#I plant bee-friendly things

[markmybirds]

Augh the missed pun..

Beehaviour.

Apparently a part of the reason why farmed bees stay in the beehives that humans build for them is because the farm hives are safer and sturdier. I don't know how a busy Discord server's worth of bugs that only have one brain cell each would logically conclude that the humans protect them from outside threats, illness and parasites, but if I understood right, the bees would be free to move away and build a new nest somewhere else any time they'd want, and they simply choose not to.

You know how in almost every culture, people have some concept of "if I sacrifice something that I made/grew/produced to the Gods, they will ward me and my harvest from evil"?

So, in a way, don't the bees willingly sacrifice a part of their harvest to an entity not only far greater than them, but nearly beyond their comprehension, in exchange for protection against natural forces wildly outside of their own control?

So tell me, beekeepers, what are you to your bees, if not a mildly eldritch God?

[the-busy-ghost]

We may not have the most exciting or blooming garden in the world but we do have:

Ladybirds living on the holly (eating aphids)

Blackbirds regularly hopping about, eating the few slugs that ever actually appear, and picking up leaves from the lawn for their nests

Finches, sparrows, and tits (haha) chattering to each other in crowds on the one small tree

Many different kinds of visiting bee and wasp

And this is relatively normal for a Scottish garden so it's not just us and even if we could do better by our wildlife, it still makes me happy to know they're there

[lesbianstarlightglimmer]

New (tiny) friend 🐸 🌱🌿

[hellsitegenetics]

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homestuck

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[reasonsforhope]

"Abby Allen has no problem with her neighbours peering over her luxuriant hedges to see what she is up to on her farm.

For years she has been carrying out ad hoc experiments with wildlife and farming techniques; in her lush Devon fields native cattle graze alongside 400-year-old hedgerows, with birds and butterflies enjoying the species-rich pasture.

Under the environmental land management scheme (ELMS), introduced by the government in 2021, those experiments were finally being funded. “We have a neighbour who has always been more of an intensive farmer,” she says, but he is now considering leaving fields unploughed to help the soil. “It genuinely is having such a huge impact in changing people’s mindsets who traditionally would never have thought about farming in this way.”

The new nature payments scheme followed the UK’s exit from the EU, when the government decided to scrap the common agricultural payments scheme, which gave a flat subsidy dependent on the number of acres a farmer managed. In its place came ELMS, which pays farmers for things such as planting hedges, sowing wildflowers for birds to feed on and leaving corners of their land wild for nature.

But these schemes are now at threat of defunding, as the Labour government has refused to commit to the £2.4bn a year spending pot put in place by the previous Conservative government. With spending tight and the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, cutting back on infrastructure and hinting at tax rises, a cut to the ELMS scheme may be on her list.

However, government data released last week found the schemes were working to tentatively bring nature back to England’s farmland. Butterflies, bees and bats are among the wildlife being boosted by ELMS, with birds among the chief beneficiaries, particularly ones that largely feed on invertebrates. An average of 25% more breeding birds were found in areas utilising the eco-friendly schemes.

...there are also farmers who welcome the schemes. Allen says the ELMS has helped her farm provide data and funds to expand and improve the good things they were doing for nature. “Some of the money available around things like soil testing and monitoring – instead of us going ‘we think these are the right things to do and providing these benefits,’ we can now measure it. The exciting thing now is there is money available to measure and monitor and kind of prove that you’re doing the right things. And so then you can find appropriate funding to do more of that.”

Allen, who is in the Nature Friendly Farming Network, manages a network of farms in England, most of which are using the ELMS. This includes chicken farms where the poultry spend their life outside rather than in sheds and other regenerative livestock businesses...

Mark Spencer was an environment minister until 2024 when he lost his seat, but now spends more time in the fields admiring the fruits of his and his family’s labour. He says that a few years of nature-friendly agriculture has restored lapwings and owls.

“On the farm, I haven’t seen lapwings in any number for what feels like a whole generation. You know, as a kid, when I was in my early teens, you’d see lapwings. We used to call them peewits. We’d see them all the time, and they sort of disappeared.

“But then, me and my neighbours changed the way we did cropping, left space in the fields for them to nest, and suddenly they returned. You need to have a piece of land where you’re not having mechanical machinery go over it on a regular basis, because otherwise you destroy the nest. We’ve also got baby owls in our owl box now for the first time in 15 years. They look mega, to be honest, these little owls, little balls of fluff. It is rewarding.”"

-via The Guardian, August 23, 2024

[poppitron360]

Even more incorrect quotes From this RANDOM INCORRECT QUOTES GENERATOR that I found!!

Hazel: Just be careful, Leo!

Leo: *heading out the door* I'm always careful, Hazel!

Leo: It's everything around me that's careless.

—_—_—_ —_—_—_ —_—_—_ —_—_—_

Annabeth: The first time I saw you, you stole my heart.

Piper: But I'm a kleptomaniac, so that doesn't mean anything.

—_—_—_ —_—_—_ —_—_—_ —_—_—_

Jason: I will find us a covered wagon and horses.

Jason: If you two can manage to not kill each other while I'm gone.

Piper: Oh, please. We're not children.

*Jason leaves*

Piper, casually: ...Eat shit and die.

Leo, also casually: Yes, fuck you.

—_—_—_ —_—_—_ —_—_—_ —_—_—_

Annabeth: Sorry I’m late, I was doing things.

Percy: Hi, I’m ‘things’.

—_—_—_ —_—_—_ —_—_—_ —_—_—_

Will: What are you in the mood for?

Nico: World domination.

Will: That's a bit ambitious.

Nico: You are my world.

