interview meme
Nov. 20th, 2022 11:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
boxofdelightsI got five really good questions from ursula. If you would like five questions from me, tell me in the comments below.
1. Do you have any advice about choosing and growing irises? Or a different sort of plant, if you're not into bulbs?
I love all the irises, but what I really care about is native plants. Insects and their host plants co-evolve; some insects can thrive on a wide variety of plants, but those are the ones we usually call "pests". Native insects need native plants, and birds need a plentiful and varied supply of insects to raise babies, so my advice about irises is, have islands of all the exotics you like best in a sea of native plants.
2. Is there a piece of music you've been listening to a lot lately?
I'm listening to Drive by Melissa Ferrick a lot. I love it because it's so catchy and so sexy, but I'm listening to it because I'm trying to change a habit. There is someone in my life who is very sad, and every time they tell me about their sadness I feel compelled to offer whatever suggestions or help or comfort I can think of. I'm trying to learn to wait until they figure out what they want from the interaction, and put it into words. "If you want this, you're going to have to ask."
3. Tell us about something very silly you've noticed recently (large or small)?
Horsetooth Rock is a salient feature of the local landscape. I can see it as a horse's four bottom front teeth, but what actually springs to my mind every time I look at it is a different kind of front bottom. I think the artist saw the rock the same way I do.
4. Did you grow up with dogs, or did you get to know them later in life?
I was that kid who wanted to pet every dog. I'm amazed that I only got bit once when I think about how often I stared longingly straight at strange dogs. My mom's mom had a toy poodle named Peaches; she used to warn me that Peaches didn't like being brushed, but I was gentle, and Peaches always let me brush her, even the long silky hairs on her ears that got food on them when she ate.
I was ten when my family finally got a dog, an English Springer Spaniel we named Sam. He bit a few people. It might have been what they call "Springer rage"; I was present for one bite and one near-miss, and as I remember it Sam didn't give any warning signal either time. He wasn't neutered. My dad had Feelings about emasculation.
My parents finally agreed to get a dog after a family trip to Puerto Rico, where my sister and I picked up four strays. We were Not Allowed to feed them, but we pet them, so they followed us around all day and slept in front of our townhouse at night. One of the dogs had a puppy, but she couldn't make enough milk to satisfy him; she slept on the hood of our rental car while the puppy cried underneath. We begged to be allowed to keep at least just the puppy, but it disappeared. One of the dogs got poisoned. She lay on her side whimpering for hours. My dad had his medical bag with him, but he didn't have anything that could euthanize a dog, so he tied a plastic bag over her head instead. Some American lady on the beach screamed at us that we ought to be ashamed of the state those dogs were in, but we were just kids. We were Not Allowed. My parents decided that the right way to get a dog was to go to a reputable breeder. Not a guy who cared enough about his "pet quality" puppies to insist on a spay and neuter contract, or to stop breeding from dogs whose line showed "Springer rage", but his dogs did go on to take Best in Show at Westminster twice, so I guess it was all worth it. (I have Feelings about dog breeders.)
5. What are your favorite socks like?
Comfortable, warm, not itchy. I got two pairs of SmartWool last Christmas, and those are the ones I look for first this time of year.
ursula. If you would like five questions from me, tell me in the comments below.1. Do you have any advice about choosing and growing irises? Or a different sort of plant, if you're not into bulbs?
I love all the irises, but what I really care about is native plants. Insects and their host plants co-evolve; some insects can thrive on a wide variety of plants, but those are the ones we usually call "pests". Native insects need native plants, and birds need a plentiful and varied supply of insects to raise babies, so my advice about irises is, have islands of all the exotics you like best in a sea of native plants.
2. Is there a piece of music you've been listening to a lot lately?
I'm listening to Drive by Melissa Ferrick a lot. I love it because it's so catchy and so sexy, but I'm listening to it because I'm trying to change a habit. There is someone in my life who is very sad, and every time they tell me about their sadness I feel compelled to offer whatever suggestions or help or comfort I can think of. I'm trying to learn to wait until they figure out what they want from the interaction, and put it into words. "If you want this, you're going to have to ask."
3. Tell us about something very silly you've noticed recently (large or small)?
Horsetooth Rock is a salient feature of the local landscape. I can see it as a horse's four bottom front teeth, but what actually springs to my mind every time I look at it is a different kind of front bottom. I think the artist saw the rock the same way I do.4. Did you grow up with dogs, or did you get to know them later in life?
I was that kid who wanted to pet every dog. I'm amazed that I only got bit once when I think about how often I stared longingly straight at strange dogs. My mom's mom had a toy poodle named Peaches; she used to warn me that Peaches didn't like being brushed, but I was gentle, and Peaches always let me brush her, even the long silky hairs on her ears that got food on them when she ate.
I was ten when my family finally got a dog, an English Springer Spaniel we named Sam. He bit a few people. It might have been what they call "Springer rage"; I was present for one bite and one near-miss, and as I remember it Sam didn't give any warning signal either time. He wasn't neutered. My dad had Feelings about emasculation.
My parents finally agreed to get a dog after a family trip to Puerto Rico, where my sister and I picked up four strays. We were Not Allowed to feed them, but we pet them, so they followed us around all day and slept in front of our townhouse at night. One of the dogs had a puppy, but she couldn't make enough milk to satisfy him; she slept on the hood of our rental car while the puppy cried underneath. We begged to be allowed to keep at least just the puppy, but it disappeared. One of the dogs got poisoned. She lay on her side whimpering for hours. My dad had his medical bag with him, but he didn't have anything that could euthanize a dog, so he tied a plastic bag over her head instead. Some American lady on the beach screamed at us that we ought to be ashamed of the state those dogs were in, but we were just kids. We were Not Allowed. My parents decided that the right way to get a dog was to go to a reputable breeder. Not a guy who cared enough about his "pet quality" puppies to insist on a spay and neuter contract, or to stop breeding from dogs whose line showed "Springer rage", but his dogs did go on to take Best in Show at Westminster twice, so I guess it was all worth it. (I have Feelings about dog breeders.)
5. What are your favorite socks like?
Comfortable, warm, not itchy. I got two pairs of SmartWool last Christmas, and those are the ones I look for first this time of year.