#i know its hot even for my desert plants when 5 days after i water them last theyre getting limp and wrinkly and their soils completely dry

[succulent-soliloquies]

one thing thats always a fun tell about the climate someone's in is how often they say they water their (indoor) succulents, cause theres a content creator i watch whos says they water them probably once every 2 months but last summer it was so hot i had to water my small succulents in 4 inch pots once a week minimum

[prof-peach]

Hey professor 🍑

I think my furret likes a cacnea we met at the local adoption event? But I don’t know anything about grass types! I know my furret, she’s very loving and has POWERFUL mom instincts, and I like the lil spiky buddy, but— I don’t want to bring someone into my family without having a plan to care for them. We’ve started to talk though, me, furret, and cacnea, and I think we could get along. I can deff support another Pokémon; I just don’t know how to support cacnea specifically, cuz I know different plants have different needs. Any ideas on where to start? Yeesh, this is worse than facing down a luxray with intimidate…

Intimidating luxrays are only as scary as you allow them to be. In the wild, you can spook them if they charge you, by running head first at them. More often than not they don’t expect the confrontation and skitter away to reassess the situation and try again, or better yet flee. So we’re gonna confront the fear here, and hopefully clear your mind of any worry!

Now. Cacnea are a wonderful grass Pokemon to start on. They are simple and easy to care for, with a whole heap of personality in those tiny round bodies. So think about where they live first of all, notoriously in deserts, places that get intense heat during the day, and often freezing lows at night, soil is sandy, very free draining, and they can obviously tolerate dehydration, high winds, and harsh sunlight with ease.

So with this in mind, they’ll need a sunny bright window or garden to sit in for photosynthesis, not too much water, never let its soil sit in the damp, we turn the sprinklers on in the cacti house here about once or twice a month in the summer, fully soaking the sandy ground, they will actively find water troughs and ponds when they get thirsty too, so watering them is only ever an issue if you do it too much. Their flowers drop, but also form fruit if pollinated. Simply remove the fruit when it is still small and undeveloped, to stop unwanted seeds developing into more Pokemon than you can handle. A new flower will take its place quickly after should they get enough sunshine.

Cacnea do eat but it’s not something you need to worry about too much. One cacnea will eat around 5-10 berries a week, for an average sized individual. Their tastes vary, so try lots of stuff. They don’t really gravitate towards juicy wet foods, but it’s worth trying them anyway, just in case.

Winter time can be tough, it’s very damp. BUT they’re more cold tolerant than most would think. Deserts can drop in temperature overnight, and cacnea have adapted, their skin is quite tough, so they can hold up for a night just fine. Prolonged exposure can however be fatal, so don’t leave em out in winter, and dry them off when it’s raining and you get indoors.

Behaviourally they’re social, if you can, mix them with other Pokemon in controlled safe areas, this stops nervousness or aggression from setting in about interacting with others, and they tend to be far happier for it. This is not the case with every species but cacnea really are good with a multitude of other species, so maybe ask friends or family to bring along their partners to a safe open field to start the ball rolling there, and have your pokeball handy should you need to quickly return them. On occasion cacnea get “bossy”, it’s more towards flying types, they are sometimes a little hot blooded out of instinct. As you have found this dude at an adoption place, you might not know his background, so go slow and always talk to them about what’s going on, giving them options whoever possible, to encourage them being able to make independent decisions that are safe for themselves and those around them. It’s ok to be scared of something, but lashing out is avoidable, and it’s your job to make sure they know their options and pick a good one for them should something spook them or whatever.

A good place to look for them is garden clubs, allotments, or even online at public gardens. Plenty of people love these pokemon, breed them, keep them and generally open their doors to the public, to spread help, and share their enthusiasm. The fan base is big, and you’ll be able to learn more, and also get your buddy some time with his own, a great way for them to learn about their own kind more, or just hang with like minded Pokemon.

Remember to put yourself in their shoes, talk, and be patient with each other. I think they’re a great grass type to get, very forgiving, plenty of keepers with hands on knowledge to share, and if you get in trouble with them, there’s always professionals who can help.

A furret is a good match really, their fur is so dense those cacnea spikes really won’t phase em.

[carnegiemuseumnaturalhistory]

Snails in the Desert

Land snails are leaky bags of water that survive on dry land. Snails lose water through evaporation, and because mucus is more than 90% water, they must expend water just to move, gliding on their silvery slime trails. Most land snails occur in moist environments where they can readily replenish lost water. But some snails live in the desert or other arid areas! How is that even possible?

Several strategies help snails survive in arid situations. For example, some close their aperture with a door or with a mucus sheet, some have small apertures or modify their growth direction to make better seals, some have mucus that inhibits evaporation, and some manage moisture loss by choice of microhabitats.

Fig. 1. Two Clydonopoma poloense snails from Dominican Republic showing their opercula. (Photo by S.P. Aiken with permission.)

An operculum, or door, closes the shell in some land snails (Fig. 1), although most land snails lack one. The operculum is attached to the rear of the snail’s tail; when the snail pulls into its shell, the tail withdraws last and positions the operculum to make a tight seal. In addition to protecting the snail from water loss, it also protects from predators.

Fig. 2. Two Helix pomatia edible snails from Russia (CM154077) with apertures closed by an opaque epiphragm. (Photo by T.A. Pearce.)

Snails that don’t have an operculum can cover the aperture with a mucus sheet called an epiphragm. In most snails, the epiphragm is thin and clear, but in some species, the epiphragm can be thick and opaque (Fig. 2). During dry periods, snails can form an epiphragm over the aperture or they can make a tight mucus seal between the aperture edges and substrates such as a rock or plant. The seal helps to retard evaporative water loss. Some snails in the desert remain sealed under a rock for years before a rainstorm wakes them.

Fig. 3. Coelocentrum gigas from Guatemala CM62.8574 (left); Achatina zebra from Africa CM62.6917 (right). Land snails in drier areas tend to have relatively smaller apertures like the shell on the left. Shells pictured are 8 and 8.5 cm tall, respectively. (Photo by T.A. Pearce.)

Snails of arid areas usually have a relatively small aperture (Fig. 3). The smaller surface-area-to-volume ratio reduces moisture loss through evaporation. Just like you would lose less heat (on a cold day) with your parka zipped up and your hood cinched around your face, the snail loses less water with less of its skin exposed, as in the case of a smaller aperture.

Fig. 4. Ganesella fusca (left) from Japan (CM106167) and Zachrysia guanensis (right) from Cuba (CM152889). Land snails in drier areas tend to have greater change in direction of growth when reaching full size, allowing the plane of the aperture to make a closer seal with flat surfaces. (Photo by T.A. Pearce.)

As growing snails approach their final size, many dip the direction of shell growth toward the shell base (Fig. 4). This results in the plane of the aperture making a tighter seal on a flat surface. Snails of arid areas tend to have shells that make tighter seals on flat surfaces than snails of moister areas.

Fig. 5. Urocyclid semi-slug from a dry area in N Kenya. (Photo by T.A. Pearce.)

The mucus of some species retards evaporation. Snails produce different kinds of mucus, for example, the mucus they glide upon to move, sticky or distasteful mucus when irritated, and mucus on their skin that can retard evaporation. One day when I was traveling in northern Kenya during the dry season after at least 6 months without rain, I was surprised to find a semi-slug (a gastropod whose shell is too small to fit the entire body) resting among some dry leaves and soil (Fig 5). It must have had special mucus covering the body that retarded water loss, allowing this species to survive many months of aridity.

Finally, snails influence their moisture loss by choosing their microhabitats. Some snails burrow underground during hot, dry weather to escape the heat. Other snails crawl under moist logs or descend deep into rock piles to avoid the harshest weather.

Why would snails even choose to live in the desert? I’m not sure anyone knows the answer for sure. My guess is that snails might live in a desert because it allows them to escape predators or competitors who can’t or don’t want to live there.

How do they do it? Snails survive in the desert by leaking water a bit more slowly than snails in moist areas.

Timothy A. Pearce, PhD, is the head of the mollusks section at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

[shishinoya]

the mistake of loving you || k.t

—  PAIRING  || Kageyama Tobio X Reader —  TYPE  || Story [Cheese Cult Hanahaki Event] —  WARNING  || Pure Angst —  WORD COUNT  || 3.2k words —  AUTHOR’S NOTE  || aucbaosn so i basically took 5 days to write this and it’s one of my chonkiest fics i’ve written. ;;;; i wanna thank @cupofkenma​, @kawanisshi​, and @haikkeiji​ for beta reading my 5am writing <33 i love you all aiscbasnc

i also didnt mention the flower that kags was coughing up and it’s the [Delphinium grandiflorum] flower or “Summer Blues” || they are used as symbols of hope and tranquility and i used them because they show the hope kags has for the reader, the hope that they will return his love

“Love is such a beautiful feeling!”

“Oh, you haven’t lived yet if you’ve never fallen in love.”

“I can’t wait to fall in love.”

Love? Love sounded so unfamiliar, so distant. Like a foreign country, Kageyama understood their way of living, he knew the name, he recognized the language, but he never fully experienced the culture. The descriptions that frolicked and slipped their way from the mouths of peers, were overlooked and watered out. He could care less about something that others dreamed of - his own blinding the ability to sympathize with them. Love just seemed like a bundle of letters, strung together and people used it to label an emotion. He had no use for the sentiment; it was a waste of his energy. His effort. It left a bitter taste in his mouth. He pushed it aside. He couldn’t strap onto the idea of love. 

If love was something that everyone craved for, why isn’t everyone in love? Why did some chase after it as if it held jewels and the answers to every question in the world, while others loathed the sight of it. Kageyama kicked a pebble on the side of the road as he thought about the concept once again. He detested its mention but when virtually everyone talked about how thrilling it was, it was hard to stay indifferent. Gazing at the lush green hills, he nibbled on the plastic straw that was already brutally bitten. The lukewarm liquid trickled down his throat as he carried out his trek. He didn’t have a plan, nor a specific place to go, but he was going. He basked in the rays of the sun, occasionally placing a hand on the heated brick wall that stood tall and shielded him from the gusts of wind. He should be practicing, not wondering about a useless emotion. But the mind simply doesn’t work like that.

Turning a corner, he clicked his tongue when he realized he ran out of milk and only air was exiting the straw. A scowl drew itself on his already frowning face. With a grumble and brows furrowed, he threw away the box, only to shove his hands into his pockets. The sun was out but it wasn’t shining in Kageyama’s world. 

His walk skidded to a stop when a bold colour struck his eye. Strange. He glanced further, head tilted with curiosity. His eyes raked over the golden petals, the rich green stem. The honey-toned flower was only one of the many different colours painting his vision. Plants of various sizes, height, hues, were all beautifully decorated behind the white picket fence. He loomed over the edge, trying to get a closer view of the scene. How funny that a simple plant, that had no voice nor opinions, was able to entice him into noticing its beauty. His eyes darted from one to the next, quickly analyzing each flower, but then he caught onto something more than a plant, more than just velvet leaves. Something that made his breath hitch and shook his body. Something that stilled his quick eyes.

You should have seen the way he stared at you; as if you were something so unreal, something he’d never even imagined. He could watch all day at the way your hair danced to the tune of the wind. He gaped as your skin glistened at the touch of the sun. Everything about you was breathtaking. From the way you pushed loose strands away from your face, damp from the long hours under the heat, to how you poured the watering can, with grace and care. His throat became dry. He hadn’t realized that he was holding his breath until he felt a throb in his chest. Was it his lungs or was it his heart? 

“Are you going to keep standing there? The plants kinda need the sunlight.” He sighed at the sound of your voice. It was silvery, clear and light; soothing his ears like aloe over a wound. He replayed the tone in his mind like his favourite song, only processing the words after memorizing the colour of your voice. He flinched. His head shook, rattling his mind to think of anything but how he thought your voice was enchanting. 

“U-uh…” He stuttered, teeth clashing with his tongue. No matter how many nervous swallows he did, it was not enough to quench his desert-like mouth. Heat rose to his face, colouring it like the blush of autumn leaves.

The words fought their way from his throat, tumbling over each other, all wanting to let themselves be known by you. They lumped in his throat as he panicked to find the correct things to say. Compliments, excuses, apologies, even a simple greeting would do, so why wasn’t anything flowing?

“Hello?”

“Erm. H-hi.”

“Ah, so you do talk.” Although it was teasing, Kageyama noticed you didn’t smile. He couldn’t believe you were so close; he couldn’t believe you were talking to him. Your beauty captivated him, held his eyes in a vice and hushed any thoughts. Mesmerizing. 

But your eyes. They showed something different, something that contradicted your appearance. Compared to the glow you illuminated, your eyes were dull. Drained of colour. Tired. The dark circles under your eyes only added to the fact that you had restless nights.

“Well if you’re going to continue to stand there, you might as well help me carry those pots.” You pointed towards a stack of new caramel coloured pots. He should have followed your hand, but he was more interested in your movements. So graceful and perfect that it seemed like you practiced that one movement over and over. “I could do it myself but after five hours of pulling out weeds, my arms are a bit ti - are you even listening to me?”

“Yes!” He jolted when your eyes met his ocean-like ones. “I-I mean, yes. Of course. Why wouldn’t I be listening to you? You’re speaking, right? So, the right thing to do is listen.” He was repeating himself. You simply nodded without batting him an eyelash. He was making a fool of himself. “I - uh, I would love to help you out, but I got to - um, you know - uh, feed… feed my pet orange…” His voice trailed off at the last syllable. He called Hinata dumbass a lot, but maybe he was the dumbass. Without waiting for your response, he took off. Tripping over his feet and wiping his baffling sweaty hands over his track pants, he didn’t spare you a glance. His ears felt hot. Was the sun shining too hard now? It was causing his face to heat up. Was it you? Did you do this? He didn’t even touch you. How did you have the power to make him feel like this?

You quizzically watched him jog - no, stumble his way down the road.

Odd.

Why didn’t he agree to help you? You could have sworn he was captivated.

You found the male interesting. He was able to find a spot in a small corner of your mind and called it his own. You questioned it. You’ve never had a proper conversation; you don’t even know his name, and yet, you wondered about him. You lightly shook your head, mentally pulling the weed that invaded your brain. A weed that might wither in your grasp.

He shouldn’t be there. You shouldn’t be thinking about him. He shouldn’t get involved with you.

But he was persistent.

Kageyama was confused. He would always look at the path he took that day; the day where he thought his eyes had been blessed. The images of the flowers would waltz their way into his head at random times. How rich they were; how bold and vibrant. It was as if he was introduced to colours for the first time all over again. The memories played like a film while he was washing dishes, going on a jog, when he was doing literally anything. The scenes of plants slow dancing, the beaming sun, you, assaulted his poor mind.

Just the thought of your hair falling slighting and framing your face, caused him to blush. He remembered how clear your skin was, practically glittering, similar to the glistening of the sun over ocean waves. Those lips. Those plump soft lips that he imagined touching, wondered how they would feel like, sound like, taste like; he wanted to experience them. Such erotic thoughts. How could he think of that when he hadn’t talked to you? He didn’t know why you were all he could think of. He didn’t understand the way you made him feel. Unknowingly, he was slowly falling into your hands. 

It all happened so quickly, so subtly. He questioned why he was teased for his distant stares or his beet-red face. He didn’t quite believe that what he was experiencing was called “love”. This was nothing to what people described it as. He didn’t expect to be constantly thinking about you, to get nervous every time your image popped in his head. No one told him his chest would feel heavy. No one told him it would be painful.

A scratch tickled his throat. He tried quietly clearing it.

The scratch turned into claws. He tried silencing them with a cough.

His throat felt like it was being pierced. Dry wheezes escaped his mouth.

He coughed and coughed, each one using more force than the previous. He coughed till he gagged, wincing at the feeling. He steadied himself, knuckles white from the strength he was gripping the edge of the sink. Panting, he stared at himself in the mirror. Pale and large beads of sweat dripping down the side of his head. Another wave washed over him and his body shook. 

He coughed, gagged, vomited. Repeated. A cycle that lasted until blood tainted his teeth and dribbled from the corner of his mouth. He looked like a mess. He felt like a mess. He was a mess.

The pool of sky blue petals, sticky and stained from his saliva and blood, served as evidence. It was more than enough to tell him.

