right plant wrong spot

Experts advise me that this guy is a weed. But I like him. So I'm not pulling yet.

anenomes!

Last year something happened and they never actually bloomed. This year, they've had buds for about two weeks now, and I've been waiting patiently. Finally, they're blooming

Enzo and his chain tattoo

Poor guy shared the back of the car with my bike. This is not a new thing, but Enzo's never ended up on the wrong side of the struggle before. Think he knows? He won't even look at me. Yeah, he knows. That was before his bath. And I wish the chain tattoos I regularly get on my leg came off as easily as his came off his fur.

amaranth

Last year there was amaranth everywhere. It was really cool, but seriously, it was everywhere. By the end of the summer I was really sick of it. This year I didn't plant any. But some came back anyway.

Growing from the cracks in the sidewalk or patches of dirt on the concrete. Suddenly. One day seedlings, the next, six feet tall.

In the case of the front area, it's growing out of the broken pipe that's apparantly some kind of sewer vent. It makes Steve crazy that this thing is growing out of there. But it's huge and I love it. Nature, claiming its bit of the city back. The roots are shallow and I'm sure the next "tropical storm" will just knock it over. And that will be the end of that.

can't win with the lawn

I am not a lawn person, really I'm not. Really. But this is annoying.

Last year the lawn went balding too -- it was really bad. So we turned it over in the spring, added compost, replanted, the whole kit and caboodle. And yet, once again:
There are differences. It is in a slightly different spot. And it's a good month and a half earlier -- the balding happened in late October last year -- I have a picture from late September and all is verdant. But I can't help but think it's the same problem. What am I doing wrong? If it was the whole lawn I'd say more water, or not enough sun. But it's not the sunniest part of the lawn, and not the shadiest either. And it's not like half gets more water than the other half. I thought maybe it was where Enzo pees (and there are definitely dead spots in those areas), but it's a bit too spread out for that.

Frustrated.

I'm trying to overseed right now, and I added a little fertilizer and a sprinkle of compost for, well, I don't really know why, I guess I figured it couldn't hurt. Fingers crossed.