Birdfeeding
Feb. 23rd, 2026 11:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithToday is partly cloudy and cold.
I fed the birds. I've seen a flock of sparrows.
I put out water for the birds.
.
I fed the birds. I've seen a flock of sparrows.
I put out water for the birds.
.
ysabetwordsmith
Vending February 28: The Indie Book and Comic Expo at The Shirt Factory in Glens Falls!
Feb. 23rd, 2026 11:56 amduckprintspress
The last day of February, Saturday the 28th, come find us and 50+ other upstate New York authors, comic makers, indie publishers, and more at The Shirt Factory in Glens Falls! This awesome event is organized by Black Walnut Books and Beldame Books. You can shop the local small businesses in the building, and find all of us at our tables throughout the hallways. It’s gonna be a great time.
(and I promise I’m not gonna get sick this time if I can possibly help it. 
)
I've got my reasons to complain
Feb. 23rd, 2026 05:21 pmsummerstormI woke up enjoying the sunshine, and then my mom told me not to use up too much hot water and I like, inwardly spiraled? I'm still recovering from the irritability/frustration/sadness. I put music on largely to make myself cry, which worked when combined with me avoiding isolation by telling people how I was feeling. But the music is still on and I'm on my laptop and that's kind of a red flag for how I'm feeling at any point in time to be honest. I don't usually listen to music. I'm trying to do it more, because I used to at least shower with music until my sister, many years ago, decided I couldn't do that anymore, but I still only tend to listen while I update my planner.
I... took two hours to do things just with notebooks. And then I got on my laptop and I still haven't turned it off. I'm touch-starved, I've known for a long time, but I think I am also appreciation-starved. It rears its ugly head when I decide to speak back to my sister and my sister takes it poorly and starts insulting me. I don't know. I wanna be told I'm pretty. I wanna be told I'm funny, and that I did a cool thing in a game if I did one, and that I'm good at, I don't know, whatever anyone sees me being good at, other than persevering.
Anyway. Haven't seen last week's The Pitt yet, but I have been playing Dragon Age: Veilguard like my life depends on it. I'm just really into it and it's taken over my brain a little bit. I'm trying to enjoy it instead of feel guilty for the stuff I'm not doing. I'm keeping up with chores and talking to people, so it's not that bad.
( Veilguard babble. )
I... took two hours to do things just with notebooks. And then I got on my laptop and I still haven't turned it off. I'm touch-starved, I've known for a long time, but I think I am also appreciation-starved. It rears its ugly head when I decide to speak back to my sister and my sister takes it poorly and starts insulting me. I don't know. I wanna be told I'm pretty. I wanna be told I'm funny, and that I did a cool thing in a game if I did one, and that I'm good at, I don't know, whatever anyone sees me being good at, other than persevering.
Anyway. Haven't seen last week's The Pitt yet, but I have been playing Dragon Age: Veilguard like my life depends on it. I'm just really into it and it's taken over my brain a little bit. I'm trying to enjoy it instead of feel guilty for the stuff I'm not doing. I'm keeping up with chores and talking to people, so it's not that bad.
( Veilguard babble. )
even gay love can end. even the absolutely most gayest of loves can end :(
Feb. 20th, 2026 12:00 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
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February 20th, 2026: Thanks everyone who came out to Vancouver Fan Expo! I had a ton of fun and really enjoyed all the chats!! – Ryan | ||
the great leap forward: 23feb26
Feb. 23rd, 2026 12:04 pmwarrenellis_ltd_feed
I am almost back to normal – just a cough and a sore throat for the most part, which means everyone else was right when they told me this mange going around lasts three weeks or so.
I have just been informed that a new coffee shop has opened, around the corner from me. When Uber came to town last month, I considered using it to get to Leigh, where Little Fin Roastery is, and then I caught the mange. And then Uber pulled out of town, apparently because they didn’t want to meet the council’s standards on private car hire. I am not Uber’s biggest fan, but huge chunks of my area are poorly served by public transport and I’m not walking for an hour and a half just to get a decent cup of coffee. And my deli of choice doesn’t do coffee! So I’m going to walk up to the new place in an hour and see if it will serve as a morning office. And once my chest is cleared and my voice comes back, I’ll be using the deli as my afternoon office for half the week, drinking £10 glasses of fancy wine and telling myself I am getting a great deal of thinking done and I have begun the great leap forwards.
