Thursday, April 19, 2012

Rambling Along...

After the rush of Prom,
it is a rather quiet week here at the old homestead.
It hasn't kept the thoughts of the upcoming
Graduation Party from my mind though.
Busy preparing the house, yard,
decorations, etc.

I will confess something.
I still hate housework 
and I haven't done much of it this week.
Instead, I took a little time to do some crafting
and you know what?  It felt good.

It's a great stress reliever for me
and boy, did I need it!
I've been going round and round
with my cell carrier for 3 days now.
It has been exhausting!
I hate the way they get you by the neck and 
just keep hanging on tighter.
Anyone else know what I mean?  
I bet you do!



Violets in the garden.
Adding insult to injury,
I learned that one of my daughter's teachers
had another special education student
clean up urine in the bathroom that was there from another student!
Bad?  Yes!  Does it get worse?  Yes!
They didn't even have the girl wear gloves!
Sorry people, this stuff really does happen!
And it burns me up.

This grows wild at the edge of my yard.  I don't know what it is but I adore the
milky white of it.

I read a really good article the other day that has me rethinking
these:

OK.  Use your imagination here to insert
a photo of a dandelion.  Blogger is only allowing me to place
my pictures wherever IT wants!

I grew up with dandelions not being an issue.  We had them all over
and I always loved their bright smiley flowers.  It was always fun to braid them into a crown,
bracelet or necklace.
Since moving to the big "city", (I am considered rural here but not compared to where I came from)
I've been taught to go at these things in an all out war to rid them from the lawn.
The article pointed out some clear advantages to leaving them alone.
They bloom before any other flower and provide a great source of nectar for
honeybees, little blue butterflies and other spring insects.  The early migrating birds
(i.e. sparrows and other little brown birds)
feed on the early ripened seeds.  Later on, when they turn to seed, other migrating birds songbirds like indigo and lazuli buntings, goldfinches, and purple finches feed from them.

So. What do you think?  Are they worth keeping or not?
I'd love to hear your thoughts!










27 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

sadly, way back when when i lived on a city lot, i had a manicured lawn w/ chemlawn additives to keep it that way. now i'm au naturel all the way. :)

~Kim at Golden Pines~ said...

We've done the 'non-dandelion' lawn when we lived in the city and now, sine we don't use chemicals on our grass, there are plenty--I've not thought of them as a 'food source' and now I have an excuse to leave them--Which is just what I'm doing...Let us know what you decide!

Furry Bottoms said...

NO GLOVES?!?!?!?!? Now that pisses me off too!!! HUH!!!

I never really knew dandelions were an issue until I moved to WA. I thought they were pretty and I loved to chew on the stem as a child. Then I moved to Seattle and I told somebody "oh how pretty, look at all those yellow puffs all over so and so's yard!" and that person looked at me and said "They're WEEDS!"

Oh the disappointment.

Dawnll said...

Let me apologize for not getting your package to you sooner-it went out today and should be there Monday-My computer issues have drove me crazy this week...I should be back and running on Saturday.
I can't believe a "child" was cleaning anything WTH???

I leave the dandelions but must admit I hate them in my garden,weeding is NOT my favorite thing to do.
Glad you took some time to play, always makes me feel better.

Debbie said...

the white flower looks like it could be a white lilac, they can grow "wild"!!

i didn't like dandelions before, but now perhaps i do!!

verizon wireless has always been pretty good to me. i've had several "incidents" and i've always been happy with their costumer service!!

Julie Marie said...

Hi Jill... so sorry about the incident at the school... I hope you give them a big piece of your mind!... your violets are beautiful!... and about the dandelions, let them be... I have fond childhood memories like yours of making crowns and garlands out of them... and I still love to blow on the seedheads and make a wish when they have gone to seed... many people call violets weeds... but not me... I love them all!... xoxo Julie Marie

Unknown said...

That incident at school was so not handled well, and someone needs to find that out. Thanks for venting. Now, before you lose all that steam, let them know.

Dandelions are a precious herb, terribly under-rated. So many ways to enjoy the life-enriching goodness (but they can hold toxins so be careful where you pick them).

Lynne said...

The bathroom cleaning incident is appalling. . .

I must confess, I dig out the dandelions that pop up in our yard but I toss them in our wooded areas where they can pop up and not be bothered by "green lawn lover!"

I think the white flower may be a lilac . . . very pretty . . .

Paula said...

The thistles are even pretty here this year. Whole fields of white flowers or a kind of mauve. The bathroom incident is just unforgivable. How bad the child must have felt who had to clean it up.

Rohrerbot said...

Ugh...I've heard of this in the book of what "Not to DO!" That is called abuse and should be mentioned to someone. I've had to deal with this before at a place I used to work at. Dandelions:) Yes.

Anonymous said...

Hi Jill,
It's Friday again and I'm beat, a lot has happened this week. And I am finally settled in my new home. will post some pictures during the weekend. Still no internet at home though, but will be back on track on Monday :) Crafting is fun, I have a few cross stitch laying at home, with native american images that I would love to start working on soon.
Have a lovely weekend!
Hugs
Eva

Melodie said...

I love the dandelions! Not only are they beneficial they are super nutritious! The leaves are packed with vitamins you can add to a salad,you can make jelly from their flowers and the roots make a tea that can be a coffee substitute that will also detox your body!

