BirdinMo -- If you go to Fallingwater, go in the spring when the Rhodedendrons / Mountain Laurel are blooming. Since the house is built over a stream, saving the stream from drying up from nearby development was a major priority. So the Conservancy bought 40 acres of the watershed and planted it with wonderful spring blooming shrubs to keep the soil in place and therefore the water clear.
Midlifebear -- My mom plants mint without a barrier between it and the lawn so it will spread into the grass. Then when she mows, WOW what an incredible fragrance. Mown mint!!!! (BTW, slut yes, ignorant no. LOL) And speaking of Texas, if you get a chance, watch "Springs of Texas" narrated by Walter Conkrite. 250+ springs in the state at one time, many of which are now dry. Most fascinating to me was a couple who wanted to buy the worst ranch in the county --and they did-- to restore it. They cut down the invasive mesquite and planted grasses that allowed water to drip down the blades to the roots and into the rocky soil. In about 3 years they started finding springs on the property and soon there was a stream and a couple ponds, all from just better land management that was designed to get rainfall to percolate instead of running off. That's amazing. They play this program on our PBS station frequently but it's probably harder to find outside Texas. You Dallas people watch for it on KERA. It was just on again within in the last week.
Garcia Guy -- You must go to the rainforest! It's interesting to watch all the plants change the higher up the mountain you go. We were incredibly lucky that when we got halfway up, mist started coming in from the sea and filling the valleys. Then it kept rising and covered the flat lands. Kept rising as we kept going up and started covering the other hills etc. Soon we were at the summit and looking down on the tops of clouds and NOTHING else. Everything else had been covered by the clouds but fortunately the clouds did not come up as high as we were so we could still see straight out for miles. I'll never forget that experience. Unfortunately, my other half at the time thought it would be a good idea to put the film in the small case that was dedicated to shampoos, suntan lotions, lube, etc so they wouldn't ruin clothes if they spilled. Well, spill one did and ruined the film. I don't know WHAT he was thinking putting it in there of all places. Sheesh.
