No Glory in Suffering for Suffering’s Sake

My Dear Grandson, I take pen in hand with a tenderness that surprises an old man, for though my hair has turned to snow and my joints speak plainly of the passing years, my heart is still stirred when I think of you—so young, so earnest, and so given to strong notions...
Embracing Automation: From Tractors to Robotic Mowers

Embracing Automation: From Tractors to Robotic Mowers

The Power of a Single Innovation Imagine being a farmer in the early 1900s, planting one acre of crops by hand — 40 hours of labor per acre. Then along came the tractor. In one fell swoop, that job dropped to less than an hour. The landscape of agriculture changed...

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The Danger of Blanket Advice in Lawn Care

The Danger of Blanket Advice in Lawn Care

The Danger of Blanket Advice in Lawn Care For decades, lawn care has been guided by blanket advice — the kind that tells every homeowner, in every zip code, with every type of soil, to “fertilize four times a year,” “water twice a week,” or “mow high.” It’s the same...

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The Three Stages of Accepting Robotic Mowing

The Three Stages of Accepting Robotic Mowing

When it comes to new technologies, especially something as transformative as robotic mowers, acceptance doesn’t happen overnight. In fact, it often moves through three pretty predictable stages: ridicule, opposition, and then finally self-evident acceptance. And to...

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