Caddisfly Larvae

My partner showed me this lovely picture of a caddisfly larval tube, made from colorful pebbles. They use wet silk to glue together any objects of appropriate size to create a mobile shelter. Usually that means tiny pebbles, shells, or sticks. But I've long been a fan of the art created when someone gives them jewels.

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Good News

Good news includes all the things which make us happy or otherwise feel good. It can be personal or public. We never know when something wonderful will happen, and when it does, most people want to share it with someone. It's disappointing when nobody is there to appreciate it. Happily, blogging allows us to share our joys and pat each other on the back.

What good news have you had recently? Are you anticipating any more? Have you found a cute picture or a video that makes you smile? Is there anything your online friends could do to make your life a little happier?

Birdfeeding

Today is partly cloudy and mild.  It rained off and on last night.

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

EDIT 9/27/23 -- I scooped up fallen plants into their pots.

I planted blackberry lily seeds around the walnut tree near the house.

Pineapple sage is blooming in the barrel garden.  When I first planted it, there were a few red flowers, but all summer it produced only foliage.  Now there are multiple spikes of scarlet flowers.  They taste very faintly of pineapple.
 
EDIT 9/27/23 -- I gathered and planted seeds in the wildflower garden.

EDIT 9/27/23 -- I gathered and planted seeds in the savanna.

I think I figured out what the super-popular mystery plant is: narrow-leaf mountain mint.  This thing is always crawling with pollinators in summer, but because I've planted so-so many wildflowers there, I didn't know what it was.  While harvesting its seeds to distribute, I noticed that it smelled like mint, so I checked the stems, and they are square.  That makes it some sort of mint plant.  I remembered seeing references to mountain mints, so I looked that up, and found a match.  :D  This means I can shop for more of the stuff.  I try to let my insect friends vote with their wings about what they want to see more of in our yard.

Poem: "The Greatest and Most Moving Chapter in American History"

This poem is spillover from the August 1, 2023 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a discussion with cora. It also fills the "Early Adventures" square in my 8-1-23 card for the New Adventures Bingo fest. This poem is posted in memory of Shirley Barrette, who ransacked every bookstore and museum giftshop in driving distance to find multicultural stories and history books written by the losers at a time when that stuff was really hard to find. This poem belongs to the series Polychrome Heroics and is the first in a thread about East Is East and West Is West, followed by "Friends in Rabbitbrush Ridge" and "Dealing with Historical Events and Characters."  The theme song for West Is West is "Sun Goes Down."

Warning for positive college experiences that readers may have wished for but didn't get.

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