Did you catch that episode of On the Ledge where Darryl Cheng talked about shopping for plants with your brain instead of your eyes? It really changed how I look at buying houseplants now. I mean, it's so easy to fall for a pretty leaf and ignore its actual needs. Reading his stuff made me realize I was just wasting money on plants that were doomed from day one.

Man, that is such a bummer but also kind of hilarious. Totally been there myself. A buddy of mine used one of those ground scanners out in his field looking for an old septic tank, and the thing screamed about a "large anomaly" about four feet down. We dug for a solid hour, sweating like crazy, and what did we pull up? An old cast iron bathtub, half full of mud and rocks. Felt like a real fool, but at least we didn't have to pay for it. Your neighbor's story makes my bathtub find look like a reasonable treasure hunt by comparison.