He made a mistake. The mistake of loving you.

The petals were the beginning, just the start of his blooming love for you. They clung to his throat, littered his tongue, flooded his lungs, made it impossible for him to breathe. He was confused, scared even. What were these? Why did they hurt so much?

He searched for answers. He browsed the internet until his eyes burned and watered. His fingers stung from the many paper cuts he acquired flipping through books. But gained nothing; just a mason jar overflowing with blood-stained petals.

He turned to you. Surely you had some answers; something, even if it was just the name of the flower. Anything. And so he visited you. Of course, his heart banged on drums that echoed and surged through his entire body, but he needed explanations. Maybe he wanted to see your face again, but he was masking that fact with his goal for answers. He needed it to keep him sane; to make sure he didn’t overheat.

He came back? The puddle of water that soaked your sandals and your gaping mouth made little effort in trying to hide your surprise. Blinking several times, you tried to think of a reason why he was here, why he would come back to you. Was he going to try again, going to try and capture your love? Was he going to fail? Crash and burn just like the rest of them?

“Hello again.” You played passively. “Are you finally taking up the offer to carry those pots-”

“I have a… a question.” His voice trembled, you wondered if he knew you could hear it. He swallowed. In his hand, he held tiny blue flowers. “What - uh… what are these?”

“You came all the way here to ask me that?” Furrowing your brows, you approached him, ultimately causing him to tense. You picked the petals from his hand, ignoring the way he flinched and the visible droplets of sweat layering his palm. “Have you tried the internet?”

“I couldn’t find anything.”

“Books?”

“No, nothing.”

“And so you thought the girl who has a garden could tell you.” He looked away.

“Yeah. Basically.”

“Well, I don’t.” His expression dropped. “But,” You tested the waters. Would it be alright? Would it be okay to suggest this one little thing? “Maybe if you come back tomorrow, I will have an answer.” 

That hopeful look on his face made a strained smile appear. Hadn’t you had enough? Are you not satisfied with the number of people you’ve tormented? How many more did you want to fall for your tricks?

let him go. but he can save me. stop lying to yourself. i’m not! it’s true! you don’t deserve it. i can change. you’ve said it before and look what happened then.

Your mind and your heart played tug-o-war over your feelings for Kageyama. Although the guilt and fear bit at your legs, slit your skin, churned your stomach, you listened to your heart. You allowed him into your house. You allowed yourself to smile with him, to laugh at his jokes. You allowed him to drag you to new places, trying new restaurants and video game cafes. Your heart wanted you to be free, but your mind held you by your neck.

you let him die. i didn’t mean to! it wasn’t my fault. yes, it was. you knew his love, you knew how much he cared for you. he only cared for my looks. you know that’s not true. would you like me to remind you? no, please don’t. too late.

Your mind loved to see you suffer, to hear those sobs of agony. It loved the way you desperately tried to wipe the tears, only making the swelling worse. It showed you the first time he met you, to when he gave you that big bright smile of his. It showed you the way he looked at you as if you were the only girl in the world. It made you relive those memories - no, nightmares.

do you see his love now? … do you need another reminder? how about your next victim?

The throb of your temple could never compare to the slap you received that day. You could still feel the sting. You could still hear their cries and accusations.

“You killed her! It was you! It was all your fault! How could you let this happen? Why didn’t you notice her? She was such a sweet girl. She just wanted you to be happy and now she’s gone. She’s gone. Gone because you didn’t love her back.”

Your knees ached. Your heart wept. Your empty stomach bubbled.

i’m sorry. please... please just stop. you think sorry is going to bring them back? to fix this mess? laughable. you think that pitiful garden of yours is going to make up for their existence? you think caring for their flowers will make up for the care they had for you? what a joke.

You were a joke, something so foolish it was comical. No matter how much you convinced yourself you were caring, that you were giving back to those who lost their lives because of you, it wasn’t enough. And he was going to be another.

“What are you thinking about?” He whispered. The stars freckled themselves all over the midnight sky; one even winked at you. You hummed in response.

“Why I’m allowing myself to be with you like this.” He pretended it didn’t hurt. The familiar scraping hit the back of his throat. The flowers were getting worse. They were growing, getting larger. It was harder to cough them up. They drew more blood on their way up.

“So why do you?”

“I don’t know.” Your gaze fixating on the moon, its radiance illuminating your exhausted eyes. “You shouldn’t be around me.”

“But I am.”

“Then I shouldn’t be around you.”

“Why are you?”

“I don’t know.” You repeated with a sigh. “I don’t know a lot of things, but I do know that you’ll only get hurt when you’re with me.”

“Listen (Y/N),” he shifted his position, “No one forced me to hang out with you. I did it on my own so I think I know what’s good for me and what isn’t.” You didn’t meet his eyes.

“You know I can’t love you back.” His jaw clenched at the statement. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he searched your face for some regret or restrain.

“Am I - am I not enough for you?” He breathed out the question, afraid that it was coated too much with his fears.

“It’s not that.”

“Then why can’t I be the one? Why can’t you love me back?” It wasn’t like you didn’t have an answer, but it was more like you didn’t know how to answer.

The silence was interrupted by a fit of coughs. Kageyama was gasping. He dug his nails into the ground, not caring if mud and dirt made themselves home under them. He clenched his trachea, attempting to quell the needle-like pricks. One, three, seven flowers fell from his pale lips. He coughed until his head spun. Coughed until his arms gave out. It truly felt like he was dying while living.

“Kageyama?” You didn’t care that your indifference quickly snapped into concern. You patted his back and grabbed his shoulders. “Kageyama, are you okay?” The coughing didn’t stop; he couldn’t stop them. Several flowers littered the grass, enough to make multiple bouquets. Your grasp on his shuddering body tightened. His chest heaved. For once, you were looking into his eyes.

“They - they weren’t your fault. You couldn’t control your feelings.” So he knew. “Let yourself cave to your emotions. It wasn’t your fault.” He was too pale, growing colder. “You don’t need anyone’s approval to love. They wanted you to be happy. So go and be happy.” His voice croaked and cracked, the flowers clogging his vocal tube. His breaths were short. His lids were closing. He was dying.

“Kageyama?” You called, this time it was your voice’s turn to crack. “To-Tobio. Please. I won’t be able to handle it. Don’t go.”

“I wish I could be there for you. I wish it were me. But I just want you to be happy. Be happy even if I’m not the one making you happy.” He tried to smile. You didn’t know. Your vision was blurred. 

He took one more glance at your face, still with that grin plastered on his face, before closing his eyes. You panicked, eyes wide and shaking his head.

“Kageyama?” You were alarmed. 

“Don’t do this to me.” You were afraid. 

“Come… Back.” You were devastated.

Your sobs turned into gasps. Your lungs felt like they were being squeezed and popped like a balloon. Your tears fell onto his still warm skin. A gulp of air was caught in your throat. It caught you off guard and you coughed. You coughed and choked. Was this how he felt? Was this how they felt? How painful. You couldn’t care less about how you sounded. You felt numb. The taste of salt and metal filled your mouth.

“What if,” It was quiet but audible, your throat too tired and bruised to be strong, “I loved you?” The single warm petal sat on the side of Kageyama’s cheek, taunting you and giggling at how foolish you were. it’s your turn it sneered.

cheesey bbs || @akaashichigo​ @drainedjaz​ @haikkeiji​ @annalyn-annalyn​ @mlkytobio​ @sosugasweet​ @cali-writes-sometimes​ @simping4ratsumu​ @ushiwakaa​ @from-left-to-write​ @akaashit-baeji​  @kxgeyamasmilk​ @agaassi​ @hanibuni​ @cupofkenma​  @kawanisshi​ @milkandc00kiez​ @thiccbokuto​ @shinsukestan​ @sufiawrites​ @wakaitoshi​ @skyguy-peach​ @fern-writes-ig​ @briswriting​ @kawaiikraykray​ @bubbleteaa​ @miyuswriting​ @raevaioli​ @ouikarwa​ @hakueishirei​ @pineapplekween​ @estherwritess​ @keiji-n​ @achoohq​ @badlywritten-hq​ @mochibeaa​ @oinkanna​ @chxrry-wxne​ @spudicide​ @airybby​ @asranomical​ @karmasuna​ @nekoglasses​  

[hunterguyveriv]

Hidden Beauty

Here is my submission for Days 1(First Sunrise/Set) & 2(Late Night Adventure) of Kacxa Week I had this plan to do quick ficlets for these 2 days but no matter what I did they merged into one and Kind of ties in with “The Promise.”

This post would have been up sooner, but I kind of pepper sprayed myself. Harvested hot pepper seeds from plants I grew earlier and apparently I didn’t wash the oils off well enough xD xD xD 

Anyway, here is my submission for days 1 & 2 titled Hidden Beauty

"Let me take you somewhere in which you will feel young and take your mind away from all this..."

It was nighttime on Verolgah-VI. The two planetoid moons did their annual dance across the evening sky as shooting stars streaked the upper atmosphere. The devastated planet's temperature was chilly, but nothing like what most of the Paladins were used to, save for one.

He looked to the lions with 3 out of the 5 charged up, Red was in the final stages of charging up. He let out a sigh; some things were going to plans, but he had to remain on edge as the leader. Shit tends to hit the fan when one least expected it, and with friends still about 2 maybe 3 more days away, anything could go wrong.

Since they first landed on, well, more or less crashed when the lions collapsed from low energy, the Paladins all slept in the cave with Acxa. But tonight was different; it was cold enough to drive them to the lions that were charged. Hunk, Lance, Shiro, and Coran were sleeping in the Yellow Lion. Allura, Pidge, and Romelle were sleeping in Green, with Blue-Powered down to preserve power. Krolia and Keith's wolf were snuggled up in Black, which was somewhat comfier than the ground from the Star-whale, but nothing close to temperature.

Keith only grabbed his red & white jacket from Black's storage locker, from when he grabbed what little belongings he left on the Castle when he took a sabbatical from the Voltron-Force. Krolia was ready to get some sleep when she asked if he would turn in. His response was he had too much on his mind and was going for a walk. When his mother saw Acxa walk out of the cave, she gave him her sly "mother knows all" smirk and responded with "you kids don't stay out too late" before turning and taking his wolf with her.

Blushing and stammering at her, he turned to see Acxa wearing something similar to an Earth styled tank top in the moons' light, which her blue skin radiant. When he got within range of her, she gestured her head to follow her. He threw his jacket on which even over his Paladin Armor slightly loose. He put his belt with his Marmoran blade on and started walking with her. She took him to her favorite spot in silence. It had been three long years since she saw him last and even though she had so much to tell him, opening up was something relatively new for her. Even taking him to a spot she had grown to love in her mind was a huge gamble, that she was surprised she was doing.

It was one of the most stunning sights next to her that he had ever seen. It was a massive valley with a small creek like waterfall leading into a small shallow lake. Further behind were some of the most gorgeous mountain ranges he had ever seen with millions of stars. Even the nearby Argola nebula was just barely seen. Its blues, greens, purples, & reds intensified by the planet's atmosphere. His mouth agape, Acxa finally broke her silence. "I found this place about a year and a half after I was left here by the coalition."

Keith walked forward, taking in the beauty of the water, reflecting the moons and stars. The water droplets flying into the air reminded him of fireflies he used to catch with his father when he was a small boy, "It's beautiful." She walked up to match his location, slowly wrapping her arm around his. She sensed him tensing a little and then relax, but she knew he was much like her. Both introverted warriors, just starting to let their feelings show on the surface. "In the morning this spot reminds me of my homeworld, before it was officially... 'indoctrinated' into the Empire."

He looked to her, seeing a sorrowful look on her face. "Tell me about it?" She looked at him softly, smiling, seeing the sincerity in his eyes. She started to sit down, but he stopped her taking his jacket off, laying it on the ground gesturing for them to sit on it. She slowly sat down on his coat. She looked at him. "Won't you get cold?" He shook his head, "Nah, I grew up in the desert for the most part. I am used to brutally hot and brutally cold temps."

Acxa nodded and looked up to the stars and looked back at him. "From what I remember, it wasn't like this planet. For the better part of a deca-phoeb the planet was a relatively fridgid planet, but it was no barren froze wasteland. My mother's people were born in a region in which it was neither barely above freezing or frozen. The closer you got to the planet's polar region the darker blue their skin got, towards the equatorial sections they were either a lignt blue almost white color almost like that little girl & those two Alteans. But regardless of our skintone we all loved Aaenergola..."

Keith continued to listen to the Acxa tell him of her homeworld. The architecture, the lore, some of the history, the customs, and so much more emphatically. But when it came to the story of the Empire coming to her world, her demeanor and tone changed. Her planet had fought the best it could but ultimately was indoctrinated into the Empire.

She revealed her father was a doctor and her mother a Galra Lieutenant who he had saved from dying. Both harbored no ill will towards the other's race. When she was born, both parents wanted her yo have a decent education despite being a half-blood. But it wasn't until she got to her parents' death when she was 9 that she became bitter. When Aaenergolan Terrorists executed her parents for helping Galran citizens while Aaenergolans were starving. She trailed off as she remembered coming out of her hiding place. Finding her father brutally murdered, protecting the area she was hiding.

Keith, for the first time, saw tears streaking down her face and her lip trembling. He placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to scoot closer to him. He had asked if she wanted to stop, and she nodded her head, wiping some of her tears away, asking about his homeworld.

As she did to him, he told her of Earth and his life on the distant planet they were trying to get back to. Of the blue skies and oceans, everything that made the planet one of the most beautiful he has ever lived on. Growing up with just a father before he died fighting a fire. His life before his adopted brother Shiro came into it.

Keith told her it wasn't until he was on a Blade mission did he learn who his mother was and later on in the Quantum Abyss, the reasons why he grew up without her in his life. Just hearing his voice caused her to relax and snuggle up to him. He felt her wrap an arm around his waist, prompting him to wrap an arm around her shoulders. When he stopped talking about Earth, she was fast asleep, snoring softly on his shoulder. Not long after, he fell asleep after repositioning, so her head was on his chest armor.

Many Vargas later, Acxa sat right up as one of the suns started to rise. She was expecting to be alone, which typically happened when she let her guard down, showing a side people typically never see. But was relieved seeing Keith still sleeping next to her. She pulled her legs to her chest and started watching the suns rise.

He started to stir, feeling the warmth on his face. When he woke up, he saw Acxa sitting up, his jacket draped over her shoulders. He slowly sat up and beheld one of the most stunning sights as the twin suns started to dance across the sky. The water, especially the waterfall, looked like it was molten lava. Like the sky, the vegetation itself looked like it was ablaze, swaying in the wind with colors of reds, blues, greens, and purples.

Both half breeds talked a little while enjoying the beauty of the sunset heads perched against each other. When the bottom of the second sun was just barely over the distant mountains, they decided it was time to head back to the group. But before leaving, he took one last look at their surroundings and turned to her.

She had a nervous look on her face, "About last night..." He had a delicate look on his face and softly smiled, "I want to thank you for last night. You bringing me to this beautiful place was as if you were opening your true self to me." She closed her mouth, being a little surprised at being thanked; she started to blush purple. "It takes great courage and trust to open up to someone, and I hope I am worthy of both."

Almost 2 hours later: The group was starting to freak out that Keith was nowhere to be found, nor was Acxa. Most of the group was searching the compound, while others were searching the immediate area. Some were worried that the pirates took them, one worried that their host handed him over to the pirates, while another knew all too well where they were. She refused to answer anyone's questions about why she wasn't worried. But Coran soon put two and two together, once being a parent himself.

When the group regrouped, it wasn't until his wolf snapped his head up, ears perked that everyone put their attention elsewhere. With their leader and hostess missing, The Paladins drew their bayards ready for anything. If it were an ambush like last time, they'd be prepared to fight.

Two figures were walking towards them with the suns at their backs, nearly blinding everyone. When the wolf bolted and teleported, everyone got on edge, waiting for the inevitable attack. But it never came. Instead, they could barely make out one figure stopping greeting the wolf and the three of them walking back.

As they got close, enough everyone realized that it was Keith with Acxa wearing his jacket. But what really caught their attention was that they were both holding hands and that their demeanor was different. It was no longer of two socially awkward Galrans who tried hiding there was something there to clearly having broken the ice with each other.

