threeforthememories | Member Posts

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has marked as possibly inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. )

weofodthignen

The dog woke me up later than usual—it was still grey outside because it was raining! More promised all weekend, and after sun alternating with clouds all day, in the evening the wind came up and it rained again. So I'll get out of watering the lawn for a week or so.

ofearthandstars

Artemis II. Amaze Amaze Amaze. 💚💙💜

conuly

Edit: fuck, I forgot to include Smallville! Uh, vote for that as the last option I guess.

1. Results will be non-binding

2. I will not watch anything starring anybody who then went on to perform in the God's Not Dead franchise. This isn't even about their abhorrent beliefs, it's about their apparently low artistic standards. I only am barely including Xena on this list because we can just skip crossover episodes. Please do let me know if I accidentally listed a Big Mistake in that regard

Poll #34464 Old TV

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 28

View Respondents

What are we gonna watch together?

View Answers

Teen Wolf
3 (10.7%)

Stargate (any)
13 (46.4%)

Xena
11 (39.3%)

X-Files
10 (35.7%)

Scrubs
4 (14.3%)

Something else that you'll put in the comments
2 (7.1%)

stonepicnicking_okapi

ETA: there's a prompt fest at Spring Renewal if you are into that: https://spring-renewal.dreamwidth.org/

So I went by my public library and they were doing the tiny scrolls of poems for National Poetry Month so I got two (one for me and one for Minisculus who I was taking for his annual check-up) so I had us unroll them at lunch...and they were the same poem! No fair! This one. So I used it in a collage.

Monadnock in Early Spring by Amy Lowell

Cloud-topped and splendid, dominating all
The little lesser hills which compass thee,
Thou standest, bright with April’s buoyancy,
Yet holding Winter in some shaded wall
Of stern, steep rock; and startled by the call
Of Spring, thy trees flush with expectancy
And cast a cloud of crimson, silently,
Above thy snowy crevices where fall
Pale shrivelled oak leaves, while the snow beneath
Melts at their phantom touch. Another year
Is quick with import. Such each year has been.
Unmoved thou watchest all, and all bequeat
Some jewel to thy diadem of power,
Thou pledge of greater majesty unseen.

ysabetwordsmith

Scientists think dark matter might come in two forms

Dark matter may come in two flavors—finally explaining why its signals appear in some galaxies but vanish in others.

A mysterious glow of gamma rays at the center of the Milky Way has long hinted at dark matter, but the lack of similar signals in smaller dwarf galaxies has cast doubt on that idea. Now, researchers propose a bold twist: dark matter might not be a single particle at all, but a mix of two different types that must interact with each other to produce detectable signals.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Did you grow up regularly playing board games (either with your family, or in other contexts)? Do you feel that this affected the prominence (or lack of prominence) of board games in your later life?

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

soemand

Channel 292 surprised me twice tonight. After Iggy Pop drifted through the static, I switched to ECSS and the signal nudged up to a fragile S1—just enough for the audio to hold together. Then, out of nowhere, Paul Simon’s Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard came through clean, bright, and unmistakably alive. It’s the strange joy of weak‑signal listening: a European transmitter barely clinging to the band, yet somehow delivering a perfect slice of melody across the Atlantic. ECSS didn’t just help; it transformed the signal into something musical.

soemand

Tonight’s bandscan delivered one of those tiny, perfect DX surprises. Channel 292 on 9670 kHz drifted in at S0—just static, a faint pulse under the noise—until Iggy Pop’s The Passenger suddenly surfaced like a ghost with a beat. Europe was barely hanging on over the Atlantic, but the melody cut through anyway, steady enough to ride in USB with a bit of fine‑tuning. It’s the kind of reception that reminds me why weak signals are addictive: nothing on the meter, everything in the headphones. A whisper from Germany, carried across an ocean of noise.

elayna

I'm watching a show where a man in a position of some authority blames a man with greater power for the death of his son. He kidnaps the guy and takes him out to the middle of the desert, leaving him to die. He is emotionally upset by what he has done, but feels it was necessary. His wife is distraught when she founds out, upset that her husband has done this horrible act, despoiling the memory of their son with murder, not even sharing his burden with her.

