Mother Nature can deliver some seriously unpleasant surprises, unfortunately. If I let the Old Girl do her thing in my yard I'd be infested with the many seedlings brought in by wind and birds - and rain. And the weedy things will win. English ivy. Barberry. Blackberry. Etc. However - I'm a huge fan for self-sown material that has adapted to my site: poppies, various bulbs, the energetic varieties of Geranium, Euphorbia, (Oxalis...I whisper that one as some can be real pests), Hellebores. If you are a fan for a minimalist garden (and they can look terrific, no doubting) then your grass idea will work beautifully. If you prefer a wider range - some judicious planting to help the scenery along could be useful. Main point would be - get to know your local weeds and thug plants. You might have a real love of ragweed and dandelions. Your neighbour, trying to grow a great lawn, will have a very different view of the matter... Get to know what you have to pull before it swamps your yard and lifts your foundations.

OK. I have more than a bit of a concern. I have reviewed the requirements to perform NACA home inspections. First and foremostÂÂ for an entity that seems so committed to making certain that the buyer is "protected", it appears as if the only qualifications to become a NACA HI is the ability to take digital photos, upload them, and to use a specific software (that can be downloaded at no cost) to use emailÂ...and upload all to the web. In other wordsÂÂnot much more than the ability to fog a mirror. In addition, their description of a "home inspection" appears to focus on the utilities and energy efficiency...both of which are beyond the scope of a home inspection...and, both of which few if any HI's are even remotely qualified to perform...even if they are excellent and fully experience HI's. A meaningful assessment of "utilities" and/or energy efficiency is a complex analysis...Â.requiring specialized education and trainingÂengineering capabilities in terms of load analysis, etcÂand as such generally cost around 500 to 700 dollars.... on top of the cost of a home inspection. It is not reasonable to assume that NACA HI's are getting paid $1000 a pop (give or take)....especially since they make a point of stating that the HI must have "competitive" rates, while dangling the "lots of business" carrot as the "incentive" for those "competitve" rates. As the expression goes...one invariably gets what one pays for... In addition, since the site seems geared toward those purchasing homes on the low end price range (e.g. they only give Newark NJ as a NJ location)Âit is usually a given that such homes are often the least energy efficient due to age and lack of upgrades and/or maintenanceÂ.and unless such buyers have tens of thousands to expend on serious energy upgrades (solar panels, high efficiency furnaces, etc), the very obvious need for new windows or caulking or weather stripping is hardly the result of an inspection for energy efficiencyÂitÂs merely citing visible defects. Last but not least, there seems to be zero requirements for the HI to be licensed if the state they practice in regulates the profession. That said, I am not at all optimistic that the unsuspecting buyer will have the option of obtaining a meaningful home inspectionÂand that is very troubling to say the leastÂ.in that it appears as if they may be led to believe otherwise. Which makes one wonderÂwhat else about NACA is not as it "appears" to be? I am having this researched further...I will post back with any additional info.

Thank you everyone for your input. I will share some of my experiences. When I moved into my home 5 years ago and first got into gardening, I heard about this main garden tour that is run here through the local newspaper, free to the public, anyone can be listed in it - you just write your description and indicate the times and days you are open within the allocated time period. I thought, why not? The good. It was probably one of the most nerve-wracking thing I have ever done, but everyone was so genuinely appreciative as soon as they stepped in the gate, and expressed it. People were astounded at how many gardens in the afore thought 'lower city' were actual gems. I met some truly interesting people along the way, and some became close friends or people I would see regularly during the year throughout the city (one worked at Lowes, and I would make a point of chatting with him whenever I went there). And many people would come up to me out of the blue and tell me they had been to my garden. There was also a woman who responded to my description (I didn't write a straight forward description; it was very artistic). She was the only person who asked me directly what it meant, and then we had a very intimate discussion where we both shared some of the pains and losses we had gone through - it was amazing to connect on that level. The bad. One of the visitors to my garden was a young couple who were quite smitten by these large flexi-glass cones I had placed in my garden, which I had gotten from my former workplace. They went on and on about them, and literally insisted I sell them two, they wouldn't leave unless I did. This was when there were already a large number of people coming, going and asking me other questions, and I was on my own, felt a bit overwhelmed. I more or less said why don't you just take them now, and you could come back another day and give me some money for them. Oh yeah, they were giddy, they would definitely do that they said, I could trust them...never saw them again. Honestly, I had more than enough of those cones and they weren't a cost to me; it was the principle above all else. It was disappointing to come up against low brows when everyone else was so respectful. The ugly. Sadly, I found from the get-go the organization of the event to be a mess, with no support for you as a person who is volunteering your garden. When I first did it, I had absolutely no idea what i was doing - so I asked a few questions via email to the person coordinating it. No response. After a few emails, I phoned and left a few messages. No response. Ended up winging it as best I could. Found out later that I was not unique in this; many people experienced the same thing. Even the regulars would be trying to get answers to questions - like what the dates might be for the year so they can plan around it - no response. Some people were sympathetic, because "it's just that one person coordinating". And I appreciate the difficulties of organization, I have lived and worked it! But I found out that over the years, people were very interested in helping out, but the person coordinating - no response. So I'm calling BS on that. And that's just the tip of the iceberg, but you get the picture.

The posts about traveling alone brought back memories of our first year/winter being campground hosts. A lady pulled in with a mini motor home(class C) and told us that she, along with her husband , had been going to Florida for many years. They were from Illinois and that year had gotten partway to Florida but she woke up one morning to find that he had passed away in the night. She stayed at a town long enough to get the necessary papers and to have him cremated, then she continued on her way. She was the sweetest lady you would want to meet. It amazed me how she was able to handle everything on the motor home . Of course, all she had to do was ask for help and everyone was there for her as they knew her so well. She came back the next year while we were there and we heard that later she was host. The Rangers were always driving through keeping an eye on things. I never forgot that lady though! :)