b'Take One of Three Never have forgotten that summer. One helluva drouth. Nearly 100 days with over 100 degrees and no rain. My first real dry spell, the T ake One started back inone that got my attention. summer of 1980. It was late June. I aimed to dig a long ditch down Returned home to North Texasto the tree farm area and put inIt was Take One that opened the from Vermont after seeding ana new waterline for serving thetiniest crack. Got me to thinkin. outdoor amphitheater meadowfuture crop. just how crazy foolish is the great with European grasses. Up inAmerican Lawn?New England, folks were justCouple hours into it, got real beginning to set out tomato plantsthirsty. Jumped off tractor andFirst time I ever deeply questioned when I climbed onboard that silverstarted walking up the hill. Bymyself. Found out honestly, I winged bird and headed towardstime I got to the house, was plumbwas a big part of the problem. A DFW. dizzy and stumbling. Drew a biglicensed Texas Irrigator #819. A glass of cool water, sat down,nurseryman with a couple acres of Driving up the long dirt roadturned on the 5 oclock weather.shade structures and greenhouses towards the house, first thing IFt Worth weatherman Harold Taftpacked with container-grown notice is how dry and scorched mywas pointing out temps across aplants. Asian Jasmine, Japanese trees on the farm looked. Id beenregional map . DFW came in atBoxwood, India Hawthorn, gone nearly a month. Leaves had113*F. My porch gauge in ArgyleChinese Holly, and Pakistan yellowed and begun to drop.read 117*F.Crepe Myrtle. Had every kinda bloomin periwinkles you could After saying hello and big giantWorked outside all my life, butever want. We hydromulched hugs to Jan, best friend ever had,that was closest I ever cameuntold acres and acres of African I headed straight to the barn andto heat stroke. Though plentyBermudagrass. We laid dozens got on the tractor/trencher. Noticedof daylight remained, I left theand dozens of 18-wheeler loads it was perty darn hot outside buttrencher down in the field thatof Caribbean St. Augustine sod, didnt think much about it. night, not to return until morn. making more great American Lawns fast as we could.'