And it makes me think of this other show where a man in a position of some authority blames a man with greater power for the death of his son. And he schemes with mercenaries on a plan that kills a significant number of people and is intended to kill thousands more, but gets prevented. He doesn't seem to be particularly traumatized by what he has done, but fairly self-righteous about being driven to it. His wife is not distraught when she finds out. She is in fact delighted that her husband has killed a bunch of people to find vengeance for their son's death and encourages him on.

Do I even need to say which couple is Native American and which is white?

And now that I've set that up, I'm not sure where I want to go with it. Multiple paths pull me. But mainly it's been interesting to think about, how very culturally different people can be, and how my own cultural background has helped create my reactions of what is wrong and right and what people 'ought' to do. Also, it is good to watch different types of media.

ysabetwordsmith

Today is cloudy and mild.

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

I put out water for the birds.

I am excited to see that the yellow violet has propagated itself, and now there are two little clumps blooming in the forest garden. :D

EDIT 4/10/26 -- I pulled weeds out of two pots so I can plant pansies and violas in them.

I've seen a male cardinal and heard a squirrel barking.

EDIT 4/10/26 -- I made one pot with a black viola and a black pansy, intending to add some other black plant later. I made another with a black viola, a black pansy, a purple-and-white viola, a blue-shaded viola, and a white alyssum. I watered the pots and added some sticks to discourage squirrels from digging in them.

I also tested out a trick that I saw in a video. Take a large garden staple, push the tines down into a narrow pot, squeeze together like tongs, and pull the plant out. It takes a bit of practice to make it work, but it does work better than other methods I have tried for safely extracting plants from those multipacks.

EDIT 4/10/26 -- I made a pot with a black viola, a black pansy, a purple-and-yellow pansy, and a white alyssum.

The weather is turning cooler and the breeze is picking up.

EDIT 4/10/26 -- I made 3 pots with various shades of purple, yellow, and orange pansies and violas. For now these are on the white planters alongside the big pot of mixed Johnny-jump-ups.

EDIT 4/10/26 -- I made a pot with a mauve pansy, a couple different violas, and a white alyssum.

EDIT 4/10/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 4/10/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I am done for the night.

Current Mood: busy

conuly

and despite the fact that this is coming out to more than projected we didn't need to ask them to split it into two bills and I still have enough money for groceries!

shipperslist

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has marked as possibly inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. )

soemand

Last night, perched 100m above the Bay of Fundy with a clear 100km view southward, I decided to try a new trick on my Shortwave radio. I've always stuck to standard AM, but at 23:08 UTC on 9455 kHz; the fading was starting to pull a relay of NHK World into the mud.

For the first time, I experimented with ECSS—using the radio's SSB mode to manually exalt the carrier. It was a revelation. Even with the signal hovering at a modest S3 on the meter, zero-beating the frequency stabilized the audio instantly. The "tearing" distortion of the fades vanished. A solo Japanese singer with a koto emerged from the noise; the percussive, sharp plucking of the strings stayed crisp and defined against the Atlantic breeze. It wasn't quite "studio quality," but it was a massive leap in clarity. I'm definitely adding this technique to my permanent DX toolkit.

isabrella

Unfortunately, it was bad. Two stars for still being a bit silly at times and entertaining me a bit.

I was really looking forward to S3 taking us to new levels of K-drama nonsense but unfortunately it failed to deliver on every front. The show suddenly started trying to convince us that the characters were real people with real depth, which utterly flopped because previously character development was essentially just fodder for tropes and nonsense like sharing a bed, almost-kisses, fake dating, roommate shenanigans, laxative shenanigans, etc. There were no fun shenanigans.

Simultaneously, none of the characters managed to get anywhere in terms of development. Kitty exhibited the same traits she always does - putting her foot in her mouth, thinking she knows things that she doesn't, being self-centred, etc.

I was also disappointed of course that Kitty/Yuri wasn't endgame, but especially bc Min Ho and Kitty broke up so early on I thought we were going to have another classic relationship pivot.

ALSO: Everyone therapy spoke. None of the break-ups or make-ups were even interesting or dramatic because everyone was acknowledging each others' feelings and saying the word valid. This was particularly egregious coming from a Buffy rewatch where the emotional drama is so untherapy speak and therefore engaging, but frankly I can't imagine anyone enjoying the therapy speak S3 of XO, Kitty even so.

