It's time for wisteria again, and these two houses (above and below) always put on a good show. I've photographed both of them before, but I like to check in every year and see how they're doing. Pretty good, I'd say!
I took both of these photos with my phone. They're probably not quite as good as shots taken with my big camera, but as I've said before, it sure is nice not to have to lug that thing around.
More library inventory yesterday! The good news is, I got through most of the rest of the library in a single day. While my co-workers covered the desk, I did the Spanish, French, biography, professional development and fiction sections -- a total of 11,537 books. Whew! About 45 books are missing, and I have a feeling many of those aren't really missing but either didn't register on the scanner, have fallen to the back of the shelf or are elsewhere in the library. When I go back on Monday I'll do a second pass and mop up any loose ends. I'll also do smaller sections like games and textbooks.
ISN'T THIS EXCITING?!?!
Blogger Rachel asked yesterday what I meant by "scanning," so I took a helpful photo to show you the process. I use the hand-held scanner to scan the bar code on each book, which accounts for it in the library computer. The scanner emits that red light, which sees the bar code. (Allow me to add, because I know I'll get this question, that the red dots on the book spines mean the books are suitable for younger readers.)
I told Dave yesterday evening that I wish my phone tracked physical activity like squats and deep-knee bends (are those the same thing?) because my thighs got a workout, kneeling down and getting up again.
As someone who hates to see plants abused, here's one of my pet peeves. I photographed this shopping center's newly painted entranceway back in September 2022, and at that time it had new plants in all its planters. Well, apparently no one is tasked with maintaining these plants, which are under a roof and thus get very little (if any) rainwater. Most of them have died and the rest look like this. It's all I can do to pass by without digging them up and bringing them home. WHY would someone spend all that money on landscaping and then allow it to die with no care? Why have the planters at all?
Someone?
ReplyDeleteI can see those planters becoming receptacles for ciggie butts and fast food wrappers, such a shame.
ReplyDeleteWhat a difference between the beauty of the bloom in the first photos and the sadness and neglect in the last photo. There is everything from everything in the world.
ReplyDeleteWith regard to your scanning marathon, you do not appear to have covered the following sections - Witchcraft, Pornography, Adolf Hitler, Hallucinogenic Drugs, Bomb Making and Donald Trump. No doubt you will be able to catch up with those shelves next week.
ReplyDeleteSo much is spent on landscaping etc but not making sure things are maintained. Our building's garden irrigation system failed and no one called it until trees were completely dead.
ReplyDeleteYou might end up in court for stealing 'dead' plants.
We had a back fence with a similar wisteria display. I seem to remember that flowers only appeared on two year old wood, so how did I prune it? I can't remember.
My phone keeps telling me 'You only need thirty minutes of exercise each day to improve your health' and I don't which app is sending that. Nevertheless, it can bugger off.
Rachel: I have edited the post to give credit where credit is due. :)
ReplyDeleteRiver: Oh, they are definitely that!
Yael: I just don't understand the latter, why they would invest all that money with no plan for the upkeep.
YP: On the contrary, all those subjects (with the possible exception of bomb-making) are covered in our non-fiction section. The pornography is, obviously, not pornography itself but rather academic discussion of pornography!
Andrew: How strange. I wonder where that alert is coming from?!
I see what you mean by the plants. I wonder if the mall manager knows how much it affects his shoppers. How young are the Hardy Boys books. A first (almost second) grader? Of older? Now we understand the scanning!
ReplyDeleteAnd you can NEVER show too many wisteria photos for me. They are one of my favorites and don't grow all that well here.
How anyone could think those planter containers would be good for plants and then just stand by anda watch them die is amazing to me.
ReplyDeleteDoes no one who works there go outside??
It pleases me to see that the Hardy Boys Mysteries are still in print. We had a "complete set" in the Fifties/Sixties and I read every one of them. I loved the relationship between Frank and Joe, as my own real-life brothers were idiots. ;-)
ReplyDeleteThose planters are a crime, or should be.
Love wisteria!
Yeah. You are so right about those plants. Instead of being an attractive feature they have become depressing and sad. I would call that the "Dead Plant Shopping Center" and avoid it like the plague.
ReplyDeleteScanning books is indeed a serious workout, Steve.
I should start doing squats and walking lunges again (my yoga routine and in class does neither) because I used to be able to just stand up from sitting cross legged and now I have to give myself a little boost pushing up with my hands.
ReplyDeleteas for the dead plants in those planters, there's probably not a hose bib anywhere nearby that would allow them to be watered. you'd think whoever designed that would have noticed.
love the wisteria, one of my favorites and it blooms on last years growth so it has to be pruned right after it blooms.
One of my pet peeves is stores selling plants but they don't water them properly and the plants sit there, dying.
ReplyDeleteLove the wisteria which cannot grow here, sadly.
