The City Mouse in the Country

 I come from a long line of guys that call in professionals.    Part of that reason is my own lazy nature, part of that reason is that I would rather have it down right the first time.  Everyone has their own skills and abilities, so why not call in an expert to have it done right the first time? In this case; why not seek advice in the battles against the invasives that have not only invaded my yard, but also a nearby piece of property that my neighbor simply refuses to take care of?  I find myself in a bind of my own design. I let part of my property "go wild" in the first place because that area had a lot of exposed roots, stumps and rocks.  At the time, I was not expecting a bunch of invasives, of which Mulitfora Rosa  is the worse of the bunch, to be a problem.  Yet, here we are. I decided to let parts of my yard "go wild" back in July of 2021.  It has proven to be a mistake, and in order for me to ensure that the invasive plants st...

In a lot of ways I feel rejuvenated.  It's a glorious morning as I am driving down to Pittsburgh with the local radio station playing a mix of old and new that elevates my mood, the sun shining strong through the sun roof.   I am on my way to buy plants.   I have a list in my pocket and I expect that I'll be coming home with a few of them.  I had hoped to buy spicebush and maybe serviceberry , in addition to what I did end up buying.  As I talk to people there, I use the term " food forest " because that's about the closest definition to what I'm trying to do, although it's also not the best one.     What I'm more interested in doing is creating a refuge.  A place for a weary traveler in the future to stop, rest under the trees and have access to wild strawberries and blueberries (which sadly didn't take last year), apples etc.   A place of respite rather than a place that can self maintain itself over time, although I do...

Pap's info is here .  It's a funny thing, when you know someone has only a limited amount of time.  You wait for that phone call with a mixture of sadness and relief.   Relief in that person has moved on into a better world, or that their suffering has stopped.   In that, you no longer have to worry about them.  It's also a phone call you dread, because that person brought you into the world...and now you are alone. This is an article that I've started and stopped a thousand times.  We always were worried about my dad, much more than my mom.  When she died, it was more of a shock.  Even after 2 + years I'm still not sure if I'm done processing it.  Mostly I just miss talking to her. My dad and I had a good relationship...but not much to talk about.   He was passionate about sports, where as I was more like my mother and was interested more in politics and world affairs.  Still though, we played catch for hours, he ta...