proper etiquette after stepping in dog poop

People! Reams have been written regarding proper etiquette for dog owners cleaning up after their pets. This is not the subject of this rant.

I'm talking about AFTER you have been the unfortunate individual to not watch where you're stepping and find yourself experiencing an odd sensation under your shoe in mid-stride. That squishy feeling.

Immediately you must stop spreading the offending offal. Stop walking. Freeze. Don't spread what's on the bottom of your shoe further down the sidewalk, one step at a time, little by little depositing bits and pieces of the crap (so to speak) along the way for more people to have more opportunity to step in it themselves, for crying out loud!

Might I suggest, take one GIANT mother-may-I? step off the path and leave what you can someplace where the next person who's not watching where they step won't experience what you have just experienced?

Just a thought.

winter storm damage on the urban landscape

On my random walks through the city over the last couple of weeks of snow, ice and rain, I've come across many landscape trees that have suffered mightily. The most common thing I've seen are larger deodar cedars that were topped sometime in the past. Once a tree like that is topped (usually in a futile attempt to keep a large tree small), the top side branches compete to become the tree's new leader. As these side branches grow over the years, they become too large and heavy to support a heavy snow load, and eventually break off in a most unsightly way. Too bad for the tree, and the homeowner who now has a big mess to clean up and a big empty spot in the landscape. Good news for the garden centers who can sell you a new tree, and good news for the homeowner because nurseries have been working overtime to produce and bring to the market smaller trees for the smaller urban gardens.