Spring is here Saline County! No, I did not just wake from a deep sleep; I mowed my yard this week. I know the calendar told us that spring officially begun last month but my internal clock does not start clicking until the first blade of fresh grass receives a trim. With the first blade mowed down, the dandelions are beginning to roar.

Grass is the common name for the Gramineae family of plants. Does everyone realize that grass is a major food source all over the world? Grasses come in a vast range of sizes and types, ranging from lawn grass to rice, wheat, corn, sugarcane and bamboo Rice, corn, and oats come from grass plants and most livestock animals feed primarily on grasses. Okay, I did not know about the major food source thing either. Things I have not been deeply rooted in, pardon the expression, is scientific terms, my environment, and how things work. Therefore, I guess this is one explanation for the existence of the website http://www.howstuffworks.com. HowStuffWorks is a wholly owned subsidiary of Discovery Communications. The multiple Webby award-winning site is a source of credible, unbiased, and easy-to-understand explanations of how the world actually works.

Who first uttered the phrase "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence"? The American proverb, which commonly refers to the age-old attitude of jealousy and discontent, surprisingly has the first earliest recorded reference in 1957. Now I understand our family goats, cows, and horses trying to reach their necks over the fence to eat.

There is an estimated 10,000 different species of grass. From creeping grass, waist-high reeds and bamboo plants up to 120 feet tall. Wheat, corn and rice begin as a grain. Grasses provide all of our cereal crops, the grazing for our cattle and sheep, as well as most of the world's sugar.

The green green grass of home has several purposes. Besides the obvious uses for landscaping, erosion control, food, potty location for our pets, cushion for knees running and jumping around the playground, and the heavy cause of seasonal allergies. I find grass to be therapeutic and I know what you are thinking, I do not smoke "grass" either. I take advantage of the weekly yard cutting to load up my MP3 player with songs and escape to the 1970's and 1980's soft rock and country era.

One more interesting thing related to grass. Blowing over a blade of grass stretched between your thumbs makes a high-pitched squealing noise that often attracts predators. If you are able to keep the noise going long enough, you might lure animals such as mountain lions, coyotes and lynx close. It can also keep bored kids busy in the back yard for quite a while.

Directions for grass blowing begins with holding one end of the blade of grass between the tips of your thumbs. With your thumbs slightly bent, press the bases of both thumbs together, catching the other end of the grass between them. Carefully straighten your thumbs out to pull the blade of grass taut. If you pull it too taut, it will snap and you'll have to start over.

Purse your lips slightly, put them right up against your thumbs and blow so that the air goes between your thumbs and over the blade of grass. It should make a high-pitched whistle sound. Who needs a Kazoo, just grab a handful of grass!