#Natural gardening resource preservation

[planet1258]

Nurture Your Garden & Nature: Natural Resource Conservation

Embrace eco-friendly gardening! Explore tips to grow healthy plants while preserving water, soil, and natural resources. Natural gardening resource preservation

[icewindandboringhorror]

Apparently I can meet my goal of roughly 400,000 words in 6 months if I just somehow write at least 2,200 words a day ghbjh... Almost 2,500 today... huzzah...

[moneyxpertreviewer]

How to Achieve Self-Sufficiency in Your Backyard: A Review of The Self-Sufficient Backyard (by Ron and Johanna Melchiore)

Master the Art of Self-Sufficiency

If you are looking for a comprehensive, impressive, and engaging guide to self-sufficiency, look no further than The Self-Sufficient Backyard: For the Independent Homesteaders. Written by Ron and Johanna Melchiore, who have been living off the grid for over 40 years, this book offers a wealth of practical advice and inspiration for anyone who wants to live a more self-reliant and sustainable lifestyle.

What is The Self-Sufficient Backyard about?

The Self-Sufficient Backyard is a book that shares the firsthand experience and knowledge of the authors on how to grow your own food, collect your own water, make your own energy, and much more. The book is divided into 12 chapters, each covering a different aspect of self-sufficiency, such as:

Gardening: How to plan, plant, and maintain a productive and organic garden that can provide you with fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers all year round.

Animal Care: How to raise and care for chickens, ducks, rabbits, goats, bees, and other animals that can supply you with eggs, meat, honey, milk, and other products.

Renewable Energy: How to harness the power of the sun, wind, and water to generate electricity, heat, and hot water for your home and appliances.

Natural Remedies: How to use herbs, plants, and essential oils to treat common ailments, injuries, and infections, and to boost your immune system and overall health.

Food Preservation: How to store, can, freeze, dry, and ferment your food to extend its shelf life and prevent spoilage and waste.

Home Security: How to protect your home and property from intruders, thieves, and wild animals, and how to prepare for emergencies and disasters.

Each chapter is packed with detailed information, tips, and illustrations that guide you through the process of setting up and maintaining your own self-sufficient backyard. Whether you have a large or small property, urban or rural, you will find something useful and applicable in this book.

What are the benefits of reading The Self-Sufficient Backyard?

By reading The Self-Sufficient Backyard, you will learn how to:

Save money and resources by producing your own food, water, and energy, and by reducing your dependence on external sources and systems.

Improve your health and well-being by eating organic and nutritious food, by avoiding chemicals and toxins, and by using natural remedies and treatments.

Enhance your skills and creativity by learning new techniques and methods, and by doing things yourself instead of relying on others.

Enjoy the satisfaction and fulfillment of living in harmony with nature, and of being in control of your own life and environment.

Visit the authors’ page by clicking here

Inspiring quotes from The Self-Sufficient Backyard

Here are some quotes from the book or from the authors that show their expertise and insight on self-sufficiency:

"We have learned that self-reliance is not only possible, but immensely rewarding. We have discovered that living simply does not mean living poorly, but rather living richly in ways that money cannot buy" - Ron and Johanna Melchiore, Introduction

"Gardening is not a hobby for us, it is a necessity. It is the source of most of our food, and therefore, our health. It is also a source of joy, beauty, and peace." - Chapter 1, Gardening

"Animals are an integral part of our homestead. They provide us with food, companionship, entertainment, and sometimes, frustration. They also teach us valuable lessons about life, death, and nature." - Chapter 2, Animal Care

"Renewable energy is not a luxury, but a necessity for off-grid living. It is also a smart choice for anyone who cares about the environment and the future of our planet." - Chapter 3, Renewable Energy

"Natural remedies are not a substitute for modern medicine, but a complement to it. They are based on centuries of tradition, observation, and experimentation, and they work with the body's natural healing abilities." - Chapter 4, Natural Remedies

"Food preservation is not only a way to store food, but also a way to preserve culture, history, and diversity. It is also a way to express creativity, flavor, and artistry." - Chapter 5, Food Preservation

"Home security is not only a matter of locks, alarms, and weapons, but also a matter of awareness, preparedness, and common sense. It is also a matter of attitude, confidence, and self-respect." - Chapter 6, Home Security.

What are other reviewers saying about The Self-Sufficient Backyard?

The Self-Sufficient Backyard has received rave reviews from other readers and reviewers, who have praised the book for its:

Depth and breadth of information and advice on various topics related to self-sufficiency.

Clarity and simplicity of writing and presentation, making the book easy to read and understand.

Practicality and applicability of the tips and techniques, making the book suitable for beginners and experts alike.

Honesty and authenticity of the authors, who share their successes and failures, joys and challenges, and stories and anecdotes from their own journey of self-sufficiency.

Here are some examples of what other reviewers have said about the book:

This book is a treasure trove of information and inspiration for anyone who wants to live a more self-reliant and sustainable lifestyle. The authors have done an amazing job of covering every aspect of self-sufficiency, from gardening and animal care, to renewable energy and natural remedies, and more. The book is well-written, well-organized, and well-illustrated, and it is full of practical tips and examples that anyone can follow. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in self-sufficiency, or who simply wants to learn more about it.

This book is a must-read for anyone who dreams of living off the grid, or who simply wants to reduce their environmental impact and live a more simple and natural life. The authors are experienced and knowledgeable, and they share their wisdom and advice in a clear and engaging way. The book is not only informative, but also entertaining and inspiring, as the authors share their personal stories and experiences of living self-sufficiently for over 40 years. The book is also very comprehensive and covers everything you need to know to achieve self-sufficiency in your own backyard.

How to get The Self-Sufficient Backyard?

If you are interested in getting The Self-Sufficient Backyard, you can:

Visit the authors' website by clicking here

Share your thoughts and opinions about the book with your friends and other readers.

Take advantage of three extra digital bonuses if you order today (for FREE)

The Aquaponic Gardener

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There is no risk for you – You have a 60 days money back guarantee

Click here to order the book online from Digistore24

Thank you for reading this review of The Self-Sufficient Backyard by Ron and Johanna Melchiore. I hope you found it helpful and informative. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them below. And if you enjoyed this review, please share it with your friends and family who might also be interested in self-sufficiency. Happy reading!

Disclosure: This review contains affiliate links. I may earn a commission if you purchase through them, but it doesn't affect my opinion. My review is based on in-depth personal evaluation and experience. You have the freedom to buy or not, clicking on the affiliate link does not cost you anything extra.

[reasonsforhope]

"Next Monday [6/17/24] is the start of National Pollinator Awareness Week, and one Colorado advocacy group is hosting a flower planting drive to rewild Colorado’s meadows, gardens, and just maybe, its children too.

Created by constitutional amendment in 1992, Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) is a state-funded independent board that invests a portion of Colorado Lottery proceeds to help preserve and enhance the state’s parks, trails, wildlife, rivers, and open spaces.

This year, GOCO’s offshoot Generation Wild is distributing over 100,000 free packets of wildflower seeds to collection points at museums, Denver Parks and Rec. offices, and libraries all over the state to encourage kids and families to plant the seeds in their backyards.

The Save the Bees! initiative aims to make the state more beautiful, more ecologically diverse, and more friendly to pollinators.

According to a new report from the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, 20% of Colorado’s bumblebees are now at risk of extinction. Even in a small area like a backyard, planting wildflowers can make a positive impact on the local ecosystem and provide native bees with a healthy place to live.

“The Western Bumblebee population has declined in Colorado by 72%, and we’re calling on kids across Colorado to ‘bee’ the change,” said GOCO Executive Director Jackie Miller.

Named after Generation Wild’s official mascot “Wilder,” the Wilderflower Seed Mix was developed in partnership with Applewood Seed Co. and packets are now available for pickup at designated partner sites including more than 80 Little Free Library boxes.

By distributing 100,000 Wilderflower packets, Generation Wild is providing more than 56 million seeds for planting in every nook and cranny of the state. All seeds are regionally-native to Colorado, which is important for sustaining the living landscape of bees, birds, and other animals.

