.

I have to put in a service call on my home warranty for a minor plumbing issue & I'm reading the reviews for the plumbing service the warranty co. uses. They get about 3 stars on Google review, & reviewers either gush about how great they are, or hate them completely. There isn't any in-between.

Owwwwwww it's a pain day today. Major suckage.

@AlphaCentauri For some reason I've never liked them, they just aren't my thing. I'm more a lilac & rose kind of gardener, all the old-fashioned messy stuff.

Excellent tip re: the app tho', I'll have to download that!

@AlphaCentauri No, it's a Japanese aralia, aka a fatsia plant, one of these: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatsia_japonica

TIL that sperm whales communicate in part via clicking, & their clicks are among the loudest sounds in nature at up to 200+ dB.
https://www.discovery.com/nature/sperm-whales-are-loud-enough-to-burst-your-eardrums

There's an Andromeda plant that smells great but I never liked the aesthetic of those, so it's going. And then one of those big tall plants with these broad, waxy leaves that looks like it ought to be tropical & I never remember the name of it. I HATE those plants.

The house was built in 1928. At some point in the mid-century post-war years, somebody put in some plants in the back border that I just can't stand. The dogwood is fine - I have two fully mature dogwoods, one salmon pink & the other cream white - but there's a Tree of Heaven that has GOT to go. Those fuckers are invasive AF.

Tarps are down to kill all the grass in the front yard though. I'll probably leave the whole thing for an entire season and worry about planting this Fall or early next Spring. Then I can start over.

I only bought the house in March anyway. There wasn't really time or money enough this year to do the garden right away. Although I think I'll be able to do the veggie beds in the back, at least. And get rid of some of the shitty plants back there that I loathe.

All the plants I planted in the front border died because I forgot to water them. Which is totally in line with depression gardening.

As in, I have depression, & this is apparently what gardening is like.

Next tax season I'll get to claim the solar power tax credit & probably bump my tax liability down to zero. I'll probably also be able to roll it over for a year or three since my tax liability isn't that high.

It's official: the power muni came out today & switched on the new solar panels. They're already generating power & putting it back into the grid, earning kwh credits for me for future bills. So sweet!

@RobinBrayFineArt Oh right on, that one definitely had some eerie moments!

@AskTheDevil Hah no I actually agree. That would turn it into a whoooole 'nuther ballgame.

@RobinBrayFineArt Whoa that'd be freaky. And yeah, you generally gotta fear the living more than the dead... people can be pretty awful.

@dratino Oh cool, going to have to add that to the list... :D

@Cosmichomicide I totally get that. That's one of my fave things about "Ghost Adventures" in particular: they go into the history of the location, especially in their earlier episodes.

@Cosmichomicide I totally get that. That's one of my fave things about "Ghost Adventures" in particular: they go into the history of the location, especially in their earlier episodes.

@RobinBrayFineArt No kidding! Are you OK saying which one?

@Kinnison LOL yeah exactly. If I showed up on one of those shows, they'd HATE me: "Bro - why you using that EMF detector? What's it showing? Why do you say it's showing you a ghost? How do you know? Did you check sunspot activity this week? How about get a map of this location's electrical system? You sure you using that thing right?"