#lowe's

[one-time-i-dreamt]

I was at Lowe’s and I walked past an aisle where Jensen Ackles was shopping for something. I walked past another aisle and where the refrigerators should have been, it was a golf course, where I saw Jensen Ackles again but he was playing golf with Mark Pellegrino.

[solarpunkani]

Milkweed Lovers Everywhere, Heed My Warning

By all means let me know if I'm wrong here, but if I'm not wrong then we're looking at a serious (at least to me) problem.

I've been trying to stray away from Tropical Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) and towards more native species in my area--things like swamp, sandhill, etc--and Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa) fits in that category for me. It's hard to find native milkweed plants in stores--even places I've gone to in the past that had a handful of native species are currently only selling Tropical Milkweed. Even still, I know that there's been a good bit of buzz around growing native species, and some stores I've visited have said they're trying to find vendors with native species--they're not only selling Tropical for lack of trying.

So imagine my surprise--and delight--when I go to Lowe's and see Asclepias tubersoa blazoned on a plant label!

And imagine my surprise when it's being sold right next to Tropical Milkweed and looks almost identical to it.

I was immediately suspicious--especially considering the red flower buds on the 'Butterfly weed'. I've grown Tropical Milkweed for several years, and while it's been awhile since I've seen a Butterfly Weed plant outside of a photograph, these definitely didn't look like what I'd seen. Not to mention, I'd only heard of Asclepias tuberosa flowering in orange or yellow--not red. Of course, at the same time, I'm not a professional botanist, and a quick google search did declare that butterfly weed can grow in red (though the images all look like asclepias curassavica to me...).

(Image from the Native Plant Database. Looking at this picture, I should've realized where this was going sooner...)

So I did the reasonable thing and bought two of them. I figured if the red buds somehow turned orange and were actually Butterfly Weed, then I'd be perfectly satisfied. If they turned out to be Tropical Milkweed, well, I simply would give them to my neighbor who's fond of them, or find something else to do with them.

(I feel the need to emphasize; there are a lot of people online who are in the 'if you plant tropical milkweed you're a horrible person and intentionally killing monarch butterflies' camp. I am not one of them; it's not invasive in my area of Florida, it just takes a little bit of extra managing in terms of cutting it back in October/November.)

I ended up in the same Lowe's again today, shopping for my mom, and took a peek at their plant selection. Lo and behold, I found the Butterfly Weed, and...

This sure does look like Tropical Milkweed to me, and to others in my gardening server, yet it's still labeled as 'Butterfly Weed.' Also, I didn't see any Tropical Milkweed on any of the shelves--at least, nothing labeled as Tropical Milkweed. Instead, all I saw was Tropical Milkweed disguised as Butterfly Weed.

This is, in my humble pollinator garden enthusiast opinion, a problem. At best, Lowe's--or the company they source their plants from--is mislabeling their plants on accident. Which could cause problems if people are buying the plants and putting them in a place that's not quite the right condition for them, or create severe disappointment if someone's excited to grow the native Asclepias tuberosa only to end up with something else entirely. At worst? Lowe's--or the company they source their plants from--are aware that people want to grow native milkweed and are either unable to or too lazy to grow them, and would rather try to get away with selling Tropical Milkweed--which has been growing increasingly controversial in some gardening circles--and still reap the benefits and profits of selling native milkweed species.

However, I'll be real? I'm not sure what exactly to do about it. So I guess I'm just letting everyone know; if you see 'Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)' in your local Lowe's, at least double check. Otherwise, you may plant Tropical Milkweed/Scarlet Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) instead.

[not-safe-for-democracy]

[scodeeyodee]

Deco Lowe's CC

NOW PUBLIC

Deco Lowe's

Lowe's Sign

Download: Patreon

[cassidy-peterson]

THIS WAS IN TODAY'S OFFICIAL TRAINING MODULE

[stuph-i-like]

Time to get the flower garden started.

[asexual--bard]

I think I met the Lowe's version of a fey creature today.

I broke the filter on my kitchen faucet and needed to go get a replacement. As any child will attest, Lowe's is already kind of a liminal timeless space between worlds and I had no clue where to find the tiny piece I was looking for to fix the faucet and quickly became lost in the near-deserted plumbing and sink section.