Additionally, by using flower species adapted to the Mile High climate, landscapers and gardeners need to use less water than if they were tending non-native plants.

“Applewood Seed Co. was excited to jump in and help Generation Wild identify a seed mix that is native to the Colorado region and the American West, containing a diversity of flower species to attract and support Colorado’s pollinator populations,” stated Norm Poppe, CEO of Applewood Seed Co. “We hope efforts like this continue to educate the public on pollinator conservation and the need to protect our native bees and butterflies.”

Concluding her statement Miller firmly stated that children grow up better outside, and if you or a parent you know agree with her, all the information on how to participate in Save the Bees! can be found here on their website, including a map showing all the local pickup points for the Wilderflower Seed Packets."

-via Good News Network, June 13, 2024

[esoteric-chaos]

Spring Equinox Masterpost- Spoonie Witch Friendly

Art Credit: Anastasia Catris

The Spring Equinox, also called the Vernal Equinox or Ostara, is usually celebrated between the 21st of March in the Northern Hemisphere (In the Southern Hemisphere around September 20th or 21st)

In 2024, Ostara and the Spring Equinox land in the Northern Hemisphere on Monday, March 19th.

The Spring Equinox celebrates the arrival of spring. Celebrating balance, growth, and new beginnings as Winter has finally ended.

Spring Equinox Correspondances

Colours

Light Green

Lavender

Sunny Yellow

Light Blue

Pastel Pink

White

Herbal

Lemongrass

Daffodils

Tulips

Violets

Apple Tree

Cherry Blossom

Primrose

Birch tree

Hyacinths

Dandelion

Garlic

Ash tree

Jasmine

Edibles

Honey

Salad greens

Spring veggies

Fresh berries

Mead

Herbs

Eggs

Seeds

Bread

Edible flowers

Quiches

Custards

Maple

Animals

Hares

Baby Chicks

Snakes

Robins

Bees

Butterflies

Phoenix

Ram

Crystals

Fluorite

Moonstone

Silver

Aquamarine

Clear Quartz

Amazonite

Symbols

Bonfires

Flowers

Rabbits

Eggs

Seeds

Baskets

Flowering or Tree Buds

Lambs

Birds

Spiritual meanings

Purification

Cleansing (removal of stagnant energy)

Growth

Transition

Motivation

Balance

Birth

Good fortune

Kindness

Joy

Fertility

Scents

Coconut

Citrus

Floral scents (rose, lilac, jasmine, etc)

Herbal scents (rosemary, basil, mint, etc)

Gods / Goddesses / Spirits

Eostre –  (Anglo-Saxon)

Aphrodite - (Greek)

Gaia - (Celtic)

Gaea - (Greek)

Venus - (Roman)

Athena - (Greek)

Aurora - (Roman)

Eos - (Greek)

Isis – (Egyptian)

Freya - (Norse) 

Persephone - (greek)

Cybele - (Roman)

The Green Man - (Celtic)

Odin – (Norse) 

Osiris – (Egyptian)

Pan – (Greek)

Thoth – (Egyptian)

Adonis – (Greek)

Apollon –  (Greek)

Apollo - (Roman)

Need some suggestions to celebrate? I've got you covered.

High energy celebrations and ritual

Deep cleaning of the hearth and home

Nature hikes

Visiting farmers markets

Making preserves

Create a fae garden

Create a seasonal altar

Abundance/Prosperity ritual

New beginnings ritual

Low energy celebrations 

Wear pastels

Create flower crowns

Light a candle with scent correspondence

No spoon celebrations 

Opening a window

Journaling Prompts

Keeping hydrated

Drink floral tea

Rest

How you celebrate the holiday does not matter. You can choose to do any activity that feels right. These are only suggestions and remember that you're enough no matter what.

Also please note some stuff is UPG. A great book is Year of the Witch by Temperance Alden for honouring the celebrations and if you wanted to work more seasonally. It's not Wiccan-based and has plenty of resources for every witch.

Feel free to post how you celebrate in the comments or reblogs!

Want to see more of my posts? Check out my Wheel of the Year Masterpost or my Main Masterpost.

[vhstown]

hobie brown ★ general headcanons

content/warnings: mentions of drinking, mentions of violence, implied abandonment (?), depictions of fictional dystopian govt + police

a/n: it's about time innit 😭😭😭 a couple little thoughts about the guy that has taken over my brain for the past 6 months give it up for spider punk ‼️ very much inspired by @qiupachups's hcs go check em out here

Hobie tends to code-switch a lot depending on who he's around. At the Spider-society, he tones his accent down so people can understand him, but speaks in his natural accent around the mandem & people he likes (e.g. Miles 😁) He's the menace EVER though so he dials the Cockney up to 100 when he's fighting cops outside of the East End because they don't understand it 💀

Even though his handwriting is... atrocious, it's actually because he's picked up the style of ransom notes. In his universe, any sort of communication can be intercepted, so it's better that he can't be identified by his handwriting. That's why it's always changing, and he's half-decent at forgery too.

Speaking of writing, he can do a bunch of pen tricks. It's almost annoying how good he is at it, and if you were to ask him how, he'd just shrug. He's just that guy, you know?

His universe's Aunt May is a lovely lady from the West Indies and she runs F.E.A.S.T in Camden. They're not actually related, but he'll always see her as his aunt. She definitely helped him out after a rough patch in his life, and he volunteers often at the shelter. Everyone there has just accepted the 7ft punk walking around a couple days a week giving out breakfast and coffee.

Hobie is also bizarrely resourceful. He has a LOT of plants in his boat, and some of them grow vegetables! He knows all about gardening and makes the best preserves and soups. It's a good time to be at F.E.A.S.T when Hobie comes in with his little cloth bag full of veggie goodness.

About the rest of his family, Hobie's parents... He doesn't even know who they are himself, to be honest — not like he wants to. However, he does have siblings and a few close cousins. They're all separated, but Hobie does his best to find them. He's the oldest of them all (so far, at least?) and though they don't see him much like a brother at first, he makes sure they're taken care of, regardless of how much younger they are than him. They're always running around F.E.A.S.T, so on the days where Hobie isn't there, he can be sure that Aunt May has a few little helpers (though they're quickly growing taller than her...)

Good with animals. Even the ones that seem a bit rabid warm up to him after a little while. He knows when to leave them alone, when to give them attention, what to feed them, etc. That's why it's not unusual to see them following him around, and a bunch of kittens at his feet eating while he eats his own lunch.

Not actually a big drinker. I like to think he only has a couple of drinks or is just an insane heavyweight because there's no way he's gonna be dismantling the dictatorship if he's piss drunk. There's been a couple times where he's knackered after a night out, though. Just another reason to hate mornings, it looks like.

Most of the stickers on his guitar are from different shows and rallies he's been to, and/or organised, but only a few out of the hundreds he's been to (there's only so much space on a guitar, after all.) It's almost like a little look through his life since he joined the punk scene. Besides, who wouldn't want to beat your local government-made villain over the head with a picture of a cartoon dog?

Absolutely, utterly, undeniably terrible at singing — or is he? Not exactly. He can hum just fine, so singing should be a piece of cake, right? He's alright at a few songs, but "happy birthday" isn't exactly something you'd be performing at the Royal Opera House (he does anyway, but that's a story for another day. Fisk's 56th birthday goes just swimmingly with Spider-Punk on the front of the news.)

Despite that, he's not particularly fond of being known as "Spider-Punk". His Spider identity isn't really meant to be identified, despite how loud his whole get-up is. He's got a lot of people depending on him, and he's careful to never leave a trace of his real identity. That also means, however, that pretty much every punk in the area has a target on their back — let's just say Hobie's got a little "BEATING UP BLUE BOTTLES 101" on a Saturday morning for all his punk friends.

Since the government's got little recording devices and cameras everywhere, Hobie's taken it upon himself to... "borrow" them. He's got a couple mates good with tech, so he's on the scene pretty fast with his own crime-tracking network — pretty sick.