Will: Aww...

Nico:

Will:

Nico:

Will: OH.

—_—_—_ —_—_—_ —_—_—_ —_—_—_

Percy, upon learning how Annabeth did a magic trick: So you’re not magic?

Annabeth: Well, not really.

Percy: You’re just a liar.

—_—_—_ —_—_—_ —_—_—_ —_—_—_

Piper and Leo: *speaking Spanish*

Piper: I know, I know.

Jason: You speak Spanish?

Piper: No. I just know the phrase, 'this is all your fault' in every language Leo speaks.

—_—_—_ —_—_—_ —_—_—_ —_—_—_

Annabeth: N... No!

Percy: A fair rebuttal. However, consider this counterpoint: Y... Yes???

—_—_—_ —_—_—_ —_—_—_ —_—_—_

Leo, talking about Jason: WHAT THE FUCK I WAS ARGUING WITH THEM AND I SAID “OOH YOU WANNA KISS ME SO BAD” AND GUESS WHAT? THEY DID. THEY KISSED ME. WHAT THE FUCK WHAT DO I DO.

—_—_—_ —_—_—_ —_—_—_ —_—_—_

Percy : I’m the sexiest bitch in this therapy waiting room.

—_—_—_ —_—_—_ —_—_—_ —_—_—_

Annabeth: Plants are basically the ideal friends. They are quiet, friendly, and easy to please. All they need is a little water and fresh earth, and they are perfectly happy to lie there all day in the sun. And they don’t make increasingly awful life choices, or hide their relationships. They have never, as far as I know, fucked a bee.

—_—_—_ —_—_—_ —_—_—_ —_—_—_

Will: Can you keep a secret?

Nico: Do you know anything about my life?

Will: No, I don't. Good point.

[alpaca-clouds]

"Save the Bees" is not enough

Yo, Solarpunks. Let us talk bees. And yes, everyone else, too. Like, yeah, bees.

See, whenever we are talking about insects dying, people will go "save the bees". And whenever I hear "save the bees", I will just go and say: "You don't get it, do you?"

People like bees. Because bees make honey, right? Yeah, only they don't. No, really. The honey bee is just one species of bees, while other bee species do in fact not make honey. Which is why we domesticated the honey bee, but not those other species. Duh. Because one was useful to us, while the others were not. As such we love the honey bee, but do not care about the other insects that are dying off.

Meme culture tells me, that you have probably seen Bee Movie. And I will now shock you. The movie lies to you! ("No!" - "YES!") And with that I do not mean, that actual bees are unable to speak. Or the fact that most bees are female (if we really wanna impose genders on bees). No, with that I mean the big thing that happens in the finale of the movie of all plants and what not dying off.

For those, who somehow have not seen that 90 minute meme: In the movie the honey bees sue the humans for stealing their honey. They win. Have their own honey and stop working. (Boy, lots to unpack there, eh?) and because of it all the flowers and crops die.

Well, here is the thing: Honey bees are actually not that important as polinators. Like, sure, they polinate a lot of crops and flowers, but... normally they are not the big pollinators, even though we kinda make them to, by shipping all those honey bees around. Other bee species pollinate a lot of plants, too. And so do other animals, like bats and birds for example. And that is without going into the less liked animals that pollinate, like flys. And then we also have all those self-pollinating crops and flowers, as well as air polinating plants.

Let me make one thing clear: You should care about bees. All the bees. (Because hint, the honey bees have the least of a problem.) But you should also care about the other insects that are dying off. Not only because of the pollination, but also because insects play a bigger role than just pollination.

Insects, for example, are important as prey animals for lots of birds and smaller animals. Just as some insects might actually play a role in dealing with natural waste. So, the dying off of insects is a bigger problem of "plants don't get pollinated".

So, why do the insects die?

Yes, part of the reason is habitat loss. You know, your lawn is a fucking desert to most insects. They not only need a bigger variety of plants around (not just flowers), but maybe also some old wood to borrow into and some loose earth on the ground. Stuff like that.

Insects usually also do not deal very well with the climate change. Be it with the growing heat or with the more erratic weather patterns of draught and then just quick and sudden rainfall, that does not linger.

And, of course, there is also the fact that we use a lot of anti-insect pesticides in agriculture. Which does not only hit those pests, but basically any other insect around.

And then... there is the invasive species. We kinda spread a lot of invasive insect species around, that also kill a ton of the local insect species.

So... What can you do? Well, if you have a garden, you can make it more insect friendly. Duh. You also can leave out some water for insects and birds. They all need it.

But most of all: Become politically active. Make sure that pesticides are used less. It is maybe the most important.

[chase-prairie]

I'm guessing that as a graduate student you have read a zillion and one documents and books and papers and things in your field. Would it be outrageous to ask for recommendations/your favorites? I'm really interested in learning more about the history of Native land use and food systems in the midwest (which I suppose is a very long history, I'd be happy learning about any time period), prairie ecology, and the current outlook for native plants and pollinators (and conservation recommendations). Even one recc for each would be amazing. Feel free to postpone this ask if you're too busy! P.S. can't wait to read your dissertation.

This is a big ask, and I get a lot of these types of asks! In the future it'd be nice if people were more specific about their interests and not asking about general, huge topics. There's a level that you can and should be googling yourself! Many academic papers are online for free through sites like academia.edu and I'm not a search engine!

General answer if you're interested in this range of topics is Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass. She comes from the midwest and writes some on prairie and the book is all about Indigenous science stewardship.