[lindoig8]

The Camel Trek

Wednesday, 28 April – Day 1 of our Camel Trek

We were out at the front gate waiting to be collected at 7am, but it was 7.45 before Max, our chief scientist, came to pick us up. He was the Expedition Leader and everyone met in the middle of town to be introduced and to board a 4WD ‘bus’ to take us out to Base Camp. It was about 325 kilometres and took about 5 hours, including a stop for lunch halfway out. There were 11 of us in the group, including 2 extras who were sponsored – a photographer and a travel magazine editor. There should have been 3 more coming from Perth, but the sudden 3-day Covid lockdown there prevented them from coming.

Base Camp was (obviously) in the bush and there were quite a few people out there – staff and volunteers who had been setting up and ‘warming up’ the camels that had not been worked for at least 18 months. There was a big truck loaded with food and all sorts of other gear and the area was littered with stores and equipment for the rest of the 21-week season. The camels were already there of course – 18 of them, all bullocks, 3 of them new to the team and 2 others that had been hauled out of retirement to work again this season. They are wonderful big animals, quite gentle most of the time, but somewhat prone to panic if they are frightened.

We had a hot meal for dinner and everyone chatted with everyone else, staff, cameleers, volunteers and tourists alike. It was all quite comfortable and pleasant, albeit sometimes a little confusing because we didn’t know what to expect. We were each issued with our swags and shown how to set them up: also our toilet bag with instructions about that. I found everyone surprisingly relaxed about the potentially sensitive or embarrassing issue of toileting in the immediate bush, and even when I encountered one of our party in a serious state of undress while I was collecting firewood, she was seemingly unperturbed. Just all very natural and with little discomfort on anyone’s behalf.

We distributed ourselves around the periphery of the camp, maybe about 50 metres or so out and set up our swags and we all went to bed quite early in the knowledge that breakfast was at 6am next morning. The swags are heavy and difficult to set up and dismantle, but they were really very comfortable and most people reported that they slept pretty well.

Thursday – Day 2 and the start of our walk

After a breakfast of cereal and muesli, we were introduced to the camels when they lined up to be saddled and loaded. It is a very elaborate rigamarole and I could devote pages to the camels, their handlers and the process overall, but maybe that is not of much interest – although we found it all quite fascinating. Being the first official day of the season and the first time the camels had been fully laden, the staff were in no hurry. The camels learn a routine and any deviations are likely to create problems, especially at the beginning of the season with unacclimated camels. It took over 3 hours before we were all ready to start walking and with nowhere to sit, we were all glad to be walking after standing around watching for so long.

The 4WD bus took many of the volunteers back to Alice Springs at 8am so that just left the 11 trekkers and 11 staff and scientists in camp.

We only walked about 4 kilometres that day, although everyone obviously walked quite a bit more in diversions along the way. The camels were stopped several times to adjust their loads or for other reasons and we all stopped for lunch again (wraps with a huge variety of vegetarian fillings and condiments). The camels need to stop periodically because they can’t urinate while working, but they stopped for other reasons as well. The staff build a fire and make tea and coffee each mealtime so that adds to the time it takes to get from Point A to Point B, but it was quite an interesting walk anyway. There were few birds (although I saw both male and female Yellow Chats next day – lifers for us!), but enough to keep me interested – and lots of unaccustomed trees and plants to inspect as well.

We made camp around 3pm and we all set up our swags (all closer to camp this time) and helped (a little) with the unloading. There was always the promise that we could help with things but in practice, the cameleers had things down to such a fine art that we had little to do. We were allowed to hold the ropes on the camels sometimes, but that was just to discourage them from wandering away – wonderful beasts and so patient and gentle – it is hard to see them as wild feral animals. Being close to them has certainly made me view them in a very different light.

I thought the science in the process was at risk of being lost because the crew seemed intent on making it easy for the tourists. We had a botanist with us who was focussed on his work – and who took Heather under his wing a little because they both ‘spoke the same language’. We helped set up a string of Elliott traps in the hope of capturing some little rodents or reptiles – but they were all unfortunately unoccupied next morning. I appreciate that, as eco-tourists, we were funding the research, but I assumed the research would have been more visible and that we would have been able to contribute to it. In some respects, we were given a higher priority than I expected and I would have been completely happy to have had more attention given to their surveys and less to looking after we hangers-on. Given the opportunity, I will draw attention to that as general feedback to the company.

We had another hot meal at night – a mammoth feed if anyone could have managed it – a main course and dessert with tea and coffee. Of course, before the meal was ready, we all sat around the campfire and enjoyed a port – served in a delicate jug, topped up from a 20-litre jerrycan!!! The port jerrycan was yellow to distinguish it from the diesel and water jerrycans.

We all enjoyed the fire, but it had been a hot and taxing day and we all headed for our respective toilet bushes and swags quite soon after dinner. There had been a spectacular sunset over a wide, completely horizontal horizon, soon followed by a spectacular rising full moon (just a few hours past the so-called Pink Moon moment) and everyone went out like lights pretty quickly.

Friday – Day 3 and a bit of a disaster

The camels were loaded a little more quickly on the second day but they were still a bit unused to the routine and a couple were a tad stroppy so it still took more than 2 hours to get ready to leave camp. We had been able to help a little more and got close to the camels and patted them – they really are magnificent beasts, soft and gentle and ever so patient. It was a real privilege to spend time so close to them.

It was pretty slow going with the walkers well out ahead of the camels (that is where the handlers wanted us) but the camels had to stop several times and we were left out in the sun while the camels were quietened and saddles readjusted, etc. I was only about 40-50 metres away from the A-string when one of them got spooked when its load slipped and it went berserk. It was quite scary because when it started bucking and running out of line, it started panicking some of the others too and its saddle and load slipped under its bely and between its legs when it was rearing and running amok – and of course, it injured itself. It was not badly hurt, but its hind legs were quite severely scraped from its saddle and load so they gave it the rest of the day off. They left its damaged saddle and load out in the desert and allowed it to just tag along at the rear of the string but at one stage it was running wild and ended up spooking some of the B-string as well. It took well over an hour to rearrange the loads and settle both strings down and it was very hot waiting in the scorching sun while this happened. I went birding in the nearby scrub but the rest of the trekkers just tried to find a tiny bit of shade under a bush to wait it out.

We walked for another hour or two before we stopped for lunch and everyone was pretty hot and bothered by then.

It was a very hot day, particularly so immediately after lunch, and one of the trekkers who had a thermometer said it was 41 degrees where we were walking and 36 in the shade. We had walked about 10-11 kilometres on the day when Heather succumbed to heatstroke. She ‘hit the wall’ early after lunch and they called the medic to tend her. I was off on my own at the time and as soon as I heard, I ran back to her and stayed with her for the rest of the day. The medic was wonderful: very solicitous and caring. He helped cool her down (poured numerous bottles of water over her) and did several blood pressure and pulse checks but it was clear to me (all of us) that she wasn’t going to be able to continue.

Because of the heat, Max intended to call an early stop for the day so he did so virtually straight away. They made camp in a suitable place just a few hundred metres further along and when Heather was up to it, the medic and I helped her into camp where she had to lie down in some very meagre shade and received lots more attention from most people in the party.

By sheer good luck, Andrew (co-leader and chief cameleer) had cached a 4WD near where we had lunch and he had driven back to retrieve the jettisoned saddle and related gear to be used next day. He was returning to Alice Springs that night to restock some items so when he returned, we asked if we could go back with him. He agreed (of course) and it was a good job he did because the next 2 days trek were as hot or hotter and over slightly more difficult terrain – so maybe neither of us would have made it. Max was obviously aware of the challenge and called at least the next day a half-day only, and possibly the fourth day too.

It took over 5 hours to do the 330-odd kilometres back to Alice Springs and by then, Heather had recovered quite a bit, but we just rolled into bed as soon as we could after reaching the caravan – and have had a few very quiet days resting since. Our sleeping bags and some other gear had been rolled into our swags in the desert so they were delivered to us to retrieve our things next day, and another team member collected them from us a bit later.

We were very disappointed that we had to pull out of the trek, but in retrospect, we are certain that we did the right thing and felt that we had really enjoyed the experience of the desert and the camels and maybe the rest of the trip would have been something of a repeat of what we had enjoyed. It certainly was a fantastic, unique experience that we will remember for life and we have since been contacted by some of our fellow-trekkers to see how Heather is going.

[tarcherdisney]

The African Tale

It was a hot summer afternoon in the driest part of the African plains near Mt. Kilimanjaro. The plants were dying, the grass grew very little, the sun was shining, and the sky was bright orange. The entire savanna was deserted. Not a reptile, bird, or mammal of any species was in sight. But then there were two.

An adult male lion named Leo was looking for a new place to live and was starting to get thirsty. He continued to stroll through the grasslands and stopped to take a drink from the lake. The lion bends his head over the water and licks it with his tongue.

He heard a deep thump that got his attention and lifted his head. He saw something big and grey behind the acacia trees in front of him. As Leo’s curiosity started to get the best of him, he jumped on the rocks that were sitting on the river and landed on the grass. The lion lumbered through the grass and slid through the acacia trees. In astonishment, Leo then spotted an adult male elephant breaking a tree branch as he was eating the leaves from it. Leo ran towards the elephant and said, “Uh, Excuse me. Hey, excuse me”.

The gentle giant turned his head around and gasped with surprise. “Hey, where is everybody?” the lion asked as he approached the elephant.

“I’m not particularly sure”, said the elephant in his baritone voice, “But all the other animals must have left a few days ago and I did hear one of them saying that they’re going to a valley”.

“A valley? Where?”

“Somewhere far away from here I guess.”

“You look so familiar to me. Do I know-,” he gasped with excitement. “Elmer!! My childhood friend!”

“Oh. Well if that’s my name then I might as well take it. And you are?”

Leo began to look confused with his eyebrows meeting at the top of his head. “E-Elmer, its me, Leo, don’t you remember, even a little?”

“I’m sorry Leo, if that is your name, but I couldn’t recall anything,” said Elmer with his trunk rubbing the left side of his head. “All I remembered was that I was running with a herd of elephants and then I accidently slid down a cliff of some kind and some bolder or rock hit me hard on the head as I fell. And after all the other animals left, I couldn’t remember anything else”.

“Well my name is Leo and your name is Elmer, got it?” Leo said firmly and assertively.

“Got it! I guess. Oh, and nice to meet you by the way” said Elmer as he shook Leo’s paw with his trunk.

“Ok,” said Leo, “Now, which way do we…” The ground started to shake and began to split apart. The landside split the two animals, separating them. Leo began to jump on the other side of the divide where Elmer was. Then the landslide began to grow up to 1 story high as they both jump on the other landslide on their right. The ground became unbalanced as their area started to split apart even further. “We’ve got to get out of here,” said Leo as he became frantic.

“Through there!” exclaimed Elmer, pointing his trunk to a cave in the distance.

“Are you sure?”

“I think so.” They both started to jump up and down landing on one landslide after another.

“I hope you know where you’re going with this”

As he tried to catch up with Elmer, Leo landed on the edge of the landslide with his claws attached to it. He struggled to reach the topside as he was sweating and the lava pit was at least 5 stories below him. At that moment, Elmer quickly stopped and turned around to where Leo was. “Grab on, buddy,” said Elmer as he stretched his trunk to reach Leo’s paw. And then, just when he was about to slip and fall, Leo grabbed the end part of Elmer’s trunk and was pulled up into the surface of the landslide. “I think its best to give you a ride,” Elmer said as he kneeled on his front knee. “Yeah no kidding,” said Leo as he quickly climbed to the top of his back. The landslide where Elmer was standing on began to fall forward as he jumped on another one until he finally landed at the area that was close the cave. He galloped as fast as he could, the ground behind him was falling apart, and when he jumped inside the cave, the boulders behind him were blocking the entrance.

Afterwards, the earth became still again. Leo jumped from Elmer’s back as they breathed in and out with relief. “Are you ok?” Elmer asked while panting.

“Yeah, I’m fine. And that was the biggest earthquake I’ve ever seen! What’s going on here?”

“Just by the looks of that disaster, I couldn’t put my trunk on it. But I’m assuming that it’s probably the first sign of the end of the world.”

“The End of The World?”

“Hey, it’s just my assumption. It’s not like I can predict anything.” Leo felt emotionally unstable when he started to realize that their world was coming to an end as the volume of his voice started from low to loud.

“Oh, so your ‘assuming’ that it’s the end of the world since there’s very little food left, the whole savannah is turning into a drought, we got nowhere to go, all of our families are missing, we’re the only two animals left behind on this God-forsaken planet and then the next thing you know we’ll be caught by some… huge ginormous flood!”

Suddenly, they heard a huge thump-like crack in the distance and turned their heads to the right. “Uh, Leo” said Elmer, looking as though he was nervous about what would happen next. At five steps ahead of them, a huge roar of moving water was coming right in their direction.

As it came in faster and faster, Leo shouted, “RUN!!!” So they did. As the two animals kept running towards the end of the other tunnel, another exit was being blocked. Leo tried to get the rocks out the tunnel and Elmer tried to push them with his head.

But when the flood came 4 steps closer, Elmer said nervously “Pleo, I mean Leo, right, is that your name?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Climb on my back,” Elmer said directly as he kneeled on his knee.

“Why?”

“Just trust me,” Elmer answered as he took two steps back for a short second and then successfully broke through the wall and fell down into the riverbank.

The two animals immediately walked out of the riverbank as Leo shook his body to get the water off of his fur and his mane until it was dry. “Thanks for that,” said Leo. “Now where are we”?

“That’s strange, I don’t recall if this jungle was ever deserted before.”

And then, Leo slowly looked down at the ground with astonishment and surprise and saw something that finally caught his eye. “They…they were here.”

“What?”

“Look at these tracks. These animals are all in just one group leading to straight into that Jungle. A-And here, it even has the paw prints of my kind as well as your kind. This could be our first clue.”

“Or the path that would lead us straight to the valley,” Elmer added as he smelled the paw prints with his trunk. “I don’t know that’s just my second guess.”

Leo became exhilarated. “Elmer, this is it! This is where we’re going to see our family again! We’re finally going to get home!”

“Well in that case, lead the way. Speaking of which, I never actually knew I had a family before.”

“We’ll find a way to get your memories back,” Leo said as they walked straight into the deserted jungle.

The sky was then darkened with grey storm clouds, as there were rumbles of thunder. Leo was walking on a horizontal tree branch and Elmer was walking through the bushes. The elephant started to look around and said, “This all seems… very familiar. And I can’t even remember why.”

“You know this jungle?”

“Again, I don’t recall. It must have been something bad about it, but I just can’t remember what it was.”

Suddenly, a lightning bolt struck the tallest tree of the jungle and the tree started to burn. “It must be that, right,” said Leo

“Yeah, I think so. Hop on.”

As soon as Leo jumped on Elmer’s back, the fire began to spread. Elmer started to gallop but the fire was closing in on him. They found a pathway out, but a burning tree branch suddenly blocked it. Elmer began to stand on his two feet, kicking his front feet in the air, and tooted his trumpet loudly until he came down on his four feet. Leo began to roar furiously as a call for help, but no one answered. The fire cornered the two animals and Leo said with medium anxiety

“Don’t panic, don’t panic.” The lion started to look around and saw another pathway through the jungle behind them.

“Through there!” Leo cried.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive.”

So then Elmer turned around and rushed towards the exit with a fallen tree branch in the way. As he kept going faster and faster, Elmer quickly said, “Leo, I’m not sure jumping over that tree branch is such a good idea.” Leo was leaning over to his ear, looking at him straight in the eye and said with inspiration, “Elmer, you must… believe!” The elephant came at a close stop near the branch and jumped over it without a single scratch and ran straight towards the exit.

“Yes!” shouted Leo with excitement, “I knew you could do it!” Then a giant burning tree started to fall on them and they ran right past it as few more burning trees started to fall. As they made their escape out of the burning jungle, the two animals reached to the edge of the cliff where the river was below them. “Aw, seriously?” cried Leo. They both turned around to see the trees knocking down each other toward their direction. With no other choice, the two animals jumped off the edge of the cliff and all the rocks and branches fell along with them. Then one big tree branch knocked Elmer on the head as Leo fell off from the elephant’s back and into the river.

