WhyDoYouPersist

Oh right.

Like a self-inflicted extinction event for the ingroup. A study in selective evolution.

Yep, and @[email protected] if they're hollow, they're living out their adult lives elsewhere (likely in the building). These are just signs that they used it as a pupation site.

You're a saint!

For any Americans capable of voting who aren't planning on voting, fuck you. Exercise your rights. In fact, exercise in general; a good benchmark to aim for is the ability to outrun cops. The future of monocultured, homogenous, morbidly obese, microplastic and PFAS leachate-laden Judases who filed in to toe the line for the ruling class and shun their brethren will be all that's left on earth after the richest cretins rape the planet for its last naturally occurring resources and pile into the most market-tested, fool-proof space vehicles manufactured by literally the singular winner of capitalism. Capitalism, the golden child of pyramid schemes. Those bovine-shaped humans left on earth crawling on all fours ruminating highly processed refuse will still be muttering out loud to themselves how it was all worth it. "At least I won't accidentally befriend a trans person" because it will have been years ago that they were banned and disappeared magically. Heart disease continues to run rampant on this future Earth, however. And there's of course the carbon dioxide problem. Somewhat bittersweetly for the Bovine sapiens species, the last remaining vestiges of oxygen-starved brain activity need only worry about one thing: sniffing for morsels through heaps of plastic waste.

RFK likes this

That makes sense, thanks! Neighbors and peer pressure I've found are one of the most difficult hurdles to overcome when it comes to restoring or maintaining native ecosystems, for those who are interested in doing so.

Good point about the fire safety aspect. It's interesting: prior to human disruption and development, wildfires were a massive key to the sustainability and reinforcement of health for native flora and soil. Most cities won't let you perform prescribed fires on your property to try to emulate that (for good reason, of course!). Because you're removing the leaf barrier during drought, the next best thing to conserve moisture in the soil would be locally produced mulch. A good rule of thumb is to mulch at least a couple inches deep all the way to the drip line of the tree (where the roots extend to and even beyond), just imagine a line dripping straight down from the very outer circumference of branches on the tree. And as another user said, never put any mulch or other organic matter within a few inches of the trunk to keep decaying matter and the organisms it attracts away from the tree tissue.

The pest control aspect theoretically should work itself out by keeping the native ecosystem as intact as possible. Too many pests means an abundance of food for beneficial predators such as wasps, dragonflies, songbirds and birds of prey. Of course if you're referring to pests as meaning invasive species that outcompete natives, that's much trickier.

I'm sorry for the wall of text and unsolicited advice but it is a passion of mine so it's hard to shut up once I start. That stuff is literally worth it's weight in gold to the natural world; you might even want to try composting it as another option, but anywhere you move it to will be all the richer for it.

In any case, I appreciate the engineering of your jolly green giant leaf sucker and I hope it serves you well if you continue transporting the leaf litter.

Out of curiosity, what necessitates moving the leaf litter at all? Asking genuinely, not trying to rain on your triumph--very cool setup. Just want to mention that leaf litter provides several natural benefits as part of its ecosystem you may not be aware of:

-It provides shelter and food for ground insects that enrich soil and feed birds over winter

-Butterflies and especially moths (who also pollinate) rely on leaf litter to protect eggs from the elements over winter. We don't see nearly as many fireflies as we used to due to loss of their habitat when leaf litter is removed

-It acts as natural mulch, leaching nutrients and decomposing into additional top soil layers, as well as conserving water by moisture retention

-Energy/fuel is expended to collect and move the leaf litter, on top of negating all the above

I'd love to know if there's a unique circumstance in your situation that requires the use of collection and burning rather than natural decomp, I'm certainly open to learning something new.

GATTICA! GATTICA! GATTICA!

Someone will correct me if I’m wrong!

A true believer in Cominghome's Law.

It's interesting how all the pearl-clutching rhetoric behind climate-driven immigration I hear coming from the US (right) seems to be under the assumption people will be clamoring to move there as shit continues to hit the proverbial fan. However, from this layperson's perspective it seems emigration will be the far bigger reckoning for America.

👏 Stop 👏 planting 👏 non-natives

There are several on that list. For every non-native planting there is a better native option that will benefit the local ecosystem rather than potentially harm it.