evil

It’s tough to be angry when you’re hooking up art as a prize for this week’s photo contest winner, someone who has always been supportive and kind.

Congrats, AZMouse for the most creative scenarios on the tourist photo. Since AZMouse is an avid animal lover with two dogs and two cats, the prize is a polka-dot dog-cat, created with kindness and joy.

AZMouse's new RynArt polka-dot dog-cat/Ryn Gargulinski

Now the photo contest post is going to quietly disappear lest it wreak havoc when we least expect it, like during my next vacation.

Thanks to all who participated in the contest – every entry made me chuckle.

Gratitude also goes out to readers and fellow bloggers, such as Renee Schafer Horton, who came to my defense. I’m still unsure what to think of other bloggers who initiated hateful, personal attacks or jumped on the mega-hit bandwagon with false accusations and less-than-positive posts. Oh well. Like a wise man once told me: “F it.”

Creating art is one of the best ways to deal with emotions. You can use it to enhance joy or rid yourself of hatred, despair, disgust and rage. Just don’t work with sharp metal during the rage.

Reviewing my portfolio, it becomes clear when I used art to help me through a difficult situation or to celebrate something beautiful.

A bad hair day

artpurgegetlost — Art and photo Ryn Gargulinski

Recovering from solicitors

That bumblebee sting

Enduring screaming kids at a theater

That vegetable attack

Celebrating bats in early morning or while walking the dogs at dusk

What do you think?

Have you used art to purge? What did you come up with?

How do you get rid of emotions or celebrate something grand?

Hemlock may kill you, a giant saguaro could crush your skull and poinsettias will poison your cat. But nothing is as evil as Bermuda grass.

This fast-growing and invasive turf grass should instead be classified as a weed. It’s just as ugly and unwanted.

My experience with Bermuda grass began when I bought a house with a small lawn area infused with the stuff. While at first the Bermuda grass pretended to be user-friendly and green, it soon showed its true colors: brown.

It also exhibited a number of other annoying idiosyncrasies. Like looking like regurgitated hay.

Although Bermuda grass is supposed to die off in the winter and come back in the spring, mine only seemed to get the first half right.

Yes, I watered it. Tended to it. Treated it with loving care. Then I tried to violently rip it out and re-seed with some “as-seen-on-TV” miracle grass.

Nearly two years later, I’m still ripping.

Bermuda grass has the uncanny ability to snake its roots to depths unknown. One chunk I eventually pulled up may have had some molten rock attached from the earth’s core.

Just as the grass snakes to the deep depths of the earth, roping through palm tree roots and choking anything that dares exist beneath your house, its top layer goes wild on the surface.

Most of the lawn may remain dead, especially where you want it to be lush and green. But long tendrils of the stuff will thrive around the edges, pushing through gravel, onto patios and disrupting ornamental stepping stones and lawn borders.

Bermuda tendrils on lawn borders/Ryn Gargulinski

I think one tendril strangled a pack rat.

After several reseedings and weekly patch-ups, my lawn still has large areas of brown and crispy Bermuda grass. When even Sawyer, Mr. Dig-Dug Dog can’t unearth the stuff, you know it’s bad.

My lawn with remaining Bermuda patches/Ryn Gargulinski

Bermuda grass rating (1-10): Negative 1,056
I bet even bufflegrass is more fun than this stuff.

Art purges rage, awards contest winner

Boycott Tucson's evil weed

Stay in the loop

evil

Footer

Stay in the loop