Holy Moley
It was over a year ago in the summer when I first saw it. It was early on a Saturday morning. I was leaving the house to take a walk around my neighborhood. I had discovered an app on my phone that would tell me how far I walked, how long it took and how fast I went. Life was good. I stepped out of my front door and there it was "Mount Killamoletomorow!"
At first the mole hills seemed to show up just on the weekends. I remember joking with my neighbor that the mole must have a regular job and this was just his weekend job. My strategy back then was to take away the dirt, dig down to the tunnel, and flood it with water. It didn't make the mole problem go away but it made it bearable as it seemed to slow it down. When I bought my house in 2015 I got a $1000 credit because the front yard had drainage problems. During the winter season it seemed like the water did not pool as much down by the house as it had. I began to think that by all its digging and tunneling, my little mole's aeration had saved me the $2000 it would cost to redo the front yard.
But this spring and summer, it is back and once again my patience has began to wear thin.
Here is part of the story you need to know to understand why having mole hills in my front yard is not acceptable. My house came with a sprinkler system and with it, my dream of having a green lawn seemed to be in reach. First was a moss problem, then adding lime and fertilizer, then weed killer. I bought a weed eater/edger and blower. Kudos to my brother-in-law Brian who gave me a mower that has worked like a champ.
I was going to win this battle and then "Holy Moley," How much can one man take? My wife used to do all the gardening but with the health problems she has had over the last few years, the job of gardener has fallen on me. The thing is, I have grown to love it and having a pretty front and back yard seems to add to our peace.
I have tried several ways to get rid of this problem. Not too long ago Kathy and I were at Lowe's looking at options to get rid of moles when we ran into a man who also had mole problems. We had a great time commiserating with each other. We were all laughing as he would point out the different products and say, "That doesn't work!" "I used that before and the mole hills showed up in my neighbor's yard," and so on. I have gotten pretty good at getting rid of the excess dirt, stuffing the rest back into the hole, and getting most of the grass back in place so you don't notice it.
Ok, before this gets too long, let me shift to what lessons I think that I am learning from all this.
First is that hiding a problem or managing it doesn't fix it. Sometimes if you just wait a problem will go away on it's own but this seems to be the exception not the rule. I did some research this week and moles live about 3 years. If I choose to wait it out, by my calculations it will be 730 days of getting up and looking out the kitchen window to see if I have to go remove mole hills and stomp down ridges. Not to mention the aggravation in my spirit that I also have to stomp down. I could stop watering the lawn and in a few weeks the mole will probably move on because they like moist lawns. Or I could research what the best method of getting rid of moles is and follow it. I did that this week and now have a plan in place. Updates on my mole progress will be available for $5.00 [just kidding].
I've learned something else in the midst of my mole adventures. I have started reading a book by Marilee Adams, called "Change Your Questions Change Your Life." The idea is that we are all constantly asking ourselves questions. I have discovered that the question I have been asking myself the most is, "Why is this happening to me?" Wrong question! This question has not helped me fix my problem and is still unanswered a year later. Better questions to ask are: "What can I learn from this?"
"What are my choices?" Also, "What is best to do now?" These questions help me to not see my problems as threats to my well being, but instead look at them as challenges to overcome.
Remembering all the good things I have to be thankful for is also a great strategy for dealing with problems and difficult situations. Acknowledging that each day is a gift that I get to choose how to use is a great start. And if as a result of my mole dilemma, I can get better at handling the problems that life throws at me, that would be something to be thankful for, too.
Just a thought
Next week I will tell you one mistake almost every school bus driver makes and what we can all learn from it. See you then.
At first the mole hills seemed to show up just on the weekends. I remember joking with my neighbor that the mole must have a regular job and this was just his weekend job. My strategy back then was to take away the dirt, dig down to the tunnel, and flood it with water. It didn't make the mole problem go away but it made it bearable as it seemed to slow it down. When I bought my house in 2015 I got a $1000 credit because the front yard had drainage problems. During the winter season it seemed like the water did not pool as much down by the house as it had. I began to think that by all its digging and tunneling, my little mole's aeration had saved me the $2000 it would cost to redo the front yard.
But this spring and summer, it is back and once again my patience has began to wear thin.
Here is part of the story you need to know to understand why having mole hills in my front yard is not acceptable. My house came with a sprinkler system and with it, my dream of having a green lawn seemed to be in reach. First was a moss problem, then adding lime and fertilizer, then weed killer. I bought a weed eater/edger and blower. Kudos to my brother-in-law Brian who gave me a mower that has worked like a champ.
I was going to win this battle and then "Holy Moley," How much can one man take? My wife used to do all the gardening but with the health problems she has had over the last few years, the job of gardener has fallen on me. The thing is, I have grown to love it and having a pretty front and back yard seems to add to our peace.
I have tried several ways to get rid of this problem. Not too long ago Kathy and I were at Lowe's looking at options to get rid of moles when we ran into a man who also had mole problems. We had a great time commiserating with each other. We were all laughing as he would point out the different products and say, "That doesn't work!" "I used that before and the mole hills showed up in my neighbor's yard," and so on. I have gotten pretty good at getting rid of the excess dirt, stuffing the rest back into the hole, and getting most of the grass back in place so you don't notice it.
First is that hiding a problem or managing it doesn't fix it. Sometimes if you just wait a problem will go away on it's own but this seems to be the exception not the rule. I did some research this week and moles live about 3 years. If I choose to wait it out, by my calculations it will be 730 days of getting up and looking out the kitchen window to see if I have to go remove mole hills and stomp down ridges. Not to mention the aggravation in my spirit that I also have to stomp down. I could stop watering the lawn and in a few weeks the mole will probably move on because they like moist lawns. Or I could research what the best method of getting rid of moles is and follow it. I did that this week and now have a plan in place. Updates on my mole progress will be available for $5.00 [just kidding].
I've learned something else in the midst of my mole adventures. I have started reading a book by Marilee Adams, called "Change Your Questions Change Your Life." The idea is that we are all constantly asking ourselves questions. I have discovered that the question I have been asking myself the most is, "Why is this happening to me?" Wrong question! This question has not helped me fix my problem and is still unanswered a year later. Better questions to ask are: "What can I learn from this?"
"What are my choices?" Also, "What is best to do now?" These questions help me to not see my problems as threats to my well being, but instead look at them as challenges to overcome.
Remembering all the good things I have to be thankful for is also a great strategy for dealing with problems and difficult situations. Acknowledging that each day is a gift that I get to choose how to use is a great start. And if as a result of my mole dilemma, I can get better at handling the problems that life throws at me, that would be something to be thankful for, too.
Just a thought
Next week I will tell you one mistake almost every school bus driver makes and what we can all learn from it. See you then.
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