Hard Things

Life is full of things which are hard or tedious or otherwise unpleasant that need doing anyhow. They help make the world go 'round, they improve skills, and they boost your sense of self-respect. But doing them still kinda sucks. It's all the more difficult to do those things when nobody appreciates it. Happily, blogging allows us to share our accomplishments and pat each other on the back.

What are some of the hard things you've done recently? What are some hard things you haven't gotten to yet, but need to do? Is there anything your online friends could do to make your hard things a little easier?

Everyday Poets

The World Longs for More Poets of the Everyday

As a poet at heart, I often wonder if my words, my way of seeing, could weave themselves into everyday moments. What if poetry didn’t live only in verses but in conversations, gestures, and the smallest interactions? Could I, through my presence, bring a touch of wonder to the ordinary, a spark that makes life feel a little more alive?

And so, I hold this question like a lantern, letting it light my path: How can I bring the poetry of life into the mundane, not to escape it, but to enliven it? How can I serve not by trying to change the world but by being a presence that invites the world to feel a little more whole?


Anyone can write poetry. You just need to see what there is to be seen, and speak to its truth.  I've got instructions for writing a nature poem.

Edible Landscaping Order

Last year, Edible Landscaping put out a paper catalog, so I was expecting that this year too. When it didn't show up, eventually I went looking for a website. By this time, most of the stuff was sold out. >_< However, I still found a few things.

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Moment of Silence: Michelle Trachtenberg

Actress Michelle Trachtenberg has passed away. She is best known for playing Dawn Summers in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and more recently two episodes of the Gossip Girl reboot.

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Roof Gardens

Gray Slums of Brazil Turn Green with Rooftop Garden Project in Full Bloom

From the rooftop of a Rio de Janeiro slum, amid sheet after sheet of corrugated iron, one man reclines amid succulents and ficus.

His name is Luis Cassiano Silva, and he is the progenitor of the Teto Verde Favela, or Green Roofs Favela initiative, described by one academic as an exercise in “insurgent citizenship.”
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Taking responsibility for improving the lives of the community, in 2014 Cassiano began teaching and planting, gardening and growing, all over Parque Arara, one of Rio’s large favelas. Green roofs are used widely in Europe to climate-proof buildings.

They not only lead to a reduction in the heat island effect, but also contribute to slowing rainwater runoff, keeping indoor areas cooler, and keeping outdoor air cleaner and more moist.

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Joann Fabrics going out of business

Joann Fabrics closing all locations—including Illinois stores

Weeks after announcing the closure of 500 stores, Joann Fabrics announced it will be closing all of its 800+ locations.


I am upset because that's the last big fabric store around here. All that's left will be a few specialty shops that I don't bother with because they're so limited and expensive. And I can't buy fabric without touching it. So that drastically limits the possibility of making clothes should commercial options become untenable.

I'm so frustrated with capitalism nowadays. It can't seem to keep things going anymore -- and the sector of affordable goods is getting hit really hard, as with the loss of Big Lots. You can't DIY if you can't source the base materials. >_<


EDIT 2/27/25 -- oracne offers this Bluesky thread listing some alternative places to buy fabric.

I also suggested that people get together and form a cooperative to purchase fabric and distribute it. This would work at a college fashion or theatre department, other schools, craft clubs, etc. It will be easiest to set up before the Joanns all close, because then you can talk with other crafters at the store and attempt to network solutions.

Also it's a great time to start your own fabric store if that has been a dream -- get in now while you can grab a massive amount of market share.

Birdfeeding

Today is cloudy and cool.

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

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 2/26/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I am done for the night.
 

Make a Rain Cabinet

I spotted this video about making a rain cabinet, and thought it would be very useful. (This one is similar but more ambitious, all glass with a waterfall.) There are, of course, recordings and sound generators, but a cabinet full of real water and live plants offers more benefits, particularly in an increasingly stressful world.

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First Flower

The first flower is blooming here at Fieldhaven! :D

( Walk with me ... )