There's an old song my brother-in-law sings called "The Grass Is Always Green Near The Outhouse". It's a comical song which is about what you would expect from a title like that. I think about it almost every time I'm looking out over our "Back Yard" which isn't really a "Yard", but it's where the grass is actually growing. It also happens to be where the septic field is located. Once you put two and two together, you may begin to think, "Hey, The Grass Really Is Always Green Near The Outhouse", or, in this case, the septic field! While technically it's true, the source of the green grass has nothing to do with its proximity to the septic system. At least I don't think it does. The fact that there's grass there at all is because it's the only place we've actually planted any grass. Once the construction of the septic system was complete, it was nothing but a big dirt field. One that not only looked terrible, but was also dusty when it was dry out and muddy after a rain. A few sprigs of voluntary grass attempted to spring to life around the outside perimeter but were pretty pathetic looking. On a whim at the home improvement store one day last year, we bought a small bag of grass seed. I did not have very high expectations from it and the instructions said it was only enough for a space about one tenth the size of our baren field. Nevertheless, we took it home and sprinkled it around one day prior to a rain. It slowly began to come to life here and there. This Spring, however, it looked as if it had decided over the winter that it would double its efforts and decide to do as it's label claimed and become a "Lawn". So much so that without watching, it grew into almost a hay-field, with grass approaching close to four feet high. We let it go to seed to begin with, then though we had better tame it down some. A mower wouldn't do the job, so I wrestled the brush hog onto the tractor and drove off into the jungle. After a few passes, it was re-civilized back to something resembling a lawn. It's a little raggedy looking now, but we can once again look across it to the other side. I was coming up from the waterfall and got this picture from the down-hill side. I suppose there's no way of knowing for sure whether the "outhouse" factor is at play here or whether it's simply grass seed doing what grass seed does. Either way, we have a nice green space now where a dusty and muddy field once stood. It has softened the landscape behind the cabin and the birds and deer seem to appreciate it.
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