week 10---- critters in my environment:  Child. Plants. Mold. Bacteria, beneficial and not. Rat(s) in basement and possibly attic.  Redwood tree on property line is gone now for a couple of weeks (had to be cut down for safety reasons) but was formerly an ecosystem holding raccoons, squirrels, who knows what else.  No worries, there is another redwood a few feet away and they probably live in the sewer  half time anyway (the raccoons). Squirrels are as big as housecats from eating my figs, so I don't pity them.

My backyard is an ongoing experiment to see how many native weed volunteers can invade the previously groomed and fancy garden the former owners (orchid breeders, no less) had created. It pains me a bit to see the sea of wild onions that have taken over like a blanket, choking out the former inhabitants (various flowers with purpose). No time for gardening.