads and can genetically transition into a more perennial type cultivar.

What can we do? Our friends south of the border have access to products (growth regulators) that reduce the extent of seed production.  These products are not available to us in Canada – perhaps they will in time.  In the meantime, we work within our cultural programs (fertility, brushing, verticutting, topdressing) to get through this time period and minimize the effects.

The flush is almost over and things are returning to ‘normal’ 

What you should excpect over the next week!

The weather stinks blog has already been used this year so lets just all assume we are on the same page with that one.

ROUGH
Over the next week as the temperatures warm up the rough is going to begin to grow and playability will become very difficult. We try our best to keep up with it but it always seems we are playing catch up. The rain and tournament this week has prevented us from cutting it twice, we will try throughout the weekend to get around and re-cut the longer areas. Staff are continuing with sod patching throughout the course, thin areas in the rough are being seeded next week.

Ask the pro shop for some tips on how to play shots from deep rough!

MAINTENANCE DAY
Aeration and spiking are a superintendents most important tool when dealing with compaction, thatch removal, root zone modification, increasing oxygen levels to the roots and the removal of soil layering within the root zone. It is our breath for turf grass survival throughout the year, without it the greens will not survive.
The greens will be aerated Tuesday May 24th, with a mini hollow tine that pulls a 3/16"core out of the green every 2 inches. These cores will be broken up, matted back into the turf and the remaining holes filled with sand. A seeder will be driven over the greens and collars seeding bentgrass into them. Members will see minimal disruption and the greens will resume there playing condition by weeks end.
Tee aeration will commence once the greens are complete and will continue throughout the week.

COURSE BEAUTIFICATION
Staff are beginning to prepare flowerbeds for the arrival of annuals in early June. Beds are being edged, mulched and weeded over the next week.

COURSE ETIQUETTE CONTINUED!

DIVOT FILLING

The soil we use for our divot mix consists of a mixture of finely ground compost, sandy loam soil and sand. It holds moisture beautifully and doesn’t compact, which makes for a good growing medium. On our fairways we use a mixture of Bent grasses. The seed is almost naked to eye, as there is over 6 million seeds per pound. On the tees we use a mixture of Perennial Rye grasses. The major reason for the difference is the speed of germination. The Rye grass germinates in 7 to 10 days where the Bent grass takes 14 to 21 days. If the Bent had a faster germination rate we would use that on the tees. Please do not fill the divot bottles on the carts with divot mix from the tees. The grasses are very different and we do not want the Rye grass seed used on the fairways. Also, please do not use the divot mix for fairways in the rough, bent grasses are an undesirable turf species for the rough.

Please replace your divot whenever you can especially if soil and roots are attached. Add divot mix around the edges to fill in. When filling a divot place enough mix in the void to fill to the top and gently press down with your foot to compact it.

IT'S COOL TO FIX BALL MARKS!

Ball marks, those indentations caused when a ball lands sharply on a soft green, have been ruining good putts since the days of Old Tom Morris. Unrepaired ball marks take two to three weeks to properly heal, leaving behind unsightly, uneven putting surfaces. On the other hand, a repaired ball mark only takes half that time to heal.
Beginner or pro, it is your responsibility as a golfer to fix your own marks. If you're truly a steward of the game, you'll fix any others you see while your partners are putting. There's really not much to it, but there are a few guidelines you should follow when making these repairs.

THE RIGHT WAY TO FIX A BALL MARK
        Use a pronged ball mark repair tool, knife, key or tee. 	      Insert it at the edges of the mark, not the middle of the depression. 
      Bring the edges together  with a gentle twisting motion, but don't lift the center. Try not to tear the grass. 	    Smooth the surface with a club or your foot. You're done when it's a surface you would want to putt over. 

ADOPT A HOLE PROGRAM

Once again the Greens & Players committees are implementing the Adopt a Hole Program at The Galt Country Club.  Over the season we are asking members for extra effort regarding the repair of ball marks and the raking of traps on the course. Guests are members responsibility and are asked to educate their guests about our course etiquette. We are asking for everyone’s participation.  Please see the chart below to determine which hole you have been assigned.  The first letter of your last name coincides with the hole you have adopted.  Take extra effort when playing your adopted hole and repair as many ball marks as you can and spend extra time raking the bunker if your ball happens to land in one.

Thank you!

Hole	Last Name	Hole	Last Name
1	A	10	L
2	B	11	M
3	C	12	N
4	D,E	13	O
5	F	14	P
6	G	15	Q,R
7	H	16	S
8	I,J	17	T
9	K	18	U-Z

It Can't Get Any Worse, Can It?

The weather affects what we do in so many ways. There is a fine line between pushing to get work completed and causing more harm then good. Over the past couple of weeks we have chosen to minimize the amount of equipment on the course. In wet conditions mowers slide, scalp and compact soils. Vehicles skid and tear the turf. The equipment we use on the course is responsible for causing most of the wear on the turf and we have to be aware of that when making decisions. We know what the staff are capable of achieving in a week of dry weather, and it will only take a short time of routine to get the course to where we would like to see it.

