Thanks, all, for the additional comments. That steep bank is very dangerous for the new neighbor to mow. It is stable and not subject to erosion except when a local utility contractor screws up--and now this winter with the damage the snow plow has done. The utility fixed the problem that's shown in the photos. It's OK now. Unfortunately, those are the only photos of the area that I have available to upload and they seem to have become too much of a distraction. If this were my property, I would have replaced the grass with low-maintenance plant material long ago. Definitely not hardscaping. Rip rap would be my very last choice if it were my property. I think the neighbor agrees. I'm looking for plant material suggestions from you guys to supplement whatever recommendations (and whatever limitations) we get locally. The immediate concern will be the portion of that sloped area that the errant snow plow and the tow truck tore up last month. Replanting that torn-up area with grass would make no sense at all. For those of you commenting on the unrelated erosion at the stream bends.........I obtained a rudimentary plan from either SCS or SWCD about 30 years ago for the former neighbor after the stream flooding was exacerbated by the city's street construction project in '79. (Back in those days, I knew people at most of the state and federal agencies.) That plan didn't address the embankment along the street because that area was not eroding and not a concern. The plan focused on the two 90� bends and proposed using limestone rip rap. The neighbor felt the plan was too expensive and nothing was ever done. The new neighbor now has that old plan, but didn't particularly like it either. In any case that problem is less pressing. Ken, That link you provided is one I hadn't seen. Unfortunately, none of the shrubs in that list are identified for erosion control. Other than the trees, the only thing recommended for erosion control is the Pachysandra and I thought it was better suited to shade. It does extremely well in shade near the stream in our yard. If it can tolerate full sun, it might be something to consider. Strobiculate, you mentioned Forsythia. I've got F. 'Ottawa' near the street in my yard. It stays relatively small and will tip-root. It's something I had considered supplying to the neighbor, but hadn't seen it recommended specifically as a shrub that's good for erosion. Do you have experience with Forsythia as an erosion control plant? I'll have to check it out, too. I've also got American Cranberry growing along that stream in my yard, but I don't know how well it would do on a steep slope for erosion control. Have you had experience with it or seen it used in a situation like this? No one has commented on my query re the Calycanthus 'Athens." The species is supposed to be good for erosion control, but I don't know about full sun on this kind of a slope. It suckers and that's probably why it's recommended, but can we keep it away from the street? Maybe we'll have to be the guinea pigs on that one if the neighbor's willing.

Dawn, boy are you right about the weed growth! I've been pulling weeds from one of the beds for a week now, and they keep coming up. We all know it's a never ending job, right? Henbit, Speedwell (blue flowers), Spring Beauties, Dandelions, and another white flowering weed have been blooming for a few days now. The early Daffs, as you said, are gone, and the mid-season Daffs are blooming like crazy. They had a nice cold winter to spur their growth this spring. The Redbuds are just bursting to flower now, and the pears are done. The Malva zebrinas are growing now, as well as the Rue. The Centaurea Montana Blue and Silene - pink flowering) are putting out new growth, and spreading at that. I see green leaves emerging on the Lavender Munstead, Rosemary, and Fennel. The fall Asters are popping up everywhere - I'll have to do some judicious pulling there. The Monarda is up about 1".. I see no signs yet of the Butterfly Bush and pray that it made it thru it's first winter. The Phlox x 'Wanda' is greening up and should put on a nice show the middle to latter of April. I have lettuce sprouting, but no sign of the snap peas. I may not get much of that if it turns hot too quickly - assuming they even come up. I did plant quite a lot of it to climb up the fence in the backyard - we'll see. Don't have any violets blooming yet. Birds are singing like crazy, woodpeckers are rat-a-tat-tatting on the trees, and bird love is in the air. I hope everyone has a lovely spring! Susan

