The Weeds Are Always Deader On the Other Side

Today I grimly dressed in protective gear and ventured outside to face the jungle that's determinedly ambushed my house where my lawn used to be. This is Stage 1 of 3: I used season-long pest killer* (primarily for those pesky fire ants I'm allergic to, and in whose antpile I stepped this morning) around our foundation and three particularly large antpiles in the yard. Then I sprayed the pesky grass in my flowerbeds with garden-grass killer that won't harm the plants (except around the mint, which we like to eat). Then I used weed & grass killer on the sidewalk, driveway, and back patio to eliminate all the treacherous greenery creeping into the concrete cracks, and also on the large sandpile behind our garage (long story). I finished off with some weed n' feed for the back lawn areas that are particularly weedy. Er, meaning all of the back lawn.

*Yes, you're absolutely right, organic gardening is the greatest ever, and I'm killing the environment and ruining my health simply because I'm too busy to develop better gardening habits. Sad, isn't it?


This photo shows the type of thing I'm valiantly trying to avoid. Stage 2 is, well, a general mowing, edging, and hand-weeding areas that can't be otherwise helped. This probably won't happen for a few days while I wait for the weedkiller to do its work, and then I can trash all the dead stuff easily--which is part of Stage 3, which also includes getting rid of our old, non-working grill and moving the wood/metal flotsam of past projects and this building out to the building itself, instead of near the back patio. This will be the most gruelling part of the work, but the most aesthetically rewarding. And if I do it now, there will be less the prepare for by July 4th, by which time I'll be too busy being important at Willis to mess with it (wink, wink).

Segue into next topic by means of...


...a photo of ridiculously huge dandelion I found at UNT; yes, as big as my hand. Yikes.

So. I'm going nuts not uploading all my new photos onto Flickr and giving them names I delusionally believe are clever, and unwisely providing much blackmail material for friends, family, acquaintances, and mortal enemies. As evidence, I am placing a ridiculous number of photos in this post.

...Including a photo of the goodies from my isn't-it-great-you-have-a-real-job-at-UNT-but-wish-you-weren't-leaving-us party at CDL this afternoon. Dr. Harris arranged for this awesome cupcake butterfly, as she said, in honor of my free spirit. And full of sugary goodness; yum!


I had a fun time alternately chatting and being teased by the CDL crew--we were only missing Patrick and my woman T. That group is certainly my kinda crew; humorous, creative, and most of them distinctly on either the geekish or nerdy side. I mean that in a purely complimentary sense. :)

And for my own pleasure, here's my favorite pic of Alex and I on graduation day: on our way back with the top down. Oooooo, yeah.