Latin Road Trip

Adam and James got up early this morning to take a little road trip to the other side of the state, but they didn't seem to mind too much since (1) it was for educational purposes, and (2) the rest of the van was filled with girls.

The Latin teacher, who drove the erstwhile field-trippers, is very gung-ho about getting the kids involved and keeping them interested. Adam is certainly interested; he's been into languages since he was much younger. I'm still surprised that James wants to take Latin next year, but perhaps he has been encouraged by the enthusiasm from his brother.

They both had a good time, even though the point of the trip was a lecture on Roman archaeology and a tour of some museum pieces at the college. Apparently it was enough to keep them interested. Adam took lots of pictures, but wasn't allowed to use flash so most of them didn't turn out.

Whilst they were gone, Cheryl and I attended a landscaping 'seminar' held at the community center here in our development, sponsored by a local church. We were looking for advice on keeping our plants alive in the dense clay soil which is prevalent in the area. They had cookies and coffee and tea. They had plastic baggies for each of us with free pens and candy. They gave out door prizes. We walked out with a new saw, a dwarf pine tree, and a carpet sample (perfect for cats to scratch up).

We learned that there are plants that can thrive in clay soil, but the local builders didn't put them in the landscaping they provided because those plants aren't very appealing. And we learned that the reason our current trees aren't thriving, is because they were basically dropped into a shallow bowl carved out of the clay, then mounded up with a thin layer of topsoil and bark, which left the lower roots flooded and the top roots exposed.

Additionally, we learned that it will be necessary to add massive quantities of sand and mulch to our soil in order to get it to the correct ratios for supporting most edible vegetation, should we decide to put in that 'Victory' garden.

All in all, a very cheery time, meeting some nice people with whom to commiserate over our landscaping dilemma.

Afterward, I attempted to work on a little rust spot on the Subaru. It appeared to be a badly patched dent or hole in the rear driver-side wheel-well. I was hoping it was a metal patch or weld since it rusted up quickly when I sanded it lightly a couple weeks ago, but today when I attacked it with the wire brush, it crumbled like toasted bread.

Before

After

Ooh, this is going to be fun to fix!