Otherwise, the topics you're asking for don't have one single source that will tell you everything you're looking for. People make small studies of one community, one ecosystem, one plant. Whether it's ecology or ethnobotany, there's no one making compendiums of info, especially not in the midwest. That's why I do the work I do, but even what I do is imperfect. Be suspicious of anyone who/any text that claims to be comprehensive on a huge, complex subjects; they probably are bsing you.

Indigenous Land Mgmt:

Two good recent papers:

The subject of indigenous wild management is more intensely covered in California (M. Kat Anderson) and Vancouver (Nancy J. Turner). Those two authors are great for both nuts and bolts chat and philosophical perspectives about how people have lived in and altered and restored their ecosystems.

A compelling academic book on the subject is Roots of Our Renewal: Ethnobotany and Cherokee Environmental Governance by Clint Carroll, which is just as much about philosophy, knowledge production and protection and community building, as plants.

Prairie Conservation Practices:

Like I said above, currently published stuff is about very specific interactions and focuses, like a particular pollinator group in a particular plant. What you're looking for, a generalist summary of the field, doesn't really exist.

If you're looking for plant lists and how-tos Tallgrass Restoration Handbook or the Tallgrass Prairie Center Guide. Do not go for Ben Voigt. If you're looking for a general conceptual entry to Midwest conservation/restoration, there's Ecological Restoration in the Midwest

If you're looking for general recommendations for free, Xerces.org is the resource for bee-friendly landscaping and planting.

If you live near a University or Arboretum or Botanic Garden, this is the kind of thing where you should just browse the shelves near the books I've recommended! Chances are you have free access to the libraries, if not the ability to check the books out yourself!

[wordy-little-witch]

Edge of Midnight incorrect quotes

Farryn: What’s it like being so tall?

Jericho: Is it nice?

Marius: Can you reach comfortably for the cupboards?

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Yorgrim: We live in constant fear of the short ones who, in my experience, will climb four chairs, two boxes, a small coffee table, and six oddly placed stools to get what they want.

Briggsy: Boil up some Mountain Dew. It’s gonna be a long night.

Briggsy: *slams books down in front of Lethica*

Lethica: You could of said literally anything else.

Briggsy: Cauldron boil and cauldron bubble, Baja Blast to fuel my trouble.

Lethica: I’m going to just stop challenging you when you say random shit. I won’t win. I realize this now.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Briggsy: You look good in that hoodie.

Jericho: You know where else I'd look good?

Briggsy, zero hesitation: Mari's bed.

Jericho, at the same time: In a hug- wait, what?

Marius:

Briggsy: did I stutter

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Briggsy: I’m really glad “fight me” has replaced “sue me” in the common vernacular because I don’t have money, but I do have fists and I am always angry.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Lethica: What do rainbows mean to you?

Farryn: Gay rights.

Briggsy: There's money.

Marius: The sign of God's promise to never destroy the whole Earth with a flood.

Yorgrim: It is an optical phenomenon that separates sunlight into its continuous spectrum when the sun shines on raindrops.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Farryn: What do I get?

Jericho: A night of fashion, mischief, mayhem, and possible death.

Farryn: Ooh, check, check, and check; not sure about that last one.

Jericho: It won't be you.

Farryn: I'll get my coat.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Jericho: How is spring not everyone’s favorite season? The trees are PINK, guys!

Farryn: Allergies are also a problem, y'know.

Jericho: But pink.

Lethica: And it's hot.

Jericho: PINK!

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Jericho: The only thing I'm guilty of is being adorable... ...and also assault with a deadly weapon.

Virgil: CAW >:}

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Jericho: What do you all intend on majoring in?

Yorgrim: Respecting the dead

Farryn: Minecraft.

Marius: Criminal justice and psychology.

Briggsy: I'm terrified that I’ll lock myself into an interest that I’ll no longer be passionate about in a few years like all the other areas of study I’ve pursued over my life!

Lethica: Minecraft as well.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Farryn: Get in, loser, we’re committing vehicular manslaughter!

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Briggsy: Here comes the lightning!

Briggsy, whispering: You've got to imagine it coming out my fingertips, wherein I am an almighty wizard.

Jericho: Ok, currently imagining that. Hmm, not bad. Not bad at all.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Farryn: I'm going the fight the next person who insults Jericho.

Jericho: I don't rightly think I like myself all that much.

Farryn: Alright, square up.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Yorgrim: Plants are basically the ideal friends. They are quiet, friendly, and easy to please. All they need is a little water and fresh earth, and they are perfectly happy to lie there all day in the sun. And they don’t make increasingly awful life choices, or hide their relationships. They have never, as far as I know, fucked a bee.

The rest of the party:

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Briggsy: Physically, yes, I could fight a bird, but emotionally? Imagine the toll!

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Virgil, the bird in question: >:}

Jericho, trying to flirt with Marius: So, I heard you like bad girls… I time travel in Animal Crossing.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Marius: Valentine’s day is just a consumerist holiday that holds no real value other than drive people insane buying heart shaped chocolates for their significant others and pos-

Jericho: I wrote you a poem.

Marius, already crying: You did?

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Yorgrim: You made enough pasta that you could take it to lunch tomorrow. Put it in a container.

Farryn: Shovel the pasta into your face. Do it. Put it in your face. The future is meaningless but the pasta is now.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

*when the party drops food*

Marius: Eh, oh well.

Yorgrim: FIVE-SECOND RULE!

Lethica: FUCK!

Briggsy: *just gets more food*

Jericho: *drops to their knees and mourns the food*

Farryn: *eats the food off the ground*

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Jericho: I am going to need you to swear-

Briggsy: Fuck.

Jericho:

Jericho: ...swear as in promise.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Farryn: Ow!

Jericho: What’s wrong?

Farryn: I have this weird pain right above my eyebrow.

Jericho: It’s called a stress headache. I got my first one when I was four.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Farryn: Is there anyone here who’s actually straight?

Briggsy: *raises hand*

Yorgrim: *puts their hand down*

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Lethica: What scares you guys the most?

Farryn: Werewolves!

Marius: Sharks.

Jericho: The unstoppable marching of time that is slowly guiding us all towards an inevitable death.

Everyone:

Jericho: also locusts - them critters are horrible for crops, lemme tell ya-

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Marius: Can you be serious for five minutes?

Jericho: My record is four, but I think I can do it.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

*The gang responding to being stabbed by a sword*

Briggsy: Rude.

Lethica: That's fair.

Farryn: Not again.

Jericho: Are you gonna want this back or can I keep it?

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Yorgrim: You use humor to deflect your trauma.

Jericho: Awww, thanks-

Yorgrim: That’s not a good thing.

Jericho: All I’m hearing is that you think I’m funny.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Marius: What's wrong with you?

Briggsy: Off the top of my head, I'd say low self-esteem, a lack of paternal affection, and a genetic predisposition for anxiety and depression.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Jericho: If a demon possessed me, I’d just be like, “Okay, take it from here, good luck man.”

Virgil:

The party:

Jericho: see, it's funny, on account of it being real

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Farryn: You're a lying piece of shit!

Marius: Oh yeah? You're the idiot that thinks you can get away with everything you do, WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD!

Lethica: I'm leaving and I'm taking Jericho with me!

Yorgrim, gathering cards: Aaaaand that's enough Monopoly for today.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Jericho: Due to some personal reasons, I will be fucking sinking to the bottom of the ocean in a large metal box.

Yorgrim: Did Marius say 'I love you' and you said 'Thanks'?

Jericho: THE REASONS ARE MIGHTY PERSONAL–

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Briggsy: Which country has the most birds?

Briggsy: Portu-geese!

Lethica: That's a language.

Briggsy: Portu-gull?

Lethica: Good recovery.

Farryn: I think you mean good re-dovery.

Jericho: TURKEY. HOW DID WE MISS TURKEY?

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Marius: Look, I know you think my judgement's clouded because I like Jericho a little bit.

Farryn, holding Marius's notepad: You doodled your wedding invitation.

Marius: No, that's our joint tombstone.

Farryn: My mistake.

[drcloyd]

bucktommy earth day fic

getting this in right under the wire.

pretty as a vine [read on ao3] “Did you know that Los Angeles has one of the most diverse urban forests in the world?” Evan asked, about five milliseconds after Tommy managed to open his eyes to the early morning sunlight.

Evan was already sitting against the headboard.

“I did not know that,” Tommy said, sleep-rough as he wiped a hand over his face and blinked sleep out of his eyes. Evan was bright-eyed and animated, though there was still a pillow crease on his face and he had a serious case of curly bed-head. Instead of hauling him back down onto the mattress and cuddling him back to sleep, he pushed himself into a sitting position and yawned so wide his jaw cracked.

“Chris sent me an article about urban tree planting his class read to get ready for Earth Day,” he said.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, apparently there’s 95 species of tree native to Los Angeles, but thousands more that are non-native,” he said, putting his phone down, obviously reciting the stats from memory. He never could quite predict what scenario was going to bring forth a bunch of random facts from Evan, but he enjoyed it every time.

Also, he learned a lot.

“What else did you find out?” he asked, peppering the question with a closemouthed kiss against Evan’s mouth, just to see the way his cheeks flushed.

Apparently the research hole he’d gone down was too much to fluster him for long, because he barrelled ahead after a brief pause for a sweet little smile. “Did you know there’s three times as many trees planted in rich neighborhoods here in LA than in poor neighborhoods?” he said, a tiny furrow appearing between his brow. “That’s so unfair - do you know how many benefits trees have? They reduce the temperatures in heat deserts and improve air quality - “

Tommy listened as he continued, gesticulating wildly with his hands as he rattled off facts, and couldn’t help the fond smile that crossed his mouth. He hadn’t been lying, Evan was adorable but - it was also some pretty interesting stuff. Listening to one of Buck’s trivia binges inevitably led him down a rabbit hole of his own, though he was far less prone to sharing it than Buck.

He did on occasion attempt to drop them on Eddie - though that usually got him an eye roll and a teasing comment about how much time he was spending with Buck.

“I think we should do something for Earth Day,” Evan said, after going through an exhaustive list of all the ways planting trees in urban areas helped both the environment and citizens.

“You want to plant a tree?” Tommy asked, brow raised, by now leaning against the headboard, close enough that their shoulders pressed together (or more like bumped every few moments with all the gesturing Evan did).

“No - well, yeah - but it’s kind of short notice for that now,” he said. “I did look into some programs planting trees around the city that accept volunteers but there’s orientations and stuff - I was thinking of running it by Cap, seeing if we can make it a station wide thing, or maybe department wide…”

“Okay,” Tommy said, quiet, even, waiting for Evan to circle back around to what he actually wanted to do now.

“I was thinking I could plant something on my balcony. Not a tree, obviously, maybe some flowers for the bees or something?”

“That sounds doable,” Tommy said with a nod. “Is this something you’d like help with?” he asked.

“I - yeah, I mean if you’re offering,” he said. “I was thinking we could go to the home improvement store and get a little flower box and soil and stuff,” he said.

“Alright,” Tommy said, giving Evan’s thigh a little squeeze as he started to slide out of bed. “Get dressed, I’ll get the coffee going and we’ll head out,” he said.

