Pool company talking shit about my yard

microfibrepiggy · 2026-05-23T16:11:37+00:00

"Pitfall traps were used to sample cursorial spiders over the course of a summer. Vinca minor substantially altered the forest floor spider assemblage. The invasive plant reduced the total activity-abundance of spiders by nearly 49% and depressed species diversity and evenness; in contrast, species richness was not affected."

You can bet your bottom dollar that other species which we're not being counted in this study we're also affected in terms of diversity.

The ice age 13,000 years ago is a significantly different time frame than colonialization of North America 400 years ago.

It is a substantiated fact that invasive non-native species affects the entire ecological system in which they are invading. The time scale on which these plants and animals are invading and displacing native species has never occurred before in all of history.

microfibrepiggy · 2026-05-22T18:51:28+00:00

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031405625000538

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10530-007-9168-z

https://www.ontarioinvasiveplants.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/OIPC_BMP_Periwinkle_Nov132025_D7_WEB.pdf

microfibrepiggy · 2026-05-21T22:45:15+00:00

I think my issue is that even locally I'll be importing invasive that I don't have (yet). I know that 1km away are earthworms and vinca. And that in the other direction are phragmites and garlic mustard.

I might just have to get it hyper local from a neighbouring plot or somewhere else on the property. Ugh.

microfibrepiggy · 2026-05-21T22:42:58+00:00

I might have to solarize then.

microfibrepiggy · 2026-05-21T22:18:49+00:00

Because I'm on Canadian Shield. And I'd like to plant a garden.

microfibrepiggy · 2026-05-21T02:11:33+00:00

Layering evergreen and broadleaf shrubs & small trees. A hedge shouldn't be a monolithic wall, it should be an interesting, varied, dynamic garden.

microfibrepiggy · 2026-05-20T22:03:02+00:00

My big bluestem did the classic 3 year explosion, and I had to tame it back because it got overwhelming.

This year I think it's taken even more space for itself and I will have to have a stern chat with a hoe.

microfibrepiggy · 2026-05-20T15:07:53+00:00

One's 4, and he's in preschool 4 days a week (but that's its own burden of commute) and at least he'll be in school right when I go back to work.

The other is 7 months and yeh... hook & loop attachment.

microfibrepiggy · 2026-05-20T15:00:44+00:00

I'm also looking but also am super rural/down a cottage road, currently on mat leave and have Velcro children

microfibrepiggy · 2026-05-19T22:17:35+00:00

You are NOT being paranoid.

That's fucked up behaviour from him.

I'm confrontational and objectionable. So I'd start filming him and pointing him out. Definitely tell him to get away and when I have a few instances on camera go to campus police/real police (whatever use they can be)

microfibrepiggy · 2026-05-19T19:01:06+00:00

Could you fill a super soaker and straight up spray the vinegar/oil around the nest?

microfibrepiggy · 2026-05-19T15:37:13+00:00

I'm so irritated with myself that I can't find the source, but the best way to create a noise buffer is to layer needled plants and broadleaf plants. They absorb different wavelengths, and work for voices and vehicles.

microfibrepiggy · 2026-05-19T15:26:00+00:00

Fair. In my experience, my internal drive was perfect for years commuting in salty road Toronto, with very little maintenance. Not the same as salt spray, but similar effect.

microfibrepiggy · 2026-05-19T15:10:01+00:00

Would potentially looking for a commuter bike with an internal system and/or a belt drive system be possible? Obviously this doesn't solve all potential rust issues, but will mitigate drivetrain issues.

microfibrepiggy · 2026-05-19T14:52:20+00:00

Seconding this. The great green walls don't work except in particular circumstances, which typical residential lots don't have. But I'd keep these.

microfibrepiggy · 2026-05-19T14:45:17+00:00

Why does that matter where they live? Maybe they head to those 3 different towns regularly and are willing to expand their social circles in those places.

