I have lived in many valleys. I have left them all.
What a timeline to be living in!
PFP: Balloon art lily of the valley
Banner: ink drawing of a forest of fantastical beings of many sizes and types
That moment when you're in your slippers, leaning against the porch rail while munching on graham crackers and sipping tea as you continue to ponder early focus areas for your garden when a small bee buzzes by--the first you've seen this year. (1/3)
Are you assuming the focus and memory portion is always helpful stuff or even if I have control of such?
(If only!)
I also understand for folks that post lots of images (especially if that is a major factor of why they are here like artists/science/nature photographers/et al.) it can be downright tiring to do it for so many images a day.
I posted comparative images for my window views--the time it took!๐ฌ 2/๐งต
I have thought about trying to focus on that more, like a post that says something like "My casual use of bsky seems to show more than 1/2 of people posting images are using Alt Text--how cool is that?" But I think some folks might see that as passive aggressive scolding...so haven't done it. 1/2
Given the current pushback against AI...I get that. Which is why I don't publicly call folks out even in a "hey, you dropped your alt text" sort of jokey way.
Rock and a hard place, I guess.
For anyone that's not been paying attention...plastics are still a huge problem. Yes, they're difficult to avoid. Still worth at least trying to avoid them.
climateintegrity.org/plastics-fra...
Oh one hand, I understand that some folks post in a rush during their day so when it seems a hassle, it's easy to skip. On the other...if the image is important enough to post...then make the time to do it.
I get why DMs still aren't here, as that's an entire headache of its own to moderate.
Sometimes, I wish we had DMs so I could discreetly write to certain posters "For the love of whatever you hold dear, please use ALT TEXT."
Worse, despite Bsky's nifty reminder feature in Settings--just this week I've seen dozens of posts marked with ALT on the image, but clicking same yields none.๐
I figured, but couldn't resist the low hanging joke.
This discussion also started with a day camp focus, and my brain isn't one to let such details be lost along the way. ๐
Stating the obvious, but definitely not something one can do with the little ones.
Now an adult camp? That's possible. ๐ค
But now, many dryers do not have a way to pull a lint trap out to clean behind it more easily--some are even glued in place, so the only way to clean them requires especially long hoses. 2/๐งต
This bad engineering/planned obsolescence. It used to be that once a quarter/year (depending on use frequency), you could use one of those long thin bristly brushes to sweep in the chamber to pick what was clinging stubbornly to the sides. (Some now use a flexible vacuum hose). 1/2
The poor misunderstood hoverflies would likely appreciate and enthusiastically approve this generalist approach. ๐
So is the lead in on Day One: How not to freak out near things that might sting you?
(I remember many times at Girl Scout camp as a kid...they wouldn't have been stung if they didn't start screeching and flailing like a a person already on fire at even the mere sight of a bee/wasp.)
It's not just the underfoot issue. Our next door neighbor had bargain basement painters. Aside from the ladder damage (not scaffold), they did not put drop cloths down, and it was windy! The overspray did a lot of damage to both herbaceous and even some woody stem but just flowering plants.
After we squeezed into the enchanted pants, I seized the moon jelly to pour between our bodies, in a desperate hope to sploosh ourselves into ecstasy, despite the pudding void.
I promise next time to double check the grocery list and hope this was as good for you as it was for me.
My offering to the #Caturday deities.
A naughty boy wants what he wants...even if it was meant for someone else.
Oggers took umbrage at the flash in his face, and refused to leave the then newly made resting place meant to help our elder kitty Lady Sylvie from falls while sleeping.
As someone who grew up on a barrier island in southernmost NJ where we didn't need beach tags, but there were TONS of parking meters? I understand a lot of the sentiments going around here.
Beaches both south on the mainland and isles north of us did require them...and also had parking meters. ๐ค
Yeah...I've since come to accept I'll never get it all.
Yet...I persist removing a bit more each year, cussing at each new find. ๐
I stumbled upon this little gem I made in a moment of frustration back in 2018--the first year I really tried to start making sense of what we had on our hands as far as the garden here was concerned.
For anyone that has ever had to deal with cheap plastic landscape cloth removal?
