Untranslatable Spanish Words

This is a fun list. 

Landrace Gardening: Sunroots

Folks have mentioned an interest in questions and conversations that make them think. So I've decided to offer more of those. The current batch features landrace gardening.


Landrace Gardening: Sunroots

Sunroots are the edible rhizomes that form under a species of sunflower. They are also called by other names such as Jerusalem Artichokes and Sunchokes. I do not use those names because they are not from Jerusalem, they are not artichokes, and I consider it bad marketing to choke the people I feed.

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Birdfeeding

Today is cloudy and mild.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a flock of sparrows, a downy woodpecker, and a fox squirrel.

I put out water for the birds.

I raked dead stems off the septic garden.

EDIT 3/2/23 -- I cut the seedheads off one sunflower stem and buried them in the septic garden. 

EDIT 3/2/23 -- I cut the seedheads off the other sunflower stem and buried them in the septic garden. 

EDIT 3/2/23 -- I gathered a trolley of sticks and dumped it on the firepit.

Yellow and purple crocus are budding under the walnut tree near the house.  A lavender one is blooming in the goddess garden.  :D

March Meta Matters

The March Meta Matters challenge is now active over on marchmetamatterschallenge. See the first check-in post here for introductions. Read the FAQ list, as there have been some changes from previous years.

This challenge involves locating and copying over meta you've created to a second site in order to ensure its preservation. The fest recommends SquidgeWorld. There will be some prompts for creating new meta. Participants can post their goals for saving old meta and/or creating new meta. You can also collect, recommend, and save meta created by other people if it's not something you make yourself or yours is already up to date and saved.

Note that AO3 is sadly erratic when it comes to meta, parts of the rules are unclear in ways that cause problems, and the result is pretty hostile. :( Multiple people have posted meta there only to have it taken down -- and that can get your account suspended. So fewer people are choosing to post or crosspost their meta to AO3, and looking for other places to post or copy it. However, there is still a community for March Meta Matters on AO3 for those who wish to risk posting meta there.

Some canon-specific websites have a section especially for meta about their fandom to help new fans learn the canon and to inspire fanworks. In particular, it used to be common for people to make fanifestos about a canon, its ships, major fanworks, etc. as guides to newcomers in hopes of growing the fandom; reviving this custom would be very helpful. If you know of such resources, March is a good time to post about them so more folks can find them and make sure that meta is backed up.

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2023 Rose & Bay Awards: Winners

Voting is closed for the 2023 Rose & Bay Awards. Thanks to everyone who helped this year!

These are the winners for the 2023 award season:

Art: "The Tale of Tal: a Neanderthal graphic novel" by Gianpaolo
Fiction: "The Lamplighters: A Fantasy Novel" by J. Gabriel Gates
Poetry: "Poetry Fishbowl" (Fishbowl tag, landing page) by ysabetwordsmith
Webcomic: "Cat's Cafe" by Matt Tarpley
Other Project: TIE between "Make 100: Letbia's Cookbook: Authentic Mexican Cuisine V6" by Letbia Rejón AND "Limitless Heroics: Better worlds via Dice & Disabilities 5e" by Dale Critchley
Patron: TIE between Anthony Barrette, patron of the Poetry Fishbowl AND fuzzyred, patron of the Poetry Fishbowl