In fact, Hobie's friends (in his universe and others) are pretty useful for more than a few things. For pretty much every situation, he "knows a guy", whether that's related to tech, music, clothing, art, putting together a bunch of random stolen parts to make a dimension watch...

iN CAse

it dON'T

WoRK ouT

— HoBie

🎸💫🕸️

@phoenixinthefiles (since i alr tagged chewy lol)

hey hey hi these r a bit shorter than usual but i just wanted to put these little thoughts out there ^^ might make a part 2 if i have any more thoughts idk we'll see!

rbs super appreciated have a good day and check out my atsv masterlist here!

[fatehbaz]

when the Empire's researchers realized that the cause of the ecological devastation was the Empire:

much to consider.

on the motives and origins of some forms of imperial "environmentalism".

---

Since the material resources of colonies were vital to the metropolitan centers of empire, some of the earliest conservation practices were established outside of Europe [but established for the purpose of protecting the natural resources desired by metropolitan Europe]. [...] [T]ropical island colonies were crucial laboratories of empire, as garden incubators for the transplantation of peoples [slaves, laborers] and plants [cash crops] and for generating the European revival of Edenic discourse. Eighteenth-century environmentalism derived from colonial island contexts in which limited space and an ideological model of utopia contributed to new models of conservation [...]. [T]ropical island colonies were at the vanguard of establishing forest reserves and environmental legislation [...]. These forest reserves, like those established in New England and South Africa, did not necessarily represent "an atavistic interest in preserving the 'natural' [...]" but rather a "more manipulative and power-conscious interest in constructing a new landscape by planting trees [in monoculture or otherwise modified plantations] [...]."

Text by: Elizabeth DeLoughrey and George B. Handley. "Introduction: Toward an Aesthetics of the Earth". Postcolonial Ecologies: Literatures of the Environment, edited by DeLoughrey and Handley. 2011. [Text within brackets added by me for clarity and context.]

---

British colonial forestry was arguably one of the most extensive imperial frameworks of scientific natural resource management anywhere [...]. [T]he roots of conservation [...] lay in the role played by scientific communities in the colonial periphery [...]. In India, [...] in 1805 [...] the court of directors of the East India Company sent a dispatch enquiring [...] [about] the Royal Navy [and its potential use of wood from Malabar's forests] [...]. This enquiry led to the appointment of a forest committee which reported that extensive deforestation had taken place and recommended the protection of the Malabar forests on grounds that they were valuable property. [...] [T]o step up the extraction of teak to augment the strength of the Royal Navy [...] [b]etween 1806 and 1823, the forests of Malabar were protected by means of this monopoly [...]. The history of British colonial forestry, however, took a decisive turn in the post-1860 period [...]. Following the revolt of 1857, the government of India sought to pursue active interventionist policies [...]. Experts were deployed as 'scientific soldiers' and new agencies established. [...] The paradigm [...] was articulated explicitly in the first conference [Empire Forestry Conference] by R.S. Troup, a former Indian forest service officer and then the professor of forestry at Oxford. Troup began by sketching a linear model of the development of human relationship with forests, arguing that the human-forest interaction in civilized societies usually went through three distinct phases - destruction, conservation, and economic management. Conservation was a ‘wise and necessary measure’ but it was ‘only a stage towards the problem of how best to utilise the forest resources of the empire’. The ultimate ideal was economic management, [...] to exploit 'to the full [...]' and provide regular supplies [...] to industry.

Text by: Ravi Rajan. "Modernizing Nature: Tropical Forestry and the Contested Legacy of British Colonial Eco-Development, 1800-2000". Oxford Historical Monographs series, Oxford University Press. January 2006.

---

It is no accident that the earliest writers to comment specifically on rapid environmental change in the context of empires were scientists who were themselves often actors in the process of colonially stimulated environmental change. [...] [N]atural philosophers [...] in Bermuda, [...] in Barbados and [...] on St Helena [all British colonies] were all already well aware of characteristically high rates of soil erosion and deforestation in the colonial tropics [...]. On St Helena and Bermuda this early conservationism led, by 1715, to the gazetting of the first colonial forest reserves and forest protection laws. On French colonial Mauritius [...], Poivre and Philibert Commerson framed pioneering forest conservation [...] in the 1760s. In India William Roxburgh [and] Edward Balfour [...] ([...] Scottish medical scientists) wrote alarmist narratives relating [to] deforestation [...]. East India Company scientists [...] [including] Roxburgh [...] went on to further observe the incidence of global drought events [...]. The writings of Edward Balfour and Hugh Cleghorn in the late 1840s in particular illustrate the extent of the permeation of a global environmental consciousness [...]. [T]he 1860s [were] a period [...] which embodies a convergence of thinking about ecological change on a world scale [...]. It was in the particular circumstances of environmental change at the colonial periphery that what we would now term "environmentalism" first made itself felt [...]. Victorian texts such as [...] Ribbentrop's Forestry in the British Empire, Brown's Hydrology of South Africa, Cleghorn's Forests and Gardens of South India [...] were [...] vital to the onset of environmentalism [...]. This fear grew steadily in the wake of colonial expansion [...] particularly [...] after the great Indian famines of 1876 [...].

Text by: Richard Grove and Vinita Damodaran. "Imperialism, Intellectual Networks, and Environmental Change: Origins and Evolution of Global Environmental History, 1676-2000: Part I". Economic and Political Weekly Vol. 41, No. 41. 14 October 2006

---

The “planetary consciousness” produced by this systemizing of nature [in eighteenth-century European science] […] increased the mobility of paradise discourse [...]. As European colonial expansion accelerated, the homogenizing transformation of people, economy and nature which it catalyzed also gave rise to a myth of lost paradise, which served as a register […] for obliterated cultures, peoples, and environments [devastated by that same European colonization], and as a measure of the rapid ecological changes, frequently deforestation and desiccation, generated by colonizing capital. On one hand, this myth served to suppress dissent by submerging it in melancholy, but on the other, it promoted the emergence of an imperialist environmental critique which would motivate the later establishment of colonial botanical gardens, potential Edens in which nature could be re-made. However, the subversive potential of the “green” critique voiced through the myth of endangered paradise was defused by the extent to which growing environmental sensibilities enabled imperialism to function more efficiently by appropriating botanical knowledge and indigenous conservation methods, thus continuing to serve the purposes of European capital.

Text by: Sharae Deckard. Paradise Discourse, Imperialism, and Globalization: Exploiting Eden. 2010.

[elbiotipo]

If you're from Argentina, you've probably heard about the Iberá wetlands, and you know the tourist pitch: a vast expanse of natural wonders in the middle of Corrientes, full of beautiful lapachos, cute carpinchos and yacarés, and now home to the fastest-growing wild yaguareté population, all with the unique Guaraní influenced culture of rural Corrientes.

Now, things aren't as shiny as they look, since the creation and management of the new national park is still a point of contention in many ways, but you will be suprised that this kind of thinking about the Iberá is very, very recent. Most people considered it an obstacle to progress, a big bunch of swamp in the middle of what could be a very productive ranching province. In a geography book from the 1910s (unfortunately I lost the screencap) it says something like "the biggest obstacle for the development of the province is this swamp, and it should be drained"

This took me to the other side of the world, to the Netherlands. They're known for land reclamation, from literally building their country from the sea. Especially when we're facing rising sea levels because of climate change, the Dutch seem like miracle workers, a look into our future. You will find no shortage of praise about how with some windmills and dams, the Dutch took land "from the sea", and turned it into quaint little polders, making a tiny country in Europe a food exporter and don't they look so nice? But when you look about it, you can barely find anything about what came before those polders. You have to dig and dig to find any mentions of not "sea", but of complex tidal marshes and wetlands, things I've learned are ecologically diverse and protected in many places, but you won't find people talking about that at all when talking about the Netherlands. It's all just polders now. What came before was useless swamp, or a sea to be triumphantly conquered. It's like they were erased from history

The use of that language reminded me of the failed vision of draining Iberá... and the triumphing vision in the Netherlands, and many other places. Maybe those wonderful places, those unique wetlands, would have been a footnote, you wouldn't find anything unless you were a bored ecologist who looked, and not even then. Now, far it be from me to accuse the medieval Dutch, who wanted to have more space to farm, of ecocide. And don't think this is going to be a rant against European ecological imperialism either, as the most anthropized places you can find are actually in China and India. But it does get me thinking.

