Jeepers, Creepers, and Ground Cover

Just a few short hours ago I was bragging about my fantastic yard though I managed to neglect one key bit of information: it takes all my energy and effort to even resemble a gardener. I'm not very savvy about how to care for plants nor do I have the motivation to do it regularly.

Despite that, the late summer and early fall weather has been calling me outdoors. The biting bugs have mostly subsided and the stinging bugs have been appropriately addressed (#savethebees #killtheyellowjackets). I can wear enough clothing to protect myself from poison ivy without being soaking wet in the first five minutes. I can even take a certain yellow dog outside without worrying he'll die of heat stroke. Fall is my favorite.

I completely ignored any and all yard work for the first year I lived here... turns out, I *may* have underestimated the amount of work that goes into cleaning up and maintaining a yard. Until about two months ago, the only thing I've accomplished was not raking the leaves last fall so now the lawn is dead...oops. Add a year of growth, weeds bigger than any intentional plant, and a hurricane to the mix and my yard is only suitable for the eyes of my dogs because - fun fact - dogs have pretty sad vision.

I think when the deer feel comfortable in your yard, you need to trim the bushes.

As it turns out, the previous owner had a thing for various ground cover, vines, and climbing plants. I kid you not, I've found no less than 5 different non-grass ground covers and have been keeping myself busy by ripping it all from the ground.

So literally, that's all I've been doing. Glorified weeding. I also have trees growing in my gutters and walnuts the size of tennis balls falling from the sky.

Kudos to those of you that can maintain a yard, but for me the less alive my yard is the better it looks. I can deal with grass and a handful of shrubs, but that's about it. My current goal is to minimize the plants that require any type of maintenance; if it isn't grass or it doesn't repel mosquitos it's just not worth my effort.

Soooo I'll just be over here, pulling ivy out as it tries to grow into my siding (another true story). Free beer to anyone who wants to come do it for me 😊

In the meantime, I'm just going to pretend I'm on the verge of discovering Brendan Fraser in a loin cloth anytime I'm out there.

https://www.bustle.com/p/where-is-george-of-the-jungle-star-brendan-fraser-now-the-90s-star-is-keeping-busy-70519

 

A girl can dream. 

The House Boone and Rosie Bought

Maybe The House Boone and Rosie Bought is a bit of a misnomer because - let's be real here - those adorable fuzzy faces are total free loaders.

The reason I give (undue) credit to my resident Goldens is because I noticed I fell victim to two total millennial home buying trends, one of which is completely dog-centric.

I guess we should back up for a moment while I climb on my soapbox to clear up one big misconception: yes, millennials are buying homes. Millennials represent approximately a third of total home buyers and about are two-thirds of first time home buyers are millennials. (Millennial buying trends are one of my favorite internet rabbit holes, but I won't bore you all with the details. It's not the point of this post.) Once again, my message to the non-millennial: we buy things. Not just Apple products, but houses, cars, furniture, stocks, and electronics that don't fit in our pockets.

Rant over. Back to happy things and home buying trends.

The two millennial home buying trends that I unintentionally bought into (wink wink) are:

1. Buying a home in need of repair and...
2. Buying a home for your dogs.

Now the reasons I bought a fixer is pretty straight forward. It has less to do with HGTV and more to do with seeing it as an investment. It was also the only way I could afford the type of home I wanted in the areas I was targeting. I'm relatively handy and even more patient so this seemed like a great course for me. And while buying a fixer is a trend among millennials, nothing there is really unique to millennials.

In many ways, millennials are oft considered very wise home buyers and owners. It's well documented that we are knowledgeable about markets, maintenance, resell, and improvements without the help of professionals (thanks Google), but we don't hesitate to contact realtors or contractors when truly necessary.

AKA: Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor was the anti-millennial in terms of home ownership.

Again, millennials buying older homes is not the point of this post. The crazy, attention grabbing trend I want to talk about is millennials buying homes for their pets.

True story: millennials are not only buying houses for their dogs, but buying a home for a pet actually ranks higher than marriage and children as a motivator for buyers of my generation. Even buyers without dogs cite this reason based on their desire to adopt a pet in the future.

Ironically, I learned of this trend on a holiday that is only celebrated by pet-obsessed millennials: National Dog Day (August 26th if you're wondering). Since then, I've been thinking about it a lot. Every article on millennial buying trends seems to have the tone, "you'll never believe what those crazy kids are up to now."

There's no use denying it or feeling ashamed: I absolutely bought my house for my pets - even those darn cats. I know not a one of you would be surprised to learn I prioritize my pups that highly, but it's somewhat vindicating to know I'm not alone.

Candidly, there's so many reasons I shouldn't have bought when I did. The market was (and is) a seller's market. I was in a multiple offer situation. I had a divorce that wasn't finalized. I only had half the belonging I once owned which would have easily fit into a one bedroom apartment.

But for me, there were so many reasons why buying was the right choice. Not the least of which are the four little animals who I talk for in funny voices when I'm alone call my own.

For years, I had wanted a large backyard for Boone and Rosie, a place where they could run for hours after they've already worn me out.  So I bought a house where their dog friends can come play while my human friends have a cook-out or a bonfire.

I bought a house walking distance to two greenways, both of which connect to miles upon miles of other thread-trail greenways. If we wanted to, we could start walking and never stop.

I bought a house with a large laundry room so the cats could have their own dog-free space. And I bought a house with enough communal space for all my pets to cohabitate without driving anyone to insanity.

I also bought a house that could one day have children in it: one in a family-friendly neighborhood with good schools, and enough bedrooms/bathrooms to comfortable house a family of four. But I'd be lying to say that criteria out-ranked the dog-friendliness of the house. If nothing else, those were important criteria to ensure it's a good investment in the event some poor dog-free soul buys this house one day.

Why anyone buys a house is a personal, potentially dynamic, and multifaceted decision. Other generations have bought houses to be as close to golf courses, grocery stores, and interstates as humanly possible. I don't see anything wrong with buying a house for my pets and I don't think we should judge anyone based on if they bought a house because it's close to their job, artisanal coffee, or both.

Maybe it's because I'm an overly-accepting, snowflake of a millennial. Or maybe it's because buying for your pets (who are *bone-afide* family members) isn't crazy at all.