When you’re seeing spots…

“Neil, why is my lawn so spotted? It looks like it has the measles. How can I make it look better?”

I asked for a photo, and this is what he sent me.

To which I replied, “Do you have a dog?”

And he said, “Why, yes I do.”

“Is it a female?” was my next question.

“Yes! How did you know?”

I told him we’ve had 22 dogs in the 48 years we’ve lived in the country. Some were male and some were female. Males mark tree trunks. The females, just to keep things polite, squat in the yard. Nitrogen is a main ingredient in what the dogs leave behind.

I suggested he use an all-nitrogen fertilizer. (That’s a fairly common recommendation based on TAMU soil tests anymore.)

He got back to me a few weeks later with this photo. With his beautiful dog showing him the way, a bag of fertilizer made all the difference for his year-old lawn.

I thought you might enjoy seeing one of the little things I’ve learned by being in this question-answering business for 57 years.