I work with the concept of landscape, and landscape managing. (Not landscaping, those guys get better paid than me) The concept of landscape is somewhat similar to the concept of ecosystem you know from basic biology, but besides biotic and abiotic factors, you also have to involve cultural factors, that is, humans. There is not a single area of "pristine" untouched nature in the world, that is a myth. Humans have managed these landscapes for as long as they have lived in them. The Amazon, what many people think about when they think about "unspoilt" nature, has a high proportion of domesticated plants growing on it, which were and are still used by the people who live on it, and there once were great civilizations thriving on it. Forests and gardens leave their mark, so much that we can use them to find abandoned settlements. From hunter-gatherers tending and preserving the species vital to their survival in the tundra to engineers in Hong-Kong creating new islands for airports, every human culture has managed their natural resources, creating a landscape.

And this means these landscapes we enjoy are not natural creations. They are affected by natural enviroments; biomes do exist, species have a natural distribution. But they are created and managed by humans. Humans who decide what is valuable to them and what is not. The Dutch, seemingly, found the tidal marshes useless, and they created a new landscape, which changed the history of their nation forever. We here in modern Argentina changed our perception of Iberá, decided to take another approach, and now we made it a cherished part of our heritage, which will also speak about us in the future.

Ultimately, what is a useless swamp to be drained or a beautiful expanse of nature to be cherished depends in our culture, in us humans. We are the ones who manage and change ecosystems based in our economics, our culture, our society. This will become increasingly important, as climate change and ecological degradation becomes harsher and undeniable. We will have to decide what nature is worth to us. Think about what is it worth to you.

[chicuahtliteotl]

Notes as an indigenous farmer for other farmers, gardeners, looking to seek to perform land remediation, restorative agroforestry, etc.

First, look up historical weather and current weather zoning, climate change is real, the area may no longer be suitable for specific plants anymore.

Consider invasive plants, animals, worms(yes like bees there are invasive worms) , etc

Assess potential soil and water pollution sources then create a remediation plan depending on time and feasibility.

Work with the land, not against it, this is pretty simple, if you plan to create rain collecting channels for your small garden, then it's to slope where the land slopes for you.

Composting is great but you also need to understand microbial/fungal symbiosis and creating microbiomes that allow for effective compost break down.

You can buy cheap microbial solutions that are epa or environmental sound, back reference any microbial cultures with academic papers, if unsure how to do the research then it is fine with a variety as this simulates closely to nature.

Look into outdoor mushroom farming, this is pretty common in my community in our Chināmitl /mīlpan system, it's not as hard as most resources online will tell you, especially if you're sticking with native to your area mushrooms.

Avoid commercial strains for cultures especially if they're non native as this can lead to potential invasives.

Yes fungus /mushrooms can be invasive, please never put golden oyster outside.

You can also buy microremediating solutions for soil/water contamination.

Many universities offer resources to help find soil or water testing companies for accessible to no costs even, this is useful if you want to assess variety of conditions.

Additionally microbe /fungal based solutions are most used in our community as it helps reduced overall pests and diseases to our plants.

If you have tons of untreated wood ash (burn untreated wood, get wood ash) this is useful for variety of things, as this ties into controlled burning, true slash and burn, etc. Essentially nutrients are allowed to disperse back in the ground, be aware of heavy metal and other contamination considerations as always.

Indigenous seed banks do exist for non indigenous people, also look into seed conservation projects and seed banks that look to preserve seed lineages. While heirloom is nifty, it does only go so far back around an early colonial era.

[teasugarsalt]

Have a plan for natural disasters that does not rely on a swift or competent government response.

Know what to do during intermittent extended power failures, and which of your neighbors will be most vulnerable when they occur.

Have a plan for what to do if shipping becomes unreliable, or specific foods or drugs become hard to obtain. Know which of your neighbors will have the hardest time if that happens and how to help.

The shortages will be unpredictable. They will be intermittent. They will gradually increase in severity and frequency. Use your opportunities to learn workarounds and substitutes.

Protect and cultivate the people around you with traditional skillsets. They will often be poor. They will often be elderly.

Connect with your local library and extension office. An extension office is a department of a college or university that offers education on things like gardening and food preservation. They will help you make the most of limited resources.

Have your most essential information available offline. Include the contact information of your loved ones. Their phone numbers and physical addresses especially. You're not planning on the Internet going down for good, you're planning for it being unreliable in your area.

Know your neighbors. Be kind to them.

[breelandwalker]

For my fellow green-fingered Virginia witches - I just found this neat thing!

The Virginia Native Plant Society maintains a website with information on native plants and habitats, along with tips for preservation, wildcrafting, and gardening with native species for your particular area. Full-color regional guides are available and the PDF versions are FREE!

For everyone outside of Virginia, see if your state or region has something similar! I suggest searching "[Area] Native Plant Society" or "[Area] Native Plants For Gardening" to help you get started.

So if you're looking to encourage native plants in your area, hoping to help local pollinators, or just want some new ideas for your garden, go check it out!

Happy Gardening! 🌿

[ultimate-worldbuilding]

CITIES

A full list of what a modern / sci-fi city needs. You can incorporate many elements into your fantasy city as well. Of course you don't need this many things, but sometimes it can help your story if you understand and think about how your world works.

Electricity and energy resources

If your city has electricity, or anything similar to it, it's worth considering where this energy comes from. Is it renewable energy, or not? Is it something else entirely? (Is it magic?) These buildings and facilities are usually located on the outskirt of cities.

Windmill Location: Flat planes, maybe even deserts. Tailor it: break up the structure of a today's windmill: e.g. what if they are way bigger, or people live in it, etc

Nuclear Power Plant Location: Anywhere, in space, under the water, in the sky, inside the terrain. Prompts: What about accidents? Secret labs inside the plant?

Storm Power Plant Location: Almost anywhere, in the sky, in space, on space ships, planes, etc. Further ideas: tornados, harvesting lightning, harvesting the power of the wind with fortified windmills, sun storms in space.

Water related power plants Using the energy of a flowing river,sea waves, or even a vortex.

Burning power plant Burning trash, coal, diesel, gases or your world's fuel. This can be very polluting in your world, which can add up to your worldbuilding: green activist wants this plant closed, people getting sick aournd the plant, etc.

Geaothermal Power Plant Using the planet's heat to generate energy. You can put this anwhere on your ground or under.

Solar Power Plants These need a lot of place. If you are also making a map, be sure to add these on places where they actually get sunlight. (Don't put them on the north side of a mountain.) prompts: what if somebody covers them on purpose?

Health, Life and Death

All health and mental health related facilities (even for pets). Tailor these to your worlds problems, diseases and conditions (e.g. cyberpsychosis in Cyberpunk 2077) You can put these fqacilities, together, or even in a very different location, for example a floating private clinic above the city. You can even use virtual worlds as a twist.

Hospitals and clinics General hospitals, clinics and private ones.

Doctor's office

Ambulance station

Cyberware repair clinic

Drug Rehabilitation Centers

Vets Vets for people's pets, you can even add robot vets, for robot pets.

Nursing Homes Home for the elderly.

Asylums Home for people with serious mental health problems.

Pharmacies Are these private? Are there black market versions? What medicines can you buy here?

Dentist Promp questions: Are there any unique procedures? Do people's teeth are different? What about dentists for different species?

Sanatorium These usually are in the nicest parts of a city in the outskirts. They do have big gardens too. It can be even in space too, or even virtually.