Three hours later, they’d arrived back to the loft with a huge flower box, two bags of potting soil, two sets of gardening gloves, three different species of bee friendly flowers and a succulent Evan had fallen in love with and refused to leave behind.

Hauling it all up to Evan’s floor, even with the elevator, had been a trek, both of them a little sweaty by the time they carried it all across the threshold.

“There’s an information pamphlet in here somewhere,” Evan said, setting his flowerbox (a gorgeous piece in redwood that had cost a pretty penny but would hold up against rot and decay for as long as Evan wanted it on his balcony) on the kitchen island and rooted around inside where he’d put his part of the haul. Tommy put the large box filled with flowers (and the succulent) on the other side of the island.

“Okay, we’ve got some Great Blanket Flowers, otherwise known as Gaillardia aristata,” he said, pulling out a container with a few orange and yellow flowers, setting them beside the flower boxes on the island. “Then -” he squinted at the paper, “Million Bells, otherwise known as Calibrachoa,” a yellow flower with orange on the inside, “and a Sweet Potato vine, otherwise known as Ipomoea batatas,” he said.

“I was there when we bought them,” Tommy said, amused - it’d taken Evan a full forty-five minutes to narrow down the type of flowers he wanted to get, hemming and hawing about what would have the most benefit for bees, which would last the longest, be the most maintenance free - in the end Tommy’d had to wrangle one of the garden center employees over to give some professional advice before Evan well and truly lost himself in a Reddit spiral.

Evan laughed. “Just refreshing your memory,” he said. “Let’s get the flower box out there and then we can add the soil and start planting!” he said, clapping his hands together.

“Yes, sir,” Tommy said dryly, giving a little salute, the corner of his mouth quirking before he hefted up one of the flower boxes to take outside.

It took a bit of work to get them set up against the edge of the balcony, using some of the brackets that came with it (most of the time had been spent trying to find the drill that Evan had said he’d borrowed from Eddie - they’d found it in the hall closet under a pile of sheets).

“How’s that?” Tommy asked, knees clicking as he straightened up, peering down at the flower boxes that now took up most of the length of the balcony railing.

“Perfect,” Evan said, pressing a kiss to his cheek on his way past to grab the bags of soil. He was so much freer with his affection - Tommy knew it’d taken him some time to get used to it, but he always felt a little spark of warmth with every absent brush of his hand or chaste little kiss, just because - Evan had held his hand on the walk from the parking lot to the home improvement store and he’d had to bite the inside of his cheek to tamp down the smile.

Instead of helping, he watched Evan bring the two bags of soil out, arm muscles bulging, though he didn’t look as if he were exerting himself in the least.

“Both bags should be enough,” Evan said, leaving one to heft the other onto his shoulder and carry it toward the closest box. Tommy grabbed the other and did the same, and it only took a few moments to have it filled to an acceptable (to Evan and presumably the flowers) depth.

After procuring some beers, grabbing the flowers, and then going back inside to grab the two pairs of gloves, they were ready to start planting the flowers. Evan stood back, eyeing the box like a sculptor about to start chisling some marble. Tommy watched, amused and annoyingly fond, as he paced the length of the box, looked back to the box of flowers, and then back again.

“Let’s start with the Great Blanket Flowers,” he finally said after a long moment, giving a decisive nod. Tommy grabbed the flowers from the box - they’d gotten three large ones in separate pots, and set them on the ground next to where Evan had knelt down, gloves already on.

Tommy donned his, kneeling down, ignoring the cracking of his knees, and let Evan take the lead.

“I think they’d look best here at the front,” he said. Tommy nodded - he didn’t have a particular eye for flower arrangements, but he trusted Evan’s judgment. Also, he honestly didn’t think the bees would care one way or the other.

They worked in companionable silence to gently uproot the flowers from their pots, careful not to snag any of the roots. Evan dug some holes with his gloved hand deep enough to easily cover the roots, the soil easily moved. Tommy placed one of the bunches into a hole, patting the soil down around it and let Evan do the other two, reaching for his beer as he watched the careful way Evan handled the plants, even with the unwieldy gloves on.

There was a look of concentration on his face, and Tommy kind of wanted to kiss away that little furrow between his brow. He took a pull of beer instead, setting the bottle down as Evan patted down the last bit of soil.

“There. I think those look good there.” Tommy hummed in agreement. “The sweet potato vines should probably go along the back so they can drape down off the balcony when they grow, and we can fill in the Million Bells in around them?” he said, as if Tommy might have another idea about possible flower arrangements.

He didn’t.

Tommy helped, but mostly just sat back on his heels and watched as Evan arranged the flowers to his liking, his tongue occasionally peeking out between his teeth as he held the flowers in different spots before committing to their final resting place.

When the last flower had been put in place, Evan eased himself back onto his heels, close enough that Tommy could feel the heat of his body, sunwarm and shining faintly with perspiration.

“Looks good,” Tommy said approvingly, though his gaze wasn’t stuck on the flowers. Evan’s was though, a smile lighting up when a bee buzzed by and headed straight for the Blanket Flowers. He watched it for a while, and Tommy watched him watching it, before Evan seemed to tense a little, glancing over at him.

“Hey,” he said, sounding oddly insecure. “Thanks for doing this with me,” he said, eyes bright, as if he imagined Tommy would have agreed to come if he hadn’t wanted to. Tommy didn’t do things he didn’t want to do. He hoped in time he could get Evan to believe that.

“Of course,” Tommy said, leaning forward to kiss him, soft and sweet, forgetting his hand was still gloved as he brought it up to rest against his chin. Evan kissed him back, and when he pulled back he had a smudge of dirt on his jaw.

