MONROE CITY, MO. -- In his 27 years in the lawn care business, this is the strangest weather pattern Tom Winking has ever seen. In fact, he says, “There's no one living who has seen a winter or spring like this.”Already this year, Winking and his crew at Wink's Lawn Service are mowing more than 200 acres of grass a week. That's quite a lot for this Monroe City-based small business. “We've never mowed this much in March.”
When Winking finally is able to put his feet up at about 9 o'clock at night, he immediately drops off to sleep, his body gearing up for the next day. The work is certainly welcome~especially since it has ramped up earlier than ever~but what concerns Winking is the summer.
“I predict way below normal precipitation this year,” he told me.
A drought could really be devastating, since it's coming on the heels of three straight seasons of light precipitation. The dry winter really compounded problems. Winking says many trees and plants will be affected by the dry winter conditions if adequate spring rains don't fall.
A walk through the neighborhood will also show advanced signs of spring. Forsythia and lilac bushes are budding early. Trees are in full bloom far ahead of schedule. While that sure makes for a pretty picture, it also means an early start to the insect damage, fungus and disease that plague lawns, gardens and plants. Winking says he's seeing some diseases that he wouldn't typically see until May or June.
Coming up in the next blog report: how to prepare your lawn for the start of spring.
Take care~Sarah D.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKHQA