Monday Update 6-10-24

These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Missing Link
Birdfeeding
The Biggest Horse
Birdfeeding
Philosophical Questions: Genetics
Today's Cooking
Cats Being Badass
Climate Change
Birdfeeding
Follow Friday 6-7-24: Dollhouse
Birdfeeding
Hobbies: Mod Podge Crafts
Birdfeeding
Hard Things


Last week's Poetry Fishbowl went well. I am still writing.


There are three open epics at present.

"Before You Can Love Me" belongs to Iron Horses. Warshirt figures out why Spotted Deer likes to hang all over him.

"The Simple Act of Caring" belongs to the Big One. Pips takes care of Bennett and Jules after the earthquake.

"Dealing with Historical Events and Characters" belongs to Dr. Infanta. She and her family explore the Great East-West Faire.


The weather has been dry and mild to warm. The periodic cicadas are singing, though not as loud as the annual ones. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a small flock of house finches, a mourning dove, and a fox squirrel. I'm still sowing seeds, and some are sprouting. Lots of flowers are blooming now. Honeysuckle, white Dutch clover, blue lobelia, marigolds, petunias, million bells, snapdragons, lantana, pansies, violas, dianthus pinks, yellow coreopsis, blanket flower, red salvia, moss rose, alyssum, red clover, firecracker plant, pink salvia, red yarrow, double superbells, pink verbena, blue salvia, Asiatic lilies, tomato, cucumber, yucca, daylilies, ice plant, nasturtiums, garlic chives, and morning glory are blooming. Milkweed has buds. Mulberries and black raspberries are ripe. Blackberries and tomatoes have green fruit. I haven't had time to pick anything, though.

Birdfeeding

Today is mostly sunny and mild, almost cool.

I fed the birds. I've seen a small flock of house finches.

EDIT 6/10/24 -- I went to put more potting soil around the astilbes in the forest garden, but I don't have enough for that and sowing seeds in the prairie garden later. So I need to buy more.

I sowed Partial Shade Wildflower Seed Mix in the rain garden.

EDIT 6/10/24 -- I trimmed around the volunteer sunflowers beside the septic garden, and did other trimming in the garden itself.

EDIT 6/10/24 -- I picked up trimmed branches from yesterday's work and dumped them on the brush pile in the ritual meadow.

EDIT 6/10/24 -- I started trimming around the goddess garden.  The house yard has been remowed.

The first of the hostas is blooming in the forest garden.

I've seen several sparrows at the hopper feeder.

EDIT 6/10/24 -- I watered the septic garden, patio plants, picnic table plants, and barrel garden.

EDIT 6/10/24 -- I watered the telephone pole garden, grass patch, and notch in the prairie garden.

EDIT 6/10/24 -- I finished trimming around the goddess garden.

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Elephant Names

Elephants have names for each other like people do, new study shows

Wild African elephants address each other with name-like calls, a rare ability among nonhuman animals, according to a new study. Researchers used machine learning to confirm that elephant calls contained a name-like component identifying the intended recipient, a behavior they suspected based on observation. The study suggests elephants do not imitate the receiver's call to address one another but instead use arbitrary vocal labels like humans.


So now I'm wondering how much of the rest of elephant "calls" are actually language, or at least, proto-language. The ability to use abstracts is going from 0 to 1, it's the hardest step.  And do they have names for anything other than elephants?  It would not surprise me if they have names for a few of the biggest threats, like "lion" (big enough to eat a calf if it's not protected well enough); or in captivity, a favored human.

Tribal Leadership

First Female Leader in Centuries Returns a Tribal Nation to Its Roots

Lisa Goree took the helm of the Shinnecock Nation in April, as the Long Island tribe navigates disputes over burial grounds and projects to build a casino and a gas station.


Progress, by going back to traditions before white people fucked it up.  \o/

In case you're wondering where I get the ideas for the tribal topics I write about, most of them come from tribal or commercial news. Casinos and gas stations are among the things I've touched on -- although in Terramagne-America, the Seneca gas company is owned by the tribe of that name after they won a lawsuit over it.

Fagan Finder

Fagan Finder is a search engine lets you search within dozens of specific websites, archives, and other resources -- including some like JSTOR that are subscription-based professional references.