Spring Musings

I opted to chop back my five forsythias now that they're done blooming. I remember my dad cutting them back drastically when I was a kid. They always seemed to survive and even thrive on this treatment every several years. I want to chop now so they'll have lots of new growth for blooming next spring. Assuming this was not such a bad idea that they'll die -- I don't remember when in the year my dad chopped ours back.

Only three received the radical cut. Sleek has spent the last couple of summers digging a little nest between a couple of them, so I left those slightly taller for shading her nest. I will rue this next year because the two are in the middle and will be more difficult to cut back with the others' new growth, but I won't regret leaving Sleek her nest.

While cutting up the forsythia branches, I noticed a fair amount of noise 2 doors down. Two years ago that house was pretty noisy (for our neighborhood) in the summer, with a lot of late evening outdoor parties. Last year it was markedly quiet. This year noisier again? Same occupants, so perhaps they hoped to lull the neighbors into a false sense that the party year was an aberration.

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Pet sitting this morning, I noticed that two of my clients have the same bedspread! What are the odds of that, I wonder. Made me laugh.

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St. John's Wort may be nearly as expensive as pharmaceutical antidepressants when taken in the massive doses my ND/MD prescribed -- NINE droppersful per day. He still advocates taking either Lexapro or Welbutrin with that dose of St. John's Wort. Usually they say you should not take St. John's Wort with another anti-depressant, but he feels it can be done as long as you account for the SJW when deciding how much of the pharmaceutical to give. He will start me at 5mg of Lexapro if I go that route, or 75mg of Welbutrin.

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Some evil little dog puked on my sweatshirt while in the car this evening. What is that about?

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Pollen season is here. The car needs new wiper blades, but will the pollen mess up the blades too quickly? Will I care if I can't see through either the pollen on the windshield or the streaky arcs left by trying to wash the windshield with wiper fluid? And how much water do I have to drink to dilute the goopy feel of my eyes? Thank heavens for the digestive enzymes that help my body have enough energy left to deal with pollen!

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Have you ever thought about the oxymoronic quality of calling an area of the US mainland the "Pacific Northwest?" This area is on the eastern side of the Pacific Ocean, and there is a lot of Canadian coastline that is further north....