TODAY:
- Researchers develop detachable crawling robotic hand because what we really needed was a rechargeable version of Thing from the Addams Family
- Zelensky tells BBC Putin has started WW3
- AI is prompting investors to reassess every business model under the sun (vaguely reminded of that tech news website that clearly used a random headline generator into which they plugged the tech buzzword of the moment, which is how you got the headline “Can IoT Help With Bicycles?” There’s also a sense of people thinking they can see a huge hammer in the distance, even though it’s mostly made of smoke, and assuming everything around them looks like a nail. I saw a story, I think on World Of Reel, about a guy who’d been given 30k to make an AI film and was trying to crowdsource an idea for what film to make on social media)
OPERATIONS: I have a huge consulting job to nail down and a prose serial project to solve and it all needs to be done this week. And I’m out on Saturday night, so I need to land the newsletter before then, too. I am copy-typing out of a notebook for the next hour.
STATUS: I really need to stop buying clothes and I really need to stop looking at the watches at Sputnik1957.
READING: READING: THE BIG THREE: SOCRATES, PLATO, ARISTOTLE, Neel Burton (UK) (US+)
…first prize went to the Wineflask, in which the almost centenarian Cratinus defended his own drinking with the line, ‘You’ll never fashion anything clever by drinking water!’
LISTENING:
MISSION CONTROL: I can be contacted via the Cheng Caplan Company or Inkwell Management. Link in masthead to join my free newsletter.
Monday Update 2-23-26
Feb. 23rd, 2026 12:37 amysabetwordsmithThese are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Poem: "The Struggle Against Overwhelming Odds"
Poem: "Embrace My Fate"
John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds Order
Poem: "The Spectrum of Your Being"
Early Humans
Birdfeeding
Vocabulary: Bricolage
Today's Adventures
Science
Birdfeeding
Meteor Shower Calendar
Philosophical Questions: Life
Edible Landscaping Order
Meme
Photos: House Yard
Water
Birdfeeding
Books
Follow Friday 2-20-26: Active Communities on Dreamwidth Winter 2025-2026 A-I
Energy
Birdfeeding
Community Thursdays
Photos: Flowerbeds
Books
Birdfeeding
Hard Things
Safety has 49 comments. Food has 53 comments. Wildlife has 39 comments. Food has 67 comments. Robotics has 146 comments.
Last week's half-price sale in Not Quite Kansas went well. All sponsored poems have been posted, so you can find those via the title links on the sale page.
The 2026 Rose and Bay Awards are now open for excellence in crowdfunding. It's time to vote for your favorite projects!
The award period for eligible activities spans January 1-December 31, 2025.
The nomination period spans January 1-January 31, 2026.
The voting period spans February 1-February 28, 2026.
These are the handlers for the 2026 award season:
"The Struggle Against Overwhelming Odds" belongs to Not Quite Kansas and needs $34.50 to be complete. Raymond and Gideon get attacked on the way home from research.
The weather has been variable here. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a large flock of sparrows, several starlings, one male and two female house finches, one female and two male cardinals, a mourning dove, and a fox squirrel. I flushed the great horned owl from the ritual meadow when I went out there. A skein of geese flew overhead, going north. Currently blooming: crocuses.
Poem: "The Struggle Against Overwhelming Odds"
Poem: "Embrace My Fate"
John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds Order
Poem: "The Spectrum of Your Being"
Early Humans
Birdfeeding
Vocabulary: Bricolage
Today's Adventures
Science
Birdfeeding
Meteor Shower Calendar
Philosophical Questions: Life
Edible Landscaping Order
Meme
Photos: House Yard
Water
Birdfeeding
Books
Follow Friday 2-20-26: Active Communities on Dreamwidth Winter 2025-2026 A-I
Energy
Birdfeeding
Community Thursdays
Photos: Flowerbeds
Books
Birdfeeding
Hard Things
Safety has 49 comments. Food has 53 comments. Wildlife has 39 comments. Food has 67 comments. Robotics has 146 comments.
Last week's half-price sale in Not Quite Kansas went well. All sponsored poems have been posted, so you can find those via the title links on the sale page.
The 2026 Rose and Bay Awards are now open for excellence in crowdfunding. It's time to vote for your favorite projects!
The award period for eligible activities spans January 1-December 31, 2025.
The nomination period spans January 1-January 31, 2026.
The voting period spans February 1-February 28, 2026.
