The Wordsmith's Forge

These are tiny figures made from acorns, flowers, and other found objects.

This is one of my favorite Beltane songs.

The survivors of the Shoah remember, because they have seen this before.



Never forget. Never again.

And in case you need a reminder of why.

This video gives a tour of dinosaur art from the beginning to current examples. 

Sea sponges often thrive during and after a mass extinction, as they are more resilient to some stressors and they are filter feeders that subsist on organic particles. 

Aaaaand here we go again.

This is the state fossil of Illinois.  It's so weird that paleontologists are still arguing over whether it was invertebrate or vertebrate.  This is not helped by the amount of assumptions people make about very ancient organisms based on modern ones.  Remember, back then anything was possible, and not all of it necessarily worked well enough to continue.

This video lists numerous uses for flowerpots, mostly plastic but also terra-cotta, and even touches on making your own. 

I always have piles of pots, of various types.  Most I just use as containers, but currently I have a bunch in flats sitting out to see if I can start wildflower seeds that way.  I agree that it's nice to have spares for giveaways, as I'm always happy to pass along just about anything I have multiples of.  I could do with a better way to store mine, though.

Watch this video about water-handling methods to see how swales and check dams can slow water moving across a landscape and allow it to sink in better. 

This is clever.  I wouldn't use zipties to make it, I'd use garden twine, and I would want it tall enough to stand under comfortably.  I have no shortage of unwanted saplings that could be lopped down and turned into such a tunnel, or more likely, an arch to test the concept.  It should work with any indeterminate tomato though.  You just weave the vines through the frame of the arch.

Acts of Restorative Kindkess (ARK) is a project devoted to rewilding the land and making space for wildlife.

Compare with my laissez-faire permaculture approach. I favor native plants, but I include other things too, some ornamental and others edible. I have small gardens and containers, but most of the space is loosely managed. The prairie garden is mostly wild and so is the forest garden.

Wildlife comes and goes as it pleases. I saw a skunk today wandering through the savanna after a storm. He wasn't bothered by my presence at all. We just shared the space, each going about our business. There are birds everywhere -- blackbirds, sparrows, finches, doves, crows, all kinds. Soon they'll be nesting, which is always fun to watch. Already there are a lot of bees out. Not many native flowers bloom this early, but I've got crocuses and other bulbs that the bees swarm eagerly.

So it's pretty nice. It's also very jungle-esque (I have an actual emergent layer) as the ARK is described as "untidy." One of my gardening hats came from the North American Dandelion Appreciation Society, which is about loving the weeds and the wildness. :D It's all fine.