Entries

Today is cloudy and cool.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 11/1/25 -- I trimmed weeds from the daffodil bed.

EDIT 11/1/25 -- I spread the first bag of composted manure on the daffodil bed.  It covered the far side and half the center.

EDIT 11/1/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 11/1/25 -- I spread the second bag of composted manure on the daffodil bed.  So that's done, aside from raking up a pile of leaves to create the mulch cover for it.  This concludes today's yardwork target. \o/

EDIT 11/1/25 -- I started trimming weeds from the tulip bed.

I am done for the night.

People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

How would the world change if there was an accurate measure of aptitude?

Little if any. Some types of aptitude can be tested pretty well. People often choose not to act on them. In fact, people often prefer the less accurate ones.

Today is mostly sunny and mild.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.  They drained the hopper feeder.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 10/31/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 10/31/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 10/31/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 10/31/25 -- We set up for our Samhain ritual.

A great horned owl is hoo-hooing outside.  :D

I am done for the night.
 

libraries as resistance

In a system that wants to dismantle education and undermine critical thought, libraries become sanctuaries of truth, radical hope, and quiet rebellion.


Generously stocked, freely accessible, public libraries are ideal.

However, if the government destroys them, we have another option: private libraries run by actual bookworms. A library can be stocked quite cheaply with used books, hence the Little Free Library movement and swap shelves. But if you have or can afford to rent or buy space in a building, then you can provide a bigger collection. A private library is not at the mercy of the government, and you are free to do things like ban censorship.

Revisit those who have passed during the year. These entries from my "Moment of Silence" tag highlight those who have died recently. Some of my posts have a "Carry on the Work" section regarding the person's accomplishments in case anyone else wants to explore those.

Browse ways to celebrate Dia de los Muertos.

Here are some things to do for Samhain. See the Greenhaven Coven page for Samhain and its recipes.

Does anyone else have names to remember?

Today's theme is Kpop, Korean popular music.

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Today is mostly sunny, breezy, and mild.  It drizzled yesterday.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 10/30/25 -- I planted 12 mixed crocuses around the barrel garden.

EDIT 10/30/25 -- I planted 12 Dutch irises around the yard.

EDIT 10/30/25 -- I planted 5 purple-and-white striped crocuses in the purple-and-white garden.  This concludes the currently purchased bulbs.

EDIT 10/30/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 10/30/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 10/30/25 -- I hauled a large fallen branch to the ritual meadow.

I am done for the night.

Gifts That Do Good: Ethical Subscriptions That Give Back

If you’re wondering how to make the most of your holiday giving, consider giving a subscription to one of the many options Good Good Good has sourced below.

We’ve rounded up some of the most ethical and sustainable subscriptions on the Internet. In addition to being a great gift, you’re also supporting companies that do good.

Our theme this time was "Witches and Wizards." I wrote from 1 PM to 4:30 AM, so about 13 hours 30 minutes, accounting for breaks. I wrote 8 poems on Tuesday plus 2 later in the week.

Participation was up, with 11 comments on LiveJournal and another 28 on Dreamwidth. A total of 12 people sent prompts.


Read Some Poetry!
The following poems from the October 7, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl have been posted:
"The Disappointing Daughter"
"The Unretired Witch"
"What Wizardry Is All About"

"New and Innovative Approaches"


Buy some poetry!
If you plan to sponsor some poetry but haven't made up your mind yet, see the unsold poetry list from October 7. That includes the title, length, price, and the original thumbnail description for the poems still available.

This month's donors include: janetmiles and Anthony Barrette. All sponsored poems from this fishbowl have been posted. There is 1 tally toward a bonus fishbowl.


The Poetry Fishbowl has a landing page.

Before plants or animals, fungi conquered Earth’s surface

Fungi were Earth’s first ecosystem engineers, thriving long before plants ever took root.

Fungi’s evolutionary roots stretch far deeper than once believed — up to 1.4 billion years ago, long before plants or animals appeared. Using advanced molecular dating and gene transfer analysis, researchers reconstructed fungi’s ancient lineage, revealing they were crucial in shaping Earth’s first soils and ecosystems.

Unraveling the Drama Between Hank Green and the Knitting Community

Hank Green has been a knotty boy. One of the latest episodes of his YouTube show, SciShow, is all about knitting and how science is elevating the lowly craft to a place of actual importance. You know who finds that take distasteful? Knitters.