Morgue Story tips: you can include a place like this for investigations or horror elements.

Cemetry Before diving deep into this one, state how your people bury their loved ones. The method the whole cemetry. Here are some burial types from the world:- Leaving the body in nature (or space)- Embalming, and preserving- Leaving in water (or space), or let it sail away on a ship- Burning the body (by fire, or by sunfire), and placing the urns in a sacred place (space, ground, buildings, etc.)- Buring the body under ground

Crematorium Used if your people burn bodies.

Quarantine zone

Misc Essentials

As these are essentials, they can be targets in a conflict. This can help your story further.

Fire station

Water tower (and storage) If it doesn't come from a pshysically higher place.

Server buildings

Lighthouse

Transportation and Travel

Transportation can change a lot in a scifi high tech world. I often grab a real concept and put into a different enviroment. Train? Space - Train. Jetski? Sun wave - jetski.When building transportation, think about:- where these vehicles are stored- where you can access the service,- who repairs them and where- where do they go when they are no longer used. These types of transports all have office centers, and they are usually different corporations and companies.If the parking lots or hangars are abonded, it can be a place where homeless people gathered, and live.

Bus stations, depot, stops and repair garages

Spaceship (or airplane) ports, hangars and repair hangars Don't forget to add ports and hangars for military, trading and public transport spaceships.

Metro stations, metro depot

Taxi stations, depot

Ship ports On rivers, sea, ocean, or the sky. (for flying ships but not spaceships.) Don't forget to about military, trading and public transport. These ports can be just platfroms.

Parking lots Multi storey car park.

Rental Renting the vehicles you have in your city, spacehips, cars, ships, etc.

Travel agencies

Fuel stations gas stations for cars, taxies and buses, and fueal stations for spaceships, and ships.Prompts questions: Where are these located? Is there possibility of shortage?

Package receiving point (or drop point)

Warehouses (personal, corporations, cars, etc)

Housing & Homes

Housing is an interesting part of building a city. I advise you to look around in your enviroment, and in the world how people live in different countries. You can always twist these ideas by putting them into a different enviroments (e.g.: shipping containers as living space, in a frosty enviroment, and people use fur to cover the insides for insulation.)

Luxury flats, and houses

Middle class flats, and houses

Lower class flats, and houses

Huge flat blocks (all are the same, available for all classes)

Prebuilt houses (all are the same, available for all classes)

Houses made of different elements You can vary as you want, example: Mass Effect colonies

Shipping containers as homes

Discarded vehicles as homes

Shelters For people, sentient robots, animals, robot animals.

Hotels

Motels

Food and Plants

Questions: Where does food come from in your city? Is it from outside of the city, or does it have some facilities to create food? Where does that food go? How is the food situation in your city? Do people make food at home, or order, or eat prepackaged food?

Grain Processing Plant

Crop fields If you have crops, is there a fungi or incest that is destroying crops? Or an organization?

Restaurants

Cafés

Drive-ins

Fast food restaurant chains

Bakery

Pastry Factory or any factory that makes food that is in everybody's lives, out of the plant the city has on its crop fields.

Food Packaging Factories

Food Processing Plants

Green houses

Nature reserve

Plant nurseries

Ranches for livestock

Slaughterhouses (or syntethic meat producing facilities)

Pastures

Brewery What type of alcohol does the people drink? What are they med of? Are there traditions related to them?

Education, Science & Knowledge

What general education system does your city have? What subjects are there? At what age do usually people finish their studies?

Elementary school

Kindergarten

High School

University

Music School

Library

Science center

Research Facility

Museum

Conservatory

Entertainment and Services

Entertainment and Services are a big part of every day lives. How much fun people have in this city? How much time do people have? Does this have black and extreme sides? Are there regulations in place? Is there a disctrict just for party time or doe poeple do this all around the city?

Ferris-wheel

Bars and Pubs (eg. Vape Bar)

Skating rink (ice, scifi ice skate, etc)

Brothel

Arcade

Arena / Stadium (depends on the setting, and nature of the events held here)

Stripper bar

Dance studio

Barber

Beautician Explore every aspect, different species, and cyberware (if you have these in your world)

Gym

Amusement park

Spa

Aquapark

Fighting rings People, robots, animals, etc. Where is this ring? Are these illegal?

Aquarium

VR café

Circus

Theatre

Zoo

Bowling alley (or any other alley for this type of entertainment)

Racetracks Animals, robots. How much of are these legal? Are there any bets placed on the racers?

Communication

Where do people get their information? Is there internet in your city? What happens when somebody disrupts communication on purpose? Does people/ the government / corporation manipulate the media?

Post office

Media studios TV, Internet, Talk shows, VR, whatever media your cuty uses.

Radiotower

Community centre

Employment agency

Open Spaces

Where people can organize events.

Forum, Square You can include a statue or a monument.

Park (It's scifi or fantasy, you can add floating parks too.)

Skate park (or any other equivalent of extreme sport park in your world, e.g. solar surf park)

Religion & Politics

What religion do people practise? Are there any banned religions? What sacred spacse do they need for that? Are there any districts heavily influenced by one religion? Are their beliefs go against the city council's views? Is religion and politics are connected or not? How do religion and politics influence each other?

Parlament/city council

Mayor's office

Convent

Oracle

Religious spaces Buildings, parks, monuments

The Force and the Law

Military , Police and Law. Do these mix with religion or not?

Military headquarters

Military training centre

Military base

Shooting range (or archer range)

Police Station

Jail & Prison

Military vehicle and gadget repair

Courthouse

Lawyer's office

Market & Financies

What currency does your city use? Are there any undergound currencies? What items and resources can be currencies?

Bank

Shop franchises Apparel, jewelry, furnishing, stationery

Broker's office

Armor shop

Cyberware (or body enhancment) shop

Weapon shop

Market (farmer's , junk, flee, vehicles, etc.)

Black Market

Drug Den

Malls

Corporate Shops (workers can pay from their own salary)

Building & Production

What do people need? Is there a shortage of certain types of products, or oversaturation and overproduction?

Factory: Electronics devices

Factory: Furniture and cutlery

Factory: Home gadgets

Factory: Weapons

Factory: Military equipments

Factory: Vehicles Cars, spaceships, flying cars.

Mining operation

Construction Site

Waste

What types of wastes are produced in your city? Where do they go?

Sewage system Pipes, old pipes that are no longer in use, cisterns. Are there any people living down here?

Junkyard Regular junk, old spaceships, broken cars, broken machines, broken robots. Do people live here or not?

Selective Trash Sorter Facility If your city recycles.

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[saturnselkies]

This whole concept started in the Pawn Lovers server (thanks for the idea guys!) and I just went wild with it, so I have a personal setting to keep my weirdos in. :3

Pictured above: sci-fi themed Colette and Polaris and their fleet insignia and jacket badges. Lore under the cut:

Their home planet is nearly impossible to live in because the war created too many toxic deposits that only will ever be fully cleared in centuries. The last livable areas are considered the terrestrial capitals.

Most of their people live in space colonies guided by their Queens (aka captains) - their society is a weird mix of political ideologies. There isn't a single head of state, but for each colony (approx. 25% of the population live in each) there's a leader, who is also their captain. Since the society is matriarch-leaning words like "queen" are considered gender-neutral. Like how we leaned more into making masculine words the default, the feminine terms are the default here and more commonly used for everyone.

Polaris is not native to this society, she was brought in after her species was exterminated. She's not even full-blooded and considered defective and being the sole survivor makes a lot of people upset; she's seen as a waste for any true preservation of her people. A "feral" specimen. She doesn't give two shits. Same personality. She used to have wings, but she had them amputated in favor of becoming a pilot. They become a hindrance in space.

Colette's people are veeeeeery long-lived and psychically sensitive. Colette is still 200, but Polaris is older than DD2. She's around 85. She's technically immortal. They have two daughters; Sunbloom and Moonglow. They are considered princesses because they are the daughters of a fleet queen.

