ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
ysabetwordsmith ([personal profile] ysabetwordsmith) wrote2025-07-08 12:51 pm

Birdfeeding

Today is mostly sunny and warm.

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

I put out water for the birds.














.
 
dialecticdreamer: My work (Default)
dialecticdreamer ([personal profile] dialecticdreamer) wrote2025-07-07 10:52 pm

Morning Meeting (part 1 of 1, complete)

Morning Meeting
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 1, complete
Word count (story only): 813
[Thursday, 3 August, 2017, 9 a.m.]


:: LaQuinta meets with the Corts again, and is surprised by the nature of their gesture of thanks. Part of the Unfair Trades arc in Mercedes, within the Polychrome Heroics universe. ::




LaQuinta set down the half-empty mug of coffee and smiled as the twins “ran” awkwardly, screaming with giggles as a dark-haired man chased slowly after them. His short dark hair gleamed as he roared, but his swaying arms moved slowly. Hunched over, he was taller than the twins, but his knuckles banged against the toes of his scuffed military boots. She muffled a giggle as the boys clambered up Robert’s lap.

Robert shook his head. “Zaur, this is LaQuinta Dixon. LaQuinta, this is Zaur Rybokov.” He laughed. “He’s visiting while his husband is outside, looking for… stray cats.”
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scrubjayspeaks: Town sign for (fictional) Lake Lewisia, showing icons of mountains and a lake with the letter L (Lake Lewisia)
scrubjayspeaks ([personal profile] scrubjayspeaks) wrote2025-07-07 04:56 pm

Lake Lewisia #1274

The sunflower plot out at Wagonwheel Field, planted with seeds collected last year, has proven to be a particularly radiant hybrid. We are requesting that anyone with solar panels or rechargeable batteries please lend them to town power workers attempting to make the best of the situation. For anyone dropping off equipment or just coming to admire the crop, we recommend eclipse-level eye protection and vampire-rated sunscreen, as the stellar flowers can be intense at close range.

---

LL#1274
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
ysabetwordsmith ([personal profile] ysabetwordsmith) wrote2025-07-07 04:48 pm

Poem: "Tomato Seedlings in Tin Cans"

This poem is spillover from the June 3, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from [personal profile] wyld_dandelyon. It also fills the "growth" square in my 6-2-25 card for the Pride Fest bingo. This poem has been sponsored by Anthony Barrette. It belongs to the series Daughters of the Apocalypse.

Read more... )
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ysabetwordsmith ([personal profile] ysabetwordsmith) wrote2025-07-07 03:11 pm

Bee Food Flowers

Scientists’ top 10 bee-magnet blooms—turn any lawn into a pollinator paradise

Botanists from the University of Copenhagen and the UK set out to find the best flower combinations for bees and hoverflies.
Danish and Welsh botanists sifted through 400 studies, field-tested seed mixes, and uncovered a lineup of native and exotic blooms that both thrill human eyes and lure bees and hoverflies in droves, offering ready-made recipes for transforming lawns, parks, and patios into vibrant pollinator hotspots
.


Below are the plants recommended for European and United Kingdom uses...

Read more... )
fuzzyred: Me wearing my fuzzy red bathrobe. (Default)
fuzzyred ([personal profile] fuzzyred) wrote2025-07-07 04:11 pm
Entry tags:

Weekly Update

Hi all! This is a very late weekly update, seeing as it's Monday and I have missed three or four posts at this point. I do like making my weekly posts, and I'd like to continue with them, but I've been feeling a pretty big social and creative drain lately. I'll try to get better at sticking to my schedule, but sometimes it feels like a whole lot of work. I also need to make my June Review post, but that will have to wait until at least tomorrow.

The last month has included a lot of fun things, including a pool party, a trip to a provincial museum and an amusement park, two weekends of Carrousel of Nations -a festival showcasing International foods and cultures,- relaxing time with my boyfriend, and some lunches with my good friend. The museum and amusement park in particular were a lot of fun and it was a wonderful long weekend spent with my boyfriend. :)

Another exciting thing that happened in June is that I completed a 30 Days of Yoga challenge. :D I'm really proud of doing this because I didn't miss any days for the whole month, even the ones when I was out of town. I also finished the French course on Duolingo and I've made a bit of progress weeding and reading some books, although not as much as I might wish.

I've spent a lot time recently watching YouTube videos by neurodivergent people, especially those with autism, and I'm more certain than before that I'm some kind of atypical. I'm not certain if it's autism (although that is still my leading guess), but it definitely seems to be something. I suppose an official diagnosis is unnecessary, since I don't need/want medication and I seem to get by okay without any external support, but some additional resources might be nice. I'll need to go hunting and see what I can find that I could adapt for my own use without needing medical advice/referrals. I may also need to look into seeing a therapist again, because life is once more overwhelming and having someone to talk to and offer coping strategies may help me process things.

All in all, life is going pretty well and I'm looking forward to what July brings. I hope you all are doing well and you are staying cool in this heat. See you next time! :D <3
ysabetwordsmith: Artwork of the wordsmith typing. (typing)
ysabetwordsmith ([personal profile] ysabetwordsmith) wrote2025-07-07 02:10 pm
Entry tags:

Monday Update 7-7-25

These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Poem: "An Interest in the Affairs of Your Government"
Poem: "Incompetence, Sloppy Thinking, and Laziness"
Poem: "Always Surprised by Consequences"
Poem: "No Such Thing as Finished"
Geology
Birdfeeding
Today's Smoothie
Early Humans
Birdfeeding
Philosophical Questions: Government
Fireworks
Writing About Fireworks
Birdfeeding
Follow Friday 7-4-25: Historical Fiction
Blazing the Trail: Celebrating Indigenous Fire Stewardship
Birdfeeding
Climate Change
Birdfeeding
Problem-Solving
Hard Things

"Philosophical Questions: Looks" has 41 comments. "Not a Destination, But a Process" has 146 comments. "The Democratic Armada of the Caribbean" has 95 comments.


[community profile] sunshine_revival is running through July. See the schedule, meet the moderators, and use the master post to navigate the event. Meet new folks in the friending meme. Spread the word!

Sunshine-Revival-2025-Banner-3.png

* 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"


[community profile] summerofthe69 is now open! You can see the calendar here and the current themes are Tetris 69 and Body Worship 69.


"In the Heart of the Hidden Garden" is now complete! Lawrence shows Stan more of his favorite places.


The weather has been variable here. It rained yesterday and last night. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a pair of mourning doves, a male cardinal, a gray catbird, a fox squirrel, a skunk, and at least 1 probably 2 bats. 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, snowball bush, yellow squash, zucchini, morning glory, purple echinacea, narrow-leaf mountain mint, black-eyed Susan, yellow coneflower, wild bergamot, chicory, Queen Anne's lace, sunflowers, cup plant. Daylilies are done blooming. Cucumbers, tomatillo, and pepper have green fruit. The first 'Chocolate Sprinkles' tomato ripened and some other tomatoes are showing color. Wild strawberries, mulberries, peas, and blackberries are ripe. Black raspberries are done.
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
ysabetwordsmith ([personal profile] ysabetwordsmith) wrote2025-07-07 01:59 pm

Birdfeeding

Today is partly sunny and warm. It rained yesterday and last night.

I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a male cardinal, and at least one mourning dove.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 7/7/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 7/7/25 -- I harvested a handful of peapods for supper. :D

EDIT 7/7/25 -- I took some pictures around the yard.

EDIT 7/7/25 -- I trimmed brush in the prairie garden.

The first of the gladioli are blooming in the telephone pole garden and notch of the prairie garden. A sunflower is blooming in the telephone pole garden too.

EDIT 7/7/25 -- I cut some of the brush into sticks for making bonfire cores.

I've seen at least 2 bats. I've seen several half-grown possums, one deceased, two alive.

Fireflies are coming out. Cicadas are singing.

As it is now dark, I am done for the night.
ysabetwordsmith: Damask smiling over their shoulder (polychrome)
ysabetwordsmith ([personal profile] ysabetwordsmith) wrote2025-07-06 10:49 pm

Poem: "An Interest in the Affairs of Your Government"

This poem is spillover from the March 4, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from [personal profile] wyld_dandelyon. It also fills the "Secrets" square in my 3-1-25 card for the Tolkien Bingo Fest. This poem has been sponsored by Anthony Barrette. It belongs to the series Polychrome Heroics.

Read more... )
ysabetwordsmith: Victor Frankenstein in his fancy clothes (Frankenstein)
ysabetwordsmith ([personal profile] ysabetwordsmith) wrote2025-07-06 10:20 pm

Poem: "Incompetence, Sloppy Thinking, and Laziness"

This poem came out of the July 1, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired and sponsored by [personal profile] janetmiles. It also fills the "close-knit community" square in my 7-1-25 card for the Western Bingo fest. It belongs to the series Frankenstein's Family; it follows "Signs of Their Trespass," so read that first or this won't make much sense.

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ysabetwordsmith: Damask smiling over their shoulder (polychrome)
ysabetwordsmith ([personal profile] ysabetwordsmith) wrote2025-07-06 10:10 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Damask smiling over their shoulder (polychrome)
ysabetwordsmith ([personal profile] ysabetwordsmith) wrote2025-07-06 10:05 pm

Poem: "Always Surprised by Consequences"

This poem came out of the July 1, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from [personal profile] rix_scaedu. It also fills "The Harder They Fall" square in my 7-1-25 card for the Western Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by [personal profile] janetmiles. It belongs to the series Polychrome Heroics.

Read more... )
ysabetwordsmith: Damask smiling over their shoulder (polychrome)
ysabetwordsmith ([personal profile] ysabetwordsmith) wrote2025-07-06 09:46 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Damask smiling over their shoulder (polychrome)
ysabetwordsmith ([personal profile] ysabetwordsmith) wrote2025-07-06 06:18 pm

Poem: "No Such Thing as Finished"

This poem is spillover from the July 1, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from [personal profile] jake67jake. It also fills the "He's all hat and no cattle." square in my 7-1-25 card for the Western Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by [personal profile] janetmiles. It belongs to the series Polychrome Heroics.

Read more... )
dialecticdreamer: My work (Default)
dialecticdreamer ([personal profile] dialecticdreamer) wrote2025-07-06 10:10 pm

Dessert and Developments (part 1 of 1, complete)

Dessert and Developments
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 1, complete
Word count (story only): 1237
[Wednesday, 2 August, 2017, 8:30 p.m.]


:: LaQuinta and Cash are arguing over the “best” kitchen staples when their evening is interrupted. Part of the Unfair Trades arc in Mercedes, within the Polychrome Heroics universe. ::



The large, rectangular building was proudly labeled Jaliya’s Kitchen in six-foot letters painted on the cinder block wall. Graffiti tags surrounded the white background, with only one corner smudged by a painted leaf from the faux rosebushes that filled the space between the bottom edge of the wall and the lower edge of the title frame. Double doors stood open, inviting people inside but equipped with positive pressure fans above the doorway to prevent insects from entering.

Inside, tucked at a four-person round table just past the large eight-person tables nearest the doors, each marked with a triangular standing card, Cold Cash perused the dessert menu for the day. “I don’t know how you can favor pudding over real apple pie,” he teased, tsking at LaQuinta.

She sank an inch lower in her seat. “I was just…” One hand tipped her menu to the side.

“If you like pudding, great,” Cash told her gently. “I was joking.”

LaQuinta hummed. She nodded toward the young man at the table painted with black chalkboard paint, currently wrangling five kids under the age of five. “He looks like an older brother, not a dad, but… Why are they here?”

“Because the food’s good.” Cash winked at her. “Plenty of people who work full time pop in here, or into the Jaliya’s Kitchens set up in church community rooms, because they got used to it during the first days after the quake. They drop off supplies, or put funds in envelopes left under a plate after the meal. The servers taking orders and clearing the tables are volunteers, and for most of them, it’s their first job. They get breaks and meals and job training, and Jaliya writes each one a letter of recommendation.” He smiled. “She absolutely always needs delivery drivers, too.”

“It seems too good to be true,” LaQuinta murmured.

A young woman, her hair covered by a bright Hawaiian print scarf, stepped up. “Dessert?” she asked them brightly.

“Apple pie for me, and…” Cash paused. “LaQuinta? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” He rested a hand on the young woman’s wrist.

“Helah?” LaQuinta’s voice shook. “Are you here with…” She trailed off, swallowing hard.

“When the Quake hit, I was in the house with Mrs. Perry and the two youngest foster kids,” the younger woman answered carefully. “When the military started piling families into busses to get them out of the area, Jane told the soldiers that I was just the neighbor kid, and made up names for my parents.” Her jaw tightened. She exhaled carefully. “They made me wait at an emergency shelter, expecting people who don’t exist to be desperate to find me.Two days later, I started walking. I felt safer on foot than trying to get a seat in the evacuation.”

LaQuinta winced. “Any news about Mister Perry?”

Helah shook her head. “No, actually. Either his wife found him or there was a clear reason that he wouldn’t be able to evacuate with them, and I don’t care which.” She dredged up the remnants of a smile. “I did manage to find Duke and Felix, and while I’m not part of their new foster family, they’re enrolled in school and we visit at least twice a week.”

LaQuinta cleared her throat. “Cash, Helah was my next door neighbor, ninety miles away from here. The Perrys were foster parents popular with the social workers.” Her nose wrinkled. “Mister Perry acted like my name was a crime, and he was mean about another neighbor’s name because it was ‘wrong’ gender. Leslie was a lot of fun, and he spent more time playing with the Perry’s foster kids than Dale Perry did.”

“How’s your…” Helah asked carefully.

“It’s just me,” LaQuinta murmured. “Just like last year and the years before. Nothing new, no new trauma,” she finished, lifting her expression by force of will.

Helah shook her head. “There are half a dozen apps for letting people you care about know that you’re okay. I would’ve liked…” She took a small step back. “Sorry, I’m not trying to wreck your date.”

“It’s not a date,” Cash assured the young woman. “Miss Dixon would be a lovely date, if it were, but I’ve been trying to steer her to a job. Oh, and she wanted the lemon pudding, please?”

“You’re going to like it,” Helah promised. “It’s got lemon juice, zest, and bits of candied peel in it. It’s not box mix, for sure.” She took another half step to the side. “Back in a flash, I just need to pick up the individual servings.”

LaQuinta watched her leave. “How many foster kids are desperate to take care of themselves and praying that they can pass for eighteen now?” she whispered.

“I don’t know,” Cash admitted. “I was worried that you’re actually not eighteen either,” he added after a beat.

She snickered. One hand dug in her pocket for her certification fan. She opened it to the back, revealing her driver’s license. “Old enough to drink if I wanted.”

“Good genes,” he laughed. “Okay, so I can stop worrying quite so much. The reason for wanting you to make deliveries for Jaliya hasn’t changed; she is still working like the world will stop if she takes too long on a coffee break, and using the meal service profits to cover the Kitchen meals.”

“What if I want to do a little of this and a little of that until I figure out where I fit around here? I’ve only got my room for a total of three months, then I have to reapply, and I’d rather have a place to stay on my own instead.”

“Do you mean a studio apartment, or would a roommate situation suit you?” Cash finally moved his fingers from the delicate press on her wrist.

LaQuinta touched her coily hair, nudging the diagonal sweep of bangs behind her ear. “That’s not important yet, and I’ve barely got any stuff anyway,” she murmured. “I just need to be able to come and go without someone arguing about rules and curfews.”

“I can understand that,” the black-haired man agreed.