Tommy grinned, taking his glove off so that he could wipe the smudge away with his thumb.

“There’s nowhere I’d rather be.”

[beesofink]

Pinned Post: Please Read!!!

Free 🇵🇸🇸🇩🇨🇩🇮🇪

Hello, I am BeesOfInk, and I'm an aspiring screenwriter and artist!!! Here are the important things and a more readable and in-depth version of the text in the picture:

🐝📝 Basic Information 📝🐝

📝 They/Them Feminine Nonbinary Sapphic

📝 Fiendkin/Bee-Fairykin

📝 Autistic Writer and Artist

📝 Possibly has Maladaptive Daydreaming

📝 The content I make varies: Sometimes it's family friendly, sometimes it contains gore, death, phobias, mental health issues, ect. So they will all be tagged.

🧚‍♀️👻 Interests 👻🧚‍♀️

🧚‍♀️ Mr. Men and Little Miss (Main Interest)

🧚‍♀️ Psychonauts 2

🧚‍♀️ My Little Pony

🧚‍♀️ Crow Country

🧚‍♀️ Silent Hill

🧚‍♀️ American McGee's Alice Series

🧚‍♀️ I Can't Sleep

🧚‍♀️ Omori

🧚‍♀️ Five Nights at Freddy's

🧚‍♀️ Plants vs. Zombies

🧚‍♀️ Undertale/Deltarune

🧚‍♀️ Steven Universe

🧚‍♀️ Over The Garden Wall

:

👻 Psychology

👻 Halloween

👻 Horror

👻 Goth/Punk

👻 Fall

👻 Marigolds, Mushrooms, and Gardens

👻 Cottagecore

👻 Witchcraft, Psychics, and Demonology

👻Demons

👻 Fairies, and other Mythical Creatures

👻 Bees, Cats, Bats, Most Forest Animals, Koi Fish, Frogs, Sea Urchins, Jellyfish

👻 80s - 90s Technology

👻 Forests and Bodies of Water

🍄🏵️ Tags I use and what they mean 🏵️🍄

🏵️ Heed the Hive's Plea: Important updates I make, whenever it be a project I'm working on or the blog itself!

🏵️ The Swarm Speaks: Simple silly reblogs, like memes or comfort material.

🏵️ Bees Using Ink: The art and sketches I make!

🏵️ Books by Bees: Stories I post!

🏵️ Pollinated Plays: Animated/Animatics I make!

🏵️ Reblogged from the Beesties: Reblogs from those close to me!

🩷🩵 Comfort Characters! 🩵🩷

🩷Romantic🩷

🐝 Gangle (The Amazing Digital Circus)

🐝 Yuri (Doki Doki Literature Club)

🐝 Purple Mage (Everhood)

🐝 Dalv (Undertale Yellow)

🐝 Marceline (Adventure Time)

🐝 Alice (American McGee's Alice)

🐝 Miss Sunshine & Mr. Fussy (Mr. Men and Little Miss)

💜 Family 💜

🐝 The Psychic Seven, The Aquato Family, the Interns (somewhat, not the canon ones honestly), Hollis (Psychonauts 2)

🐝 Charlotte, Charlene, Violetta, Viktor, Ms. Millet, Mr. Milk, Ms. Minty, and Maggie + Orion (I see myself as a baby sitter who helps them) (Making Fiends)

🐝 Eve (she's like a Teacher, but still) (No Straight Roads)

🩵 Undecided/Friends 🩵

🐝 Fluttershy (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic)

⚠️ !!!DO NOT INTERACT!!! ⚠️

- Pr0ship

- Pedophiles/Zoophiles

- L0lic0ns/Sh0t@c0ns

- F3ral P0rn Fans

- T3RFS

- N@zis, Z10nists, C0nfederates, and American P@triots

- N/F/T / Crypt0

- A1 "Artists"

- "Blackwashing" Believers

- Anyone on EDTWT

- Fetish/NSFW Accounts

:

- Ribbun Shippers

- Stolas or Blitz Fans

- SML Stans

- Lily Orchard Fans

- OMOCAT Fans

- Phisnom Fama

- Vivziepop Fans

- r/FakeDisorderCringe fans

⚠️🧊 Can Interact but on Thin Ice 🧊⚠️

- Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss fans

- Danganronpa fans

-Gristol Malik (from Psychonauts 2) fans, ect.

⚠️⚠️Actual SelfSona beyond this point, but HUGE CW for MINOR BLOOD + TRYPOPHOBIA + BLINKIES!!!⚠️⚠️

[messenger-of-stupidity]

Redacted Incorrect Quotes

Redacted Masterlist

~~~

Baabe: seductively takes off glasses Wow, you're… blurry.

~~~

Angel: If I see a bug, I simply leave the room elegantly and require someone else do something about it. Angel: If no one fulfills my wish, I simply never go back in there.

~~~

David: If karma doesn't hit you, I fucking will.

~~~

Baabe: Quitting! It's like trying, but easier.

~~~

Angel: My favorite outdoor activity is going back inside.

~~~

Asher: Hello, McDonald's, I would like to purchase 130 chicken nuggets. Prepare yourselves.

~~~

Sweetheart: To everyone who has treated me poorly; I am sexier than you.

~~~

Angel: If we were in prison you guys would be like my bitches.

~~~

Angel, on the phone: So no head? Angel: Throws phone and breaks skateboard

~~~

at the supermarket Angel: All right, the last item on the list is "virgin oil." Angel: Angel: Wow. Imagine being an item and still being called a virgin. David: Please stop

~~~

David: Plants are basically the ideal friends. They are quiet, friendly, and easy to please. All they need is a little water and fresh earth, and they are perfectly happy to lie there all day in the sun. And they don’t make increasingly awful life choices, or hide their relationships. They have never, as far as I know, fucked a bee.

