Skip to main content

Peak Bloom

I am not a dedicated gardener. I have one small front garden bed about the size of a large dining room table. Most years I dutifully weed it and put down fresh mulch. I used to have a war going with dandelions in the Spring until I learned better.

When the weather warms, my daughter and I buy some new annuals to plant and enjoy. We have a few tulips that have been hanging in there with us for multiple seasons. That’s about it.



Yesterday I noticed that the tulips were doing their thing so I spent some time out front clearing away weeds. Every year it seems that I have a whole new strain of invasive plants along with the usuals. They come up. That’s their job. I pull them out, that’s my job.

I’m by no means a gardener but I feel some sense of responsibility to at least take a stab at it.

Yesterday’s weather inspired my daughter and I to get lunch at Whole Foods down at the Lakefront and eat outside to enjoy the view.








The view did not disappoint. We saw a prom photo shoot, a quinceanera photo shoot, and a fully grown man on roller skates (helmet but no knee pads). The fountain was on. The People Tree, AKA Ms. Frizz, was in peak bloom. It was quite the Columbia vibe. We enjoyed it. 

All of these Spring activities were a darn sight better than the online roasting I was getting in some circles as a result of my post about the upcoming Oakland Mills election. The less said about that, the better. I would like to clear up one outright falsehood, though.

Someone suggested that I don’t allow comments on the blog. This is not the case. I don’t allow anonymous trolls. There’s a difference. Anyone who wishes to comment is encouraged to do so here. So, if you hear that kind of talk around the proverbial water cooler, set ‘em straight, won’t you?





Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...

Columbia Chance Connection

  Last night, as my husband and I were about to sit down to dinner, our front door swung open and a cheery voice announced, “I’m ba—ack!”  We weren’t expecting anyone. Clearly the only people who’d walk right in to our house would be one of our offspring. I had my reading glasses on so I wasn’t seeing too clearly. It seemed too tall for our youngest, but we knew our eldest was at work. I took off my glasses to see a friendly but confused face scanning our living room. When her gaze landed on us we all had a sudden realization. We didn’t know eachother. “Oh I’m so sorry! I’m in the wrong house! My daughter just moved in and she needed hooks for the kitchen so I ran out to get them.” She waved the package. “All these houses look the same and I don’t know the neighborhood yet. I thought this was my daughter’s house.” We were all getting a bit giggly. “That’s okay. For a quick second we thought you were our daughter,” said my husband. I told her our names and said she should defin...