These are the handlers for the 2026 award season:
Art:
Fiction:
Poetry:
Webcomic:
Other Project:
Patron:
"The Struggle Against Overwhelming Odds" belongs to Not Quite Kansas and needs $34.50 to be complete. Raymond and Gideon get attacked on the way home from research.
The weather has been variable here. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a large flock of sparrows, several starlings, one male and two female house finches, one female and two male cardinals, a mourning dove, and a fox squirrel. I flushed the great horned owl from the ritual meadow when I went out there. A skein of geese flew overhead, going north. Currently blooming: crocuses.
New Cover: “Chasing Cars”
Feb. 23rd, 2026 05:33 amscalziwhatever_feedI promise you that I am doing other things with my time than just making cover songs, but I am making cover songs too. For this one I decided to actually play some of my stringed instruments, so whenever you hear guitar or bass on this track, that’s me fumbling about either on my Little Prince SG, or my Bass VI. I’m not ready to go on tour with either instrument, but it’s good enough (uh, with maybe a smidge of quantizing) for this song. Hope you like it.
— JS
Poem: "The Struggle Against Overwhelming Odds"
Feb. 22nd, 2026 11:29 pmysabetwordsmithThis poem is spillover from the October 2020 Creative Jam. It was inspired by a prompt from wyld_dandelyon. It also fills the "demons" square in my 10-1-20 card for the Fall Festival Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred. It belongs to the series Not Quite Kansas.
Warning: This poem contains intense and controversial topics. Highlight to read the more detailed warnings, some of which are spoilers. It includes feeling lost, an unprovoked attack, hellhounds, violence, gore, unexpected rescue, playing with prey, fatally injured opponents, minor injuries to main characters, awkward discussions, willing sacrifice, intimate magical healing, and other challenges. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.
This microfunded poem is being posted one verse at a time, as donations come in to cover them. The rate is $0.25/line, so $5 will reveal 20 new lines, and so forth. There is a permanent donation button on my profile page, or you can contact me for other arrangements. You can also ask me about the number of lines per verse, if you want to fund a certain number of verses. So far sponsors include:fuzzyred,
355 lines, Buy It Now = $44.50
Amount donated = $10
Verses posted = 13 of 118
Amount remaining to fund fully = $34.50
Amount needed to fund next verse = $0.25
Amount needed to fund the verse after that = $0.75
( Read more... )
wyld_dandelyon. It also fills the "demons" square in my 10-1-20 card for the Fall Festival Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred. It belongs to the series Not Quite Kansas.Warning: This poem contains intense and controversial topics. Highlight to read the more detailed warnings, some of which are spoilers. It includes feeling lost, an unprovoked attack, hellhounds, violence, gore, unexpected rescue, playing with prey, fatally injured opponents, minor injuries to main characters, awkward discussions, willing sacrifice, intimate magical healing, and other challenges. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.
This microfunded poem is being posted one verse at a time, as donations come in to cover them. The rate is $0.25/line, so $5 will reveal 20 new lines, and so forth. There is a permanent donation button on my profile page, or you can contact me for other arrangements. You can also ask me about the number of lines per verse, if you want to fund a certain number of verses. So far sponsors include:
fuzzyred, 355 lines, Buy It Now = $44.50
Amount donated = $10
Verses posted = 13 of 118
Amount remaining to fund fully = $34.50
Amount needed to fund next verse = $0.25
Amount needed to fund the verse after that = $0.75
( Read more... )
Poem: "Embrace My Fate"
Feb. 22nd, 2026 10:39 pmysabetwordsmithThis poem is spillover from the October 6, 2020 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from librarygeek. It also fills the "How do you want to do this?" square in my 10-1-20 card for the Fall Festival Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred. It belongs to the series Not Quite Kansas.
Warning: This poem contains intense and controversial topics. Highlight to read the more detailed warnings, some of which are spoilers. It includes feeling lost, sorting through a lair acquired by combat, reference to past abuse, cursed artifacts, damned souls, worry, magical body modification, restraint for safety, awkward emotional discussions, and other challenges. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.
( Read more... )
librarygeek. It also fills the "How do you want to do this?" square in my 10-1-20 card for the Fall Festival Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred. It belongs to the series Not Quite Kansas.Warning: This poem contains intense and controversial topics. Highlight to read the more detailed warnings, some of which are spoilers. It includes feeling lost, sorting through a lair acquired by combat, reference to past abuse, cursed artifacts, damned souls, worry, magical body modification, restraint for safety, awkward emotional discussions, and other challenges. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.