The dead plants are what happens when designers aren't gardeners. They don't grasp that plants are living, not inert design features. There used to be companies that specialized in commercial plant care, but I think they've been cut out, saving costs. Short sighted, if people don't want to shop or live where the plants are neglected.
ReplyDeletePerhaps fake plants would have been a better choice. I used to be guilty of this--thinking that because a plant was outside, it would get watered by rain. (when it's on the porch or under the eaves, no, it won't) In my case, I live here so I saw the result and could fix it. Love the wisteria! I walk by some on my walk but not as impressive as those houses.
ReplyDeleteThe wisteria is beautiful. Without care, the installation of plants was a waste of money. What could have been green and flowering looks pretty ugly with dead and dying plants. Installing stone sculptures might be a better alternative. A friend wears a watch that calculates exercise and health data. You might like this watch. The scanning is a big job. Soon you'll have a complete inventory.
ReplyDeleteThe wisteria is magnificent. Especially the second picture.
ReplyDeleteA mall here in Tucson had some really nice planters with cacti, and they died. They do need water, and weren't being cared for. Now they are just sad.
That's actually not a terrible number of books to have missing. I bet you'll "find" most of them.
ReplyDeleteI love wisteria!
Those are some very sad looking planters. I agree, why have them if you aren't going to maintain them.
ReplyDeleteThose two wisteria patches are stunning. I love them both.
Love that wisteria! And yes it IS exciting. I think it's amazing that you're only missing 45 books - and it's probably all down to the hard work you do getting books back from kids.
ReplyDeleteYou need a Fitbit tracker! It would recognize that you are doing an aerobic activity. Maybe you shouldn't get one though - I am addicted to mine and get uneasy if it gets a glitch or needs an update.
ReplyDeleteThe wisteria is wonderful.
Oof, I couldn't have done all that scanning, especially when you described the squatting and rising. Was the guy in the blue top in your planter shot wondering "Why is that bald-headed guy taking a picture of me?!!!!!"
ReplyDeleteOh, that scanning photo brings back happy memories!
ReplyDeleteToo bad about the mall planters. They definitely need a plant service to take care of those or else just remove them.
About the food diary, I just thought you could snap a quick photo of your meals and that would help you track what you eat... maybe?
charming wisteria homes- my first thought was-"somebody has got some dosh!"
ReplyDeletePerhaps that business hired my wife to plan the planters. She is forever wanting to plant things up next to the house and under our eaves where they get no water unless a driving rain hits us from the right direction. When I tell her they would do better three feet away from the house, I am told they don't look good out there!
ReplyDeleteJeanie: I'd put the age group for the Hardy Boys books between third and fifth grade. They're not super popular in our library. I suspect they carry a whiff of nerdiness.
ReplyDeleteBob: Exactly! Isn't there a janitor or caretaker who thinks, "Gee, maybe I should water these?!"
Jonboi: I also read the Hardy Boys when I was a kid, and I loved those books!
Ms Moon: This shopping center is in a state of limbo because it's supposed to be torn down in the long term. But I don't think that's happening very soon, and there are still a lot of stores in there.
Ellen: Even with no hose nearby, how hard would it be to have the janitor carry a couple of buckets of water out there?
Pixie: Oh, I see that too and it drives me crazy. In fact it makes me want to buy the plants to rescue them. Maybe it's a deliberate sales technique?
Boud: Yeah, I remember my office in New Jersey had one of those professional plant-care firms.
Margaret: I guess that's exactly what happened. Whoever planned for those planters never imagined they'd be so dry sitting outside.
Susan: Or just remove the planters entirely. I don't see why they're necessary at all.
Allison: You know it's bad when even the cacti are too dry! I was thinking cacti might work in this situation, or yucca, but maybe they're too prickly to be on a busy urban street with people brushing past.
Kelly: Yeah, I suspect many of them are actually there, just hiding.
Sharon: The whole entranceway is kind of hideous, I think. The dirty green paint, the botanical stencils -- why?
Bug: Which I complain about constantly! :)
Wilma: Yeah, it's probably just as well I don't have anything tracking my movements. I could see how the numbers would become the goal!
Catalyst: The woman in gray was just standing there and the person in blue was walking past. Yeah, they probably both wonder what I'm up to, but I'm far enough away from them that hopefully they can tell they're not the subject of my photo!
Ellen D: Oh, that's not a bad idea. Easier than writing it all down!
Linda Sue: Definitely! Both free-standing houses in well-to-do neighborhoods. Not cheap!
Ed: My mom always said this was my dad's tendency, too -- to plant things too close to the house. Then they don't have enough room to grow, not to mention the water problem.
The Hardy Boys. Did you read those when you were a kid? I don’t know why I never did.
ReplyDeleteWisteria is so glorious. I’m heartbroken when I see those planters and, specifically, trees around our neighborhood that are planted beautifully and then left without care only to be replaced again and again. We have crape myrtle trees that have been replaced at least 5 times in the past 10 years. It takes more than just sticking a tree in dirt. And those are our city gardeners. So frustrating.