~~~

Sweetheart: Life keeps fucking me and I can't remember the safeword.

~~~

David: The next time I open up to someone, it'll be my autopsy.

~~~

Baabe, looking at a dead phone: How do we bring this thing back to life? Magic? Live sacrifice? I know a guy in town-

~~~

Asher is ordering a cake over the phone Shop Employee: …and what would you like your cake to say? Asher, covering the phone to look at the others: Do we want a talking cake?

~~~

Sweetheart: I am literally evil incarnate. Sweetheart: I’m not actually, I just enjoy being evil. Sweetheart: Which I think actually makes it even more evil because I’m making a conscious effort.

~~~

Milo: In case you haven’t noticed, I’m weird. I’m a weirdo. I don’t “fit in” and I don’t WANT to fit in. Have you ever seen me without this stupid hat on? That’s weird.

~~~

David: The path to inner peace begins with four words… not my fucking problem.

~~~

Angel: The waiter at Olive Garden has been grating my cheese for 6 hours now, waiting for me to say when. Customers are screaming. Three people have died. Angel: I will not yield.

~~~

Sweetheart: I don’t need to touch grass, I need the fall of capitalism.

~~~

David: What doesn't kill me better start running, because now I'm fucking pissed.

~~~

Baabe: I'm yet to properly begin my history notes BUT!!!! I got 100 Baabe-percent on a quiz about european countries so who's the REAL winner here.

~~~

Darlin: I’m the sexiest bitch in this therapy waiting room.

~~~

Milo: trying to buy a Father's Day card at Hallmark Milo: Excuse me, do you have any that just say "You are my dad?" Associate: Well, I- Milo: How about "You banged my mom?" Associate: No… Milo: You know what, I'll just get a blank one. Milo: writes You are a father. This is a day. Here is a card.

~~~

Darlin: It's not like I try to blow things up, exactly. It just sort of happens. You've got to admit though, fire is fascinating.

~~~

Baabe: My dad has a spiked collar. Baabe: *dog

~~~

Asher: I know what a prism is! It's where you put bad people.

~~~

Angel: Two bros! Angel: Chillin' in a hot tub! Angel: Zero feet apart 'cause we're GAY AS FUCK!

[moonlight-tmd]

how would the cons, bots, and elite bots react to the fact bee's parents are basically their gods

how would sari react too????

I love this au so much <3333 (it's funny af and has great potential for chaos)

Well, the others wouldn't really know they are gods since Primus and Unicron are not allowed to reveal themselves- hence the disguises and alias'. Bee knows they're gods but he's not allowed to speak about it either, he only refers to them as Sire and Papa anyway.

While Prisma and Unis know they are the gods, they speak about their god-names as if they were separate beings(mostly when they're arguing) to keep their covers- religion is a minority on Cybertron since the war began so it's rare to see someone speak about the gods so much. They are seen as religious to say the least.

When Unis shows up in earth he's wrecking shit up for fun and the autobots come to stop him- he does his gig with "you have no chance against me! I will destroy you!" before he notices the tiny yellow bot standing in the group and changes his attitude to happy-go-lucky, The others are very confused and alarmed when Bee runs towards te colossus, even more so but add shocked when he picks Bee up and starts baby-talking to him and Bee yells; "Meet my Creator!"

They are sceptical and wary of Unis cuz this mech just threatened to kill them and now he's acting all friendly and good. He straight up says he was gonna destroy the planet for fun but he can't do that since his beloved sparkling (and his friends) live here.

And so Unis is a "guest" in the plant for few weeks. He's like gremlin-mode Bumblebee but worse- he dubbed Sari an abomination when Bee introduced her to him, Unis was quick to clarify he likes her very much and insults are his way of showing affection(in a way). She was hurt at first but quickly got used ot this weird affection Bee's dad gave her. She likes to go messing around with them in the middle of nowhere sometimes.

He doesn'd do shit when there's something bad happening and the team has to go take care of it. In fact, half of the calls happen cuz he's causing trouble. He's also encouraging Bee causing mischieft and doing pranks and saying he's "going in his Creator's pedesteps".

Unis had bragged about being the strongest warrior in the entire reality known, he's detroyed planets single-handedly and wrecked thousands of soldiers that happened to get in his way. Team Prime has a reason to be wary of him, not just because he's a giant.

The Decepticons straight up skidaddle on the sight of him- he's triple the size of Blitzwing AND wielding a giant double-sided axe. One time Megatron got his servos on Bee and threatened the other Autobots that he'll hurt him, Unis seemed to just materialize out of thin air behind him and politely got his attention before he suplexed him with one servo. The 'cons are straight up avoiding the yellow mini now in both fear of what other fucked up abilities he has and because they don't wanna be pavement on the courtesy of his apparently Creator.

Sentinel is giving Bee all the respect and praise he "held back on" the moment Unis approaches him from behind while Sentinel is trash-talking Bee and excuses them both so they can go on the promised treasure hunt.

While Unis does seem like the strongest in the universe, he's not on either side of the war. He calls it stupid and says that he "spreads the chaos equally".

Then Prisma shows up. He drops from the sky and seizes Unis by his horn. He says few things to his "little sunray" and promises to visit soon before leaving thru a "space bridge" with his husband.

Bee then tells them that was his Sire.

If Ratchet was questioning how this colossus Unis managed to take care of such tiny Sparkling like Bee then now he's questioning how the frag Bee is so small if he got 2 literal giants for Creators- and he doesn't look like he was adopted by them.

