General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: They are genetically engineering the American Chestnut... [View all]HopeHoops
(47,675 posts)We're in a, well, basic middle-class neighborhood - two story houses with basements and garages. Our house is, um, the "farm" so to speak. We feed ourselves well out of it (and have a SHITLOAD of potatoes to dig soon). There are always tools and wheelbarrows out and about. One of the neighbors behind us put up a bunch of trees and hedges to avoid seeing our yard, but hey, we're fundamentally rural. The soil sucks - shale. I worked hard on establishing the gardens and they grow well, but you can't even put a full-size shovel into the ground without hitting shale. I hate shale.
It is true though. The birds swarm to our yard and the bees don't have much elsewhere to go. We provide what they need and they reciprocate. OOOHH! The flickers had a brood this year!!! They're all over the place. Did you know they're the only woodpecker that feeds from the ground? Beautiful birds. We are also well-visited by bluebirds, despite the fact that our bluebird box was taken over by sparrows every damn time. I finally took it down. We'd get a bluebird clutch and the sparrows would throw the chicks out. Aggressive little bastards. I digress.
As I said, our neighborhood is one of those places where lawn weenies mow diagonally for the mow pattern, not because it is an efficient way to do it. The Scott's and other lawn poison trucks are a regular feature, as are the water-cooler jug trucks (despite the fact that our water is excellent). We don't exactly fit in. I like to sit in a chair in the yard and yell, "SLOW DOWN - AND STAY OFF MY LAWN!" at cars that are going too fast (usually women in SUVs and minivans, not kids).
But hey, you have to live somewhere, right?