A new year , a new reading list !
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I need some new ideas- what's on YOUR list this year?
Comments (28)How much sun does the area you call "a barren wasteland" get? The west side of my main perennial bed has more of a slope than I realized when we created it (wish I had thought to have the landscaper terrace that area), and I have trouble getting things to grow there too. It doesn't help that the wind whips through that area, because the space between my house and my next door neighbor's creates sort of a wind tunnel affect. Anyway, what has done well over there instead of mulch, which just blows away, is the groundcover Delosperma congestum. It needs quite a bit of sun to bloom well, but it will survive in part shade. Mine gets about 5 - 6 hours of afternoon sun. There is also a white one, and a dark pink one too. You could also try groundcover sedums there. Delosperma congestum (Hardy Iceplant) Delosperma kelaidis 'Mesa Verde' The problem I have is that the air conditioning unit and garbage cans are on that side of the house, so I'd like something tall to block them from view, but the wind is so bad through there that everything tall ends up flopping everywhere. Several of the plants on this end of the bed are repeated in the middle, and on the right end of the bed, and those same plants are much taller and more vigorous on the flatter, less windy sections. For example, that Coreopsis 'Sunburst' is about 18" tall, the ones at the other end of the bed are closer to 30". If you look behind the flopping Achillea, you can see the AC and garbage cans. What you can't see is a 'Karl Foerster' ornamental grass, which is growing very slowly, that hopefully will hide things a bit by next year, but I have tried three different kinds of shrubs in that spot, and they either sit there without growing an inch, or they wither and die. I hope you don't think I'm trying to hijack your thread with my own issues. I just want you to know that every yard has its problem areas, and they are much more noticable to us, than other people that see our gardens. When I looked at your photo, I didn't see your problem area at all, only a gorgeous flower bed! I'll keep trying new things in that tough spot, but as long as the rest of the garden is in good shape, I don't let that one area bother me too much. Bonnie (whose hoping that this post comes across as an encouragement and not a criticism)...See MoreHappy New Year! How was your New Year's Eve?
Comments (25)Ours was utterly quiet, although not unpleasant :). Both kids were off doing their own NYE celebration so the house was nice and calm. We ate dinner, chatted, then he went to sleep early and I read for awhile. Boring? Maybe but also a moment to cherish being secure in our lives and with so much for which to be grateful. Actually, our New Year's reminds me of the lyrics to one of my favorite Carly Simon songs, Misfit: There are plenty of late nights If you want to stay up for them You'll just want to find yourself a friend And tie a couple on in a night spot Draw pictures of your soul, win the jackpot Pour tears in your beer It's hip to be miserable when you're young and intellectual In a bit you'll admit you're a misfit Come on home with me We'll turn on the TV About 10 o'clock we'll turn off the light Not every man was born to stay up late at night There are plenty of boats to catch If you notice all the sails in the wind But you better look hard my friend In case you catch a ride on the wrong one In the distance is the one you belong on Oh the water is wide It's hip to be miserable when you're young and intellectual In a bit you'll admit you're a misfit Come on home with me We'll sit under a tree And if you get the itch I'll supply the scratch Not every man was born with a boat to catch It's hip to be miserable when you are young and intellectual In a bit you'll admit you're a misfit A misfit...See MoreHappy New Year!!....New Years Resolutions...
Comments (14)Hi all! I'm new to the forums but I have an idea why this one doesn't get much response. It's not listed in any of the categories, it's only listed sort of alphabetically in the s's as The Single Life, it took me several visits to find it and I still have trouble remembering where it is on the list to click so I can lurk! Maybe someone should suggest to Spike? that it be made more visible, I know that there are a lot of singles on the forums. Just thought I'd pop in and say something and maybe someone else has had the same experience. My New Year's Resolution is to be proud of being single and not be so quiet. Happy New Year! Charlotte...See MoreNew Year, Fresh Start -- What Are You Reading?
Comments (98)jwttrans, I think our two readings may be compatible--the ambiguously misread situation having to do with misread racial stereotypes, the captain's fixation on skin color blinding him to unrevealed dark designs. And with time the hidden darkness or "evil" is revealed--the desperate escaped slaves are truly murderous and do practically wipe out TWO ships--the one they are in at the beginning of the story and that captain's ship they attack near the end of the story. My only hesitation about our combined reading is that Benito Cereno, read by itself, would tend to solicit an allegorical reading associating innocence with whites and evil with blacks. However, that would be to overlook the blame Melville heaps on the "innocent" white captain whose self-willed "innocence" is not true "innocence," but rather a wilful refusal to see and acknowledge the evil lurking in the depths. He nearly makes himself an accessory to murder, as a result--equally culpable, in other words. That would not be white "innocence," but white culpability. And if anyone has read Melville's other sea fictions, they would know he often depicts the blackness/evil in all men's hearts. (I'm not sure if he includes women or not. Anyone remember any portraits of women in his works? Certainly, a half century later, Conrad writing on racial themes in Heart of Darkness exempted the lovely fiancee--the "intended" -- from the darkness in human hearts, for instance.) But you have a good point on ambiguity--probably works on anything Melville and Hawthorne wrote. That was the way they often set up their allegories as the reader moves from the literal to the figurative/spiritual. Just as Melville explores the ambiguity of whiteness in Moby Dick, so he does by depicting an "innocent" white captain whose innocence is just as ambiguous since he becomes the reason why they are all nearly murdered. That good and evil are NOT black and white, but quite ambiguous in nature, would seem to be Melville's point? Kate...See More- last month
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