Marius was genuinely such a racist caricature that I had a hard time believing it was approved.

Ultimately, good on Lara Jean's actress for getting her healthcare & paycheck updated.

Sad! S1 was very fun and S2 still had plenty of shenanigans, but this season definitely flopped.

Also I was sad that Dae got a romance storyline instead of being Dae Korean flag (I'm sorry I cannot source this meme, if you can please let me know so I can credit, but Dae Korean Flag has lived rent free for like a year).

The cast of XO Kitty with pride flags on their faces: Q has genderqueer, Yuri has lesbian, Kitty and Min Ho have bi, and Dae has the Korean national flag

The cast of XO Kitty with pride flags on their faces: Q has genderqueer, Yuri has lesbian, Kitty and Min Ho have bi, and Dae has the Korean national flag

Current Mood: bored
Current Music: X Factor Season 7

viridian5

I'm trying to self-file my taxes and I've hit a segment I don't think they had last year that's stopped me dead. I can't get it to make sense as to what information from where they want me to enter. I think I don't have to do the lump sum payment section because I didn't get one but I'm not sure, so I'll be traveling to a RL site to try to get some free help since the person who answered my call for help through taxslayer.com wasn't very helpful for me. I don't know if it's their fault, my fault, or both our faults, but....

++++

I uploaded these photos to include on a comment to someone, but since I put them up I figured I'd share them with you guys.

I was born in 1973, and looking at old photos of my childhood shows that I was dressed in... some things. In the ones below, my parents seem to have been aiming for a "literal embodiment of the 1970s" vibe. ( photos )

(I do get such a big smile at the last photo though.)

Continuing the "very 70s" thing, I remember my childhood clothes in that decade being either very girly or rather butch, which went along with how my toys were dolls, plushes, trucks, cars, and action figures. Also in my childhood wardrobe were some clothes my mother made for me off Simplicity patterns: I remember in particular a dark blue jumpsuit that had several patches sewn to the knees since even then I fell a lot and a Holly Hobbie sundress and a Raggedy Ann one.

Current Mood: sore
Current Music: "Maschinerie" by Pzychobitch

conuly

And we can barely pay it if we don't pay for a few other things. Maybe they'll let us write two checks.

On the other hand, if the USA decides drop nukes during the installation, probably the company won't trouble themselves too much about payment. We'll be home free! Well, assuming nobody retaliates on NYC specifically....

**********************

( Read more... )

ysabetwordsmith

Today's theme is Meditation.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

weofodthignen

The weeping tree over the fence from our compost bins is to be chopped. Turns out to be 3 Maytens, something I'd never heard of. The filet mignon folks are replacing their garage. Pity. I wish they'd keep at least one of the trees, they weep beautifully. Though for the last few weeks they have been shedding an ocean of tiny yellow flowers.

ysabetwordsmith

Prairie plants reveal a hidden defense against climate extremes

It looks peaceful – but these places are basically training grounds for weather whiplash.

A new study says prairies really do have a built-in advantage when the climate gets nasty: biodiversity helps. But it’s not as simple as the old slogan “more species = more resilience.”

The researchers found that different kinds of biodiversity matter depending on the kind of extreme – drought versus flood – and that nuance could matter a lot as heat, floods, and dry spells become more common.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

This poem came out of the April 7, 2026 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from

ravan. It also fills the "Exception" square in my 4-1-26 card for the Flower Fest Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by

janetmiles. It belongs to the series Monster House.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

This poem came out of the April 7, 2026 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired and sponsored by

janetmiles. It also fills the "Request" square in my 4-1-26 card for the Flower Fest Bingo.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

This poem came out of the April 7, 2026 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from

siliconshaman. It also fills the "Request" square in my 4-1-26 card for the Flower Fest Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by

janetmiles. It belongs to the series One God's Story of Mid-Life Crisis. It directly follows "Someone Who Was Trying to Be Sober" so read that first or this won't make much sense.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

stonepicnicking_okapi

The Blackened Alphabet by Nikky Finney

While others sleep
My black skillet sizzles
Alphabets dance and I hit the return key
On my tired But ever jumping eyes
I want more I hold out for some more
While others just now turn over
shut down alarms
I am on I am on
I am pencilfrying
sweet Black alphabets
in an allnight oil

ysabetwordsmith

This poem came out of the April 7, 2026 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from

alatefeline and a previous discussion with

siliconshaman about the life aspects of geodes. It also fills the "Lilac" square in my 4-1-26 card for the Flower Fest Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by

janetmiles. It belongs to The Blueshift Troupers series.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Scientists discover spice synergy that boosts anti-inflammation 100x

Mixing everyday plant compounds may unlock a powerful, hidden anti-inflammatory effect far greater than any single ingredient alone.

