Going Inkless

     Back in May of 2010, I wrote a post on the joys of having a little untamed greenery in your domain.  Later, in July, I followed it with a tale of the conflict of landscaping philosophies we've had with a neighbor and how we managed to assert our autonomy in the face of his hostility.  What appeared to have been resolved then was only sleeping, it seems, to wake when the neighbor felt a little cantankerous again.      A little over a week ago, I was out pruning the lilacs and trimming some of the other plants that decorate our front yard when he asked to talk to my husband.  His complaint was that our son never mows the patch of "weeds" near the fence, and he was concerned they might creep over and affect his garden.  Now, there are certain areas where the natural plants flourish and add a woodsy quality to the shady parts of the yard.  There are also areas where we have deliberately planted native perennials because they're w...

     Human beings are creatures of habit.  So are other creatures, as far as I have observed, but since most of the creatures who read this blog are humans, I'll focus on that angle.  We all develop routines.  We do things in the same way or at the same time over and over, day in and day out.  The patterns repeat without interference from our brains, and that's the point.  When you've worked out the mundane stuff and you can just follow the routine, your mind is free to work on more interesting things.      Even someone like me who appreciates random surprises will fall into habitual patterns.  I still wake up at the same time each morning.  It doesn't matter if it's a weekend or vacation except that on those days, I may get to roll over and take an immediate nap.  The internal alarm clock still rings at 6 each day.  Each morning, I follow the same steps to get ready for the day.  I drive the same route to...