It rarely gets below 20F here, so I am expecting my plant to overwinter (the roots, anyway) and produce more next year. Honestly I wasn't expecting it to flower at all in year one, so this was a delightful surprise! Sunlight hours here are limited (especially because my garden gets some shade), so perennial plants often take a full year just to get established but then they take off in year two.
you're welcome!
That one upside-down K
I think all mowers except non-motorized push mowers should be illegal for home use. You want a big, manicured lawn? Well then you gotta work for it, buddy.
Most properties where I live have huge grass lawns, but I almost never see anyone actually using them. The only time anyone is out on their lawn is to mow it, and they all use these low-effort riding mowers. Every single nice day (and I live in the maritime Pacific Northwest, so warm and sunny days are precious things) is always filled with the din of mowers, leaf blowers, hedge trimmers, and other gas-powered tools of ornamental landscaping. And for what? An ecologically-devoid patch of land that even the landowner isn't utilizing.
This year I'm growing artichoke for the first time (grew a single plant from seed). It's finally producing a head and I'm super conflicted on whether to harvest it (yummy!) or let it bloom (pretty!)
Actually harvested carrots can last for months if buried in sand and stored in a cool place.
Seconds 1-6: oh no, OP doesn't know what "oddly satisfying" means
Seconds 7-19: scratch that
There are vegan blood meal alternatives out there to resolve this exact conundrum.
But the reality is, unless your plants are being grown hydroponically in a sealed warehouse or similar, chances are real good that they are feeding on decaying animals (either directly or indirectly) whether you like it or not. They're mostly insects and annelids and such, but still animals.
I think the issue for vegans is more about whether animal slaughter was involved in making their fertilizer. Dead pillbugs in the soil is just nature doing its cycle of life thing.
Given how humans have been running things, I, for one, welcome our new mycelial overlords
JFC covid booster rates are already hovering about two inches from the floor
I mean, you could totally make Home Alone II today as long as you set it pre-9/11, so I take this to mean "these movies that were set in the 'present day' could not be redone and set in the 'present day' of 2024."
You couldn't make Back to the Future because 21st century streets are no place for minors on skateboards.
You couldn't make American Beauty for a LOT of reasons (including prevalence of digital video, marijuana legalization, increased public awareness/concern about pedophilia, etc)
You couldn't make Clueless because shopping malls are dead (or at least nowhere near as cool as they used to be)
You couldn't make Trainspotting or Requiem for a Dream because heroin and cocaine are quaint drugs by 2020s standards
You couldn't make Paris is Burning because Harlem gentrified big time (I know this is a documentary but still)
You couldn't make The Matrix because no one would believe human batteries would be happy and content living in a simulation of 2024 (also no telephone booths)
I almost said The Truman Show because we basically live in that world already but fuck it, I wanna see a 2024 version where the producers have to keep desperately introducing crazier plot developments to try and compete for a TikTok-addicted audience unamused by "just another reality TV show", and constant set issues like cast members getting fired right and left for sneaking smartphones onto set.
Agree with everyone else that this isn't normal for someone your age and get a second opinion.
However addressing your other questions: you're at an age where lifestyle starts to really matter. Diet, exercise, ergonomics, environmental exposure to pollution/toxins, alcohol/drug use, sleep habits: these are all things that many healthy young adults can avoid having to worry about... until suddenly they can't anymore. It is common, especially starting around age 30, to find there's unhealthy behaviors from your teens and 20s that you just can't do or do to excess anymore. It's different for everyone; for some people it's that they can't sleep on a crappy mattress anymore, or drink certain types of liquor, or pull all nighters, or eat garbage, etc etc.
So while it sounds like you have some personal health issues outside of what's "normal," you still are at an age where the cumulative effects of a poor lifestyle can start to catch up to you. I think a lot of people greatly underestimate how sedentary their lifestyles are in particular, and of all the behaviors to change for the better as you age, going from sedentary to active is probably the hardest, given that our world is built to keep us sitting: sitting in our cars, sitting at our desks, sitting on our couches, basically sitting from the moment we wake until we go to sleep. Humans never lived like this until very recently: basically every decade since the personal automobile became the standard mode of transportation it's steadily gotten worse. So yes, definitely do some doctor shopping, but now is also a great age to take stock in your lifestyle and how you're treating your body. Because yes, it does get a little harder each year, but the speed of which it gets harder is at least partially up to you.