It is done :)

I don’t mind teaming up if you’re still interested, it’d be nice to have some help.

Neat! No problem, thank y’all for all you do :)

I’d like to help with !nolawns@slrpnk.net

You’re correct, we won’t know unless we try! I’m cleaning up my bookmarks and watch laters, so I’ll share more as I review them.

I debated where to post this, but felt like it fits this community best 🧙‍♀️ Let me know if my gut was wrong.

I grew up on concrete with streets peppered by exotic callery pear and feral pigeons. It wasn’t until a friend moved to a neighborhood with big yards (for the city, anyway) that I saw cardinals, bluejays, cottontails, foxes, and nights lit up by fireflies.

I live close to that neighborhood now and the streets here are lined with willow oak, black cherry, and sycamore. So many woodland creatures and cool bugs, some of which are recorded on iNat.

But go a mile south to a redlined neighborhood and the canopy is sparse to none. The streets are lined with empty tree wells, usually sloppily paved over. Some years ago, the police installed bright white spotlights and surveillance cameras. Absolutely brutal stuff.

Places like Maryland did away with that nonsense. It is possible if neighbors are willing to come together and fight for it.

https://www.humanegardener.com/butterflies-1-hoa-bullies-0/

You’ve convinced me 👩‍🌾 the bees were all over them so there’s dozens of future fruits growing. I think these are at least two different species/hybrids given the variance in flower form and coloration. I’ll be neat if they taste different, too!

The pads are what I really want to try… the new growth looked so yummy lol. I read they taste like a mix of green beans and okra. Sounds delish.

Watching them flutter around the milkweed, over to my neighbor’s flowers, across the street and back again was beautiful. It was amazing to see one in person. They’re much larger than I imagined and very graceful.

Closing a herbarium during the sixth mass extinction 🤡

Update! Today’s blooms:

All of my neighbors have grass on these narrow strips, maybe these cheery yellows will inspire them to plant some flowers instead.

When I was a kid, I was like the creator, what a cool sci-fi movie! As an adult, I realize Starship Troopers, along with Trading Places and Little Shop of Horrors, heavily shaped my politics 😂

I felt that too, especially the manner in which he poked fun at their contradictions. It comes off as dismissive, but I don’t think this is actually the case.

Based on an interview I watched of Citarella, he seeks to understand the teens and their motivations, telling their stories with compassion. Citarella also stated that the right is taking this phenomenon seriously (and using it as a pipeline), so the left should as well.

I want to, but I’m too nervous about removing the glochids myself 😅 so not yet. Those fuzzy orange spots on the pads are no joke.

I never took care of the lawn other than mowing it, so much of this stuff was already here in small amounts. Two years ago, I started dividing up the violets and planting them into the grass. They launch seeds up to 4 feet so they quickly spread, clump and bully the grass. Ants move the seeds around too. Last year, I started dividing and transplanting the nimblewill. Panicled aster and late boneset volunteered which pushed out some more.

There’s still plenty of grass closer to my neighbor who treats their lawn. Some I buried in woodchips, the rest I’d like to shade out with edibles and dig out for another rain garden.

If nobody got me, I know Chesapeake Bay Watershed got me 🙏 Can I get an amen?

They’re looking for ecoregion photos if you’re into photography!

If you want to learn more about your local plants and animals, I recommend iNaturalist or their Seek app.

I’ve too seen many awful nursing homes. Stark, empty places with stretched thin medical staff and sparse activity calendars. Given what’s happening in my neighborhood, setting up sketchy assisted living facilities in rundown homes is the new cash grab.

Years ago, I’d visit clients in nursing homes and rehabs. The buildings were usually surrounded by a large parking lot and manicured lawns. They’d tell me how rare visitors were, no wonder given the vibe of the place. I’d end up talking for hours with them and their friends who gathered at the sound of a new voice. People need medical treatment, but that’s just one sliver of the human experience.

Exactly, yes! No stuffiness or stigma. Conversations over hot beverages in a cozy room, during batwatching picnics, or while stargazing.

Searching Death Cafes led to articles about Coffin Clubs, people coming together to build and decorate coffins for themselves and each other. On how the first one got started:

“I gathered some old blokes who were ex-carpenters and builders, and a group of women that would get creative, and we started it up in my garage and carport,” she says.