Purple, red, and gold are their main colors. The fleet is known as the Saturn Selkies and it's the colony with the most water-dwelling species and bodies of water - the conservation efforts of this sector are related to water resources and it's the fleet with the most authentic weather patterns. They sort of managed to recreate seasons. The leading scientist for it is one of Polaris' many women who got pregnant by her because she is still nasty. There isn't such a thing as nuclear family or parents in this society. If someone wants to get bred by a beautiful, feral dragon woman they can. And they will get child support from the governing body. That said, that scientist, she's called by the people as "Mother Nature". But her name is Gaia.

Different fleets have different aesthetics. The Saturn Selkies are ocean-themed with a big part also being botanical (mostly because Gaia loves gardens). The ocean areas range from tundra to tropics depending on the biomes. But the places where most people live have a four-season cycle and stable climate simulation.

Besides Polaris being Colette's pilot (mystics as they are called) she's also her first officer and the second-in-command. Making her Chief Commander Polaris or Grand Lady Polaris. Polaris' dragon species is part of a bigger tree, it's her particular branch that's extinct. They were known as opal dragons and their wings were designed to propel them underwater easily. Kinda like penguins. That's why the wings were pretty useless for Polaris - on top of being smaller than usual. Tundra/opal dragons are known for big manes and strong resistance to cold and poison. Considering a lot of the raw food found in the opal dragons' habitat are poisonous fish. She's also part Darkforge Dwarf (imagine a necromancer cult of dwarfs) and she was raised by that side of her lineage. <- Not good.

Colette is fully native to her fleet. She was born into a rather common family, but she inherited a reborn soul that gave her very strong psychically attuned powers. For most of her life, she specialized in medicine to help her people, but during the war, she served under a narrow-minded Queen who eroded a lot of her self-esteem by using her abilities to gain an unfair advantage. A lot of the things that happened caused her long-lasting trauma. Colette has only been a Queen/Captain for 15 years which is considered very recent.

Their naming conventions are also unusual as far as names go like: Colette of Libra Early, ♄|◇. Polaris of Pisces Late, ♄|𖤓.

They don't use numbers for days and months (although they understand it because it's a common language in the galaxy), each season is tied to a zodiac sign and that's the "birthday". Since there's no such thing as nuclear families in the Saturn Selkies, you don't get last names that indicate lineage. It shows your birth season, your fleet (saturn symbol), and your place of birth (each biome has a symbol). Polaris was born outside, but they still have symbols to represent nations, planets, and peoples. Their language uses a lot of symbology and metaphors.

In this setting, I wanted something that felt a little like the arisen but went in another direction. Certain people are inflicted with the condition that gives them a set of really unusual powers; basically when alternate realities converge, for a split second an individual is struck by the weight of mirror universes' cycles, re-arranging their core DNA and body functions - this is especially hard on a mortal body and it often makes their hearts stop.

They are declared dead because obviously, a lifeless body means a corpse - these individuals reappear three days after the fact (let's bastardize christian concepts) and with a glowing scar on their chest and palms (think of the stigmata) that resemblances nebulae in space. Generally, it looks like a cosmic pattern, like a fissure of the cosmos. These people can wormhole themselves without the aid of space tech and see echoes/ghosts of other worlds/universes. Think of like, seeing ghosts and spirits stuck in limbo, but they are wisps in the nether. They often see the things most people cannot see and can interact with them.

The opinions are mixed; some nations see it as a miracle and others as an omen. These people are considered semi-undead as their hearts do not work and what courses through their veins is of cosmic origin. Their skin is usually cool to the touch and their features feel a little unsettling. Not that they look dead, it's just you know something is wrong. Like you’ve just seen a little flicker of death. The reason this happens? Mostly unknown. This condition is called: awakening/awakened.

This part is mostly kink-centric: There is a breeding hierarchy in Polaris' former home planet (the space bitch necromancer dwarves) and they are pretty ritualistic about it. They select people from different species to procreate with their people so their genetic pool can be strengthened; you couldn't even truly tell the people on that planet are of dwarven origin because most inhabitants are so diverse and monster-looking. They still have some archaic beliefs; basically, only good specimens can breed. The children of poor mating are usually sterilized. Polaris was considered such and was put under the knife; except after becoming awakened, the whole thing reversed. And now she's gonna breed beautiful women who want the experience of a lifetime.

Polaris is both necro dwarven and opal dragon and dragons are especially interesting because their sex is not seen as binary and biologically there is a great amount of genital combination.

Polaris does not abide by any hierarchy because she cut her ties with her people (and she thinks it's stupid). Opal dragons also don't like necromancer dwarves, so it's not like her other species' half was welcoming. That said, she was raised with these people so her sex has a ritualistic, chosen-wife-to-be-bred vibe to it and she isn't shy about it. She's a little bit obsessed with the bridal look because it's largely associated with purity and she likes the idea of corrupting that. She's pretty depraved just like in dd2, if not more.

Small fun facts:

Polaris skin shimmers when it comes in contact with water (second drawing) and her colors become more intense and purple-ish. If she spends enough time in the ocean her hair turns fully white!

Polaris can hold her breath underwater for 2 hours.

Colette can't really minds, but she has a wild sixth sense. She can accurately read every situation to a scary degree.

Colette is the pinup poster girl of the Saturn Selkies. As strategically smart as she is beautiful. :3

This is all I got so far, but I'm excited about them!!!

[lucidmagic]

SecretCat!Larissa Weems x f!Groundskeeper!Reader (Part 1)

So I’ve been in the Larissa Weems hole and I haven’t even watched the damn show. And then I though about this post:

Larissa is a shapeshifter it’s a perfect fit!

Hence this small story (I have another planned that’ll be on AO3, whenever I’ll get to it)

Hope you enjoy!

Summary: As the post suggests, Larissa is going around teasing suitors as a cat, and the Reader (you) are the groundskeeper of Nevermore Academy with the biggest crush on her, but doesn’t pursue because you respect her wishes to not be shackled to someone. Oh how wrong you are......

Larissa Weems x f!Reader (Harold they’re lesbians.....)

Words: 3.1k

Trigger Warnings: Unwanted attention from men, storms, mentions of blood, brief animal in distress, useless lesbians being useless, dumbass gays, fluff.

Larissa Weems was 30 when her father, the richest, most influential man in the town of Jericho and part of one of the most powerful shapeshifter families, gave her an ultimatum: Marry someone agreeable and continue the family lineage/business, or he’ll find a suitable husband for her—without her consultation, of course. Obviously, Larissa didn’t take to this well, as she’d rather chew off her own left leg than let a man interfere with her aspirations and goals.

So, being the clever woman she was, she struck up a deal with her father. And being the business man he was, her father agreed.

And so, the most wanted and sought after heiress in the town of Jericho announced that she’ll marry (and subsequently bequeath part of the inheritance of her family’s money and resources to) the one person who can open her family’s manor door with the key around her cat’s neck. The Cat in which many of the town has nicknamed Ghost due to the Maine Coon’s pure white hair. Fitting, you suppose, also considering the animal’s elusive and spectral nature.

And so, many a man (and some women and those beyond and between) have tried—and swiftly failed—to capture, lure, and befriend the Cat.

Ghost was simply too quick, too clever, and far too smart to be caught by snares, treats, and nets. Some have even tried to use sleeping darts. But to no avail, the Cat still wanders the town, gathering bruised egos like dead mice.

Nary a week goes by without a prospective suitor falling to their ass from scaling a tree to get close to Ghost. Or a group of men cooing and offering treats to the animal perched two stories high, looking down with pure feline disgust and disinterest.

The town was littered with new and old snares, traps, and cat delicacies. All of which have been avoided by Ghost, much to the hunters’ chagrin.

All the while, Larissa Weems goes about her career without the interference of matrimony or her father’s whims.

Since the announcement of the Cat Chase, Larissa Weems had since been on an upward trajectory of her career: she became a darling professor at Nevermore Academy at 31 and within five years became Headmistress of the institution—the youngest ever.