( Read more... )
John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds Order
Feb. 22nd, 2026 09:41 pmysabetwordsmithI picked out what I wanted from John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds. This catalog has the Safe Seed Pledge, meaning everything is non-GMO/toxin-free. My partner Doug further notes that they have the best, easiest ordering system of all the catalogs we use. Call up the Smart Order Form and when you key in the product number, the rest autofills, tells you if it's still in stock, and lists the price. \o/ Somegeek earned their coffee today!
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
Falling.
Feb. 22nd, 2026 08:42 pmhannahThe travel ban's up. Schools are going back to remote learning. Nobody's going anywhere if they can help it. I'd figured this was coming, and it's nice that it's settling in. The snow's coming down steadily and I can faintly hear human voices - going from where the light's coming from, the people in the next building over are either hosting some friends or having a very loud party by themselves. Either way, it's warm human voices on a cold night.
Not a dark night, though. The clouds aren't letting that happen. It's one of the nicer parts of nighttime snow.
Not a dark night, though. The clouds aren't letting that happen. It's one of the nicer parts of nighttime snow.
i don't wanna keep secrets just to keep you
Feb. 22nd, 2026 07:30 pmmusesfoolI got up to watch the hockey this morning and despite Team USA pulling it off in OT, I do not accept that Bill Guerin was proved right in his choices. Eighty-five percent of the game was played in their defensive end and they only won because Connor Hellebuyck stood on his head. Maybe a little more scoring power on the team could have given them some breathing room. I am just saying. I'm happy for Hellebuyck and the Hughes brothers, and I got a little teary when they brought out the Gaudreau jersey and his kids, and I'm not gonna lie, watching Jon Cooper and Connor McDavid (along with Sam Bennett, Tom Wilson, and Brad Marchand) lose was pleasing to me on a deep, personal level, but overall, I'd still have preferred the Finns or the Swedes take home the gold.
I then baked some oatmeal for breakfast for the week, and made macaroni salad for a few days of lunch, and then for dinner, I made angel hair as planned, though when I actually read the recipe, it was not anything new to me - it was what I always do for a super quick tomato sauce, except they were adding chile crisp to it, which I guess is the thing nowadays - every recipe I read has chile crisp in it, but I'm not really a chile crisp person. I have the heat tolerance (in terms of spiciness, though I also don't like my food super hot temperature-wise either) of the whitest baby you know.
Anyway! It is a super easy but delicious meal and if you don't mind waiting a few extra minutes, you can do it all in one pot. Boil your pasta - angel hair is best for this, imo - and reserve a cup of pasta water before you drain it. Return the pot to the stove over low heat and add in a nice glug of olive oil (2 tbsp if you need a measurement), and then add a whole can or tube of tomato paste to the oil (so between 4 and 6 oz). Stir it around and season it as you like - I used garlic and onion powder, oregano and red pepper flakes and salt, but if you want to get fancy, you could probably saute a diced shallot and some minced garlic in the oil for a minute or two before adding the tomato paste - for 2-3 minutes, until it's all hot and sizzling. If you are so inclined, add chile crisp to suit your taste. Then add the pasta back, and about half the reserved water and toss it until the pasta is coated. I only used 4 oz of angel hair, so if you have more, you might need more water. Then put it in bowls and sprinkle it with parmesan cheese. If you are in an even bigger rush, you can sizzle the tomato paste in a frying pan while the pasta cooks and then combine it all back in the pasta pot. The couple of minutes you save isn't worth having to wash an extra pot to me, but it might be to some people.
*
I then baked some oatmeal for breakfast for the week, and made macaroni salad for a few days of lunch, and then for dinner, I made angel hair as planned, though when I actually read the recipe, it was not anything new to me - it was what I always do for a super quick tomato sauce, except they were adding chile crisp to it, which I guess is the thing nowadays - every recipe I read has chile crisp in it, but I'm not really a chile crisp person. I have the heat tolerance (in terms of spiciness, though I also don't like my food super hot temperature-wise either) of the whitest baby you know.
