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Grass Whistles and Childhood



I got to thinking about grass whistles the other day.

You see, my office window overlooks our backyard which overlooks the pond which is right next to a woodlot that changes color with the season. It’s a glorious view and one I cherish as the seasons change.

There's A Fly


The fly in the ointment is the lawn. It is not a great lawn in the traditional sense of the word. In fact, it is more like a hayfield than a lawn. This is not surprising because it was only a few short years ago that it was indeed a hayfield and because I spent all my time working in the greenhouses, lawn and garden at the front of the house, the backyard was ignored. Now, the front lawn has been turned into a perennial garden and the back is the only lawn I have left. It is getting a bit more attention now.

Shaped The Pasture


To begin with, I cut some more of the old pasture to change its shape – instead of a square back lawn, it is now circular. I always wanted a round lawn. Don’t ask me why, it simply seems like a good idea at the time and after all, it is my lawn so I can make it any shape I want.

There’s no cows out there any more so they won’t object to losing a bit of ground.

This pasture grass – likely Timothy – is a much coarser grass than the fescues and bluegrass we more commonly see on home lawns and some parts of it had gotten quite a jump on the season. They were well on their way to being a hay crop when I mowed them down.

Halfway through the first cycle, I remembered something I used to do as a kid and stopped the mower to indulge myself. All gardeners have to indulge themselves every now and then you know.

I made a grass whistle.

Timothy is perfect grass for whistling and with the new spring grass I was in kid-heaven for a few glorious spring minutes.

I discovered that playing a grass whistle is like riding a bike – you don’t forget at all and with only a second’s hesitation I was tuning up the back lawn as if I was Beethoven.

And I thought you should all be able to do this as well.

Step One


The first step is to find a particularly strong and well-shaped length of grass. You’re looking for the Stradivarius of grass whistle stems and the best ones are 6 inches long and a bit coarse.

Fine, stringy grass does not make a good whistle but rather a squeaky one, breaking at the first change in note. Generally speaking, that clump of grass on the edge of the lawn you’ve been trying to get rid of for years will make the best grass whistle.

Now Fold Your Hands


Fold your hands as if you were praying. The balls and edges of your thumb should be touching. Rotate those thumbs so that your finger nails point straight back at you.

In a perfect world, there will be a space between the first and second joints of your thumbs. This is your whistle space.

Put that blade of grass between the pads of your thumbs and hold it securely there by pushing your hands together. That’s the grass anchored.

The tension in the grass is obtained by slightly bending your thumbs and grasping the other end of grass blade between the ends. Slightly straightening the thumbs will put tension on the grass.

Now, blow gently into the crack of your thumbs. If you have the tension just right and the breath control just right, you will get the most delightful squacking whistle you can ever imagine. It is a sound of nature, a sound over and above anything any composer ever wrote.








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