u/HonorYourGoals

Hi, if you’re the person with the huge branch down that nearly hit your car, DM me and I can help you move it. I’m sorry if it did actually hit your car but it was kind of hard to see.

The light is also out at Prospect and Cross, don’t be an idiot and blast through it, it’s currently a blinking red traffic light. Give people a chance to take a turn.

Stay safe out there, and stay away from downed wires.

The other day I had to chop down a ton of peony stems from a few peony bushes we inherited when we bought our house last fall. The stems and leaves were infected with some kind of fungus or powdery mildew, and after researching I discovered this is a common problem. I made gardening plans for the future and figured that it wouldn’t hurt to add some non-native stuff, but in the midst of this heat wave, I got mad. I got mad at the culture surrounding non-native horticulture & how much water, time & energy these plants suck up, only for their blooms to last a very short time & provide very little ecologically. I got mad at rich people who obsess over having a garden entirely composed of non-native flowers and shrubs, when they have ample space to not only create large native gardens but to grow food to feed their community on a large scale.

I don’t blame individuals who really love specific non-native plants (I’m a huge fan of dahlias and climbing roses) but I’ve realized that in my lifetime, with the limited space I have around my house, planting a non-native hydrangea is not how I want to move forward for years to come. I don’t want to spend time dealing with non-natives that are so high maintenance and guzzle water with very few benefits. I don’t think everything is horrible right now but the timeline we’re on is convincing me that focusing on non-natives is not sustainable moving forward, and I just can’t do it anymore. At most, I think I’ll reserve a raised bed for some annual cut flowers, but I’m more interested in growing food and sharing it with my neighbors.

I really do love the beauty of flowers but something doesn’t sit well with me if a garden full of plants is more for show than it is for anything else in the context of our environment on a global scale, and maybe if it wasn’t like that, I wouldn’t feel as weird about it, but I think we need to get real as a society about what food systems & our ecosystems are going to look like in our lifetimes.

Hi, so I’ve seen a lot of heated discussions online pertaining to planting stuff near a house versus away from it, and as someone who has a few garden beds right next to our home and garage…is it really all that bad? Nothing we’re growing has invasive roots and I recently ripped out a bunch of English Ivy in one of them bc it was growing up our garage (we bought this house last year). I don’t really understand why people think a garden bed next to a house is going to invite rot and insects into their home. I feel like the people advocating for nothing near a house are the same people who think a crisp lawn with zero biodiversity is beautiful, but what do I know lol?

Hi fellow Michiganders,

My partner and I want to test some Room and Board couches but the closest store is in Chicago. Does anyone know if any furniture stores in SE Michigan carry this brand? I’ve done a lot of research on couches and people seem to really love their couches. Ty for any suggestions!

Hi,

Thank you to the people who identified what I thought was sumac growing very near my foundation but is actually a small black walnut. After doing some deep-ish digging, I’ve realized how firm the roots are in there & as someone who tries to avoid herbicides as much as possible (I haven’t had to use them yet), I’m wondering if anyone has had luck by simply cutting a black walnut sapling down over the course of several years until it gave up? I am perfectly happy doing the long game of cutting versus painting on herbicide. Wish I could dig it up and transplant it but there’s no way that’s going to happen.

Thank you for any advice, I’m very sad for the tree but I know if I don’t deal with it our house and a more mature walnut tree will pay the price.

Also I found a lot of weird posts demonizing black walnut trees as “plant killers” and while I know they produce a toxin, I think the paranoia about it is a little weird. I think we need to strive to work with natives as much as possible, because I wouldn’t be cutting this down if it wasn’t near my house.

A few weeks ago I saw a turtle that was sadly run over and hurled to the side of Prospect Rd, going north where that little marshy area is with the high water. It was devastating and it is always devastating to see how many animals get hit in Washtenaw County, but I want to say that if you see areas like this, you can almost guarantee animals are crossing for water and shelter, and you need to slow down. People go way too fast as it is on Prospect (cough cops cough cough) and it is really not necessary, especially when you’re crashing over helpless animals who have no other choice but to cross there to get their basic needs met. What are they supposed to do?

That being said, I really need to thank whoever made the homemade “turtle crossing” sign right by this marsh. I got really emotional seeing it. There’s a lot of bad crap going on in the world right now and seeing that sign reminded me that some people do care and go out of their way to help others, turtles included. So I wanted to post this to say “thank you”. Thank you so much. Thank you for caring. 🐢

Happy Pride to a city I love so dearly. I’m so proud to live in such a diverse and beautiful place. There are lots of Pride events this coming weekend & YpsiPride will be held on July 18th, which is a Saturday. Can’t wait!

Hi,

For anyone doing an early morning commute to A2 from Ypsi, the entire highway is blocked off after this exit and I’m not sure where it opens back up, but I was on my way to work and they had it blocked off with cones/a state trooper. Was definitely a surprise to have to go all the way around, so passing the message along for anyone else heading this way! Give yourself extra time or go a different route.

Hi fellow home owners,

Last year my partner and I bought a very cute midcentury house with our MIL & it was very exciting, I’m still in shock I’m a homeowner. That being said, I know that being a homeowner comes with the big bills when something chaotic happens, and yesterday was no exception.

Our AC was acting really weird & we had some HVAC specialists come out to check it out. When they took apart our outside unit, they discovered that something had chewed up all the wires & the system had all melted together 🙃 the system is 21 years old so it was already on its way out, but now we definitely need a brand-new unit. The pad underneath the unit had also sunk into the ground, so they also told us a new pad will help deter pests. We were quoted around 7k 😮‍💨 which has really thrown a monkey wrench into our wedding plans, but c’est la vie, right? Smashing into our savings like the couple from Up lol.

After living in our place for a few months, we noticed our neighbors have what look like those electric box mouse traps around their garage. We have had zero mouse issues in our house which has been great, but I’m wondering if the mouse issue migrated over to our AC unit, as the unit is very close to their garage. Is there any way for us to mitigate a mouse problem that isn’t directly ours? I do have a friendly relationship with the wife of the family but her husband seems like a bit of a prick & actively works hard to ignore my partner & I as much as he possibly can, so idk if he would even want to work on a mitigation plan with us.

Also, do newer AC units have better structure to prevent critters from getting inside of them, or is that not really going to make a difference?

As an added note, we do have a bird feeder but it’s far away from the AC unit & we have no intention of growing anything edible or putting more feeders near the unit.

Thank you for any advice/wisdom ❤️

My partner was driving through Depot Town & I just got a voice memo from them a couple minutes ago: someone drove a van onto the train tracks 😟 it sounds like it’s halfway straddling the tracks & they’re actively working to remove it. I don’t think anyone was inside of the van or they’re long gone now, but I’m guessing they were drunk and accidentally turned onto the tracks? Yikes. Thankful to whoever is working to get the van removed, I’m glad that the train didn’t smash into it.

Hi,

My partner and I first met at Ypsi Pride a few years ago & are now engaged :) we’re doing a courthouse wedding this fall but we also want a fun ceremony/reception for 2027, and we’ve been trying to come up with venue ideas or places to get married. Does anyone know if Ypsi Pride has ever hosted weddings or would potentially do something like this in the future? It would be really, really fun and special to have our big ceremony at an event we really cherish. Thanks for any info :) Happy Almost-Pride!