Chronic inflammation often works quietly in the background but can fuel serious diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. New research reveals that everyday plant compounds—like menthol from mint, cineole from eucalyptus, and capsaicin from chili peppers—can team up inside immune cells to dramatically boost their anti-inflammatory power. While individual compounds showed modest effects, certain combinations amplified results hundreds of times over by activating different cellular pathways at once.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

soemand

Good Day Sunshine caught me off guard yesterday. I’d somehow never heard the full, uncompressed mix, and those first six bars of piano—percussive, almost drum‑like, with that deep left‑hand thump—jumped out like a brand‑new song. On the radio, those low notes always seemed to vanish. I went hunting for a “radio edit,” only to learn there isn’t one. It’s just the alchemy of broadcast compression reshaping the mix, boosting some frequencies and burying others. Add in the differences between the stereo and mono versions—AM stations favoured the mono mix of my childhood—and suddenly the mystery makes perfect sense.

ysabetwordsmith

Today is sunny and warm with howling wind. :/ The wind really complicates my plans to plant anything today, so I'm trying to think of ways to compensate for that.

I fed the birds. I've seen a fox squirrel on the ground and at the hopper feeder.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 4/9/26 -- I used salvaged string to fasten together 4 white single-pot plant stands, with the taller 2 in back and shorter 2 in front, forming a square. Due to the angled legs, it is not snug, but at least they are more stable than any one would be alone.

EDIT 4/9/26 -- I put the pot of mixed Johnny-jump-ups on one of the tall white plant stands. This is not necessarily its final location, but allows me to get it out of the house without exposing it to too much wind.

I sorted out the black single-pot stands. There is a tall one, a medium one, and two short ones. I started by fastening the tall one to a folding multipot stand.

I've seen a flock of house finches, a male goldfinch molting, and a male cardinal.

EDIT 4/9/26 -- I did more work securing the black one-pot planters. There's one left to attach. Progress.

EDIT 4/9/26 -- I finished securing the last black planter. The resulting structure, while not perfectly tight, is still a great deal more stable overall due to more legs connected in some manner. It doesn't have to look fancy, just do better than last year's constantly tipping pots.

I've seen several sparrows in the forest garden.

It got up to 80°F today, but is cooling down now.

EDIT 4/9/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 4/9/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 4/9/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

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

Current Mood: busy

smallhobbit

A quick first post on my encounters with wildlife, to introduce the challenges I'm involved in.

British Trust for Ornithology
Garden Bird Watch: I began this last summer, as part of my 25 Things in 2025. I continue to record my sightings (such as they are) every week.
Birds in Green Spaces: The project is running from April to June this year and asks for a count of the birds seen in specified green spaces. There are two designated green spaces near where I live, so I'm aiming to visit them once a week.

UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme
Flower Insect Timed Count: Runs from April to September, and asks for 10 minutes to count insects on certain flowers. It requires a warm, preferrable sunny, day.

Butterfly Conservation
Big Butterfly Count: Happens from the middle of July to the middle of August
Garden Butterfly Survey: I'm waiting for warmer weather and the flowering of some of our bushes
Butterflies for the New Millennium: An ongoing count, which I'm currently doing when I do the birds in green spaces count

While there may be other opportunities which are less structured, these are the ones I'm using when I go for a walk locally.

pauraque

Early spring in Vermont is a lot like winter, but with less snow. We can see the ground, but the trees are still completely bare, grass hasn't grown, and the only flowers yet are the occasional bloodroot and optimistic crocuses. On one hike I got excited to see some green on a hill, but it turned out to be last year's ferns, all squashed flat. There are still many days that hover around freezing, alternating between rain and snow. Earlier this week I had to drive in a sudden aggressive windy snowstorm that didn't stick but made visibility near zero.

