Are we really acting like some coneflowers growing by train tracks is a deep life lesson now? I've seen dandelions taking over cracked parking lots and crabgrass thriving in literal sidewalks. That's not nature being noble, that's just plants being opportunists. Purple coneflowers are basically the weeds of the native plant world anyway, they'd grow on a hot asphalt roof if you let them. It's not that deep. Your backyard fussy stuff is fine, you're just comparing apples to oranges. Or in this case, coneflowers to whatever bougie hybrid you're coddling.

idk, @evah40's dust cloud plan sounds way more honest tbh.

Wait, you mean I can actually tell my kids we're having "taco meat" and it's secretly half lentils? That's genius, I've been hiding chopped mushrooms in everything like a sucker. I do about half and half now and my husband still hasn't caught on, which tells you how much he actually pays attention to dinner. The trick is to really season the lentils well so they don't just taste like sad little pebbles in your sauce.

And honestly I think people sleep on the humidity factor too. If you're working in Phoenix during monsoon season the moisture in the air can mess with the backing expansion just enough to make seams pull apart. I've had jobs where the gap closed up overnight after the AC kicked in and dried things out. The knee trick works great but sometimes the carpet itself just needs to settle before you lock it down. A quarter inch is bad but I've seen worse from guys rushing to finish before the glue cures in the heat.

oh and heres another angle - the physical act of holding a book in your hands vs a screen actually makes your body relax differently because of that old muscle memory from before phones.