Solidarity! โ
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Can you decorate it so it looks like the moon? ๐ฅฎ
Back when I was an optimistic teenager working two jobs in the summer resort town where I grew up...I thought "When I'm an adult, this won't be acceptable anymore!"
Yet decades later...it still is.
Trevor Smith speaks on "Resilient Landscapes for a Changing Climate", www.nofamass.org hosted. Focused on Northeastern Coastal Zone (I'm Northeastern Highlands), but many fundamentals and practices can be applied anywhere. ๐ฑ
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUaB...
Poked around the internet since no one answered this. Kinda bummed, honestly.
From what I found: They were fighting.
The window screen combined with the sun (just before noon here when I shot that) made it hard to see if I was focused on them well. The first vid I took, you can't see diddly because the camera focused on the screen. ๐
Please help me understand what just happened outside my window before these two briefly continued after they fell to the ground before fleeing. Fight or...sharing a special moment?
(Apologies for audio-I was talking to my cats as much as wondering out loud.)
๐ฆ๐ชถ
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfMN...
We live in a place where they still have not stopped the county wide "mosquito spray" program. Even though the new chemical isn't as bad as the old one--it still kills more than just mosquitos
Of course, one can opt out--which is a joke! It's aerosol! You'd have the get your entire TOWN to opt out.
I remember my heart dropping when I first saw the mass grave images being shared.
I'm not saying the images of refrigeration trucks meant for human bodies were any easier to register. Yet the sadness, frustration and anger that such could and did happen here when it didn't have to? Terrible times.๐
Scrolling through today's posts, I wonder why so many folks seem to have forgotten about the helpful Alt Txt reminder one can set the slider for in their Settings.
Yes, it can be a PITA to add even dead basic ALT TXT. Please still try. Not confident? Ask for an assist. Folks are helpful here!
We found a local community program that helped us get the house we have now. Ours had specific banks they worked with, YMMV.
Don't know where you are, but look around to see if you can find anything like it: newvuecommunities.org/home-ownersh...
We're not in the totality line, but close. I'm wondering how our cats might react during it.
Here is a picture of a crab spider on a Queen Anne's Lace flower from last year.
If I ever meet the idiot(s) that mismanaged the plumbing in our cellar...they will rue the day.
RUE, I SAY!
I'll trade you your elm for a Japanese barberry that panic spread when I cut it the wrong time of year not knowing any better back then.
*ouch those thorns even with thick leather gloves!*
I love rogues except when I don't--and I'm sure you know exactly what I mean between the two.
The progress looks great!
Are you long term planning something like an herb spiral in that area as you get access to more rocks, or will you leave it as a nice easy pick-as-needed bed?
Bummer. Our agent (and the city committee they oversee) can only do so much, sadly.
We have a volunteer based state invasive plant advisory group here, so I searched your state and it seems there's a similar thing: www.floridainvasives.org You may already know this, though. Sorry if you do!
Out of curiosity, do you have a conservation agent where you live?
Our property had many "popular back when" plants--some invasive, some just not native to here. I hate the hybrids--which Oriental (I) and American (N) bittersweet do.๐
I've learned more botany in 8 years than I ever knew I would.
Hah! It wasn't til I saw a notice until I realized my still-not-awake brain decided "Maple Norways" was better instead of "Norway Maples". ๐คญ
I've long stopped eating cold cereals.
My staple goto is quick oats (from a big bad--not the instant preflavored), which I also tend to eat more during the warmer months since we have many berry types in our yard so there's fresh picked fruit to add to the oatmeal. ๐
My offering to the Caturday deities: Oggers observing a visitor.
Yes, it was warm enough to warrant an open window, just days before that storm swept through. Our backyard is still blanketed in white, but the layers of ice/sleet/snow are all melting at a pretty even clip--it could all be gone soon.
Maple Norways--though now illegal to bring one across state lines--there's no removal/cull program. They spread below & above ground & outcompete native maples.
Across the street there's a HUGE one surrounded by a typical thicket of youngers. This spring? I have dozens of saplings to yoink here.
Keep an eye on info from your local MPR station, state Audubon/conservation & bird clubs.
Migratories were of concern, song birds weren't hit as bad (depending where) last big outbreak.
If you have goldenrod or similar native plants, birds will shake the seed off all on their own.