Leo backed away from all the rocks and branches that were also in the water and swam up to the surface where he grabbed on to a branch that was floating. He coughed and called out Elmer’s name twice until he quickly turned around and gasped, seeing the upper part of Elmer’s body on the branch and slowly sinking right into the water. Rapidly, Leo dived in the water and grabbed hold of Elmer’s neck with all his might and reached up to the surface dragging the elephant to the shallow part of the river. As he got closer and closer to the land, the entire sky started to rain.

“We did it” Leo said, “We survived.” He got close to Elmer’s body, grabbed his foot, and he couldn’t feel a pulse. “Elmer, are you there, buddy?” He pulled his huge flappy ear with his mouth, getting his attention to move, but he wasn’t moving. Leo felt devastated and his eyes started to water. “Oh no. Oh no, no, no.” Leo said as he started to doubt himself “oh, I’m so sorry buddy. This is all my fault. If I had fallowed my instincts in the first place, we wouldn’t be in this mess. All I wanted to do is to see my best friend in the whole savanna again.” He started to sniff. “You were my only friend during my childhood and you were still my friend even if you lost your memory. I just wish you would come back to me now.”

Leo put his paw on his eyes as he started to sob quietly, then Elmer slowly got up on his four legs and opened his eyes. “Hey, Leo.”

“Yeah.”

“Remember the time you saved me from that quicksand when we were kids?”

Leo smiled as he rubbed off his tears with amazement. “Elmer, you’re back!” The two animals hugged each other with relief and contentment.

“I know, I missed you too bud. Oh, and I think I found a way to reach the valley.”

“How?”

The elephant pointed his trunk to the top of a cliff that was right in front of them. “That’s impossible” Leo said, “How are we going to get there”? Elmer knocked down a giant tree with his front feet, Leo climbed on the top of his back, and they walked straight up to the cliff.

As they kept walking and reach to the top part of the cliff, the wind was gusting through their faces and the entire land was covered in fog.

“Maybe this isn’t the place,” said Leo.

“This has to be. After all, I got my memory back.”

“Well then lets see if you’re right.”

The wind blew harder and harder with the fog flowing along with it. The fog suddenly cleared as the sun was shinning brightly showing the entire valley and all the animals that lived there. “There it is,” said Leo as he stared directly at the valley. “We made it! We made it! I knew I had it in you!”

“I couldn’t have done it without you, Leo.” Said Elmer as he walked down towards the valley. “And look, our family is down there”.

“Its good to have you back, buddy”.

“Yes, Its good to be back”. The two animals finally became reunited with their families and they eventually found mates as well.

[damienpele]

I Sing the Body Electric by Walt Whitman

1 I sing the body electric, The armies of those I love engirth me and I engirth them, They will not let me off till I go with them, respond to them, And discorrupt them, and charge them full with the charge of the soul. Was it doubted that those who corrupt their own bodies conceal themselves? And if those who defile the living are as bad as they who defile the dead? And if the body does not do fully as much as the soul? And if the body were not the soul, what is the soul? 2 The love of the body of man or woman balks account, the body itself balks account, That of the male is perfect, and that of the female is perfect. The expression of the face balks account, But the expression of a well-made man appears not only in his face, It is in his limbs and joints also, it is curiously in the joints of his hips and wrists, It is in his walk, the carriage of his neck, the flex of his waist and knees, dress does not hide him, The strong sweet quality he has strikes through the cotton and broadcloth, To see him pass conveys as much as the best poem, perhaps more, You linger to see his back, and the back of his neck and shoulder-side. The sprawl and fulness of babes, the bosoms and heads of women, the folds of their dress, their style as we pass in the street, the contour of their shape downwards, The swimmer naked in the swimming-bath, seen as he swims through the transparent green-shine, or lies with his face up and rolls silently to and fro in the heave of the water, The bending forward and backward of rowers in row-boats, the horseman in his saddle, Girls, mothers, house-keepers, in all their performances, The group of laborers seated at noon-time with their open dinner-kettles, and their wives waiting, The female soothing a child, the farmer’s daughter in the garden or cow-yard, The young fellow hoeing corn, the sleigh-driver driving his six horses through the crowd, The wrestle of wrestlers, two apprentice-boys, quite grown, lusty, good-natured, native-born, out on the vacant lot at sun-down after work, The coats and caps thrown down, the embrace of love and resistance, The upper-hold and under-hold, the hair rumpled over and blinding the eyes; The march of firemen in their own costumes, the play of masculine muscle through clean-setting trowsers and waist-straps, The slow return from the fire, the pause when the bell strikes suddenly again, and the listening on the alert, The natural, perfect, varied attitudes, the bent head, the curv’d neck and the counting; Such-like I love—I loosen myself, pass freely, am at the mother’s breast with the little child, Swim with the swimmers, wrestle with wrestlers, march in line with the firemen, and pause, listen, count. 3 I knew a man, a common farmer, the father of five sons, And in them the fathers of sons, and in them the fathers of sons. This man was of wonderful vigor, calmness, beauty of person, The shape of his head, the pale yellow and white of his hair and beard, the immeasurable meaning of his black eyes, the richness and breadth of his manners, These I used to go and visit him to see, he was wise also, He was six feet tall, he was over eighty years old, his sons were massive, clean, bearded, tan-faced, handsome, They and his daughters loved him, all who saw him loved him, They did not love him by allowance, they loved him with personal love, He drank water only, the blood show’d like scarlet through the clear-brown skin of his face, He was a frequent gunner and fisher, he sail’d his boat himself, he had a fine one presented to him by a ship-joiner, he had fowling-pieces presented to him by men that loved him, When he went with his five sons and many grand-sons to hunt or fish, you would pick him out as the most beautiful and vigorous of the gang, You would wish long and long to be with him, you would wish to sit by him in the boat that you and he might touch each other. 4 I have perceiv’d that to be with those I like is enough, To stop in company with the rest at evening is enough, To be surrounded by beautiful, curious, breathing, laughing flesh is enough, To pass among them or touch any one, or rest my arm ever so lightly round his or her neck for a moment, what is this then? I do not ask any more delight, I swim in it as in a sea. There is something in staying close to men and women and looking on them, and in the contact and odor of them, that pleases the soul well, All things please the soul, but these please the soul well. 5 This is the female form, A divine nimbus exhales from it from head to foot, It attracts with fierce undeniable attraction, I am drawn by its breath as if I were no more than a helpless vapor, all falls aside but myself and it, Books, art, religion, time, the visible and solid earth, and what was expected of heaven or fear’d of hell, are now consumed, Mad filaments, ungovernable shoots play out of it, the response likewise ungovernable, Hair, bosom, hips, bend of legs, negligent falling hands all diffused, mine too diffused, Ebb stung by the flow and flow stung by the ebb, love-flesh swelling and deliciously aching, Limitless limpid jets of love hot and enormous, quivering jelly of love, white-blow and delirious juice, Bridegroom night of love working surely and softly into the prostrate dawn, Undulating into the willing and yielding day, Lost in the cleave of the clasping and sweet-flesh’d day. This the nucleus—after the child is born of woman, man is born of woman, This the bath of birth, this the merge of small and large, and the outlet again. Be not ashamed women, your privilege encloses the rest, and is the exit of the rest, You are the gates of the body, and you are the gates of the soul. The female contains all qualities and tempers them, She is in her place and moves with perfect balance, She is all things duly veil’d, she is both passive and active, She is to conceive daughters as well as sons, and sons as well as daughters. As I see my soul reflected in Nature, As I see through a mist, One with inexpressible completeness, sanity, beauty, See the bent head and arms folded over the breast, the Female I see. 6 The male is not less the soul nor more, he too is in his place, He too is all qualities, he is action and power, The flush of the known universe is in him, Scorn becomes him well, and appetite and defiance become him well, The wildest largest passions, bliss that is utmost, sorrow that is utmost become him well, pride is for him, The full-spread pride of man is calming and excellent to the soul, Knowledge becomes him, he likes it always, he brings every thing to the test of himself, Whatever the survey, whatever the sea and the sail he strikes soundings at last only here, (Where else does he strike soundings except here?) The man’s body is sacred and the woman’s body is sacred, No matter who it is, it is sacred—is it the meanest one in the laborers’ gang? Is it one of the dull-faced immigrants just landed on the wharf? Each belongs here or anywhere just as much as the well-off, just as much as you, Each has his or her place in the procession. (All is a procession, The universe is a procession with measured and perfect motion.) Do you know so much yourself that you call the meanest ignorant? Do you suppose you have a right to a good sight, and he or she has no right to a sight? Do you think matter has cohered together from its diffuse float, and the soil is on the surface, and water runs and vegetation sprouts, For you only, and not for him and her? 7 A man’s body at auction, (For before the war I often go to the slave-mart and watch the sale,) I help the auctioneer, the sloven does not half know his business. Gentlemen look on this wonder, Whatever the bids of the bidders they cannot be high enough for it, For it the globe lay preparing quintillions of years without one animal or plant, For it the revolving cycles truly and steadily roll’d. In this head the all-baffling brain, In it and below it the makings of heroes. Examine these limbs, red, black, or white, they are cunning in tendon and nerve, They shall be stript that you may see them. Exquisite senses, life-lit eyes, pluck, volition, Flakes of breast-muscle, pliant backbone and neck, flesh not flabby, good-sized arms and legs, And wonders within there yet. Within there runs blood, The same old blood! the same red-running blood! There swells and jets a heart, there all passions, desires, reachings, aspirations, (Do you think they are not there because they are not express’d in parlors and lecture-rooms?) This is not only one man, this the father of those who shall be fathers in their turns, In him the start of populous states and rich republics, Of him countless immortal lives with countless embodiments and enjoyments. How do you know who shall come from the offspring of his offspring through the centuries? (Who might you find you have come from yourself, if you could trace back through the centuries?) 8 A woman’s body at auction, She too is not only herself, she is the teeming mother of mothers, She is the bearer of them that shall grow and be mates to the mothers. Have you ever loved the body of a woman? Have you ever loved the body of a man? Do you not see that these are exactly the same to all in all nations and times all over the earth? If any thing is sacred the human body is sacred, And the glory and sweet of a man is the token of manhood untainted, And in man or woman a clean, strong, firm-fibred body, is more beautiful than the most beautiful face. Have you seen the fool that corrupted his own live body? or the fool that corrupted her own live body? For they do not conceal themselves, and cannot conceal themselves. 9 O my body! I dare not desert the likes of you in other men and women, nor the likes of the parts of you, I believe the likes of you are to stand or fall with the likes of the soul, (and that they are the soul,) I believe the likes of you shall stand or fall with my poems, and that they are my poems, Man’s, woman’s, child’s, youth’s, wife’s, husband’s, mother’s, father’s, young man’s, young woman’s poems, Head, neck, hair, ears, drop and tympan of the ears, Eyes, eye-fringes, iris of the eye, eyebrows, and the waking or sleeping of the lids, Mouth, tongue, lips, teeth, roof of the mouth, jaws, and the jaw-hinges, Nose, nostrils of the nose, and the partition, Cheeks, temples, forehead, chin, throat, back of the neck, neck-slue, Strong shoulders, manly beard, scapula, hind-shoulders, and the ample side-round of the chest, Upper-arm, armpit, elbow-socket, lower-arm, arm-sinews, arm-bones, Wrist and wrist-joints, hand, palm, knuckles, thumb, forefinger, finger-joints, finger-nails, Broad breast-front, curling hair of the breast, breast-bone, breast-side, Ribs, belly, backbone, joints of the backbone, Hips, hip-sockets, hip-strength, inward and outward round, man-balls, man-root, Strong set of thighs, well carrying the trunk above, Leg fibres, knee, knee-pan, upper-leg, under-leg, Ankles, instep, foot-ball, toes, toe-joints, the heel; All attitudes, all the shapeliness, all the belongings of my or your body or of any one’s body, male or female, The lung-sponges, the stomach-sac, the bowels sweet and clean, The brain in its folds inside the skull-frame, Sympathies, heart-valves, palate-valves, sexuality, maternity, Womanhood, and all that is a woman, and the man that comes from woman, The womb, the teats, nipples, breast-milk, tears, laughter, weeping, love-looks, love-perturbations and risings, The voice, articulation, language, whispering, shouting aloud, Food, drink, pulse, digestion, sweat, sleep, walking, swimming, Poise on the hips, leaping, reclining, embracing, arm-curving and tightening, The continual changes of the flex of the mouth, and around the eyes, The skin, the sunburnt shade, freckles, hair, The curious sympathy one feels when feeling with the hand the naked meat of the body, The circling rivers the breath, and breathing it in and out, The beauty of the waist, and thence of the hips, and thence downward toward the knees, The thin red jellies within you or within me, the bones and the marrow in the bones, The exquisite realization of health; O I say these are not the parts and poems of the body only, but of the soul, O I say now these are the soul!

[aoibaratraveler]

UK Road Trip Week 5

Day 29:

Had a really easy morning and took our time leaving because we really wanted to savour having a bed and a room a bit longer before hitting the road again. Don’t get me wrong, we weren’t dreading getting back onto the road to continue our adventure, we just wanted to make sure we were fully charged up and ready to go. Before setting off we made sure to play with the host’s dogs some more. We stopped at Lidl for some snacks…that we really shouldn’t have bought in retrospect, we’ve been eating a lot of junk on this trip. We set off to Stirling from there. During the drive I noticed that I had a mosquito bite on my face, I had been so successful so far in avoiding those damn things but somehow it got my face and now I have a horribly itchy spot that looks like a pimple, it’s pretty annoying but oh well. We only really just quickly drove through Stirling which I thought wasn’t so bad, it was really crowded and raining, after all, we were able to get a good look at Stirling castle which was interesting. It was a very odd old looking castle. The walls were that of a regular castle but the actual building looks like an old manor of some sort. We drove straight to Loch Lomond after Stirling as per what we had originally planned but when we got there we realized that was kind of senseless and that it would make more sense to drive straight up to in Inverness so as to do the North Coast 500 road tour for the next 7 days and then just explore Loch Lomond on our way back down through Scotland. We drove through a pretty spectacular motorway on the A9 road to get up to Inverness which I recommend to anyone that wants to do a road tour of Scotland; such glorious sights, it was a stunning mountain and was very reminiscent of my home province of British Columbia, Canada. We were even lucky enough to see a rainbow going over the mountains. It made me wish that we could live in Scotland so that we could do this sort of drive on the regular. We chose to stop in a retail business park just outside of Inverness to relax and stretch our legs after having just done a 3.5-hour drive straight. Scotland really does seem much more laid back about things in general in comparison to England. For instance, if you’re in literally any place other than a big city in Scotland then pretty much every car park is free which is amazing when you want to just leave the car and go explore. We thought for sure that the car park at Loch Lomond National Park would cost money but nope, free. Another awesome thing about Scotland is that you can pitch up your tent almost anywhere in the wilderness as long as there are no cows or sheep around and not have to pay a thing. It can only be for a period of 2 or 3 days but that works just great for us since we won’t be in any one place for too long. There was a cinema in the retail business park showing any movie for £4.99 so since it was still only 8 and the movies were so cheap, we thought why not. We saw Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, which I recommend. Afterward, we drove to a lay by out near Loch Ness and parked up and pitched up with the rain coming down horribly.

Day 30:

Woke up to the bf wiping the windows, when you sleep in a car, a lot of condensation forms on the windows if you’ve had them closed all night. I had actually slept in till 9 which is unusual for having slept in the car. We had breakfast and organized the car and I decided to read the last couple of chapters of Harry Potter book 5 when suddenly the car made an alarming beeeeeep! The car battery had gone flat. We tried to flag a few cars down to help us jump-start the battery but then resigned to calling AA. The bf has a membership with them anyway but we figured it would take them a while to get there. While we waited for them to come we went down to the lakeside/lochside of Loch Ness to explore for a bit. It’s quite sad that Scotland has opened its country for people to camp anywhere they like and yet people still litter everywhere. On the lakeside/lochside we saw several littered disposable barbecues, a shopping bag, and a bucket. Well, we didn’t finish with the AA until about 1:30. From Loch Ness, we drove into Inverness to the tourist info centre to see if we could get a map of some sort. Once that was dealt with we began the drive of the North coast 500 but counter-clockwise, just because we felt that suited us more. There are so many small-town/villages along the route, it’s quite funny how small they are - we were able to drive-through some, in and out, in under a minute. We stopped at Dingwall and had some instant noodles for a late lunch. Through the course of this trip, I’ve gotten the bf to actually enjoy and crave instant noodles and afternoon tea (of course he still doesn’t like to drink tea). He used to always avoid noodles in a soup because he’s not much of a soup person but will now eat them with me so I feel quite happy about that. From Dingwall, we drove through Loch Fleet National nature reserve, past the gorgeous, tropical-looking beach of Embo by Carn Laith, a remnant of the iron age, and finally arrived in Helmsdale where we would pitch up at a high off lay by with a beautiful view of the sea for the night. We didn’t cover as much road as I thought we would but I feel pretty content with our 1st day of route 500 ….

Day 31:

Have you ever woken up randomly, early in the morning but then realized you were still really tired so you went back to sleep and told yourself that whatever you want to do can wait until later? That’s me every day recently but what’s unfortunate this time was when I woke up randomly I saw the sunrise peeking out through the window. I thought “Oh how pretty…I’m just gonna sleep in a bit more and watch it later”. Well, when I woke up later I realized what I had done and felt like crap especially since it was the last time we were going to be on the east coast and in such an opportune spot for a little while. That’s fine, I’ll make it my mission to wake up in a good spot for the sunrise soon enough, mark my words. Anyway, today we managed to cover a lot of ground although I didn’t feel like we did. That’s because although it’s a beautiful drive there are not many points of interest for us to stop at on the east side of the NC500. We left Helmsdale and drove to just outside of Lybster to a place called “Hill O’Many Stanes”, which is a historical landmark. Many hundreds or thousands of years ago, it is not for certain why but maybe 30 to 50 stones the size of footballs were planted on a Hill and dotted around in a circle. There are a few theories why like they were possibly put there as memorials of the dead. I don’t know what it is about the UK and their historical landmarks surrounding stones. First, there was Stonehenge in England, and now this and I’m sure there’s another landmark coming up on this trip to do with stones being erected on the ground. Actually, now that I think about it, there is a place similar to Stonehenge on the Isle of Portland, but it certainly isn’t as heavily regarded and I’m not sure if it has a name. After admiring these stones for a bit, we then parked up down the hill and made some coffee. We then drove to the Castle of Old Wick just outside of Wick, where we saw the spectacular view of a cliffside and a horrifyingly scary view of how far the sea was below and then we walked around and imagined what it would have been like back then for people to have built a castle on the edge of a cliff. From there, we drove to Duncansby Head and John O’Groats, the most northern tip of mainland UK. This is also a very small town but because of what it is known as it was very crowded with tourists from all over. It was pretty cool though because we could see some of the Orkney islands from there and to be honest, it looked mostly like it is farmland, barely inhabited. After a few obligatory photos, we set off to somewhere in between John O’Groats and Dunnet Bay, where we parked up at a nearby Tesco and had instant noodles for lunch while listening to the Abroad in Japan podcast. We then checked out Dunnet Bay, we fooled around a bit there, skipped stones in the water and just had a good time. I love beaches, especially deserted ones, they’re relaxing and even better when there is the view of mountains in the background. This was probably 1 of 3 beaches that we stopped throughout the day just to explore and walk around. I found a really pretty shell at one of them too. I think the other beaches we stopped at were Strathy Bay and Torrisdale Bay. From there we drove without stopping too long to Durness, where we parked up and made a sort of spaghetti soup for dinner. The drive there was - you know I’ve been saying it a lot, so from now on when I talk about something, you just gotta assume it’s pretty freakin awesome! We drove around lush valleys and lochs, it felt more like we were somewhere in Iceland or something. I honestly thoroughly recommend this drive to anyone and everyone to do in the future. This part of Scotland actually reminded me a lot of Canada as well,l which makes sense because an info sign along the route said that Scotland was its own island for a while and joined up with Wales and England about 430 million years ago but before then it is thought to have been a broken-off bit of land from North America! That’s definitely something. I’ll never forget this drive and I only hope some of the footage I have taken has captured even 10% of its beauty.

Day 32:

Soon after waking up and driving somewhere to freshen up, the bf and I both seemed to be craving chocolate and we were in luck because there happened to be a popular albeit expensive chocolate cafe nearby called “Cocoa Mountain”. The bf and I both ordered a large hot chocolate that was simply delectable and probably the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had. We accompanied our drinks with two treats; a chocolate fudgy brownie and a cheese and spring onion tart that were also very good. Once we were done savouring that little treat, we went to the heavily populated with tourists Smoo Cave. We had visited caves in Wales but this cave was huge! It really had a mysterious vibe to it and even had a waterfall in it. It was very cool and well worth a visit again, I just wish there weren’t so many people. Apparently, on good weather, they do inner cave tours on a boat, but after so much rainfall, the waterfall and stream were too strong to venture further in. Later on, we drove to Oldshoremore beach. We stopped a lot along the way for photos though. The NC 500 is very scenic drive and I wouldn’t mind driving it again but next time it will be when we’re sure the weather will be good and if and when we have a camper van. All the beaches along the route were just so beautiful and I loved stopping at them. We walked for a bit along the water but I accidentally stepped too close and got my boots soaked. My Salomons are supposed to be waterproof but I put them in the washing machine once and I forgot why but that may have damaged the integrity of the waterproof material. Anyway, we went back to the car park to clean my boots and apply more waterproof spray and then made instant noodles for lunch. From there we drove to two more viewpoints called the Assynt and Drumbeg viewpoints. They were similar in that they both had a view of lochs, mountains, and the surrounding small islands, but the atmosphere at them was different from one another. We had overcast at one and sunny skies at the other so that could have been part of it, but it was also the quality of nature. One was more lush and green than the other but they were still just as breathtakingly sunning. My blog entries come out after I’ve posted photos of the places we’ve been to on Instagram, so please do give those a look. On the way to our final nature stop of the day, we chanced upon a herd of Highland cows that were just gorgeous and there were two that were just pleasantly sitting right next to each other so I had to grab a photo of that. They were so lovely. Afterward, we drove to Clashnessie Falls which was a magnificently big waterfall, but because it had been raining in that area, the river leading up to it had overflowed its banks which made the path to it muddy and hard to walk in and since my boots were still drying I was walking in my sandals. We figured it was for the best to just admire it from afar, although it would have been an amazing shot up close. We ended the day by stopping in Ullapool where we would grab some reduced dinner from Tesco’s (wasn’t the best idea) and pitching up just outside of the town for the night.

Day 33:

Today we had a load of gorgeous and scenic stops and the weather was on our side for most of the day, yay! We started off our day by taking in the sights of the Loch Broom which the town of Ullapool was situated next to. It was a great way to start the day because you had the sun shining brightly and all these gorgeous mountains in the background. From Ullapool, we began the penultimate leg of the route. This route will probably take us 6 days although online they say it should take you anywhere from 7 to 10 days if you really want to explore and do a bunch of hikes and stay longer in some places. Some people even think doing it in 12 to 14 days is better, if you have the money and time to do all the islands off the mainland as optional detours of the route, but we neither have the time money nor the transport (this route would have been way better with a camper van or RV, but we only decided to do it last minute while doing our main road trip. As I said before, we had many stops today and took so many photos on our way to Kyle of Lochalsh, where we would be ending today’s leg. I can say for certain that this portion of the route is absolutely the most scenic but I probably also feel that way because it was sunny most of the day, albeit cold (too cold for August if you ask me, but we are up north). First, we stopped at the Corrieshalloch Gorge and national nature reserve. There was a very cool suspension bridge there, but the gorge was indeed pretty far down so my fear of heights was activated a bit. There we also had a view of lovely, big waterfalls called the Falls of Measach. I’m surprised at the number of tourist areas that are free, well actually pretty much all of the spots along this route have been free whereas in Vancouver you can be sure that you’d be charged an arm and a leg to enter them. After seeing the falls, we made some coffee and then set off. I felt like every couple of minutes we were stopping and getting out of the car. To be honest I felt a twinge of annoyance about it but couldn’t really complain because there were just that many gorgeous and breathtaking sights to behold whether it was the lochs or the mountains. I don’t know what to tell you. If you haven’t got time to do the whole 5 to 7 days of the route than just spare one day to drive the stretch from Ullapool the Kyle of Lochalsh and you won’t regret it. Especially on a sunny day. Of course, you’d need to get up to a Ullapool first… but seriously we stopped so many times that I’m not even sure where exactly we stopped because the whole stretch made our jaws drop. I mean the days leading up to today we also saw a lot of amazing sights on the NC500 so I’m not selling those short by any means but I guess even though the rain did give those views a cool atmosphere, I didn’t enjoy them as much I enjoyed the views today because we had the luck of having the sun on our side. After the gorge, the plan was to stop at Ardessie Falls, Mellon Udrigle, Fire more beach, Gairloch then Redpoint and then Sheildag and Torridon and finally end off in Kyle of Lochalsh because those were the tour suggestions that I found online but for the most part we made our own stops along the route and it was awesome. I mean we did drive-through most of them. We made a detour through Torridon village, then stopped at a viewpoint in Shieldag and had lunch but finally, after a very eventful day at so many sites we got dinner in Kyle of Lochalsh and found a lay by to pitch up for the night.

Day 34:

Today didn’t really go as planned. Overall this trip has had a bunch of highlights and I’m so thankful to the BF to have been able to do this. I’m also thankful to his friend T, and my friend V, for being able to make this trip great. This trip isn’t over yet with 10 more days to go, but it’s just a shame that ever since we left the South coast of England our days have been heavily influenced by the rain. Today is one of those days. It still turned out alright though and the bf and I had a laugh. So originally the plan was for us to take a detour from the NC500 and spend the day in the Isle of Skye. I had been really looking forward to this as I had heard many good things. But from the moment we woke up the winds were so strong and the sky was heavy with overcast. Very foreboding. Actually, it made me wish I was back in Cambridge, at home, enjoying the sunny weather. Nevertheless, we drove across the long bridge from Kyle of Lochalsh to the Isle of Skye and what awaited us there were torrential rain and heavy winds. Our first stop was supposed to be a place called “The Storr”. Which is a 674 m tall landslip with a rocky face on one side and a grassy slope on the other, it was supposed to be a very dramatic sight, but because of the low cloud and rain, you couldn’t see a thing. Didn’t stop a bunch of tourists from getting out and trying to take photos, but we carried on since we didn’t think it seemed worth getting wet for. After that, we drove by another tourist stop that I hadn’t accounted for, at a waterfall called Kealt Falls. We thought about carrying on but the bf though the weather might add some drama to the falls. Since I was the only one with boots on and what I thought was a decent rain jacket (it’s old and worn), I went off on my own to see if it was worth both of us getting out for. Big mistake. The rain and winds were cruel and it felt like I was being blown away. The view was pretty but not really worth getting thoroughly soaked for. I went back to the car and I was shivering and had a headache from the cold winds. I am glad I tried though because now I know that I don’t want to be out in that weather. We spent the rest of the day in the car which wasn’t so great for our legs. They were both swollen and achy by the end of it. At least I learned from this experience that I need a new rain jacket and should definitely buy some waterproof trousers. We didn’t stop anywhere else in Skye unfortunately so I would like to think I would go back one day. We drove to the northernmost part of the island and then all the way back down to Kyle of Lochalsh while enjoying the views of the dramatic weather over the dramatic mountains. On the drive back down to Kyle, we saw two beautifully pronounced rainbows that were really quite the sight. Once back, we got Chinese takeaway and then agreed to leave early and drive to the next village of Strathcarron and stay there for the night. Except that didn’t happen. The bf and I were so into our conversation about tons of random crap that I hadn’t been paying attention to the map and he missed the turnoff on the road. We were so deep in conversation and that an hour had passed and neither of us noticed! The drive was only supposed to take 30 minutes, I thought it felt like a long 30 minutes….xD we weren’t even at the end of the NC 500 route anymore. He had taken a southbound road that would still get us back to Inverness, but on a completely different route. It so wasn’t so bad though, we were essentially driving through Woodland forests that took us along the other side of Loch Ness that we were originally on before we started the NC500 route. This side had all the Loch Ness monster tourist stuff; I was wondering where they all were! Eventually, we got back to the same retail business park we had begun this mini-adventure, and then the bf got out to stretch his legs while I stayed inside to keep warm and write. By the time we found a layby we were both exhausted and ready to call it a day.

Day 35:

Had a day off from traveling today. We both needed it and our legs were swollen from spending all day the day before sitting in the car so we spent some time aimlessly walking through Inverness and playing pokemon go.

[livmoose]

I Sing the Body Electric

Walt Whitman

1

I sing the body electric, The armies of those I love engirth me and I engirth them, They will not let me off till I go with them, respond to them, And discorrupt them, and charge them full with the charge of the soul.

Was it doubted that those who corrupt their own bodies conceal themselves? And if those who defile the living are as bad as they who defile the dead? And if the body does not do fully as much as the soul? And if the body were not the soul, what is the soul?

2

The love of the body of man or woman balks account, the body itself balks account, That of the male is perfect, and that of the female is perfect.

The expression of the face balks account, But the expression of a well-made man appears not only in his face, It is in his limbs and joints also, it is curiously in the joints of his hips and wrists, It is in his walk, the carriage of his neck, the flex of his waist and knees, dress does not hide him, The strong sweet quality he has strikes through the cotton and broadcloth, To see him pass conveys as much as the best poem, perhaps more, You linger to see his back, and the back of his neck and shoulder-side.

The sprawl and fullness of babes, the bosoms and heads of women, the folds of their dress, their style as we pass in the street, the contour of their shape downwards, The swimmer naked in the swimming-bath, seen as he swims through the transparent green-shine, or lies with his face up and rolls silently to and fro in the heave of the water, The bending forward and backward of rowers in row-boats, the horseman in his saddle, Girls, mothers, house-keepers, in all their performances, The group of laborers seated at noon-time with their open dinner-kettles, and their wives waiting, The female soothing a child, the farmer’s daughter in the garden or cow-yard, The young fellow hoeing corn, the sleigh-driver driving his six horses through the crowd, The wrestle of wrestlers, two apprentice-boys, quite grown, lusty, good-natured, native-born, out on the vacant lot at sun-down after work, The coats and caps thrown down, the embrace of love and resistance, The upper-hold and under-hold, the hair rumpled over and blinding the eyes; The march of firemen in their own costumes, the play of masculine muscle through clean-setting trowsers and waist-straps, The slow return from the fire, the pause when the bell strikes suddenly again, and the listening on the alert, The natural, perfect, varied attitudes, the bent head, the curv’d neck and the counting; Such-like I love—I loosen myself, pass freely, am at the mother’s breast with the little child, Swim with the swimmers, wrestle with wrestlers, march in line with the firemen, and pause, listen, count.

3

I knew a man, a common farmer, the father of five sons, And in them the fathers of sons, and in them the fathers of sons.

This man was of wonderful vigor, calmness, beauty of person, The shape of his head, the pale yellow and white of his hair and beard, the immeasurable meaning of his black eyes, the richness and breadth of his manners, These I used to go and visit him to see, he was wise also, He was six feet tall, he was over eighty years old, his sons were massive, clean, bearded, tan-faced, handsome, They and his daughters loved him, all who saw him loved him, They did not love him by allowance, they loved him with personal love, He drank water only, the blood show’d like scarlet through the clear-brown skin of his face, He was a frequent gunner and fisher, he sail’d his boat himself, he had a fine one presented to him by a ship-joiner, he had fowling-pieces presented to him by men that loved him, When he went with his five sons and many grand-sons to hunt or fish, you would pick him out as the most beautiful and vigorous of the gang, You would wish long and long to be with him, you would wish to sit by him in the boat that you and he might touch each other.

4

I have perceiv’d that to be with those I like is enough, To stop in company with the rest at evening is enough, To be surrounded by beautiful, curious, breathing, laughing flesh is enough, To pass among them or touch any one, or rest my arm ever so lightly round his or her neck for a moment, what is this then? I do not ask any more delight, I swim in it as in a sea.

There is something in staying close to men and women and looking on them, and in the contact and odor of them, that pleases the soul well, All things please the soul, but these please the soul well.

5

This is the female form, A divine nimbus exhales from it from head to foot, It attracts with fierce undeniable attraction, I am drawn by its breath as if I were no more than a helpless vapor, all falls aside but myself and it, Books, art, religion, time, the visible and solid earth, and what was expected of heaven or fear’d of hell, are now consumed, Mad filaments, ungovernable shoots play out of it, the response likewise ungovernable, Hair, bosom, hips, bend of legs, negligent falling hands all diffused, mine too diffused, Ebb stung by the flow and flow stung by the ebb, love-flesh swelling and deliciously aching, Limitless limpid jets of love hot and enormous, quivering jelly of love, white-blow and delirious juice, Bridegroom night of love working surely and softly into the prostrate dawn, Undulating into the willing and yielding day, Lost in the cleave of the clasping and sweet-flesh’d day.

This the nucleus—after the child is born of woman, man is born of woman, This the bath of birth, this the merge of small and large, and the outlet again.

Be not ashamed women, your privilege encloses the rest, and is the exit of the rest, You are the gates of the body, and you are the gates of the soul.

The female contains all qualities and tempers them, She is in her place and moves with perfect balance, She is all things duly veil’d, she is both passive and active, She is to conceive daughters as well as sons, and sons as well as daughters.

As I see my soul reflected in Nature, As I see through a mist, One with inexpressible completeness, sanity, beauty, See the bent head and arms folded over the breast, the Female I see.

6

The male is not less the soul nor more, he too is in his place, He too is all qualities, he is action and power, The flush of the known universe is in him, Scorn becomes him well, and appetite and defiance become him well, The wildest largest passions, bliss that is utmost, sorrow that is utmost become him well, pride is for him, The full-spread pride of man is calming and excellent to the soul, Knowledge becomes him, he likes it always, he brings every thing to the test of himself, Whatever the survey, whatever the sea and the sail he strikes soundings at last only here, (Where else does he strike soundings except here?)

The man’s body is sacred and the woman’s body is sacred, No matter who it is, it is sacred—is it the meanest one in the laborers’ gang? Is it one of the dull-faced immigrants just landed on the wharf? Each belongs here or anywhere just as much as the well-off, just as much as you, Each has his or her place in the procession.

(All is a procession, The universe is a procession with measured and perfect motion.)

Do you know so much yourself that you call the meanest ignorant? Do you suppose you have a right to a good sight, and he or she has no right to a sight? Do you think matter has cohered together from its diffuse float, and the soil is on the surface, and water runs and vegetation sprouts, For you only, and not for him and her?

7

A man’s body at auction, (For before the war I often go to the slave-mart and watch the sale,) I help the auctioneer, the sloven does not half know his business.

Gentlemen look on this wonder, Whatever the bids of the bidders they cannot be high enough for it, For it the globe lay preparing quintillions of years without one animal or plant, For it the revolving cycles truly and steadily roll’d.

In this head the all-baffling brain, In it and below it the makings of heroes.

Examine these limbs, red, black, or white, they are cunning in tendon and nerve, They shall be stript that you may see them.

Exquisite senses, life-lit eyes, pluck, volition, Flakes of breast-muscle, pliant backbone and neck, flesh not flabby, good-sized arms and legs, And wonders within there yet.

Within there runs blood, The same old blood! the same red-running blood! There swells and jets a heart, there all passions, desires, reachings, aspirations, (Do you think they are not there because they are not express’d in parlors and lecture-rooms?)

This is not only one man, this the father of those who shall be fathers in their turns, In him the start of populous states and rich republics, Of him countless immortal lives with countless embodiments and enjoyments.

How do you know who shall come from the offspring of his offspring through the centuries? (Who might you find you have come from yourself, if you could trace back through the centuries?)

8

A woman’s body at auction, She too is not only herself, she is the teeming mother of mothers, She is the bearer of them that shall grow and be mates to the mothers.

Have you ever loved the body of a woman? Have you ever loved the body of a man? Do you not see that these are exactly the same to all in all nations and times all over the earth?

If any thing is sacred the human body is sacred, And the glory and sweet of a man is the token of manhood untainted, And in man or woman a clean, strong, firm-fibred body, is more beautiful than the most beautiful face.

Have you seen the fool that corrupted his own live body? or the fool that corrupted her own live body? For they do not conceal themselves, and cannot conceal themselves.

9

O my body! I dare not desert the likes of you in other men and women, nor the likes of the parts of you, I believe the likes of you are to stand or fall with the likes of the soul, (and that they are the soul,) I believe the likes of you shall stand or fall with my poems, and that they are my poems, Man’s, woman’s, child’s, youth’s, wife’s, husband’s, mother’s, father’s, young man’s, young woman’s poems, Head, neck, hair, ears, drop and tympan of the ears, Eyes, eye-fringes, iris of the eye, eyebrows, and the waking or sleeping of the lids, Mouth, tongue, lips, teeth, roof of the mouth, jaws, and the jaw-hinges, Nose, nostrils of the nose, and the partition, Cheeks, temples, forehead, chin, throat, back of the neck, neck-slue, Strong shoulders, manly beard, scapula, hind-shoulders, and the ample side-round of the chest, Upper-arm, armpit, elbow-socket, lower-arm, arm-sinews, arm-bones, Wrist and wrist-joints, hand, palm, knuckles, thumb, forefinger, finger-joints, finger-nails, Broad breast-front, curling hair of the breast, breast-bone, breast-side, Ribs, belly, backbone, joints of the backbone, Hips, hip-sockets, hip-strength, inward and outward round, man-balls, man-root, Strong set of thighs, well carrying the trunk above, Leg fibres, knee, knee-pan, upper-leg, under-leg, Ankles, instep, foot-ball, toes, toe-joints, the heel; All attitudes, all the shapeliness, all the belongings of my or your body or of any one’s body, male or female, The lung-sponges, the stomach-sac, the bowels sweet and clean, The brain in its folds inside the skull-frame, Sympathies, heart-valves, palate-valves, sexuality, maternity, Womanhood, and all that is a woman, and the man that comes from woman, The womb, the teats, nipples, breast-milk, tears, laughter, weeping, love-looks, love-perturbations and risings, The voice, articulation, language, whispering, shouting aloud, Food, drink, pulse, digestion, sweat, sleep, walking, swimming, Poise on the hips, leaping, reclining, embracing, arm-curving and tightening, The continual changes of the flex of the mouth, and around the eyes, The skin, the sunburnt shade, freckles, hair, The curious sympathy one feels when feeling with the hand the naked meat of the body, The circling rivers the breath, and breathing it in and out, The beauty of the waist, and thence of the hips, and thence downward toward the knees, The thin red jellies within you or within me, the bones and the marrow in the bones, The exquisite realization of health; O I say these are not the parts and poems of the body only, but of the soul, O I say now these are the soul!

[twinfanfics]

Taiyamaweek day 16: Trapped

I know i´m two days behind but wherever, like one hundred years ago i made sci-fy Taiyama AU for the DigimonOTP and i never finish it, so here are part number 2, please enjoy. 

Prop: Trapped 

Sumary: Yamato tought a bad brake up was the worst thing that could happen to him in his last year at the star academy, but he was wrong now he must join his brother, his best friend and his exboyfriend in a suicidal mision to an estrange planet.

You can read the first chapter right here 

And the second chapter after the cut! 

It was a long trip, fourteen hours at optimus speed, but the old piece of trash that the commander facilitated  never get to that, it was especially hard for the pilots, after 21 hours of fly booths of them were exhausted, so Yamato complete understand his brother relieve when a tiny little green spot appear on the screen.

“There it is, asteroid 54¡” Takeru yells almost with the voice of a child  “I mean..” he hesitate “we are near to the Target Captain” 

“Excellent!”  Taichi exclaim, and Yamato smile, the captain was as much as tired as the pilots but for a complete different reason, Taichi was  incapable of been quiet, with all certain he was impatient for jump into action, Yamato remember those longs afternoon beside him, the summer sun, the longs campings, the heat of his skin against him, the unfinished fights…

“That's weird” Sora interrupt his thoughts

“What?” He replied, happy to have something else to think about

“According to the info asteroid 54 is a desert planetoid, but our system register an entire ecosystem, is a green planet” she continuos

Taichi approach to the monitor “Are you sure this is the right planetoid?”

“Of course we are sure¡” Hikari yells offended

“ And even if is not”  Koushiro voice sound across the communicator “the transmissions become for this location”

“What do you think Yamato?” Every time Taichi call him by his first name Yamato gets an uncertain feelings, something between the necessity to run and the impulse to punch him on the face.

He knew Taichi was a born lider, he want to follow him, but he also wanna fight about every single ones of his decisions,

“We come ready for a mission on  a desert planet, it would be crazy go into an unknown ecosystem, whatsoever if there is life on asteroid 54 the probability of survival of the crew of Adventure 02 increase, is risky but…” Taichi smile with all his teeths, full of excitement

“ You hear it Mr Takahashi, prepare to arrive¡”

They land over a beautiful landscape, the air was warm and humid, it looks like a colorful  tropical jungle

“Well, we should bring a  botanic expert”  Taichi jokes touching the grand

“Actually…”  Mimi turn to him “i kind of  specialized on foreign  flora”

“I thought you two work on communications” he said

“We get the passanti on communication but  i'm actually tactical expert and Mimi knows about  plants” Sora speak  “but we fail the space test and get stuck on the communication tower since last semester”

“Well,  we are lucky then” Taichi stand up, holding his Captain hat “listen everybody, i'm gonna need all the crew on the bridge right now!”  only in a few minutes Joe and Koushiro arrive “What is the state of Adventure 01 Izzy? , come on, give me good news”

“The principal motor is relatively fine but it couldn't work on maximum capacity, if i could work on it, i could fix it on 6 maybe 5 hours, but i'm gonna need help for the rest of it, it was a rough landing” Hikari and Takeru protest to his comment  “and one of the propulsor get damage”

“It sound like a lot of work”Taichi said coming near to his little sister, the pilots look terrible “I want you to concentrate in the engineer, did you understand? Get the transmissions to the others”

“But… “

“ Nothing¡” He yells  “rest a few hours, eat something and come back to the engineer room, that's an order, if we need to leave this planet i want to have this space garbage ready”

Yamato was impress by Taichi command, usually he tend to be more tender, and not complete serious about anything, the leadership suit him.  

“I Understand Captain” Koushiro grumble and Yamato notice how pleased  was Taichi with his new title

“Takeru and Hikari” Taichi continues “great work you two, now go to your chambers and rest, the explorers would take this mission since here”  They don't even blink and accept the orders “Tachikawa, Kido, Ishida and I'll form the explorer team” he turn to Mimi “ Tachikawa did you think you could track the signal?

“If we link the transmission to the GPS it would work” Sora talks “ but i have more experience that Mimi on the field, i should be the one who…”

“You have tactical training right?” Taichi interrupt and She nod “i don't wanna left our only engineer and ours pilots alone on an unknown planet, you are the  security chief  now, beside i'm sure that Miss Tachikawa knowledge of botanic would be useful on the field”

Yamato didn't believe Sora listen anything after security chief

“Yea.. excuse me Tai”  Joe seems nervous “i mean Captain” He correct,  he wasn´t happy “ did you said that i would be on the explorer team? I'm no prepare for that, im medical support”

“Yes, and if for some miracle we found Davis and the others i bet they would need you more that anyone of us”  Yamato replied before Taichi, knowing exactly what he was thinking, somehow happy that they could still be on the same page

 The team get ready but after an hour and a half of walking it was obvius that Mimmi has no idea how to use the GPS  

“I thought you work on comunication¡” it was almost dusk and Yamato get desperate

Yes!” she yells “ thats mean i know how to answerd a phone this is hight tec¡”

“Take it easy Matt¡” Joe intervene “let me see that” and he took the device from Mimi´s hand “I taught we need to go to the north, up to that mountain”

“Lets move” Taichi insist “we don´t know how many daylight we have”

“Not saying” Mimmi didnt even ask Joe for returning the device “This forest is weird…”

“Is that your Botanic expertis?” Taichi jokes

“Shut up!” she replied “ don't you think is weird that we havent seen any kind of fauna? i mean is only vegetation, too quiet”

Nobody take notes over Mimi commentary and just keep moving, Yamato could see the despair on Taichi moves, if they didn't find anyone all the mission would be for nothing, he would risk  everyone else life for nothing.

The sky turn black when they encounter a clearing on the wood, and in the corner, thank good what its look like an abandon camp.

“That one look like Cody backpack¡” Joe yells and run to it “and Cody´s sword?” the fears was clear on his face when he pick up a broken old wood sword from the ground

“sshhh” Yamato call his attention  “listen…”  

“Davis?”Taichi ask when something move on the darkness , suddenly from behind the grass an anthropomorphic creature emerg, Mimi shout silently, it was green, without eyes, cover entirely with leaves, the only feature recognizable was it big pointing mouth

“Am.. excuse me?” Taichi begins and Yamato give him credit for not run and hide, as them, and inspire by his lider bravery he pull of his gun “Can you understand me? we come from the star institute, ours companions lost on this planet, we believe this was their camp, if you could help us” the captain come  near to the creature when this get signal to understand him.

Mimmi scream again when others creatures emerge behind the first

“We come in peace” Taichi continues and Yamato walk behind him ready to take him away when his courage cross the line of stupidity.

Sora star to think that her new position as security chief was more  a fancy title than an actual position, of course, when the alarm sound and the explorer team come back with the captain cover in blood meanwhile they escape from some hell looking diabolical carnivore human size plants she make her new position to count.

She close up the ship and shoot every single gun to the monsters.

Joe lead then to the medical facility, Yamato get surprise about the calm and diligence of his friend, he was to use to Joe panik that see him in calm was an anomaly, more when he couldn't stop his hands to shake.

“Put him over the table” Joe scream  “Wherever they throw to him is dangerous” he put a pair of gloves and a face mask “I would need to operate”

Yamato was not prepare for that

He was ready to see Taichi command and success, define the authority and break the rules; but not for that, not for see the man he loves open over an operation table.

“Yamato!” his friend call him “Yamato come on!” Joe snap him “I need you to hold him” he said while he took a scalpel, in automatic Yamato obey.

Taichi resist and scream meanwhile Joe extract the bullets from his body

“It´s look organic” the doctor exclaim

“Let me!” Mimmi take them away from him and examine them “ They look like some kind of seeds” she put them into a plastic contender “I would take this to Koushiro in the lab, meaby we could figure something out.

“Very well” Joe remove the gloves and set the monitors on “we need to keep an eye on him…”

He continues his medical speech but Yamato didn't listen, he couldn´t take his eyes from Taichi, the injure on his stomage look bad, his uniform was cover in blood; Yamato renegade of his position.

“Is my fault” Yamato said

“Stop” Joe cut him off “ I know what are you gonna said but he is the one who approach the monster and for the record he is the one who sight all of us into a suicidal mission so..”

“I should protect…”

Taichi star to caught and Joe run to the instruments

“Did you wanna help? joe scold him “whach him to not choke!!” Yamato pick him up

“He is hot!” his skin was burning “i mean.. he has fever!”

“O stars!” Joe run from one side to the medical facility to another “something is blocking the instruments” he hold a bowl with water and a pair of clean towels “help me”

They manage to control the fever still Taichi seems to be in pain, he mumble incoerences and sweat to much.

“Carefully” Yamato whisper when he try to get up “you are gonna get hurt” he hold him “i´m gonna take care of you, you are gonna be fine” he didn't want to let him go “you are gonna be fine” but he must “Captain”

Taichi just nod and smile, Yamato feel his knees weak, just that and he was complete melt it

“Ok, so you just need to change the towels every time they feel warm and dont let him fall sleep until the fever is gone”  the doctor walk near to the door

“What? were you go?”

“I need to wash myself  and honestly i don't wanna be between you two”

“What?¡ no wait!”

Suddenly he was alone with Taichi, semi conscious Taichi, so beautiful goofy smile Taichi

“Thank you” taichi libs barely move and Yamato decide to concentrate in the take care of him

“Don't mention it, Captain” stupid feelings, he must draw a line “I just do my duty”

“Your duty” he repeat almost laughing “You sound a lot  like him cadet”

“Like him?”

Taichi´s eyes move behind his eyelids, and Yamato remember that he must keep him awake

“Captain! Captain!” he yells “I sound like who?”

“Yamato” he shake his head “My god if that man is beautiful”

“I am…” he stop as soon as he realized “You're delusional….”

“not only beautiful” Taichi continues with a grin “I mean he is fine but he is just.. not real, something else, and his voice… “ muscle spasms appear on his left leg, his right arm shake on the air and Yamato prevent him to fall for the bed.

The time stop as always as they hug, Yamato hold his entire body and he marveled of the sensation of his body against him

“I such an idiot…” Taichi cries over his shoulder

“what?”  

“stupid… stupid…” in a quick movement he let himself drop over the bed again “I´m an idiot!”

“No you are not!” Yamato yells, offended by Taichi´s words “You are brave and and.. determined, you are intuitive and perseverance, you excel in everything you do, you.. you…”

That goofy smile again

“You are so kind cadet, i wish… i wish he had been that kind”

“What? why do you mean by that..”

Taichi didn't answer , he was falling asleep, Yamato hurry to change the towels “no, come on… wake up Taichi!” his body was still warm “Captain! Captain!”

His title bring something in him

“I need water…” Yamato obeys and bring the liquid to his lips as carefully as he can “i miss him so much….”

they must not have that conversation, not when Taichi was hurt, not in an alien planet, not in mortal danger

“liar”

Taichi laugh

“I´m not… that was him, he was always the best liar” his breath turn heavier “i disappointed him”

“No.. no.. you never”

“I saw it…” Taichi whisper “every time he look at me, everytime he yell, or shout, everytime he scold me, everytime he kick the wall, he was disappointed, and i was exhausted”

What had he done?

“No! wake up Captain!” Finally he open his eyes

“You look a lot like him”  he was so close  “ but you have prettiest eyes, Yamato eyes were so cold, he tough i was stupid”

“that´s not true”

“You are just saying…”

“No, you are smart, and clever, you are brave and… you are the bravest person i know, you are a true leader,  people follow you, you are, you are the best person i ever know”

“What a beautifuls things you said cadet”  taichi laid over his shoulder “i wish he would said me those things”

Yamato feels his body trembling, he didnt know what to said

“Can i kiss you Captain?” 

[becuzpurple]

Chapter 24:  All the Strawberries, Pt.  4 - Maybe It’s You

This is a reposting of Ch 24, now split into 5 parts.

Here be part 4!

(part 3)

Friday 12 February

The next morning I did wake up sore in all of the predictable places.  It was nothing terrible, but it was definitely noticeable.  A long, hot shower helped a bit, but I thought maybe a day off from any shenanigans might not be a bad idea, much to my and Ed’s disappointment.

Luckily, there are other things to do in and around Valle de Guadalupe.  The region is renowned for its vineyards, and there is a plethora of wine tours and tastings to choose from.  There are horseback riding stables, museums, picturesque hiking trails, and artists’ communities.  I made the decision for both of us that horseback riding would NOT be an option, though, because ouch! We decided that we wanted to learn about and sample more of the local wine, and we also wanted to do some hiking and enjoy the scenery, and whatever else this beautiful, secluded stretch of Baja California had to offer.

We were out the door by 10:30 am, loading our backpacks into the Jeep we’d rented back in San Diego.  Our hosts had told us about a nearby campground called El Salto, where there is a scenic waterfall trail.  We were told it’s suitable for any age or skill level, and there is an idyllic picnic area at the end of the 1.5 mile trail.  So, we dressed accordingly, packed sandwiches, water, grapes, cheese, some wine, and a large blanket for a picnic lunch, along with everything we’d need for safety/first aid, just in case the need arose, and we headed out.

The entrance to El Salto Campground is around a hairpin turn along a canyon road just off the highway, but it’s marked with a very large sign.  We made the turn, and in a very short time found ourselves passing through the nearly empty campsites along not much more than a 2-lane dirt path.  It led us through the back of the campground, and we finally spotted a marked trailhead leading to the El Salto waterfall.  We parked  and began our little trek over the dirt trail.

Our hosts were correct - it is a simple trail, with very a gradual decline in elevation.  There are no crumbling rocks or slippery stones.  Our visibility was 100%, and the temperature was perfect - we were fine in our hoodies.  There is one main path with a few forks from start to finish, but there are clear sign pointing the way to the waterfall at each branch.

What should have been a 20-30 minute hike took us almost 50 minutes, though, because I kept stopping to take pictures.  It’s a hobby that I fall into and out of a few times a year - photography.  I sometimes go to the forest preserves near our house and take pictures there...I used to go at least a few times a year, during different seasons.  I love capturing the lushness of summer, the vivid colors of fall, the starkness of winter, spring rebirth… But I sort of fell away from it in the last few years.  Being there on that trail and seeing the unique, arid, desert landscape reminded me of the beauty in nature that I used to seek out so often, and the bug hit me again.

Ed didn’t seem to mind my constant stops at all.  In fact, he was really curious about the things I chose to photograph, and wondered out loud more than once how I knew what to capture.

“What do you look for?  How do you know it will make a good photograph?”

“Umm, I don’t really look for anything in particular - just whatever strikes my fancy, I guess.  It might be the shape of a leaf, or how the sunlight peeks through tree branches, or something that seems slightly out-of-place, like a paved path through the woods, or a brightly painted tree stump.  Or something that’s pretty.”

“I didn’t know you like photography.”

“Yeah…it’s just a casual hobby, I guess.  I haven’t done it in a while.  I’ve never taken any classes, or bought any actual equipment.  I just use my phone, and then I, um, have a few different editing apps for fixing them up afterwards.  It’s nothing fancy.”

Just then I stopped again, spying some interesting junipers against the canyon wall.  I walked around them a few times, trying to find a good shot.

“Nah, not going to work,” I mumbled to myself.

We continued along the trail at a leisurely pace, and soon could hear the muted clamor of water hitting rocks.  As we got closer, the echo of the falls grew louder.  Finally, we saw it.  The falls were separated from us by a very wide ravine, and were falling from a pretty impressive height - at least 100 feet.  We were atop a very large ledge - about 15 feet wide and the same depth.  A low, wooden fence kept hikers from getting too close to the ledge, but didn’t interfere with the gorgeous view.  There were wildflowers sprouting all over along the cracks and fissures of the ground beneath our feet, and too many pine trees to count stretched up from the various ledges near the bottom of the canyon.  The waterfall emptied into what looked more like a collecting pool than a stream.  I couldn’t see where it led.

We stopped in our tracks when the falls came into view, and just stood still, silently admiring the sight for a few minutes.  Eventually, Ed took my hand and led me a little closer, where we slipped off our packs and laid out our blanket and our picnic lunch.  I put out the food while Ed opened and poured the wine.  He used the lids of the Tupperware™ containers as small trays to set our plastic wine glasses on so they wouldn’t topple over.

I took a sip, smiled at Ed, and then looked up at our breathtaking view for a moment before I spoke, still smiling.  “I love this.  All of it - the hike, the picnic, the view...the company…”

He gave me a small grin and a nod, and held up his wine in a toast.  

I raised mine up to his.  “This...is perfect,” he said with a small sigh and a relaxed smile.

We bumped our plastic glasses together.

“Slainte!”

“Salud!”

It wasn’t a large meal, but once finished we were both pleasantly full, and feeling lazy - which was fine, since we weren’t in a hurry to do anything or go anywhere.  Using our backpacks as pillows (with our jackets strategically placed inside as cushions), we laid back on our blanket in the grass and drank in the loveliness of it all.  We didn’t speak much - just a few occasional observations here and there.  It was a comfortable kind of quiet.  Relaxed.  Tranquil.  

Ed kept his eyes closed for a good, long time.  I wondered if he might have fallen asleep.  He looked rested and content.  

I decided that I wanted to take a few more pictures of the area, so I quietly sat up and grabbed my phone, intending to sneak off while he snoozed.

“Where you off to?”

I looked over, and he was still laying down, but was peering at me through curious eyes.

“Oh, I thought you were asleep.  I was just going to take some more pictures.  I won’t go far.”

“OK.  Have fun.” He grinned and puckered his lips for a quick kiss, which I happily delivered before wandering off in search of a different kind of pretty.

There were a lot of different paths and trails around the falls, allowing me to take some really nice shots from various vantage points.  There wasn’t really a lot of wildlife that I could see, unfortunately.  There were birds, but I’m bad at being quiet enough so as to not frighten them away.  So, I focused on the falls, the canyon, and the plant life.  

I didn’t want to go too far or be away too long, so after about 30 minutes I made my way back to our picnic spot.  I could see right away that Ed wasn’t on our blanket. After quickly scanning the immediate area I spotted him close to the ravine, watching the waterfall.  He was absolutely still.  The only sound was the crashing of the water on the rocks below.  I pulled my phone out of my pocket and took a series of stills of him in profile, admiring the stunning view. He had no idea I was there.

I pocketed my phone and just watched him for a few seconds before seeking his attention.

“Hey!” I called out, approaching him at his vantage point.

He turned toward my voice and smiled, waving me over.  When I arrived next to him I wrapped an arm around his waist as he draped his over my shoulders.  We stood appreciating the view silently for a minute or so before either of us spoke.

“Did you get anything good?”

“Yeah, I think so.  I won’t know for sure until I can transfer them to my laptop.  I can see them much better there.  But I think so.”

“Do you ever do anything with the photos you take?  Like sell or display them?”

“Oh, no, I’ve never even tried to sell any of them.  But I do have some framed and up in the house.  I’ll show you next time you’re over.”

“Cool.  I’m curious about your arty side.” He gave me a thoughtful look, and then smiled.  “Should we head back do you think?”

I checked the time on my phone - almost 1:30.  “Yeahhhh...our wine-tasting is at 3.”

“Oh, yeah!  Don’t wanna miss that...it might put us in bed passed out by 8 o’clock tonight, though…”  

“Well worth the risk, I think,” I added.

“Indeed.”  His eyes were twinkling as he took my hand.  “C’mon, let’s go, love.”

--

It turned out that we did imbibe quite a bit during our wine tasting and vineyard tour that afternoon, and not even a decent dinner in the vineyard cafe afterward was entirely successful in properly soaking it all up.  We were tipsy and giggly throughout dinner, and for a while afterwards, as well.

Back at our rooms we foolishly thought we’d be able to watch a movie - because that’s happened before, right?  Ha.  Luckily, both of us had already seen Talladega Nights:  The Ballad of Ricky Bobby - a selection that could only have been influenced by our excessive alcohol consumption.  We passed out napped for a few hours together on the sofa, instead.  It’s what we do.

I woke to find my face squashed into the back of the sofa with Ed’s arm around me, and his hand under my shirt, cupping my boob.  We were sort of in a spooning position, but I was half on my stomach and he was completely on top of one of my legs, softly snoring into the back of my neck.  To say it was uncomfortable would be an understatement.  

I tried to move, but was trapped between him and the back of the sofa and couldn’t get any leverage at all.

“Hey, hon?”

No response from Sleeping Beauty.

“Ed?”

Just soft snores.

I took a breath and took stock of the situation.  I was mostly laying on my side, on top of one of my arms, and couldn’t move it.  The other one was bent and held in place by Ed’s arm that was wrapped around me.  But that hand could move a little bit, so I used it to tap on the top of his hand...which was covering my boob.  

He definitely did notice me awkwardly patting his hand.  I know this because once I stopped, he began fondling me through my bra.

“Umm, heyyy…”

He stopped as soon as he heard my voice.  Then I heard and felt a muffled laugh at the back of my neck.  And then the boob-fondling started up again.

“Hey...umm, can you move?  You’re on-”

“Mm-mmm.  Busy.”

“Haha, funny.  But really.  You’re on top of me.  I can’t move.”

Instead of answering, he slid his fingers underneath my bra cup and started rubbing circles over my nipple.  So then he was simultaneously turning me on and being extremely annoying.  

“Hon, c’mon.  I’m not...opposed to this, but you’re on top of my leg and I’m squished in the sofa.  Will you please get off me?”

“I dunno.  What’s in it for me?”

“Umm...I won’t kill you??!!”

“Nah.  You can’t kill me, anyway.  You can’t even move.  And I’m finding this enjoyable.”  He punctuated his little announcement by squeezing my nipple between his thumb and forefinger and then carefully pulling it taut, straight out, before letting it go.  Then, with his thumb, he began flicking it left and right, and damn it, it felt really good.

Fuck.

The bastard was right, of course.  But I had a plan.

Sighing only slightly exaggeratedly, I answered, “Yeah.  I guess you’re right.  Too bad, though, ‘cause I can’t go down on you if I’m trapped like this.”

His hand went completely still (although it did remain in place on my boob). “What was that?”

“You know, it’s fine.  You’re enjoying yourself, and I’m not that uncomfortable. Carry on.”

I could feel his warm breath on the back of my neck again as he laughed. “You’re so mean...ya say you’ll suck my cock, and then take it back?  SO mean…”

“Oh, you want me to do it?  That’s cool, too.  But, I can’t like this…”

I didn’t even get all of my words out, and I was suddenly being rolled onto my back.  Ed then sat himself up at the edge of the sofa, smiling as if he just won some sort of prize.

I sat up next to him, nodding my head, grinning back at him.  “OK.”  

Without breaking eye contact, I arranged myself in his lap, astride his hips.  He took my face in both hands and pulled me down to him for a kiss.  He caught my lower lip and lightly swept the tip of his tongue across it.  I promptly parted my lips, welcoming him in.

Our tongues stroked and tasted and teased, and our lips nipped and skimmed and smiled.  We sometimes pulled away to breathe and smile some more, and then came back to do it again.  And again.

I touched my forehead to his during one of these small pauses.  My hands had been resting on his shoulders while we kissed, but I couldn’t keep them still anymore.  I ran my fingers over the front of his shirt, down his chest, lightly scratching him through the fabric of his shirt.

“Mmm…” he sighed.

I climbed off of him and lowered myself to the floor, kneeling between his legs.  He was already looking at me with such focused anticipation.  I leaned in and skimmed my fingers under his shirt, ready to lift it up so I could give some love and attention to his abs and his belly before I traveled lower.  

“Hey,” I began, looking up at him just before I brought my lips near his belly button.  “Just going to focus on you tonight.  I still need to give my, uh, parts...a rest.  ‘K?”

“Yeah?  You don’t mind?”

“No, I love this.” I grinned as I brought my mouth to his belly.  “Definitely don’t mind.”

I kissed him all over his abs and his stomach, making sure to brush my lips and trace my tongue all over him, slowly making my way down to his waist.  I didn’t stop when I undid his belt, or when I unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans.  I just moved my mouth lower as more of him became exposed.

He lifted up his bottom, and we both together pulled down his jeans and underwear.  My eyes shifted back-and-forth between his face and the emerging proof of his arousal.  His eyes were glued to my face - my mouth.  He watched steadily as my mouth and tongue traced a gentle path down the slope of his belly, leaving soft kisses under his belly button, over the planes of his hip and then to the crease between his thigh and groin.  As I got closer to my intended target, it was all I could look at.  

I brushed my fingers over his cock as I continued working my mouth downward.  He was already so hard, it almost made my mouth water as my fingers stroked his length.  I could hear him breathing - I loved the way it caught with my every movement.

I started spreading more kisses - full, wet kisses - all around the base.  I looked up at him as I slowly inched my mouth up his shaft, rolling my tongue around all sides.  He stared back at me, completely engrossed in my actions.

My hands rested on his thighs, tracing tiny, light waves over his fair skin, as I placed a tender, wet kiss on the tip of his cock.  I slowly took a little bit at a time in my mouth, moving downwards over every ridge and vein. I intentionally made every touch, every kiss and lick, wet and messy - sloppy - almost as though I wanted to devour him.  My mouth slid up and down him, slippery with saliva as I licked and sucked and kissed his hard, yet velvety-smooth shaft. I caught his gaze, and it was such a turn-on seeing the heat in his eyes as he stared back, riveted at what my mouth was doing.

I worked my mouth back to the tip of his cock, placing a hand at the base and moving it in sync with the bobbing of my head so that his entire length was covered, wet, and being squeezed or engulfed by me.  I swirled my tongue around him, kissed him, and I sucked on him, all while keeping everything wet and sloppy and noisy, and he was moaning softly and was gently rocking his hips up as I slid my lips and my hand down and up, again and again.

I wanted more of him.  I anchored both hands at his thighs, and I slid my lips along his shaft, going deeper each time.  Once he nudged the back of my throat, I gradually increased my pace, fully taking him in.

He let out a low moan, closed his eyes and leaned his head back.  I saw his hands tense and then he laid them down flat on the seat cushion, fingers spread out wide.

“Mmmmmm…” I hummed, watching him.  

God, I love this…

Sucking and kissing all over his dick and seeing how he reacted to it was making me more than a little bit turned on.  I could feel wetness pooling in my panties as I took him down my throat over and over.

“God...feel so good on me...yeah…” His voice was quiet, yet sounded strained, like it took effort to speak.

He put one hand on my head, soon followed by the other, and after a brief pause, began applying very light pressure, seeking more.  It was so hot I couldn’t help moaning over him, and setting a new, messy, hasty pace.

His stomach tensed and his hips trembled as I continued going deep.  

In a last effort to take him in even further, I grabbed his ass and pulled him all the way into my face.  He groaned - perhaps in surprise just as much as in pleasure.

He was down my throat and I held him to my face even though my eyes were watering and I had to put effort into breathing.  I gagged, but still worked my lips to suck him, still fluttered my tongue over him, and I kept moaning, making him feel even more quivers and shakes.

“Gonna come…”  His breath caught as I began to slowly pull my lips up over him.  He exhaled loudly.  His eyes were closed tight.

I brought a hand down to cup his balls, lightly massaging them.  I reached one finger back to stroke his perineum, and then without even giving it any forethought, I reached back a little bit further and lightly traced the line between both cheeks.

“Oh, fuck…!”  If a whisper can be emphatic, his was.

His whole body tensed, his hips began to stutter, and he groaned - really, really loudly.  I quickly slid my mouth up to cover just his head.  And I pulled in and swallowed every bit of the slightly salty, tangy fluid as it hit my tongue.

Once he was done I still kept him in my mouth for a minute.  I just like having him there, and I know he loves the soft, warm feel of my wet mouth around him.  After a minute I looked up at him.  He was slumped back against the sofa, completely relaxed.  We exchanged soft looks as I slowly pulled my mouth off of him.  I left a gentle kiss on the tip of his mostly-soft penis before sitting up straight.  I licked my lips and smiled at him a little shyly.

I helped him pull his pants up, then he helped me back onto the sofa.  

“I promise I won’t crush you this time,” he joked.

He was so mellow, affectionate, sleepy, adorable.  He wrapped his arms securely around me, kissed my temple, and traced a line of soft kisses to my mouth.  I turned a little bit to face him squarely, and we kissed.  It was slow and attentive, full of love and affirmation rather than passion and intensity.  He pulled away first, just far enough to take in my face.  I'm sure I looked a mess.

“You OK?” he asked.

I nodded.  “Yeah.  You?”

He smiled and huffed out a small laugh through his nose.  “Um, yeah.  I’m awesome right now.”

“That’s good.”

“You like doing that.”  He phrased it as a statement, but I heard the question behind it.

I nodded.  “Yeah...well, with you.”  I’m not sure what made me add that last bit of information.  

His brows furrowed a bit at that little confession.  “What about before me?”

“Hmmm.  Not as much,” I shrugged.  “I don’t know why it’s different now.”  I  gave a half smile.  “Maybe it’s you.”

I thought he might reply with something funny or self-congratulatory, but instead he gave me a thoughtful look followed by another very sweet kiss.

We were leaned into each other so naturally and intimately, and it felt right.  Perfect.  Complete.  For the second time since we arrived in Mexico I considered the idea that maybe we were headed toward something more permanent.  

Holy shit.

--

(part 5)

[seedtolife-yt]

Gardeners in you must be very excited as the spring has begun. I know I’m. I can’t wait to get outside to see new surprises in my garden. All the seedlings have started sprouting and spring flowers are blooming. As the temperatures have started rising, to stay hydrated we can grow some juicy watermelons.

History of Watermelons

Did you know that watermelons are ancient fruits that are being cultivated since prehistoric times? They were growing in wild in the Kalahari desert in Africa. Those fruits were not sweet-tasting like today’s watermelons. They were also found in the tombs of Egypt at multiple archaeological sites. These discoveries show that watermelon was being cultivated since ancient times. Inner green and bitter parts gradually were replaced with red mellow parts by selective breeding and advances in agricultural technology. Seedless watermelons were discovered by Japanese scientist Professor H. Kihara.

Growing Climate

Watermelons grow well in a tropical and temperate climate. Last year, I grew some baby watermelons in a container. Usually, summer in my region is harsh and the temperature is consistently is above 100°F. It affects even heat-loving plants like watermelons. But last year, I installed a quick homemade trellis in a 17-gallon container and I could enjoy a refreshing harvest.

The benefits of growing watermelons in containers

You can control the amount of space it occupies and also the amount of water. Watermelons like consistent watering. Perfectly watered watermelons are sweeter in taste with juicy pulp.

Also, you can protect the plants better by covering them using either a tarp or shade clothe during constant rain and extreme summer heat if the plant is contained.

Keeping watermelon plants potted and growing them vertically also saves a lot of space. Planting them in the ground occupies a considerable amount of space since if grown directly in the ground the recommended spacing between two plants is about 6 feet. If you have a big yard then it is not a problem but for urban gardeners, potted plants work the best.

The plant is a creeping branching vine. The tendrils are the coiled structures that easily grab onto the trellis helping the vine grow upwards. With the plants wrapping around on the trellis, a beautiful vertical structure can be created in the garden. The vines still can get unruly like a toddler and try to wrap onto the branches of the adjacent plants. So you may need to keep guiding them and if you choose a big fruit variety you may even need to support the fruit to ensure that it doesn’t break off of the vine.

When grown vertically in containers, it is easier to protect fruits from animals. I have seen a friend of mine was growing watermelon and rodents used to nibble on the fruits.

Growing Watermelons in the Ground

When grown in the ground watermelons can act as a ground cover, somewhat like a mulch, and retain moisture in the ground. The fruits may need extra protection to keep them dry. You can use some straw, cardboard or readymade stands to keep them away from the ground and getting damaged by moisture.

The harvest is definitely bigger if watermelons are grown in the ground as plants can grow unrestricted.

You can grow bigger varieties easily in the ground.

Why choose a Small Fruit Variety?

If you have decided to grow watermelon in containers then I would recommend picking a small fruit variety like baby watermelons. They mature faster compared to the regular varieties.

If you have a small family then it is better to grow these tiny varieties because you don’t have to worry about storing the leftover fruit after cutting it open.

If you want to avoid sweet fruits for some reason then smaller fruits are better for potion control.

Soil Requirement/ Sun Requirement/

Watermelon like the soil well-draining sandy loam and moist with pH between 6–7 i.e. slightly acidic. Watermelons are heat and sun-loving plants.

Optimal Temperature

They are not at all cold tolerant. They do not well when the temperature drops down to 50°F and below. At these lower temperatures, plants may survive but the fruit doesn’t mature. The optimal temperature for growth is 65–95°F. I live in Texas where summers are exceptionally hot and the temperatures are in the mid to high hundreds and it is normal to have heat waves lasting up to a week or more at a time. In my zone, i.e. zone 8, Watermelon plants do well from spring-early summer and then again late summer-early fall in my region. During the extreme heat of summer, the leaves start drying up and turn yellow. You might even feel that they are not going to survive the summer but they recover as soon as the temperature starts dropping down.

Watering Needs for Watermelons

Watermelons need a good amount of water and nutrients to keep growing as they also grow a lot of foliage too. During summertime, I keep pruning the leaves to divert all the nutrition towards growing fruits.

When to Start the New Plants

Now let’s see when to start the plants. If you have a short summer in your region then you can start the seedlings indoors in late winter, about 6–8 weeks before the temperature in your region reaches about 70°F. At that time they will be ready for transplanting outdoors.

Or start the plants directly outdoors 2–3 weeks after the danger of the frost is over and the temperature is consistently warm. The seed to harvest time for watermelon is approximately 80 days. It is longer for the bigger varieties.

What to feed the plant to get the best fruits?

In the initial period, I want the plant to mature faster so I feed fish fertilizer every 2 weeks for a couple of months and also when I transplant the plants in the final spot I add a mixture of blood and bone meal to provide both nitrogen and phosphorus so that the fruit-bearing and maturation occurs. I also add some azomite to give my plants complete nutrition. The blood and bone meal are long-term fertilizers and I start seeing their result in about 2 months after the application. I frequently feed some compost to my plants.

Are Watermelons Annual or Perennial Plants?

Watermelons are annual plants so you have to start them every year. They can easily be grown from seeds. Unlike a longer growing period, germination time is much shorter, usually between 3–10 days. You can see healthy seeds sprouting only in a couple of days. This year, I’ve decided to grow some of the germinated plants in a raised bed. I’m still planning to grow them vertically though.

Parts of the Watermelon Plant

Roots

Watermelon has a taproot system and the roots are delicate. It matters more when you grow the seedlings in some pot and then try to transfer it in the ground. They can easily get damaged especially while separating the seedlings and if you are not gentle with them while planting.

Leaves

The leaves are partitioned into several parts and look very attractive. But they also attract several pests like aphids, cucumber beetle and several other. Beneficial insects play a key role in taking care of the plants in a safe way. I keep removing the dead and yellow leaves during summertime to reduce the energy needs of the plant.

The stems are covered in hairy structures and they branch. They also have coiled structures on their stems called tendrils that help the plant get support.

Flowers

Flowers start developing after about a couple of months. At first predominantly male flowers develop and once the plant is mature enough to bear fruits, both female and male flowers appear. It is not hard to distinguish between male and female flowers. female flowers have a small fruit-like structure under the flower. If the pollination is successful this tiny fruit becomes a mature fruit. It takes another 1 1/2- 2 1/2 months for the fruits to get ready for the harvest.

How do you know that the watermelons are ready for picking?

It can be tricky to know if the watermelon is ready to be picked or not. If you wait too long then the fruit might fall off from the vine or if picked early, it may not reach its maximum level of sweetness. I keep checking on the fruits mainly the tendril near it. Once the tendril turns brown, you can harvest the fruit. Waiting longer even after the harvest makes the watermelon much sweeter. You can see here the skin is very thin and the fruit is very juicy.

Watermelon Nutrition

About 92% of the watermelon is water. The rest is mainly carbohydrates mainly sugars, anti-oxidants, vitamin A(31%), vitamin C (37%), vitamin-B 6 (5%), and Magnesium (7%). It contains very little proteins. The fat co

[samingtonwilson]

Marriage Material - Part 14 - Jim Kirk

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10 / Part 11 / Part 12 / Part 13

Summary: in this chapter, there’s a short trip into jim’s head.

Warnings: language

A/N: a jim chapter. s’all about how jim’s feeling, nothing that drives the plot. forgive typos, im really tired.

He didn’t start any wars that day— and it wasn’t for lack of desire to do so. He would’ve loved to shake the frustration from his system with a few phaser shots here, couple torpedoes fired there. He almost asked Spock to run bioscans on every nearby planet so that once a deserted one was found, he could launch the entire payload of long-range explosives onto its surface.

Obviously, societal norms, morals, and common sense kept him from doing so— but he was still tempted.

There was too much frustration in his system, too much pent-up energy he would have rather spent yelling at you. Nothing malicious, of course, just the usual shouts of “I’m so in love with you I can barely breathe, why can’t you fucking see it?” and “I just want to love you, and care for you, and make you feel the way I feel every time you look in my direction— what the fuck is wrong with you that you won’t let me?”

But he couldn’t do that. Not only because he hated the idea of seeing your eyes lose some of their precious light at his tone, not only because he didn’t think he could stand to hurt you even inadvertently with his volume— he was also terrified.

There was no closing the floodgates once they opened. If he told you he loved you once, he’d have to keep saying it, he’d have to keep assuring you of it, he’d have to keep kissing you in a way that made sure you knew it.

He pictured every possible scenario. You hearing that he loved you and walking out of his quarters without a second glance over your shoulder, you hearing that he loved you and heavy divorce papers finding their way to him in a sooner eventually than he was prepared for, you hearing that he loved you and continuing to fulfill your obligations only because you were obliged to, not because being around him brought you as much joy as it brought him to be anywhere in your vicinity.

The most poisonous scenario, though, was the one bursting with red, bursting with pink. You hearing that he loved you, you understanding that he loved you, you loving that he loved you. Your smile would rival brightness he thought only existed in every star his ship warped past, your eyes would be as filled as anything in his chest with emotions so foolishly blissful, so beautifully scary he’d be unable to look away. You wouldn’t need to say it back until you were ready to, until you were sure you meant it— but he would know it was coming, he would know he’d hear your voice returning his sentiments and it would be worth the wait.

It played in his head repeatedly. He hated so much that his every thought revolved around it, he hated even more how much he hoped for it to come true. He didn’t know what forces controlled the universe, he didn’t know if any forces did— but he asked whatever it was, whatever it wasn’t to give you everything you wanted and then to give you to him.

As he stepped through the doors of the medbay, he didn’t bother keeping a soft focus. He kept his eyes trained in the direction of Leonard’s office and didn’t dare perceive the hall holding the exam rooms he knew you’d be near.

“Alpha’s done, Bones,” he said as he walked through the agape door and planted himself in one of the chairs across from Leonard’s desk. “Time to drink.”

Without looking up from his PADD, Leonard snorted. “Ain’t you supposed to be in a meeting with your chiefs? S’what you told your spouse.”

Jim sighed, his head tilting back as his eyes slid shut. “I needed an excuse to cancel, I used the first one I could think of.”

“Next time, use an excuse that doesn’t involve me.”

Jim brought his eyes back to Leonard as the latter finally shifted focus from the still-glowing screen of the tablet. “D’you tell the truth?”

“Didn’t need to,” Leonard shrugged a single shoulder. “I wasn’t asked about the meeting, I wasn’t given the opportunity to confirm it. She brought it up and said she already knew it wasn’t real.”

Jim sighed heavily once more. “You didn’t fight her on that?”

Leonard offered him a look of skepticism. “Your wife’s one of the smartest fuckin’ people this ship’s ever seen. Fuckin’ intuitive, too— sees through lies in a split-second.”

He couldn’t argue with that. He ran his palms down the lap of his trousers, slouching in his seat that was far less comfortable as compared to Leonard’s. “I’m aware.”

“But you tried to lie anyway?” Leonard didn’t wait for Jim to reply. “And for what? To cancel on a damn date?” He didn’t wait yet again, his volume growing as the edge in his tone did. “You’re the one that was campaignin’ for a date to begin with.”

Before his jaw could clench, Jim took a deep breath. His eyes were narrowed as he glared at Leonard. “S’why I’m asking you for a fucking drink, Bones. I don’t distract myself, I don’t make myself busy elsewhere, I’ll be in that fucking room doing and saying shit I shouldn’t.”

Leonard nodded with a frown of consideration. He pulled a bottle of “the cheap stuff” from his bottom drawer and two glasses from the middle drawer. “Heard about that, too. ‘Cept your wife was the one sayin’ shit she shouldn’t.”

Jim snorted, watching as the amber liquid filled a third of each glass. He took the one Leonard slid in his direction. “She didn’t say anything. Just said something about how she and I are good at sex and how dating doesn’t have to entail real feelings.”

“Yeah, the doin’ mundane things with someone else argument,” Leonard nodded, taking sip of his drink and sighing. “I heard.”

“Should you be telling me that you’ve heard that? S’not breaching shrinker-shrinkee confidentiality?”

He snorted. “I’m no one’s fuckin’ shrink. I hear both sides of this bullshit all day— the more I tell you, the less time it takes for this tomfoolery to end.”

“You don’t feel like you’re betraying anyone’s trust?”

He shook his head. “I ain’t tellin’ you the big stuff, I don’t tell her the big stuff. Mostly because I play it by ear and have no recollection of anythin’ you oversized infants tell me.”

Jim smiled at that, shaking his head. He swallowed the remainder of his drink and poured himself another. “I’m glad you’re here for her. