Why New England Residents Should Skip Mowing in the Spring

New Englanders Shouldn't Mow Their Lawn in the Spring

Well, if you want an excuse not to bring out the ol' John Deere, I've got one for you.  The bees are in decline, and spring mowing destroys one of their food sources.

We have heard over the past decade or so that the bee population is declining.  According to soilassociation.org, it's because of pesticides, mites, and habitat loss.  As it turns out, bees are essential for our food supply, and they eat dandelions in the spring.  So, we shouldn't mow 'em down.

In the spring, new bees come out of the hives and are searching for pollen.  The beautiful dandelion serves as a nice meal, since it's one of the first flowers to bloom, so says rentmasonbees.com.

No Bees, No Food

Some foods wouldn't exist at all if it wasn't for bees, according to communitywestbank.com.  No bees, no avocados, fruits, nuts, blueberries, apples, cucumbers, grapefruit, almonds, and vegetables.  That's just a few of the things that would be missing from our store shelves.

So, relax when your significant other is giving you a hard time about not mowing the lawn.  Tell them you're saving the food supply, the planet, and those lovely little under-appreciated little yellow flowers.

I never knew why the dandelion was considered a weed anyway.  When I was little kid frolicking through the fields at my Hollis, New Hampshire, home, I loved them!  I played with them when they were in bloom, actually witnessed bees eating the pollen, and played with them when they died.  That's a beautiful life for a little weed.

By the way, you are as old as I am if you know the answer to the question:  "Do you like butter?"  It has to do with a dandelion.  Oh, we were so bored in our youth.