Dude, who even knows.
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This is what I get to look at out the window. When I moved in that woodchip path was mud, there was a tangled stand of so many trees of heaven their (also tangled) roots put out enough poison to kill grass, both sides of the path (the far side is wildflowers now) AND the ledge within the retaining wall were overrun with dandelions, deadnettle, nettles, other broadleafs, bittercress, seafoam, and crabgrass, a thick tangle of blackberry canes hung off the fence on the other side of the chimney, that bush in the foreground was grown high enough to block the window, and the trees had a ton of thin, twisted, dead, witchy branches at window level and an overgrown carpet canopy up above blocking light and making the whole area look like a cartoon haunted forest.
But that allllll changed cuz of me!
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Trees in the right-of-way getting leaves totally changes the microclimate. Later afternoon kept cooler as rather than building up heat at ground level the radiant energy of the sun hits leaves higher up and heat spreads by convection. Humidity better spread through the PM than one swampy hit at 10, too.
Post reblogged from Kontextmaschine with 4 notes
You know, I doubt these guys putting in a retaining wall across the street are licensed and bonded contractors.
At least they look more like alcoholics than methheads, and the one guy seems like he’s handled a mini-backhoe before.
Oh, well if I knew that guy was just gonna rip that rose bed out I wouldn’t have bothered weeding it all this time.
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You know, I doubt these guys putting in a retaining wall across the street are licensed and bonded contractors.
At least they look more like alcoholics than methheads, and the one guy seems like he’s handled a mini-backhoe before.
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Neighborhood is finally filling up with the young renters who feel like they own the place but show up a half- to full- decade after the first-time homeowners who actually own the place (when it’s time to settle down good luck finding a house remotely close, kids!)
Whereas the last few years I mostly saw stroller-pushing parents or neighbors from the next block out the window on the side yard woodchip path, this year I’m seeing more of a variety – childless (and more Portland-looking) 30something couples, 20something and college roommates, even teenagers. A good sign.
And again, a source of pride given that was a muddy, broadleaf-infested tunnel dim with overgrown vines and trees leading into a trash-strewn, weedy block of social decay where car thieves stripped them for parts just 7 years ago when I moved in and more than anything it was my personal attention that improved it.
(I mean yes, the block kind of flipped up at least half a class level in that time but a. I claim at least a share of credit there and b. that works by bringing in people like me)
Bike riders too, I think people have realized that using it and another shortcut (of the type that shows up on your Saints Row GPS after taking it once) down the way you can cut to a good North-South bike route
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Bigass construction dumper just drove up and poured a whole load of boulders onto the side of the goddamn street, I’m glad the racket drew me out to get an explanation (neighbors are getting a rock retaining wall to replace some railroad ties, which I take some credit for because it’s only after I spent years clearing that blind side of the property of horrific weeds, overgrowth, and trash they spent any effort on it) before it drove off
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Dumped easily 20 trash cans worth of leaves onto Strawberry Ridge. Since I stripped all the curbs on the block for Blueberry Hill last year they’re bare – no previous years’ leaves rotting to dirt and growing weeds to catch the leaves this year, so they all blow down to collect in big drifts that’re easy to gather up.
That along with the side yard work where that realtor 2 or 3 years back told me all my work had made my neighbors tens of thousands of dollars richer, and since I’ve started cleaning up my neighbors in each direction have I guess realized that they looked underwhelming in contrast and/or the area was classing up to the point of being worth tidying…
Like, my looking out the window 5 years ago and being like “ah fuck, I should pull those weeds” has apparently cascaded into making the entire neighborhood look much better. Yay me!
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