meeks

These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Space Exploration
Birdfeeding
Photos: Coles County Community Garden
Photos: Charleston Food Forest Part 2 Left Side
Photos: Charleston Food Forest Part 1 Right Side
Emergency Food
Physics
Birdfeeding
Philosophical Questions: Threats
Survival Skills
Today's Adventures
Lightning
Cyberspace Theory
Birdfeeding
Crime Classics Bingo Card 8-1-25
Follow Friday 8-1-25: House
Today's Adventures
Birdfeeding
New Year's Resolutions Check In
Bingo
Poem: "Maho Shoujo"
Conservation
Birdfeeding
Juggling
Shanidar 1
Conservation
Genocide
Politics
Cuddle Party

"Philosophical Questions: Looks" has 48 comments. "Incompetence, Sloppy Thinking, and Laziness" has 75 comments. "Not a Destination, But a Process" has 148 comments. "The Democratic Armada of the Caribbean" has 97 comments.


sunshine_revival has concluded. See you next July! Review the schedule, meet the moderators, and use the master post to navigate the event. Meet new folks in the friending meme. Make one last sweep through the community posts to catch anything you missed.



* Sunshine Revival Challenge 1: Light
Poem: "The Pleasure of Escaping the Responsibility"

* Sunshine Revival Challenge 2: Tunnel of Love
Poem: "Legs of Grass, Feet of Flowers"

* Sunshine Revival Challenge 3: Food

* Sunshine Revival Challenge 4: Fun House
Poem: "The Bee Tree's Gift"

* Sunshine Challenge 5: Carnival Barker

* Sunshine Revival Challenge 6: Game Night
Poem: "A New Twist"

* Sunshine Revival Challenge 7: The Ferris Wheel

Sunshine Revival: Sunset


summerofthe69 is open! You can see the calendar here and the current themes are 69 Accommodations and Alternate Sexy Parts 69.


There are no open epics at present.


The weather has been less hot and wet here. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a pair of mourning doves, a pair of house wrens, a male cardinal, a gray catbird, a fox squirrel, and a bat. Currently blooming: dandelions, pansies, violas, marigolds, petunias, red salvia, wild strawberries, verbena, lantana, sweet alyssum, zinnias, snapdragons, blue lobelia, perennial pinks, impatiens, oxalis, moss rose, yarrow, anise hyssop, firecracker plant, tomatoes, tomatillos, Asiatic lilies, cucumber, yellow squash, zucchini, morning glory, purple echinacea, black-eyed Susan, yellow coneflower, chicory, Queen Anne's lace, sunflowers, cup plant, gladioli, firewheel, orange butterfly weed. Tomatillo and pepper have green fruit. Wild strawberries, mulberries, tomatoes, and cucumbers are ripe. The second crop of blackberries is ripe. I think the ball carrots might be ripe, but haven't had time to uproot any.

Today is mostly sunny and mild, a beautiful day. :D

I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, plus a fox squirrel screaming at me from the top of a tree.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 8/3/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 8/3/25 -- My partner Doug mowed the house yard and paths to the fly-through feeder and new picnic table.

I picked up a branch in the house yard.

I did more work around the patio.

I've seen a pair of mourning doves foraging in the cut grass.

EDIT 8/3/25 -- I did ass-busting amounts of effort to haul the hose around, watering the septic garden, new picnic table garden, patio plants, old picnic table garden, and a few other things around the house yard.

EDIT 8/3/25 -- We did more ass-busting amounts of effort to remove the old stretchy hose from the reel, then get the new tape hose onto the reel.

EDIT 8/3/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 8/3/25 -- I watered the telephone pole garden and savanna seedlings with a watering can. Both of this year's pawpaw seedlings are still alive! :D

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.

These are pictures from the left side of the Charleston Food Forest on Saturday, August 2. (Begin with Part 1: Right Side.  Continue with Coles County Food Forest.)

( Walk with me ... )

Today is mostly sunny and mild.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches plus a mourning dove.  The thistle feeder was about half empty.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 8/2/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 8/2/25 -- I took some pictures of the metal tray birdfeeder.

EDIT 8/2/25 -- I watered the old picnic table plants.

EDIT 8/2/25 -- I visited the Charleston Food Forest.  Grapes are ripe, which is why we went.  These are tiny white grapes -- pea size or a little bigger -- seedless and very sweet.  :D  I picked 3 bunches and there are plenty left for other folks.  I also got a few asparagus berries, a few white marigold heads, and quite a bit of wild indigo seedpods.  Some wild indigo has tiny bluish seedpods, while others have thumb-sized brown seedpods.

One of the peach trees has completely overgrown the path behind the welcome sign and is covered in peaches.  They are still hard and green.  I hope that I can get some from that tree when they ripen, in hopes of sprouting the seeds.

EDIT 8/2/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 8/2/25 -- I trimmed around the goddess garden.  One of the silver thyme plants is almost white now.  :D

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.

I Built a House From Free Scrap Materials in the Forest

I built a beautiful and cozy house in the woods—using only leftover materials found in nature, and hand-crafted tools.No machinery. No noise. Just patience, precision, and the quiet companionship of nature. Each log, each joint, each decision—shaped by instinct, guided by simplicity.

( Read more... )

Today we went to Mattoon for a flea market at the mall.

( Read more... )

Scientists finally solve the mystery of what triggers lightning

A Penn State-led research team has unraveled the long-standing mystery of how lightning begins inside thunderclouds. Their findings offer the first quantitative, physics-based explanation for lightning initiation—and a glimpse into the stormy heart of Earth’s atmosphere.

Today is sunny and mild, a beautiful day. :D

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

I put out water for the birds.

I took a few pictures around the yard.

EDIT 8/1/25 -- I did a bunch of work on the patio and around the house yard.

EDIT 8/1/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 8/1/25 -- I watered the new picnic table garden.

I picked a couple of cucumbers and herbs so I can make a chop salad later.

Crickets and cicadas are singing.

As it is now dark, I am done for the night.