At Home in English Valley said...

Hi Jill, I say don't spend too much time cleaning for the party. Once your guests arrive, bring in gifts , bags, coats, kick off their shoes, put down their purses and set down their keys your house will be a mess anyway! At least this is what happens at my house! ;-) I stopped the chemicals on the lawn because of my little niece that loves to play outside. She loves the flowers! Hope you have a quiet weekend, you deserve it! Love, penny

Susan said...

Where in the heck was the custodian? Why would they make a child clean that up? AND without gloves? That really upsets me!!!!!

I'm not sure about the dandelions. After the flowers are gone, then you have a big weed to pull. I'm all for the critters to have the flowers, but I hate pulling them later!

Marie said...

It kills me that people will poison their lawn with chemicals to get rid of dandelions and creeping charlie (I love them both, they smell so good!) and then turn around and BUY seed packets of wild flowers and PLANT them in their garden/yard! That's what dandelions are - THEY ARE WILDFLOWERS! So, of course, we leave them be, and feel blessed :)

I love your posts, Jill, they are always so thought-provoking.

Sonya @ Under the Desert Sky said...

Oh, no! Why would that teacher have a student clean that up?! And without gloves? No, no, no!!

By the way, I love the violet photo. :)

mary i said...

I feel your angst about the bathroom. (insert other words) Long Live Dandys!! My other is a green lawn guy, yet there always one or two that get away from sharp metal objects. They make me smile. Keep them :) peace from Alabama

My Mind's Eye said...

Ok Jill I admit I stopped reading and went straight to comment after reading about the teacher making the child clean up after another. OH MY WORD I had no idea this goes on. Does the school know? Geez I'm mad and I wasn't even there.
Off to finish reading your post
Hugs C

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

Oh I hope the school takes some disciplinary steps. That's terrible! :-(

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

Don't feel bad darlin', even though I've lived here almost forty years I'm still told I'm a foreigner 'cause I wasn't born here...I was raised in a different Missouri town. Heeehehehe!

You've got to be kiddin'!!! I am retired Special Ed. and this act is not acceptable in any way, form or fashion. Sorry, it's stuff like this that infuriates the daylights outta me.

Dandelions...if ya love 'em...keep em. Different strokes baby!

God bless ya sweetie and have yourself a fantastic weekend!!! :O)

Anonymous said...

These days, it seems that perfection over-rules what's good for the earth and the birds/bees. Seems like there's a lot to be gained by leaving the dandelions.
I'm sad to learn of the terrible treatment of that child. That is utterly disgusting and so cruel.

Glad you had some down time doing crafts. That's good for you.

Enjoy the weekend.

Chatty Crone said...

Okay I'm on the part about the special needs student. That is so highly wrong and illegal - if her parents found out about that - phew. I'd would be soooooooooooooo mad.

Good luck on graduation.

Sandie

snowwhite said...

Jill,
The thoughtless and inhumane acts toward children make me sad as well as angry. Why did they decide to be the teachers??
Yesterday, I saw mothers and children picking up dandelions and making necklaces. It was a peaceful scene in a comfortable spring day.
Dandelions are not only lovely flowers but also part of nature cycle. I am glad to know everything is connected.
Thanks a lot for sharing.
Have a great weekend.
keiko

Leontien said...

I like dandilions anywhere except in our garden ;-)! haha

No, it think they are really beautiful but you kinda have to control them otherwise they will go everywhere! An i do not like that...


Big big hugs from Indiana and hoping you are getting some more time to do "your" thing
Leontien

Nancy said...

If I found out it was my child doing the bathroom detail, all hell would break loose. Ridiculous.

Dandelions -- not worried about them or really any other weed/flower in our lawn. Life's too short, but our closest neighbor is 1/2 mile a way. :)

Donna said...

So glad you elected to add the sweet bush and the bit about the dandelions - I had a giggle thinking about the commercial of the wild west fight and the Round Up when the neighbors go out and shoot the little flower. Weed? Yep! Matter? Nope! I pull out the weeds that make stickers, the rest, what a chemist once told me, "if we had a nuclear accident, the only things to survive would be cockroaches and dandelions!" So, why bother? I use to do the weaving of a crown, too! Don't they then turn into those little clusters of fuzz and we teach the wee ones to make a wish and blow all the fuzz off??? Can't really kill them anyway, so ---.

The URINAL incident though - who's been fired over this little chore being given to a student? And, excuse me, is there supposed to be a difference between a regular student and a special needs student in the way they are disciplined? If it were my child or grandchild, I'd be in jail, or bailing out one of my kids because this teacher would have had her/his head stuffed in the urinal. This person should no longer be a teacher, not even to teach dogs!! Well, maybe wild tigers, or cobras - that's it, send them in the cages to wipe up the tiger pee at feeding time or after whatever snakes do to clean up after them!!!

This school needs a serious look at from the higher, higher ups. Maybe state officials. This is wrong on so many levels, Jill.

Cooling off now -
Hugs,
Donna

Jenny Woolf said...

Oh yes!
By the way, I love your blog design, although I find the grey on grey comments are too hard for me to read, maybe it's my eyes... I have used purple in my blog design too. One thing about the new blogger is that it's easier to do design, although I have now reverted to the old interface because some parts of the new one just don't work when I click. Don't know if it is just me.