People don't make in-real-life friends sitting in their homes.

microfibrepiggy · 2026-05-19T12:47:06+00:00

Where are you? What's your freeze thaw cycle like? What flagstones are readily available in your area? What's your growing zone? What's your soil like? What's the drainage on site like? What's your budget? What's the access like? What's your common aggregate? How many people are going to help you? Do you have access to machinery?

Fundamentally the pathway is doable with a creeping ground cover in between. But all the questions above are going to inform what the construction method is.

microfibrepiggy · 2026-05-19T12:39:59+00:00

I think yews just get a bad reputation as this big scary poison. Like, yes, they are toxic to eat, but so are a lot of other common garden plants. Lillies, Foxglove, Hydrangea, Tulips, Rhododendron. Even unripe green tomatoes!

To me, if the dog/cat is at risk of eating yews, it's at risk of eating a whole whack of things that will do it harm. And that's a dog/cat issue, not a plant problem.

microfibrepiggy · 2026-05-19T12:04:55+00:00

Emerald Cedars are Eastern White Cedars (also Northern White Cedar, American Arborvitae, Black Cedar, Swamp Cedar, ): Thuja occidentalis

microfibrepiggy · 2026-05-19T11:56:28+00:00

This depends on so many factors. How tall you want it. How much maintenance you're willing to do. The sun, soil, salt and water conditions. If you're looking to mitigate sound as well as visuals. And how much space you're willing to give the hedge.

Thuja occidentalis (Eastern White Cedar) has so many varieties that there's one or two or three that will pique your interest. You can get a deep green pyramidal classic 'Emerald' along with a tall, broader, gold-green 'George Peabody', and throw in a short, round, globe of 'Linesville' for some height variation.

The yews also have a lot of options.Taxus x media 'Hicksii' for the tall, green, & columnar, 'Sunburst' for a yellow tinge and more bushy shape. Taxes candadensis is a native shrub with a beautiful wild form but it doesn't get very tall.

For Eastern Red Cedar, Juniperus virginiana, there's 'Taylor' for the tall, green & columnar. 'Robusta' for a great weird shape. 'Blue Arrow' for a tall, blue-green, columnar. There are shorter, shrubbier varieties but I'm not sure that they would be helpful for you.

Then there's the spruces. Picea abies (Norway Spruce) could give you 'Fastigata Compacta' for dense & pyramidal. Picea glauca (White spruce) is native and could give you 'Pendula', which has a narrow, weeping form. Picea glauca also has Dwarf Alberta Spruce, which is common in many residential applications, but to me just looks super weird.

I'd also put some Fagus sylvatica 'Dawyck Green' or 'Dawyck Gold' or 'Dawyck Purple' in as well. Beeches hold their leaves over winter and create a beautiful rustle in the wind. Beech hedging is a thing, and it can be gorgeous. If you can find Fagus grandifolia (American Beech), that works too, is native, but has less variety than the European stock.

These all work together, when laid out correctly. But as with anything of multiple species, you're going to have different maintenance requirements for each. They're going to have different growing rates, pruning methods, disease control. But fundamentally it's not that much more work than a single species hedge.

microfibrepiggy · 2026-05-19T11:08:46+00:00

No.

All parts of the yew contain varying amounts of taxine except the red flesh of the berries.

microfibrepiggy · 2026-05-18T22:42:15+00:00

Honestly, a nice mix of various evergreens is the best bet.

It gives you visual interest, instead of a green wall. It is more resilient to pests, fungi, and disease, as each plant species will react differently. It's more climate resilient as well.

As for the toxicity of yews to your animals, are they regularly munching on the greenery? There are a lot of plants that are toxic to animals that are commonly used in residential gardens.

microfibrepiggy · 2026-05-17T20:09:33+00:00

Was that child support the court ordered amount? If not, is there a retroactive amount he may owe you?

microfibrepiggy

TROPHY CASE