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Month: September 2018
Short stories by an American-Iranian writer. Very dark, very quirky. I particularly like the very first story, Bettering Myself. Need to read that one again.
Sometimes her stories seem just weird, but not weird in a good way. Just kind of too far out there.
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Bartlett Tree Experts
The guy from Bartlett Tree Experts come out and told us a lot of good information about our trees and shrubs. Below is summary of what he had to say.
He said the large, smooth barked trees in the backyard are American Beeches. The other big ones are Tulip Poplars. He said both are very sturdy and usually have very few problems. He saw nothing nothing wrong with ours.
He said our Hemlock out front is dying. They really should not be grown around here, not native. Too hot. Will only live 20 to 3o years. Once green dies it will not grow back.
As for the japanese hollies (?) out front next to the house. Said we could cutout branches to allow light inside. Then leaves will grow again on the inside.
He gave us a few things that we should look out for.
- The black spot with the liquid pouring down on one of them is a virus. Said it is not a problem. Often happens when there is a lot of rain.
- Cavities of only a few inches are not a problem.
- When the wind blows hard, the trunk should move very little. If it does, it is a sign it could fall.
- Another bad sign is if the soil around the tree becomes uneven.
- Watering coming down the side – “Splunge” (?)- not a problem.
- Roots visible from the ground are not a problem.
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Vacation to Florida
9/13/18 – Arrival in Miami
Decent flight from Dulles to Miami International. American Airlines. Checked into the Villa Paradiso. Nice garden, but an old pretty decrepit. Very loud air conditioner that ran 24/7. Walked around town.
9/14/18 – Picked up Nasrin from airport. At lunch at a decent Indian restaurant. Walked along Ocean Drive/South Beach in the evening. Cool Art Deco architecture. Neon lighting.Lot of young folks partying at the bars. At dinner at a Cuban place, Yucca. Good, unusual vegetarian lasagna.
9/15/18 – Took a tour to the Holiday Alligator Park in the Everglades. The driver, Leah, told us this story about adopting her husband’s daughter’s young child. The daughter has an extreme drug problem.
Could have just driven to the place ourselves. Anyway, it was easy. Pretty fun boat ride, saw a bunch of alligators.
Took another walk along South Beach. Met a woman who worked at the New York Times. She said she had just done a video about a ballot measure that would allow felons to get their voting rights back after completing their sentence.
9/16/18 – Drove to Key West
Drove down to Key West. Nice drive, especially the Seven Mile Bridge area. Stayed in a really, really cool boutique hotel, The Gardens Hotel. Saw the mile zero marker. Ate at Azurs, a Mediterranean restaurant. Watch sunset at Mallory Square. Really special. Fun how the crowd cheered.
9/17/18 -Drove to Key Largo
Stopped at Robbie’s and feed the giant Tureon fish. Wow. Stopped at the Rain Barrel, lots of cool stuff for sale.
Checked in to the Marriott Playa Resort, a pretty spectacular place. Watch the sunset from their private beach. Swam in the pool. Had it all to ourselves.
9/18/18 – Drove to Fort Lauderdale
Visited Bonnet house. Perhaps the coolest house I ever saw.
Used Jet Blue then Uber for the ride home. Fine.