When it comes to greens speeds and inclement weather we are in a no win situation and I'll talk more about this throughout the season. I can't count the number of times we come to work in the morning and the greens are uncutable because of the amount of rain we received the night before. Oh, did I mention these days usually fall on Wednesdays and Saturdays. By 11am the sun is shinning and the tee sheet is full because those who cancelled in the morning now want to play in the afternoon. Then, the acidity of the rain helps to release a little of the nitrogen available to plant in the soil and as a result wet, flushing, uncut, slow greens. Or even more frustrating at times, we get a frost like the one last Saturday morning, potentially the nicest day of the year so far and we are unable to cut because of the delay. The weather will get better, I hope!

The storm last week damaged three trees on the course. Two pines between 6 and 7 and a Manitoba Maple at the back of the parking lot. The course cleanup is the frustrating part. We can't mow until we clean and we've cleaned 3 times this year.

By the end of today the course will be cleaned and our focus will turn to the bunkers and hopefully a mowing routine that will bring some consistency to the playability of the course.

Week of April 25th

The greens were groomed and top dressed today. They have needed it since the beginning of the season, but we have been waiting for the greens to firm up to better handle the weight of the equipment. Our plan is for a second top dressing early next week in preparation for the Men's and Ladies Opening Golf Events.

The applications of sand this week and next are to fill in any irregularities from last falls aeration and help firm and smooth the playing surface. A brush is used to drag the sand into the crown of the plant.

It's difficult to plan all of the maintenance in advance. We decided this morning that today was an ideal day to top dress because of the timing between the warmer drier weather of this past weekend  and the rain we are to get over the next few days.  The wet weather this week will help wash the sand into the crown of the plant minimizing damage to our mowers.

You will see various fertilizers being applied this week, these are Magnesium and Potassium supplements that are recommended based on soil testing. Again we are trying to take advantage of the weather to wash the products in to the turf. Now is an ideal time for homeowners to be applying a spring application of fertilizer to your home lawns. I recommend keeping the Nitrogen and Potassium numbers as close a possible. The first number on the bag represents Nitrogen, the second number Phosphorous and the third number Potassium. Potassium builds strength within the plant cells and will help the plant better resist stress. Always keep some extra on hand and time your applications when it rains.

Staff was able to get an early divotting of the fairways and tees done last week while play was slow and the weather was poor. This week we are hoping to edge bunkers and check sand depths.

If the irrigation is on, it's only because staff are testing and running diagnostics on the system making sure we are fully operational for when we really do need it.

We applied our first fungicide application yesterday. During cool wet weather the greens are prone to a disease called Fusarium Patch. It's a cousin of snow moulds which Poa is susceptible to in the spring and fall. This was a preventative application though there are a few active spots out there. Take a walk around the 6th green to see if you can spot them.

Course Opening - Friday April 15th, 2011

A tentative Course Opening Date has been set for this Friday April 15th. The warm temperatures and rain on the weekend has helped jump start the grass and we should have three cuts on the greens before we open. Staff have been working hard preparing the course for Friday. The winter blast during the last week of March has limited us to 8 working days to get the course up and running, far less than in years prior. Thank goodness Mother Nature was kind to us and we are looking forward to Opening Day.

Lip Liner or no Lip Liner? That is the question...

We were asked to experiment last year with a plastic lip insert that sits above the cup to give the impression the hole is painted. There has been much discussion at committee level about whether to continue with it or not.

Here are some of the points we have discussed to help shed some light on the issue and have included a POLL for you to voice your opinion.

We were asked if daily painting of the holes is feasible? Hole painting is time consuming and comes with a cost. If each hole took 2 minutes to paint, it would add nearly 4 hours of labour/week to the hole changers duties. It's easy to make a mistake since many of the holes are changed prior to sun rise and a poorly painted hole is not pleasant to look at. You may also risk slight yellowing of the turf around the old hole in warmer weather which can slow recovery time. 

We do agree that holes can and should be painted for special events.  

The plastic lip liners are quickly installed. They are designed with a ridge to sit on top of the cup and are pushed into the hole along with the cup and set with the cup setter.  They sit a millimeter or two below the turf and the hole needs to be perfectly cut to ensure a clean path for the cup to pass through, so there is not a lot of room for error. Sometimes on our rocky and tree root filled greens it's more difficult then you think. We have noticed those members using their putter to remove the ball from the hole will catch the liner and lift it above the surface. We have also seen the natural expansion and contraction of the green over the day force the liner above the turf. 

However the sight line of the hole is improved.

The ball will have a tendency to lip out on a perfectly cut hole and fall in on a deteriorated hole. No doubt the lips are in much better condition at the end of a day with the liners in. We also feel the old hole recovers more quickly.

Does any of this matter? The true argument is whether they impede the ball from going into the hole or not. If they do then I believe they shouldn't be used, if they don't the discussion continues.

What's your opinion?

How Did The Course Winter You Asked?

Well, by the look of the following pictures we wintered just fine!
Our staff removed the green covers yesterday revealing a sigh of relief as even our most troublesome greens braved the winter.


