…the Japanese Beetles. Every year they plague our yard and devour the Nishiki Willow tree we have in our backyard and the weeping Cherry in the front. This evening while sitting outside I started to notice them already. And they’ve already discovered our new trees! I went ahead and sprayed some of the Ortho stuff that I use every year (that I’m not sure why I use anyway because it doesn’t seem to work) around the grass and those two trees in particular. I found some info tonight that suggested using soapy water to deter them and to try to kill off as many of the first ones you see, as they’re the scouts that end up attracting more to your yard. I also put out a single trap along the one edge of our backyard and will probably put one out front too once I find the bait that I bought a few weeks ago.

Over the past two weekends I’ve planted three new trees around our yard: a red maple, a plum, and a kwanza cherry. All three were about 11 - 12 feet in height. You don’t realize how heavy those root balls can be until you’ve had to deal with one. To move the two into our backyard ot took me and my neighbor’s son, literally running the wheel barrel up the backyard to get enough momentum to get them up on our hill. My father helped me with the cherry - that one wasn’t too bad because it had a short trip from the back of my truck to our front yard. We replaced a dying blue spruce that we had transplanted to this particular spot three years ago when we moved here. After cutting it down we had to use a 2×4 to give us enough leverage to pry it out of the ground. Even then it was a bear to roll out of the hole and onto the grass.

So this morning I thought about my yard’s to-do list, specifically with regards to our lawn. It needs to be aerated… badly. I tend to not bag my lawn clippings and so the thatch that accumulates is pretty thick. I’ve known about these silly shoes you can buy that will help you aerate your lawn but from what I’ve read they don’t have the best of reviews (in regards to their design as well as their use). Regardless, I thought to myself… hey, I think I can make those! And so for the next couple of hours I proceeded to do just that…

1. Grab a pair of old sneakers.
2. Trace the outline of the sneakers onto 1/2″ pressure treated lumber, and cut out the patterns.
3. Align the sneakers with the boards and drill two holes (one in front and one in back) through the bottoms of the shoes and into the wood.
4. Pre-drill a bunch of random holes in the wood, large enough to except 1 1/2″ decking screws.
5. Proceed to drive your screws through the boards.
6. Fasten the shoes to your iron-maiden-like platforms with carriage bolts.
7. Walk in circles around your lawn so that your neighbors think you’re crazy.

Yes, I know… it’s a bit ridiculous. But I laughed out loud at myself this afternoon when I tested them out and that was well worth it.

They seem to go into the ground only about half an inch or so - which hardly does any good - but I hacksawed off the protruding ends of the lag bolts so when I use them again they’ll hopefully go in a little further. I figure I’ll use them every once in a while when I mow the lawn - that way I’ll only sometimes look like nut job while I’m out there. :)