Anyway! It is a super easy but delicious meal and if you don't mind waiting a few extra minutes, you can do it all in one pot. Boil your pasta - angel hair is best for this, imo - and reserve a cup of pasta water before you drain it. Return the pot to the stove over low heat and add in a nice glug of olive oil (2 tbsp if you need a measurement), and then add a whole can or tube of tomato paste to the oil (so between 4 and 6 oz). Stir it around and season it as you like - I used garlic and onion powder, oregano and red pepper flakes and salt, but if you want to get fancy, you could probably saute a diced shallot and some minced garlic in the oil for a minute or two before adding the tomato paste - for 2-3 minutes, until it's all hot and sizzling. If you are so inclined, add chile crisp to suit your taste. Then add the pasta back, and about half the reserved water and toss it until the pasta is coated. I only used 4 oz of angel hair, so if you have more, you might need more water. Then put it in bowls and sprinkle it with parmesan cheese. If you are in an even bigger rush, you can sizzle the tomato paste in a frying pan while the pasta cooks and then combine it all back in the pasta pot. The couple of minutes you save isn't worth having to wash an extra pot to me, but it might be to some people.
*
On Joy and Resistance
Feb. 22nd, 2026 12:00 amdansinker_feed
That's what I'm fucking talking about.
As she was leaving the ice after her gold-medal winning performance this week, figure skater Alysa Liu turned to the camera that was inches from her face and, beaming, yelled "That's what I'm fucking talking about." It was a moment of pure, unadulterated joy. The joy of accepting who you truly are, of no longer conforming to the boundaries that have constrained you. The joy of being free.
Liu's story has been told so many times now that I probably don't need to repeat it here, but the short version is that was one of the best figure skaters in the world as a child and at just 16 she shocked the skating world by announcing her retirement from the sport. She wasn't happy, she was burnt out, she was done. A few years later she came back to competitive skating, but she came back transformed: hair dyed, face pierced, and completely out of fucks to give. Her performance at the Olympics was a culmination and a celebration and a reminder that, as poet Toi Derricotte once wrote, "joy is an act of resistance."
I'm not an ice skating guy—in fact I'm pretty sure my last time in skates was on a date when I was 22 and I slipped so hard that I split open the entire inseam of my pants. I do not know a triple lux from a double whatever. But I know what joy is. I know what it feels like to put it all out there and leave nothing behind. I know what it means to see the path you're supposed to walk and to walk another way. I know what it means to be free.
This wasn't the first time this month that we got to see something this radically joyful, performed in front of millions.
After Bad Bunny's infectious Super Bowl halftime performance, essayist Soraya Nadia McDonald commented that he "makes art so alluring and enjoyable you want to understand everything about it and then you end up learning about sugar and slavery and colonialism and the Taínos and Hawaii and then you probably have some thoughts of your own, and that's why art is powerful and dangerous."
Art is radicalizing in the revelations it creates.
I was unable to walk away from that halftime show and not want to know everything about the story Bad Bunny was telling in the same way that I couldn't watch Liu's joyful gold medal-winning skate and not want to dive deep into what made her throw it all away and build it back up on her terms.
That there have been two high-profile examples of this kind of radicalizing joy on the largest possible stages in less than a month feels like a balm for the relentless shit we have been living under as ICE has destroyed our communities. It is a reminder that even right now, even as the fight rages on, there is time for joy, there is time for art, there is time to celebrate difference and self, and to insist that you too can be free.
Because they want you to forget that.
There is a reason why the administration has cracked down on the arts and humanities alongside its brutal assault on migrants. It knows that art is dangerous, that knowledge leads to asking questions, and that those questions don't always lead where they want you to go.
One of the pillars of fascism is conformity. In this country we see it unfolding in front of us every day. Those that don't speak English, those that are brown and black, are being rounded up by masked thugs. Those that speak up are labeled traitors. Universities are being blackmailed. History that doesn't line up with the administration's white supremacist views is being erased. Those that teach, those that make art, are called radicals and their livelihoods are threatened.
An ice skating performance at the Olympics or a Super Bowl halftime show may not seem like much in the ever-lengthening shadow of fascism, but they are a reminder that change is possible, that our lives are worth fighting for, that freedom is achievable, and that joy—real joy, the kind of joy that you want to surround yourself with and bask in its transformative glow—is one of the most radical things there is.
Because in spite of the administration's crackdowns, in spite of the masked bastards, in spite of everything, people are still speaking up, people are still making art, people are still teaching real history, people are still fighting back against the abduction of their neighbors. People still know what it means to feel joy. People still know what it means to be free.
Poem: "The Spectrum of Your Being"
Feb. 22nd, 2026 05:51 pmysabetwordsmithThis poem is spillover from the September 1, 2020 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from librarygeek. It also fills the "How do you want to do this?" square in my 9-1-20 card for the I Want Fries With That! Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred. It belongs to the series Not Quite Kansas.