3rd Green

We protected our 3rd and 5th greens with a two cover system this past winter. A breathable cover was laid on the green first, followed with a solid (non perforated) cover on top. This solid cover prevented ice from coming into contact with the turf grass. Last week we shoveled the ice remaining on these covers off and removed the solid cover leaving the breathable cover on. Leaving this cover on allowed the turf to acclimatize to the temperature preventing shock to the plant prior to full exposure to the elements.


5th Green

Some recovery time is required for the greens to fully heal from the late fall aeration. This is minor compared to having to deal with winter kill.


13th Green

Unfortunately Mother Nature has reminded us 'it's not over until the the fat lady sings'. The snow we received today and cold weather will likely keep staff off the course until the first week in April when we begin spring clean up.

Smart Sticks

A new addition to the course this year will be an upgrade to our flag poles called Smart Sticks. The new poles have an embedded prism into the pole of the flag stick. This will help provide those using yardage finders a reflective surface to aim at.

These more traditional style poles are thinner then our previous poles offerring a softer bounce if your lucky enough to chip or putt a ball off the flag pole when left in. The lighter flag pole should casue less marking of the greens when dropped by golfers ready to putt. The poles are yellow with a black bottom as before.

Winter Pruning

Our trees are what truly defines the Galt Country Club. Over the years we have shown due diligence and compassion in which trees have been removed or pruned. In recent years it seems we have come full circle. Years ago we were very aggressive with pruning and removal and slowed down over the past few years mostly due to budget restraints. As the trees continue to grow they interfere more and more with the growing environments throughout the course. As beautiful as they are, trees are truly one of turfs biggest enemies. It's time to once again focus on the affects the trees are having on the turf and make the necessary adjustments through pruning and selective removal. 

We are concerned with shade on nearly half of the tees and greens on the course and it's having a negative affect on root depth, density and the occurrence of disease especially on the greens. As you can see in the above photo, two large pines between 11 and 13 greens have been removed along with selective clearing to the left of 11 green and back of 14 tee. Similar work has been performed between 12 green and 13 tee. Movement of the sun has been tracked, so that the trees removed had the maximum impact on increasing morning sunlight and improving airflow.

By no lack of effort we continue to come up short in our efforts to increase the turf density under the trees in the rough. Selective removal of a few trees in a grove will improve turf health, allow for more sunlight and space for the trees to grow and reduce competition for nutrients and water.  In the grove between holes 6 and 7, a number of trees were removed and the remaining ones pruned to improve this environment. Similar removal and pruning has been performed between holes 3 and 9.

The Tree Committee meets regularly, has toured the course and has communicated to the Greens Committee about what it is we wish to accomplish. Our goals are to open sight lines throughout the course and of the river, create better turf growing environments, improve growing conditions for our existing trees through pruning and selective removal and remove unhealthy or diseased trees such as Austrian Pine to create space for new planting.

Through the support of the Memorial Tree Fund and the generous donation from the Men's Calcutta Committee, we have ample funds to put towards new plantings this spring. Currently we are looking at filling the gaps between the existing willows on holes 15 and 17 with more willow, and establishing a mass planting of trees between the first fairway and Coronation Blvd, creating a needed visual and sound barrier for years to come. Several specimen trees will be planted throughout the course and staked in the spring for members to see.

IPM - What is it and what does it mean?

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a process that uses all necessary techniques to suppress pests effectively, economically and in an environmentally sound manner. IPM employs a two-pronged approach: managing the plant environment to prevent problems and using thresholds to decide how and when to treat pests.


Brown Patch (Rhizoctonia solani) - 15 Green

 As part of the Golf Industry's exemption to the Cosmetic Pesticide Ban, courses must be enrolled in the IPM Accreditation Program. This program recognizes companies who demonstrates their knowledge and commitment to the principles of IPM through a process of certification, auditing and professional development. 




 



Leather Jacket Larva - Small Putting Green

 The major component of the program is the Annual Desk Review Audit that must be submitted at the end of each season. This report is then reviewed by environmental auditors on behalf of the IPM Council to see if we meet IPM Accreditation Standards. In addition to the desk audit, every three years we must have an on site audit completed to maintain our full accreditation status which we are proud to say Galt Country Club has acheived.

As part of the program a copy of the 2010 annual report is available for members to look at in the office.

Welcome Galt Members

The information highway between the Greens Department and our membership has now been constructed. My goal with this blog is to weekly update the membership with what it is we do and why we do it. Depending on the time of year we will manage the frequency of the blog accordingly. I wish for our golfers to better understand what it takes to manage our facility and have a direct link to myself if there are any questions. Greg has challenged the department mangers to improve and expand our communication throughout the club and I feel this is the perfect medium for the Greens Department to do it through.

Bear with me as I enter the world of blogging as green as they come. I will try to use current photographs, links to educational websites and journals to help relay our message. I encourage insightful dialog with our members and will do my best to answer all of your questions. I may even share a few home lawn and garden tips along the way.