They are terrible. We are waging an everlasting battle against them. In NM we got them under control because the yard was fenced. So once we (every spring) killed the ones that grew, we were free from the ones that blew in. But we haven't fenced this yard yet, pennies, and tumbleweeds are the first thing that colonize raw dirt. So pre-construction this was a lovely grassy field. Post-contruction it is a deathtrap of tiny spikes. The boys weed-whack it, but I disapprove of this because it leaves tiny dead pieces of spikes like land mines waiting for an unsuspecting foot or paw. So this year we painstakingly hand pulled every damnable one of them. And then left, whereupon they cackled with glee and took the yard back over. It's better than it was, but pulling them now is awful because they're dry enough to hurt. It's fine when they're green, but it's getting too late now.

Next year should be better; most of this is where the SO misguidedly cleared lots of the land but didn't plant on it when we moved in. Now we've got some grass and wild groundcover in, so it should be more manageable next year. But we won't beat it until we fence.

Also nice NPR Blog post about the Beloit list: [link]

My guess about the actual mindset of the Class of 2014? They are nervous about college. They will miss home. Some of them have very specific plans about what they want to do with their lives; most of those plans will change. Some of them are trying to figure out whether to keep or drop a boyfriend or a girlfriend who's far away now. Some of their roommates will stay out too late, have people over too often, and leave too much stuff on the floor. Some high achievers will fail a class this year for the first time. Some will drink too much. Hearts will break, fights will be had, professors will be admired and despised, and the vegetarians will probably be really unhappy about the dry, pitiful veggie burgers in the dining hall, because unsatisfying on-campus vegetarian options, unlike Benny Hill, are eternal.

Love this part.

My parents still laugh at how they tried to compost them one of the first years they were in NM. Yeah, baaaad idea. They don't. And now, they laugh at any newbies who insist on trying it. You burn those badasses.

You can kinda get an idea of my parents' yard here: [link] Most of that furniture and junk are put away, this was while the porch was still under construction. (And the pool was for D.) Seeing the veggies in pots puzzles me a bit, mom usually does a raised bed behind the tree in the center of the picture, though she may not have this year, I can't remember.

One year, we made a xmas tree on the front porch from tumbleweeds.

So the jury convicted Blaggo on one count and were hung on the other 23 counts. The government says they'll retry him because of the hung jury . How does that work with the conviction on the one count? Does that stay? or do they "start over"?

Yeah, we definitely don't compost them. Our neighborhood is almost completely undeveloped, so frankly, most of it once pulled and pile blows away on its own, as it was made to do. But we have some left, and we've put a little in the dump, but yeah, mostly it goes in the burn pile.

(eta: I love your folks' place. I still think that porch is sheer perfection.)

I forgot I had this picture: [link] I love summer storms in the SW.

Liese, my parents agree with you, as do their cats, even the outdoor ferals (uh, they prop the door open for them when they aren't home.) It's really beautiful. The builder used a copper (or was it bronze?) colored metal screening. It's perfect in that it is mostly invisible, but when it isn't, compliments the view, the house, the landscape. And cedar beadboard! Ceiling fan! Mexican tiles!

I just love it.

Am several hundred messages behind but:

Reasons to live in the city #27

Leave work happy hour at 6:35

Taxi home, change clothes, pee, get dog suited up, let her pee, get dog into car

Make it to doguation at 7 on time!

[link]

Aww, good girl Darby! Have a cookie!

Oh, I didn't realize about the copper colored screen. That's brilliant. We don't usually have problems with mosquitoes, so we spend a lot of time on our open deck, but this year with the good monsoon, it's been so wet we have them. Which means I would appreciate a screened in porch. But the next expansion (in dreamworld!) would be a greenhouse for the south side of the house, one made for plants, not people, so it would get sun in the summer, too. After that, instrument storage, and then maybe a screened porch. Um. After the fence. Yeah, we can't afford any of that. But still!

Things I can't say elsewhere: I'm incredibly flattered you say I'm your idol. But when you spell it as "your my idle", I wince a tiny bit.