But the important question: How are the birds doing? Migratory species keep showing up one by one. We saw our first Double-crested Cormorant of the year flying over Lake Champlain while we were visiting the waterfront. Eastern Phoebes are also back, including the one who makes its summer home in our yard. Several mornings I've seen it in the tree out my bedroom window, doing its characteristic tail-bob. And I heard my year's first Wood Duck before I saw it on the river—they don't quack, but let out a distinctive squeal.

We're on the edge of the year-round range for White-throated Sparrow and I have seen them here in winter before, but they're much more common in the spring and I've been hearing their ohhh sweeet caaaaanada song. Red Crossbill can supposedly be here in the winter too, but I saw my first of the year this week.

It's also getting easier to see waterfowl now that some of the smaller lakes and ponds aren't completely frozen over. Hooded Mergansers can be seen on the non-frozen parts of Lake Champlain in the winter, but now they're back on our local pond too.

We also get species briefly passing through while headed elsewhere on their migration routes. I was excited to spot a pair of Northern Shovelers on the pond in late March, which was a little early for them to show up here—the eBird app prompted for evidence when I reported them, so I attached this very non-aesthetic but at least diagnostic photo. They're both in this picture, but the brown female is much harder to see!

low quality photo of pair of ducks in reeds

low quality photo of pair of ducks in reeds

I think I was the first to see them, or at least my eBird report was first. I felt kinda special scrolling through all the subsequent reports as birders flocked to take a look. I also saw a pair in the same spot last year in the first week of April; I wonder if they're the same birds.

And the year-rounders who have been here all winter are shifting into breeding mode. Every day the American Goldfinches at our feeder are a little yellower, their breeding plumage showing up in scruffy patches. Black-capped Chickadees are a constant as always, but I'm hearing more territorial yooo-hooo calls as well as the eponymous chick-a-dee-dee-dee. The little Brown Creepers are singing instead of just buzzing, and I spotted one darting in and out from behind the peeling park of a tree, immediately after I saw a video explaining that that's where they nest!

So that's 53 species for me in 2026 so far. Countdown to warbler season in a couple of weeks!

nanila

One of the Trieste trip activities selected by Keiki was the Grotta Gigante. Accordingly we booked timed entry tickets, and headed out on the bus on Day 2.

Spoiler alert: It is a gigantic cave. You have to descend 500 damp, steep, slippery steps bounded by damp, slippery metal handrails. As a person with acrophobia, I should have realised beforehand that this was going to test me, but somehow I managed to completely miss that despite it the access parameters being pretty clearly stated on the web site. I am quite proud that through much deep breathing and tight management of the pointing direction of my vision, I was able to cope with the descent and appreciate the visit.

( Many cave photos )

THE END.

weofodthignen

The first iris is in bloom in the semi-wilderness in back.

The neighbours who appear to feed the cats filet mignon put a large, cylindrical black plastic cat house in front of their house for the taking. The lady explained to me that Grey One used to sleep in there but nobody's touched it since. I carried it home and set it up in the corner at the top of the driveway, behind a wheelbarrow. Mama Violet, who never goes over to their place, went through a phase of hanging out in that corner and still likes the top of the driveway, though she prefers the bushes. Maybe she'll use it. I'll launder the cat bed it's lined with (fuzzy leopard print, very swish).

ysabetwordsmith

This year I'm doing Community Thursdays. Some of my activity will involve maintaining communities I run, and my favorites. Some will involve checking my list of subscriptions and posting in lower-traffic ones. Today I have interacted with the following communities...

* Posted "Draw a Bird Day" in

green_joy.

* Posted "Crafts" in

green_living.

* Posted "Poem: Haiku for Natural Monuments of Japan 1-10-26" to

haiku_gallery.

* Posted "Birdfeeding" in

birdfeeding.

* Commented on "Just One Thing (09 April 2026)" in

awesomeers.

Current Mood: busy

conuly

And the water doesn't seem to want to turn off for the heater - it *is* lefty loosey, righty tighty, isn't it? - so I may have to get it for the whole house overnight.