After about ten minutes I finally found an employee and flagged them down to beg for help. It was an older gentleman with messy silver hair and a long droopy handlebar mustache. A good 5 inches taller than me and probably 90 lbs soaking wet. Unsure if he even worked in the sink department, I held up the broken filter from my sink and asked if he knew where I could find a replacement.

He looked down at the filter, back at me, down again, and then a twinkle came into his eye and he said "Don't buy those. Follow me."

He spun on his heel and tromped off, beckoning me to follow.

Leading me to the aisle of sinks and vanities on display he stopped at a nondescript brown unit. Glancing surreptitiously from side to side, he gave a wink and then opened the drawer on the display sink and reached waaaaay to the back. And then he pulled out a handful of filters. Then reached in and pulled out another. All different sizes and colors. He scattered them across the shelf like a little pile of treasure.

"I keep these from the faucets that have passed on and are no longer with us."

He took the broken filter from me and started combing through the pile. Picking up one after another until he found one in the same size as mine. It was still in the ring from the faucet and he dug at it for a minute before frowning at me.

"The washer's stuck. You have young hands. Can I have your fingers?"

I've read enough fairy tales to know where THAT path led, so I said "No it's okay. I'll get it." I popped the washer out and he smiled.

"You put that in your pocket and head on home. No register."

Then he winked again and strolled away.

So if anyone was curious. There's a portal to the Fey Realm somewhere in the kitchen fixtures section at Lowe's.

[contac]

[teddy-bear-naps-and-random-snaps]

[backroad-song]

[one-time-i-dreamt]

I was on a field trip to Lowe's.

[official-lowes]

Here at Lowe's, we only pay the employees if there is no more money possible to squeeze out of the company! Our employees do not deserve to work "full-time" positions according to our customers*!

We're more than happy to provide our loyal shoppers with excellent customer service! Starting with such an all-star cast:

Autistic cashier we cannot accommodate for! (Autism is not real.)

Transgender desk associate who will be fired despite being the friendliest face you'll ever see here! (We're not against gay people, just not in our stores.)

and...

Old and/or overworked customer service desk associate who is fussy and irritated! (Usually do to being overworked.)

*For legal reasons, none of these are true.

Have a Lowe's Safe day!

[nascarwallpapers]

2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series: Jimmie Johnson, #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Download full resolution & extras on Patreon.

[dinnercalzone]

A few months back I got an ad on Twitter (back when they still had advertisers lmao) where the video was just COMPLETELY busted, playing too fast in a weird loop. So naturally I recorded it and added Source Engine ragdoll sounds to it, as one does.

[stars-inthe-sky]

https://at.tumblr.com/stars-inthe-sky/more-screamy-burd-you-may-vent-through-this/7fwfii5pz11v

Hey hey lil Miss Double Verification Checkmark! Sending you good vibes and strength and fingers and toes crossed for a speedy ice box delivery. Muchos besitos friendo

Helloooo. We do finally have a fridge and it was not speedy, and I sent a strongly worded feedback form to Lowe's.

On the upside, pocket friends are always with me. Love to you and Mr. and bébé P!

After the Sunday breakage and the aborted Tuesday delivery, we rescheduled for Friday, wherein they put the fridge in the garage but refused to install it (or haul away the broken one) because of the connected water pipe. Which no one had at any point told us (including in writing) that we needed to arrange to have done. Also, it seems like a pretty standard element of refrigerator service?

Anyway, the wonderful handyman took time out of his Saturday to disconnect that (which took all of five minutes and no specialized equipment or in-depth know-how), and I scheduled an installation for Monday. Got a confirmation call Sunday evening. Monday morning, a representative calls and informs me that the Saturday rep mis-logged the appointment as a delivery, and since there was nothing to deliver, we'd been removed from the schedule.

The guys who finally came on Tuesday (so, a full week after we'd expected to have a new fridge, which we'd ordered from Lowe's specifically to get that quickly) did their damn jobs and were in and out in like half an hour. We now have a working, installed refrigerator, and got a $100 refund for the trouble.

But I am gonna think twice before ordering products or services from Lowe's again. JFC.

[thenamesbabe-crybabe]

Healing my inner child by standing in the light aisle in Lowe's