Going Inkless

We've all heard it's not polite to discuss politics or religion.  If you're trying to avoid conflict, (and it's generally a good thing in polite conversation,) it makes sense.  People have very strong opinions on those subjects, and despite what you hear about the modern trend of political polarization in America, this is nothing new.  People have always been passionate about the subject, and some have started arguments, riots, or wars over political opinion all through history.  The same goes for matters of religion.  Why do you think we developed that rule for polite conversation? The problem is not that people have become more extreme about their positions but that we have become more aware of others' positions.  Without our social media tableaux of opinion, we might blithely go about assuming that our friends, neighbours, or even family must think the way we do.  Because the rules of social media etiquette are less solid than those of conventiona...

     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...

It began as a border war, a conflict of philosophies that exploded in harsh words between my husband and our neighbor one day. As described in a previous post, ours is a yard kept in a natural style. The more green, the more wild and vibrant, the better. There are deliberate plantings here and there, but we also welcome the weeds and wildflowers that sprout up among them. In spring, our back yard is a carpet of wild violets. In high summer, a lush tangle of vines creeps along the fence and up the birdhouse pole. In fall, the maple tree that shades our deck drops its helicopter seeds -well- everywhere they can fly. Our front yard is kept shorter out of respect for our neighbors' preferences, but our back yard is kept more or less as Nature intends out of respect for Her preference. We are sparing with the mower and clippers, and we avoid the poisons and chemicals many consider a must for maintaining a perfect lawn. Conversely, our neighbor takes pride in his well-planned landscapi...