I agree that some of the neighbors have gardens purely for display, but they are a minority of the neighborhood we’re in thankfully. There are plenty of folks out there with nary a native plant or anything besides grass (which, ugh). But I like to think that those who are planting beneficial and host plants but cutting them back in the fall just haven’t, as you said, been taught about just how critical that structure is during the parts of the year when small lives are less noticeable.

Personally, I prefer to engage and encourage when folks ask after the differences in the sheer amount of wildlife between their spots and ours. It’s been my experience that a sort of “let’s figure this out together” guided learning leads to a more robust response towards stewardship (defined here as shorthand for ecologically mindful stewardship aimed at environmental health and resilience) and a relationship that allows for less apprehension of future conversations.

There is a special deep, dark place in hell for the inventor

Them and the minds behind “weed block fabric” made of plastic

My understanding is that this program only applies to federal taxes, so I’m not sure that the particular state’s income tax laws will have much bearing on selection for participation or which stage of rollout they’re added with.

Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington State and Wyoming are participating.

It’s a shame more aren’t participating but I can see the reasoning behind staged access and iterative improvement. The real pity is that data they’ve already got won’t be preloaded in this stage. It would have been the nail in the coffin for Intuit and other companies’ predatory practices on lower income folks, at least as they exist currently.

Absolutely the correct order of checks

I’m having a bit of a tough time making out the bevel in your second picture - the angle looks steep but not unreasonably so. Are you flat filing the backs of the cutting faces to work the burr? Here is a guide to determine the angle you should be aiming for.

I love flat files for sharpening larger blades like my axes and hatchets (they’re still finished with a stone) but tend to reach for a sharpening stone for smaller blades like scissors and secateurs. The wider face of the stone makes it easier to keep a consistent angle even without the use of a jig.