The Mother Of All Thistles.

Despite (and because of) hubbub at work, took off today and tomorrow to spend time with the family. Attended Story Time at the Point Richmond Library, wherein a wonderful older woman read books and sang songs to a group of toddlers and other kids of varying attention spans. Melissa and Emma attend this every week, but today was my first time. It was also, apparently, the last time: the woman sadly announced that Richmond is closing all its branch libraries. Budget cuts. Story Time will continue at the Main Library, but it's still incredibly sad.

Later, tackled more of the yard. Melissa weeded and trimmed the planter in the front yard, then I cleaned up old shredded woodchip remnants and laid down new chips. Looks much nicer now, mostly because of Melissa's trimming. I also got to edge the front lawn, finally, now that I have an extension cord long enough for our snazzy new weed whacker to reach.

Best of all, I got permission from the next-door neighbors to take down their Mother Of All Thistles. It was over two feet tall, with dandelion-like flowers and wispy seed pods threatening to unload onto our lawn. In fact, they've probably already unloaded, but that's no reason to let it continue.
You see, the neighbors on one side are an elderly japanese couple. The man (Tak) takes meticulous care of his yard: unbelievably uniform, perfectly edged lawn, and lovingly pruned trees and bushes. It's stunning.
On the other side is a couple, about our age, that seems to completely ignore their lawn. Well, they must mow it occasionally, since it's less than a foot long, but it is home to an impressive array of dandelions, thistles, and other weeds.
I'm not in a position to judge. I'm new to the whole yard thing, and I know next to nothing. But it's funny to see the sequence: spectacular yard, pretty nice yard, terrible yard. I'm pleased that our efforts make a difference, even if it pales next to the splendor of Tak's lawn.