( Read more... )

This is an advance announcement for the Tuesday, November 4, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. This time the theme will be "Fairies and Fey." I'll be soliciting ideas for fairies, seelie or unseelie sidhe, the Wild Hunt, elves, other types of fey, Radical Faeries, other queers, tricksters, contraries, rebels, adventurers, mentors, historians, explorers, magic users, partners, teachers, leaders, dark lords, superheroes, supervillains, teammates, fantasy species, activists, other unusual fantasy folk, doing magic, doing things backwards, causing mischief, breaking rules, caring for the land, exploring new territory, meeting new species, upsetting predictions, twisting tropes, flipping stereotypes, expecting the unexpected, teaching, adventuring, leaving your comfort zone, discovering things, adapting, improvising, troubleshooting, cleaning up messes, cooperating, taking over in an emergency, saving the day, discovering yourself, studying others, testing boundaries, coming of age, coming out, running away from home, going off the rails, subverting fate, learning what you can (and can't) do, sharing, preparing for the worst, fixing what's broke, upsetting the status quo, changing the world, accomplishing the impossible, recovering from setbacks, returning home, other fantastic activities, Underhill, faery rings, the forest primeval, underwater, underground, liminal zones, castles, ruins, dungeons, dragon lairs, schools, kitchens, campfires, libraries, apothecary shops, supervillain lairs, makerspaces, nonhuman accommodations and adaptations, farmer's markets, magical lands, foreign dimensions, other phantasmagoric settings, faerie magic, unusual magical systems, magical artifacts, enchanted musical instruments or weapons, quests, time periods other than medieval, governments other than monarchy, dragons, unicorns, enchantments, potions, reversals, contradictions, conundrums, puzzling discoveries, sudden surprises, fey time distortions, time travel, travel mishaps, the buck stops here, trial and error, polarity, weird food, secret ingredients, supplements that turn out to be metagenic, intercultural entanglements, asking for help and getting it, enemies to friends/lovers, interdimensional travel, superpower manifestation, the end of where your framework actually applies, ethics, innovation, problems that can't be solved by hitting, teamwork, found family, complementary strengths and weaknesses, personal growth, and poetic forms in particular.

Among my more relevant series for the main theme:

The Adventures of Aldornia and Zenobia is about live happy lesbians in a quirky fantasy world.

Clay of Life is Jewish fantasy about a blacksmith and a golem.

Dragonsilk is about trauma and recovery.

Hart's Farm is a free love community with a few really exotic characters.

Monster House is suburban fantasy with a diverse household, where the line between truth and fantasy isn't always clear.

The Ocracies features all the political systems other than monarchy.

The Odd Trio is about a family consisting of a dwarf, an elf, and a human.

P.I.E. is urban fantasy about paranormal investigations,

Polychrome Heroics has ordinary humans, supernaries, blue-plate specials, superheroes, supervillains, primal and animal soups all trying to get along and figure out how to make a functional society. Eric the Elven King has interdimensional refugees. Officer Pink features centaurs and mystic shifters. Vybra of the Broken Angels specializes in fantasy sex and often dresses as a fairy.

Practical Magics is low fantasy with a prosaic focus.

Quixotic Ideas is contemporary fantasy where magic integrates with modern life in positive ways.

The Ursulan Cycle is genderbent King Arthur.

Or you can ask for something new.

Boost the signal to reveal a verse in any open linkback poem.

If you're interested, mark the date on your calendar, and please hold actual prompts until the "Poetry Fishbowl Open" post next week. (If you're not available that day, or you live in a time zone that makes it hard to reach me, you can leave advance prompts. I am now.) Meanwhile, if you want to help with promotion, please feel free to link back here or repost this on your blog.

( New to the fishbowl? Read all about it! )

These are the location notes for "The Clearest Signal."

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This poem came out of the October 2025 crowdfunding Creative Jam. It was inspired by prompts from dialecticdreamer and readera. It also fills the "Broken" square in my 10-1-25 card for the Fall Festival Bingo. This poem is posted in exchange for the City Engines stories that dialecticdreamer has been posting about Frank the Crank and belongs to that thread in Polychrome Heroics.

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Today we went shopping for Samhain supplies.

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dialecticdreamer is hosting Feathering the Nest today, with its standard theme of fluff and comfort.  Leave prompts, get ficlets!

These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Books
Birdfeeding
Moment of Silence: June Lockheart
Today's Adventures
Birdfeeding
Philosophical Questions: Privacy
Recipe: "Apple Pie Cookies"
Birdfeeding
Friday Five
Follow Friday 10-24-25: Jpop and Jrock
Affordable Housing
Activism
Advice
Birdfeeding
Today's Smoothie
Photography
Birdfeeding
Mad Science
Cuddle Party

Trauma has 31 comments. Affordable Housing has 55 comments. Robotics has 91 comments.


"An Inkling of Things to Come" belongs to Polychrome: Shiv and needs $191 to be complete. Maiara and Arthur discuss taking notes.


The weather is cool and fall-like now. It dribbled a bit on Saturday but didn't amount to much. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches. I saw a downy woodpecker vigorously drilling insects from the dead stems of cup plants. Currently blooming: dandelions, marigolds, petunias, red salvia, verbena, lantana, sweet alyssum, zinnias, snapdragons, blue lobelia, perennial pinks, oxalis, moss rose, firecracker plant, tomatoes, morning glory, cypress vine, sedum, violas. Tomatoes, ball carrots, and groundcherries are ripe. Fields are about 3/4 harvested.

Today is cloudy and cool.  Yesterday it spit rain a couple times, but never amounted to much.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches -- they were all over the feeders this morning.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 10/26/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 10/26/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 10/26/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

I am done for the night.

Today is cloudy and cool.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

I am done for the night.

People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

How much privacy are you willing to sacrifice for safety?

( Read more... )