Currently, at 38, it seemed she was enjoying her career and spinsterhood—much to the dismay of her father and those courters.

And you enjoyed her as your employer. Being the Academy’s groundskeeper and handywoman after all.

You managed the gardens, the ground’s upkeep, maintenance, health, borders, and general security. Your duties also accompanied that of the estate’s foreman, fixing shingles of the old building’s roofs, plumbing, and other necessities if they needed a quick repair.

You were integral to the preservation and efficiency of the Academy. Principal Weems—or Larissa, she insisted after several months of your service, but you don’t address her as such, out of respect for her position and also the cute, little pout she gifted you when you refuse.

You were good at your job as it’s in your blood—generations of your family served the Academy in some capacity—and in your soul—being a Psychic and all that.

Psychometry is one of your specialties, with the ability to sense an object or person’s history and present, which comes in handy with the multitude of plants and flowers on the property and old buildings. Does this rose need more or less water? What’s wrong with this particular lock? With a single touch you can know.

Coupled with that, either a specialized manifestation or what your father called a ‘drop of Dryad blood’ from a distant ancestor, you can also manipulate plants and trees to a certain extent. Nothing quite like Poison Ivy with her world conquering powers, but you can certainly restrain a person if needed—which had come in need several times with a drunk werewolf or vampire student in the past.  

Your trees were green longer and your flowers were fuller and brighter. Principal Weems continuously tells you the gardens and grounds have never looked so vibrant and fragrant, even when she attended the Academy. You always waved away her compliments to distract from the rising heat on your cheeks.

So, in theory, you could have used your powers to tag-a-long with the others in the attempts to capture Ghost. It would be easy, you think. All the Cat needed to do was step on a vine and that’ll be it.

But no. Despite Principal Weems’ statuesque beauty (and you mean beauty in the sense of an artist’s muse or a god’s weakness, one for the legends and epics, not one for your unworthy, often muddy hands), her quick wittedness (sometimes you two talk an hour or two after she’s supposed to be home and you always leave a little breathless from the opportunity and from laughing), and her intelligence (you honestly think she could overtake the world if she puts her mind to it, just the same way she overtook yours), you respect her decision to stay single and not bound to someone else.

She wanted freedom, freedom her father was willing to sell away to the highest bidder. And you weren’t going to deprive her of that.

Sure, you sometimes catch Ghost sulking and sneaking around the fields and gardens, leaping from branch to branch, flowerbed to flowerbed, whenever you’re working. But you don’t make a show of it. Ghost is Larissa’s cat, of course he’d be at the Academy. She’s coming home to her owner.

Sometimes, you catch her in the tree above your head, looking down with crystal blue, oddly familiar, eyes like a gargoyle or a sentry. On occasion you wave up at the animal with a smile and then go about your work. Ghost must be resting from evading those eager suitors, you think.

Speaking of suitors, they do annoy you—not out of jealousy, of course not, well, maybe. They were going after what they wanted without shame and some part of you is jealous they are so open about it. But, no, jealousy isn’t what irritates you about them.

It’s their reasoning for their ‘courting’ (if you can even call it that). They wanted what she offered—money, influence, resources, and of course bragging rights. You overheard several men state as such at Jericho’s bars, enough that you spoil the barley in their beer with a clench of your fist. They wanted what Larissa comes with—just shallow and gold-digging desires. She always came second. She was an afterthought in their pursuance.

It made you sick and wrathful just thinking about it. Larissa Weems is much more than a trophy. She’s . . . well, she’s her.

She’s cold-natured, meaning anything below 70 degrees, she needs either a thick sweater or a crackling fire. Of the latter, you amply supply with firewood you chopped that morning and restock regularly.

(You try to forget the tall and unyielding figure at the faculty hall, watching on the balcony in grey or white. You doubt you looked particularly decent sweating and swinging an axe.)

She loved fresh tea, none of that packaged kind, but fresh straight from nature. Of which you also gifted her when you can, as you added her favorites in the gardens and made sure the potency is just right with your powers.

(There’s a crinkle of her brow when you drop off a bag of leaves, one that notches up with her carmine lips. If you have the urge to smooth it out with your thumb, you’re just concerned if the stress is showing on her face after hours of paperwork.)

She toured the gardens, sometimes, on her lunch breaks or when she has time in her busy schedule. Larissa will always stop and smell each flower if she can, and always double back to ones she liked just a bit more that day, just one more whiff before she leaves for her office.

(Of course, the next day, you sneak in, with the help of her assistant, to put those she deemed lovely in a vase next to her desk. Making sure to use your powers to make them live and bloom much longer than normal. Maybe, you hope, it’ll give her some reprieve for a moment, between meetings and calls.)

So, yes. The would-be suitors want her, but they don’t know her. And Ghost is just in the crosshairs of their caprices.

And they’re just fucking annoying. Especially, when their traps and snares make their way into your grounds. You always dismantle them when you can, much to their anger and displeasure.

(If you take particular pleasure in it, then no one has to know, but you and whatever god above.)

Of course, one of these times, it was pouring rain, drenching the land—and you—in a deluge. You could barely see five feet in front of you before the grey wall of water overtook your vision. But thankfully, you knew the lands of the Academy like the back of your hand and it was through muscle memory and your abilities that you navigated through the storm.

You had found more snares—made of Kevlar string and securely bolted to trees—in the back of the school during one of your rounds. You didn’t have the tools to properly deal with them. So, you headed back to your tool-shed—only for the bottom to fall out before you could get back.

Now, soaked and a little more than pissed at their audacity, you practically swam your way back. The torrent and winds made it difficult to see, let alone hear. And it wasn’t until you were up on the second to last one that you noticed that it triggered.

And something was struggling, right side up and writhing, clawing and biting at the line. Something whined and shrieked even through the thunder and rain.

No, not something.

Ghost.

Ghost was caught. Her pearl white fur was soaked and drenched, enough that you could just barely see the pink flesh beneath her coat.

Oh no. You must save her. Poor thing.

You rounded on the Cat, strung up on its front left paw. Her mewls were pained and agonizing. Your heart ached.

“It’s okay, I got you.” You said, softly, but the storm deafened it. You approached without thought. And with a single gloved touch of your hand, the Cat panicked more and leapt in a frantic escape attempt. Her paw twisted and another screech rang through the rain.

“Hey, stop! Stop!” You begged but she continued, trying her best to get away from you. Her fur covered her blue eyes and she was in survival mode. You needed to do this quickly before she hurts herself more.

You scoop up the large lump of writhing fur, trying to position her fangs and claws away from you. But the Kevlar string proved difficult with your shears, and it takes you longer than you would like. Three, Four, Five snips. . .

On the Eighth, you manage to cut it—and Ghost managed to wriggle free just enough.

Sharp pain slashed across your forehead, right above and through your brow, and you dropped the Cat as you reeled back, clutching your head.

“Fuck!” Through the cold rain, warmth blossomed in your palm. Faintly, iron entered the air.

Ghost plopped to the soggy ground and sprinted away to a near gate, then she pounced on it—one paw held to her chest. She landed deftly and turned toward you, eyes now free of her hair. Her bright eyes cut through the rain like a beaconing lighthouse. A tiny, razor-sharp lighthouse.

You steadied yourself against the tree and stared back, hand still staunching your wound. With your other hand, you shooed Ghost away and raised your voice so you can be heard over the thunder. “Go on! Get out of here. Go! Go back to Larissa. I’m not going to capture you.”

Ache thrummed across your forehead, but you still stood near the tree, eyeing the animal. After a moment, the white blob in the distance disappeared into the storm. Seconds passed before you sighed and then hissed as the sting increased with pressure.

Well, might as well get the other one while out here. . .

The next day, after intensively cleaning the three gashes across your brow, you visited the Academy nurse. She remarked, off-handedly, “Well, I’m certainly popular this morning.”

You don’t follow up with a comment, only asking her to look at it before you decide to go to hospital. She does and used more disinfectant and sealed the gashes with some Steri-strips and patched it with gauze and tape. With the orders to clean it twice a day, you leave, head throbbing from the poking and prodding.

You go about your day, dodging questions from other faculty and students about your new accessory.

���I fought a bear.”

“It’s a new French trend—you ought to try.”

“You should see the other guy.”

Eventually, your duties lead you to Larissa Weems’ office, arms full of freshly chopped wood. The storm season always brings in the cold and you knew she would appreciate it throughout the rest of the day.

You knocked your signature knock, and after a moment you heard the delightful ring of her voice, “Come in.”

Like a siren’s song, you obeyed. She greeted you with her red-painted smile, one that makes your heart thump just a little bit harder and your breath grow shallow. Larissa’s smile washed over you as you walked further in and placed the wood in its usual rest at the edge of the fireplace. The hearth is ablaze but dwindling. You dutifully added two more logs in and worked it with the poker.

It ignites after a second, and you couldn’t help but linger, soaking in the warmth and the other woman’s presence. Pathetic, you know, yet you enjoy these moments more than you should.

You turned to her, revealing your full figure, and when her cyanite gaze latched on to your patched forehead, the pretty, private grin on her face fell. Que the furrow between her eyebrows and the pursing of her mouth.

“Darling,” she began, voice saturated with concern. The nickname is not an uncommon gift from her to you. Even after all this time, it set something burning in your chest and frayed your will to not drop on your knees in that moment. (You bet she’ll look divine from that angle regardless). “What happened to your head?”

Larissa pushed back from her desk and rose from her chair, revealing her stature in its entirety, swathed in a light cream blazer and skirt combo. If it wasn’t for the slash of crimson lipstick on her mouth, you could have mistaken her for a marble figure, carved by Michelangelo himself. Vaguely you think of the myth about Pygmalion and Galatea.

The shadows of the fire danced across her figure and it took you a moment to find your tongue, “Oh, uh,” You gulped. “I ran into a tree branch yesterday afternoon. During the storm.”

You don’t want her to worry about Ghost—and by extension, her freedom.

She stared down at you, blue eyes almost black, and you resisted the urge to fidget. Then, something on her arm caught your sight and you zeroed in on the brace wrapped around her left wrist.

“You could ask you something similar,” you said. Your gloved hand reaches out to brush it, just light enough. If only it touched true to her skin. But your abilities can be unpredictable even after all these years, and you’d rather not glimpse something she wouldn’t want discovered. Hence the constant use of gloves.

“What happened? Who do I need to beat up?”

She gave a low chuckle from her chest. “No need to defend my honor. A simple sprain.” When you were about to protest, she continued, “. . . I tried to get somewhere, but I ended up biting off more than I could chew.”

She sounded hesitant, but you didn’t want to push. She needn’t disclose anything, especially to someone like you.

“If you want, I can whip up a salve from the gardens. Something that could numb it or even speed up the healing process.”

That gentle grin was back and your heart beats traitorously in your chest. “That would be lovely, dear. Thank you.”

You gifted her your goofiest of smiles. “Of course, Principal Weems. Is there anything else?”

There it was. That pout. Adorable.

However, her lips smooth over as another lesser-known visage crosses her features—playfulness she rarely displays to just anyone, lest her stalwart reputation be stained. Your breath stilled.

God, you’re hopeless.

Swiftly, much in the opposition of her height, she bent just enough to skim her lips over the gauze on your brow, and with a ping of pressure, she placed a kiss right above the wound.

Something deep within you latched around your heart and squeezed. A delicious shiver raced across your spine, spreading as if someone lit a wick and the line ignited all the way through your body.

Oh, that’s new.

Larissa leaned back just so, taking in your dumbfound face before she turned back to her desk. Far too proud of herself, you think. “If you want, we can have a nightcap together tonight. It’s been a while since we sat down over a glass.”

She’s right, you vaguely think. Between the beginning of the semester and some donor kerfuffle earlier this month, you two hardly had the chance to hangout. Not that it was a common occurrence to begin with, but it usually happened every month or two. It started about a year into your employment, and you had a feeling she did so to extend a branch of friendship.

Yes, friendship. That’s what you must remember. Nothing more. Despite what your heart wants, your mind knows best. Larissa Weems was a lonely figure, whether due to her job or her family, she needed someone in her corner.

“I would love to. Text me when you’re done for the day, and I’ll head over.”

She answered with a soft smile, one that crinkled her eyes.

You left her office, earning a strange look from Larissa’s assistant and some of the faculty in the hall.

The rest of the rounds go by in a blur of muscle memory and anticipation. You do give her the salve, dropping it off with her assistant, who still gave you a peculiar glance.

Hours later, after you did your deeds for the day and interacted with dozens of teachers and students, you went to your lodge to wash up before that evening. You don’t want to trek in mud or appear ungrateful after all. White and dirt don’t go together.

And that’s when you finally noticed, brandished on your brow the entire day, the damning deep red, lipstick outline.

So should I continue with part 2? Let me know!

Anyways back into my cave...

[inspofromancientworld]

Non-food Gardens

While the change to settled agriculture during the Neolithic Revolution initially focused on food crops, it wasn't long until people began to keep gardens that were for pleasure and/or medicinal in nature. The ones that we remember are those that were set up by rulers.

By Noah Wiener , Hanging Gardens of Babylon … in Assyrian Nineveh - http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-near-eastern-world/hanging-gardens-of-babylon-in-assyrian-nineveh/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57158048

One of the oldest, though it may be a thing of legend rather than strictly history, is the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which are supposed to have been built by Nebuchadnezzar II, who reigned between 605-562 BCE, for his wife Queen Amytis, who missed the green of her homeland of Media. The first record that we have of them is from 290 BCE by a Babylonian priest named Berossus. They've also been attributed to a legendary queen Semiramis. Some now think that they are actually the gardens of Sennacherib, who reigned from 704-681 BCE, in Nineveh. Part of the reasoning for this is that the the gardens in Nineveh have been found in the archaeological record, Babylon was used for many cities, even Nineveh itself, because it means 'Gate of the Gods' and was seen as a proper name for the place where the king reigned, and Sennacherib and Nebuchadnezzar left quite a bit of documentation and only Sennacherib records building them, including describing the screw system to bring water up to the gardens. They were considered a year-round lush green oasis that also spurred improved water supply to Nineveh to keep the gardens blooming.

By Chamal N - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4499684

In Sri Lanka, the remains of a fortress called Sigiriya or Sinhagiri (which means Lion Rock and is written in Sinhala as සීගිරිය and in Tamil as சிகிரியா/சிங்ககிரி). With in this fortress is one of the oldest gardens in the world. There are three sections in the gardens, water, cave and boulder, and terraced gardens. These gardens are well preserved and we can see the planning of the gardens. These gardens were inhabited probably going back to prehistory, possibly as far back as 3000 BCE. In the 3rd century BCE, Buddhist monks began to occupy the area. In about 477 CE, King Kashyapa killed his father and took the throne. To have a more secure capital, he built a city on the top of the 200m tall rock, including the gardens. Many of the conduits in the water gardens are still working and help move water, especially during the rainy seasons.

By This file was donated to Wikimedia Commons as part of a project by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. See the Image and Data Resources Open Access Policy, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60935732

Egypt had a rich culture of gardens, which probably started as a blend of fruit orchards and vegetable gardens, which gradually added flowers, ponds, and shade trees. These gardens were kept and tended in time with the rise and fall of the Nile, with the flooding of the Nile, then with canals or with water carried from the Nile in buckets. Pharaohs like Hatshepsut and Ramses III brought plants back from conquests to plant in gardens. In the New Kingdom (1552-1296 BCE), pleasure gardens moved began to be kept by the upper class, not just the ruler. They also began the practice of botanical gardens, which are a type of garden meant for education, research, conservation, or education. They even created models of gardens to be put in tombs of those who passed. A lot of work and knowledge went into keeping gardens in ancient Egypt, from carrying water, through to the manual propagation of date palms, and to protecting the garden from weeds and invading birds.