I personally don't think buying seeds for someone else is necessary. Nor is it expected. If you want to, I guess that is fine. I look through other's lists and some are getting 3 things and others are not getting any (from me). But as I see it, others that have things that I don't have, and will have some for them (the person I din't have any for) and perhaps none for someone else. If someone has a short want list they might not get much of anything since we can't fill their wants if they don't want anything. The host will have to fill in the gaps for them with extras seeds, and hope there is something in there that might please this person. If the person with a short list is not sure what they want, perhaps they can be vague and say I like blue flowers that like the shade. Or any flowers, I am new and I have no clue what will grow here yet. Then maybe someone can toss in something that fits that requirement. Personally, I am tossing my extra veggie seeds in the extras baggie. So, if someone that asks for any veggie or any tomato, Fran can fill in with my extra veggies in a fair way. I have no way of knowing if one person needs more seeds and another has an overflowing amount already. But really, I think this should be fun, and as Fran said it is not a one for one thing, just share what you have, and it will all be ok. (really) For example: I once participated in the give to a newbie thing as a newbie gardener. I really did not receive much of anything I could use (mostly flowers). But is was still fun. I kept what I could use and SASE'ed what I did not need. So the seeds found nice homes, even if not mine. All is good. Surprises are fun. Giving is good for the heart, and sole. I hope my interpretation of this Swap is not not way off. Yes I should try starting seeds inside in early spring. I found out out that natural beginnings seeds starter mix is a very good all natural mix from gardens alive. My rutabagas did very well in this mix. I had always thought of starting seeds inside as a northern thing to do. But I guess it is not. We are trying to beat heat and the northerners are trying to beat the frost. I have some soup peas in damp paper towels now to try to give them a early go for it this spring. Last spring direct sowed peas took 3 weeks to come up. So by the time they matured, it was too hot. I'm learning. My garden is on the side of the house were veggies get shade after 2 pm. First year I made the mistake of thinking full sun, I will plant on west of the house. UG. Learned that, that is too much sun for Texas! So this year all will hopefully be better due to: water ditches starting some things under pop bottle cloches Sprouting peas inside living mulch verses dead mulch cover crops over winter reorienting garden beds so sorghum and sunflowers can help shade off the rest of the garden. avoiding overly thirsty crops smaller tomato varieties trying beany things along ground But anyway, time to go to the dentist. I have to realize I am not the only one having garden woes. It is just that since I am a new gardener, all years have been extreme weather years. I have nothing to compare it to. Hope every has some fun with this SWAP. Mary

Berniek is right: Much of the blame here falls upon the shoulders of the politicians (led by then-President Clinton), who forced banks to begin some rather foolish lending practices. Alan Greenspan certainly did his share to push this concept of "everyone can borrow" during his time as Fed chairman. Between creative financing, no money down offers, and other such options, the government has given people plenty of rope with which to hang themselves. We Americans haven't proven ourselves to be particularly strong in the moderation and self-discipline categories over the last 30-40 years. Also, remember the climate that existed in the 90s, when I bought my first house: Spurred on by the soaring housing prices, people were convinced that buying "as much house as you can afford" was a good move. Housing was considered an investment that couldn't fail. Yes, the experts began preaching about "the housing bubble" long before it hit, but the masses couldn't grasp how this sure-thing could ever fall. And there's always been a (faulty) basic belief that "If I couldn't afford it, the bank wouldn't lend it to me." I fully agree with those who say that Real Estate agents will push buyers to their upper limits and beyond, and banks will lend what they can -- it's all about profits for them. Yet, the home owner DOES also bear the brunt of personal responsibility. After all, who cares most about whether I can afford my mortgage -- and still buy groceries and other things I need? Clearly, it's ME! I reap the rewards or punishments of my decisions, so I should do the math and know whether I can comfortably afford a house (or anything else) before I buy it. However, we've sort of left that thinking behind in today's buy-now-pay-later society. We're constantly told that "we deserve" this or that thing. That if we're going to finance it, we deserve to have exactly what we want. That "everyone" has debt. We've got to get past that.