Dear Kid,

A house divided against itself cannot stand, but a hosta divided stands in more places than the original (extra points if you get the reference).

Last night I decided to split some of the hosta in the back, and after dinner Booker and I went out to see what we could accomplish. Fortunately the ground was very soft (it’s the Rainy Season today) so splitting the hosta was relatively easy. Booker followed the guiding principle of whither thou diggest I will sniff. It was very friendly. Also it was as far as his leash would allow him to wander.

We dug up some worms (which he ignored) and a rotting piece of wood (which was worth several additional sniffs and a return visit later). I divided and replanted two hosta with minimal difficulty but when I got to the third I realized that the area where I wanted to plant there were a ton of weeds in the way.

Dad is waging war against the Lesser Celandine Invasion in that part of the landscape. (Partly he wants to get rid of it and partly he likes saying “lesser celandine.”) Rather like the Great Front Yard Dandelion Campaign (2002-2011), I don’t think it can be won, but I give him many points for effort.

During the Well-Considered Dandelion Retreat of 2011, the dandelions left an elite force in the front yard to multiply and frustrate your father while moving the remaining soldiers and camp women to our back door neighbor’s lawn. From there, they are slowly inching their way back onto our property. Last night I evicted entire families of weeds. There were baby dandies, siblings, and great-grandpa dandelions with their roots reaching down to three or four miles.

I dug, yanked, and I left little piles for the Weed Removal Wizard (Dad) to deal with. If anyone wanted to track my progress they would only have to move slightly more quickly than a worm and go from one little pile of pulled up weeds to the next. With any luck it’s not windy so the weeds won’t have spread out and re-rooted (oh, the horror).

My plan is to get out today and finish splitting and replanting. Possibly to clean up some of the branches and twigs that fell during the last monsoon. Hopefully I can get to the weeding over near the kitchen windows. All before lunch. And then the Good Fairy will land finish the yard work. Are you holding your breath? I’m not.

Hope you reach all your goals today.

Love, Mom

On June 16, 1858, Abraham Lincoln delivered his “A house divided against itself cannot stand” speech to more than 1,000 Republican delegates after being selected as their candidate for US Senate.