Warning: This poem contains intense and controversial topics. Highlight to read the more detailed warnings, some of which are spoilers. It includes feeling lost, a headless chicken running around, a fight with bit character fatalities, moderate injuries to a main character, messy medical details, an imprisoned demon, torture, binding magic, demonic healing, and other challenges. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.
( Read more... )
librarygeek. It also fills the "How do you want to do this?" square in my 9-1-20 card for the I Want Fries With That! Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred. It belongs to the series Not Quite Kansas.Warning: This poem contains intense and controversial topics. Highlight to read the more detailed warnings, some of which are spoilers. It includes feeling lost, a headless chicken running around, a fight with bit character fatalities, moderate injuries to a main character, messy medical details, an imprisoned demon, torture, binding magic, demonic healing, and other challenges. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.
( Read more... )
Early Humans
Feb. 22nd, 2026 03:01 pmysabetwordsmithHomo erectus fossils in East Asia rewrite the timeline of human migration
A new analysis dates three Homo erectus skulls from central China to about 1.77 million years ago, making them the oldest securely dated hominin fossils in eastern Asia.
That older age shifts the arrival of early humans in the region back by roughly 600,000 years and compresses the timeline of how quickly our ancestors spread across Eurasia.
[---8<---]
The same layer holds stone tools and animal remains, tying the skulls to a specific moment nearly 1.8 million years ago rather than the younger dates long cited.
A new analysis dates three Homo erectus skulls from central China to about 1.77 million years ago, making them the oldest securely dated hominin fossils in eastern Asia.
That older age shifts the arrival of early humans in the region back by roughly 600,000 years and compresses the timeline of how quickly our ancestors spread across Eurasia.
[---8<---]
The same layer holds stone tools and animal remains, tying the skulls to a specific moment nearly 1.8 million years ago rather than the younger dates long cited.
Birdfeeding
Feb. 22nd, 2026 01:23 pmysabetwordsmithToday is cloudy and cold.
I fed the birds. I've seen a large flock of sparrows plus one female and two male cardinals separately.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 2/22/26 -- I planted 3 peonies 'Sorbet Mixed' under the apricot tree. The mix includes white, light pink, and dark pink. These cost $14.98, so about $5 a root. That's a great bargain for peonies, which average $20-30 each and catalogs and the high end is downright exorbitant. So if you want peonies, look for cheap ones at home or garden stores this time of year. Due to the unseasonal warmth, the ground here is unfrozen, so I was able to plant them immediately. \o/
EDIT 2/22/26 -- I labeled and mulched the new peonies.
I put out a fresh cake of peanut suet.
EDIT 2/22/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
EDIT 2/22/26 -- I started the process of trimming dead stems from the wildflower garden, which is going to take a while.
EDIT 2/22/26 -- I did more trimming in the wildflower garden. I discovered a little wildflower putting up leaves, probably echinacea, possibly penstemon or something else.
EDIT 2/22/26 -- I did more trimming in the wildflower garden.
EDIT 2/22/26 -- We hauled in the potting mix bags from last night.
I've seen a fox squirrel in the forest garden.
EDIT 2/22/26 -- I did more work around the patio.
I am done for the night.
I fed the birds. I've seen a large flock of sparrows plus one female and two male cardinals separately.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 2/22/26 -- I planted 3 peonies 'Sorbet Mixed' under the apricot tree. The mix includes white, light pink, and dark pink. These cost $14.98, so about $5 a root. That's a great bargain for peonies, which average $20-30 each and catalogs and the high end is downright exorbitant. So if you want peonies, look for cheap ones at home or garden stores this time of year. Due to the unseasonal warmth, the ground here is unfrozen, so I was able to plant them immediately. \o/
EDIT 2/22/26 -- I labeled and mulched the new peonies.
I put out a fresh cake of peanut suet.
EDIT 2/22/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
EDIT 2/22/26 -- I started the process of trimming dead stems from the wildflower garden, which is going to take a while.
EDIT 2/22/26 -- I did more trimming in the wildflower garden. I discovered a little wildflower putting up leaves, probably echinacea, possibly penstemon or something else.
EDIT 2/22/26 -- I did more trimming in the wildflower garden.
EDIT 2/22/26 -- We hauled in the potting mix bags from last night.
I've seen a fox squirrel in the forest garden.
EDIT 2/22/26 -- I did more work around the patio.
I am done for the night.