Helah set the bowl of lemon pudding in front of LaQuinta first, then set two steaming wedges of apple pie in front of Cash. “I’m surprised that you don’t want that served ala mode,” she mused. “You make all our ice cream, after all.”

“Busman’s holiday,” he joked. “Thanks.”

Helah nodded to both of them, then bustled off.

LaQuinta watched her go, then asked, “Is she… showing favoritism?”

Cash picked up the standing card on the currently empty eight person table decorated with drawings of first responder icons. He tapped the drawing of a cricket on the bottom. “I’m a soup. Everybody who’s met me, practically, knows that. Is that a problem for you?”

LaQuinta’s brows drew down, slowly puzzling together. “Why should it be?”

He grinned. “Your job opportunities just tripled. At least.” He lifted his fork. “Now, if you only had time to run one more errand, would it be to a bookstore, the library, or something else? Practical or fun, it doesn’t matter.”

“You’ve been very attentive,” LaQuinta hedged. “But that… confusion about this being a date… I’m not…” She shrugged.

“No problem. I’m being polite and attentive because if I can find a job that suits you, then I’m proving myself as a coordinator. We both win.”


30













ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
ysabetwordsmith ([personal profile] ysabetwordsmith) wrote2025-07-06 04:15 pm
Entry tags:

Geology

Defying physics: This rare crystal cools itself using pure magnetism

Research team identifies atacamite as a magnetocaloric material.
Deep in Chile’s Atacama Desert, scientists studied a green crystal called atacamite—and discovered it can cool itself dramatically when placed in a magnetic field. Unlike a regular fridge, this effect doesn’t rely on gases or compressors. Instead, it’s tied to the crystal’s unusual inner structure, where tiny magnetic forces get tangled in a kind of “frustration.” When those tangled forces are disrupted by magnetism, the crystal suddenly drops in temperature. It’s a strange, natural trick that could someday help us build greener, more efficient ways to cool things
.
scrubjayspeaks: hand holding pen over notebook (done this week)
scrubjayspeaks ([personal profile] scrubjayspeaks) wrote2025-07-06 02:10 pm
Entry tags:

Done This Week

*lolsob* Okay, so, I went to queue up the July posts for Lewisia on Saturday. I only needed to write one more for the week as well. The first things I always queue up are the Monday demifiction posts, because those are written for specific dates. Aaaaand...there weren’t any for July. Because I had lost track of what week it was and hadn’t written them yet.

Now, a sensible person could think, well, write one of them to finish out the current week’s pieces, then write the other three on Sunday. You’ll have all the July Mondays covered and be ahead of the curve for the coming week.

Friends, I am not a sensible person, but for once, it’s working in my favor. I wrote all four of them last night. And a fifth general one, just because I thought of it. So now, if I write two pieces this coming week, I won’t have to worry about it at all over the weekend when my club’s show and sale takes place. Which is great! But wow, I went about it in the weirdest way possible.

It has been an exceedingly foolish week at work, with a bunch of leaks and breakdowns, a short week, and a holiday party. I helped with the grilling and food prep for the party. Two of the other guys on the team normally handle it, and I am nosy and insist on getting involved. It’s just more work for me, when I could be sitting around doing nothing, because I am Just Like This. And then I volunteered to stay late with the outside vendor fixing several of the leaks.

Lewisia: 7 new pieces written

Day job: 36.5 hours, with Friday off

Cooking: Tang pie from Tasting History with Max Miller (kept frozen, it’s a creamcicle pie, simplistic but tasty, like the cheat lemon pie, probably not worth making again but no regrets)

Reading: Strangers in Paradise #17

Watching: more Murderbot :3

Listening: Transformer by Lou Reed (a quick detour into the classics)

Clock Mouse: 1097 words
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
ysabetwordsmith ([personal profile] ysabetwordsmith) wrote2025-07-06 02:06 pm

Birdfeeding

Today is mostly cloudy and sweltering. 

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

I put out water for the birds.  Bees are visiting the small metal birdbath again.

EDIT 7/6/25 -- It's raining, so I won't have to water anything today.  :D