Springtime in Moberly

Spring is the brief season between icy winter and sweltering summer. I have been taking pictures of the flowering trees in Moberly. There are so many of them. I've put the pictures in an album here: http://picasaweb.google.com/bethakrugh/SpringtimeInMoberly

I got twelve bags of topsoil today (on sale for 99 cents a bag). I have ten of them laying in my front yard area. The other two are in the back yard. Daisy has ripped them open and I have to do a big dirt cleanup. In a few minutes, I'm going to head out there to clean up her mess so I can get my back yard ready to plant morning glories.

The challenge will be to keep Daisy out of the preparation but we will thwart her. She chewed last year's hose (it was a cheap one but it still worked). This year we're going to run pvc pipe along the edge and run the hose through it. HA!

Vinca Minor Instead

Vinca Minor also known as periwinkle is described: For shady areas beneath shrubs, and in other dim places, even where grass won't grow, you can have a 12-month carpet of thick abundant, evergreen Periwinkle ground cover.

OK then! The other vincas I was looking at actually require more sun. Plus, these are cheap - real cheap. I am worrying a lot about money right now, primarily because I have none. So, if I can fill the big empty void (the dirt-patch in front of our house) with something that is remotely decent, then I'm all about the periwinkle.

Now, what to put in the hanging baskets in front of the house. I'm thinking simply ivy. It will topple out of the top of the baskets. The flowers, begonias, that I put in last year were too short just looked small.

Daisy had a big day today, going to Rothwell Park and diving in the water to fetch her toy and then running up the hill to fetch her ball. That dog can sure swim to fetch and run to fetch. She didn't run out of energy much to Dee's consternation. N0w, however, at 9:30 at night, she's in her crate dreaming - very funny - probably about running the show. We were very strict today and it frustrated her. She's gotta learn!

Puzzled by the Millennial Hype

Oh those millennials! Born approximately 1977-1998, generation y is described as optimistic, inventive, diverse, group-oriented, great at technology and full of high expectations. As a member of generation x (1965-1976) I am labeled as distrustful, practical, independent, feeling overlooked and underappreciated. Looking through this lens, I am viewing the millennials. Are they a repeat of the baby boomers, only more accepting of others and the latest technologies?

Human resource press has had a field day with the millennials. How to mentor, what they expect, how they think. So the millennial is between ages 10 and 31. They are hitting the workforce with high expectations and turning it on its ear, according to the media. They seem to require a lot of attention. Their parents seem to be over-involved.

Is this an accurate picture?

I am currently exploring what media and polls say about millennials and what the reality is or could be. Do I simply have a pessimistic gen x viewpoint? I like the millennials I know but find them to be very different in their actions. They don't like menial work, that's for sure. They don't feel beholden to anyone. They seem to be willing to do what older generations have thought but not dared to even say. I'm not sure what's next. They aren't aiming to be administrative assistants and paramedics! Somebody's gotta do the non-fun stuff (and has been doing it for cheap) - maybe a young millennial genius will invent a robot to do it. I just keep watching. The earth seems in trouble as usual with food riots, economic gloom and war in addition to the usual threats of doom (global warming, evil-doers and meteorites, for example).

What happens if when I get older, the world doesn't collapse in upon itself, the economy doesn't lead us all into starvation, and I get a social security check? Will I laugh at my pessimism and feel lighthearted in the lovely world? or will I feel disappointed that my gen x worldview was skewed?

The Slab

This is the back patio - kinda. Dee fenced it in last summer and we have a big wooden shed out there now. I should take a couple new pictures. The oddity is that there are four posts sticking out of the concrete. We've run clothesline on the one on the right and we've ignored the ones on the left. It is a trashy little back yard, now sporting a doghouse, a big grill and a couple of plastic chairs. I'm going to plant some morning glories to run up the fence (at the left). The weedy patch probably should have some ground cover - maybe more vincas. The dog pees there anyway so I'm not sure that it matters.

I know there was a roof up here previously but I think we're just going to leave it as is for another couple years - this isn't some parallel universe where we're made out of money! I'll plant some herbs and so on.

Oh the yard!

Right now, our property is a bit of a mess, yard-wise. We have two sweet-gum trees out front which have to go. They have invasive roots which threaten the house. I hope we can get the one on the left removed this year. There are two small patches between the house and sidewalk that need some cover. Last year we tried grass - it requires water (which costs money) and was a failure really. This year I'm going to try the ground cover vinca (pictured below). Hardy, invasive and drought tolerant - it seems like the plant for us. Now I haven't even gone into the back yard yet. That's another post.