And yeah, Prisma does show up unexpectedly like a week later- they find him sitting in the main room with Bee, he was recovering from an injury so they left him in base for the call and when they come back- oop, there's a fucking huge airplane just sitting in the plant. How did he fit in the room? None of them know!

Surprisingly, Prisma is very likeable and they actually get to be kinda friends with him instead of being afraid- well, they're still scared cuz he does clarify he'll send Unis to wreck chaos if something happened to Bee but he's not as aggressive as Unis. He's not even violent- physically at least. He's also on neither side of the war- he says it's a pointless tragedy and he's giving help to anyone in need.

Prisma is similar to Prowl actually, he's calm, respectful and the responsible parent- he doesn't let Bee cause any trouble (most of the time). He actually made Bee apologize when he called Prowl's documentaries boring; "Just because his interests don't align with yours, it doesn't mean they are any less than what you enjoy." He has said.

Now, the 'cons and Elite Guard are still scared shitless from Unis' visit so they also avoid him. Bee and Sari have the fun flying together in his cockpit and seeing stars and galaxies from the "projector"- it's like they were actually in space!

Prisma leaves and things have quieted down. But all of the eath transformers were traumatized enough to treat Bee with respect. His team still bosses him around a bit cuz he is a teammate but they certainly are worried of what might happen if they so much as insulted him. But the tension shrinks the further Bee's parents' visits were in the calendar.

Now i have few funny ideas with BlitzBee and "meeting the in-laws" that i vaguely mentioned in this post. But i also think ProwlBee would fit. Feel free to send questions about whichever you want.

[melancholy-marionette]

30 Days Wild - Plant Progress Update :3

This year, my dad helped me dig a border in his garden so that we could plant a whole bunch of pollinator-friendly plants :3 We managed to run out of space, so we have some stuff in pots too, haha.

Some of it has flowered and finished already, and others have yet to flower, but overall, I'm just stunned at how huge some of them have grown since they were only tiny plug plants when we put them in x3

I know practically nothing about gardening, so it's nice to see that stuff isn't just surviving, but thriving (apart from my Centaurea, which got absolutely destroyed by slugs T_T my Delphinium that snapped in the wind, and my Centranthus which mysteriously died while I was away from home for a couple of days >.< ... but we won't talk about that x3)

I'm most impressed by the Verbena & the Borage which have just become absolute monsters xD

And also, the barrel I filled with various Nicotiana that looked awfully marooned has now become a big bunch of beautiful blooms :D

We've already seen bees, hoverflies, damselflies, dragonflies, butterflies, and moths around various things that we planted, so, hopefully, it's helping, even if it's just a little ^-^

I'm still participating in 30 Days Wild attempting to raise some money for my local Wildlife Trusts charities, so if you're interested in donating or want to find out more, head here :3

[lunesg-sainte]

Be eco-friendly without realizing it

I'm from Mexico, (I say this just to clarify, in case something sounds strange). I live in a still rural area (although urbanization is catching up with us) and I did my first years of school in schools that were a maximum of ten minutes away on foot. At twelve I started taking public transport and when I turned fifteen my trip Every day it was an hour on public transportation (which is considered normal in the area where I live). The thing is that we were always very conscious of our waste.

Much of what we did since my childhood is wash clothes and clean our house with filtered rainwater in the rainy season. The clothes have always been hung in the patio and dried by the air or the sun (we have never had a dryer). Refuse yogurt, cream and other plastic containers. The jars are reused to store cinnamon, coffee, sugar, powdered milk, spices and other things. When we wash the dishes, in a plastic bowl we add water and a few drops of biodegradable soap and with that we wash all the glasses, plates, utensils and pots that we use for cooking and eating. We currently have chickens that roam freely and thanks to this we have a daily supply of eggs. We are not vegan, but I'm not really that worried about that, because my area is highly rural it is very easy to get meat from local producers, the only thing we can't get so easily is fish but it's not like we eat it commonly. If we have too many plastics, glass, cans and metals that we do not use at home, there are these people who buy these types of products by the kilo to in turn resell them to recycling plants that are far from us. The plastic bags we have are generally used for garbage that is not biodegradable. This year we plan for a part of our patio to become a more abundant garden, last year we did it and it was good, we hope to have more success this year. It was great to see butterflies, bees and hummingbirds out the window while I was washing the dishes. I recently bought an electric oven and started learning how to bake.

When I got into the solarpunk label I saw so many practices that we have done in my house throughout my life, it was so cool.

The hope of a future in which we can all live in the most respectable way possible with our planet. ​

[crevicedwelling]

What are some good snacks I can set out for wild paper wasps? There's a nest being built right in my doorway, they're very friendly and downright docile, and I want to be a good neighbor and set out something tasty for them.

paper wasps mainly drink flower nectar and hunt caterpillars to feed their larvae, and receive nutritious salivary secretions a from their larval sisters, offered in return for the caterpillar mush. they might also drink a bit of the caterpillars’ blood while chopping them up.

I’ve actually struggled to handfeed paper wasps hunting caterpillars in my kale, they seem so focused on hunting (and probably frightened of me) that they ignore perfectly plump caterpillars I’ve already plucked for them. maybe you can plant some native, habitat-appropriate wildflowers to feed both wasps and various moths and butterflies, but that’s probably too long-term for this year’s wasps.

I think the most useful thing you can do to help them out is leave out a dish of plain water with some small stones in it! paper wasps get thirsty on hot days and will need fresh water more than food. bees and solitary wasps will also probably visit for a drink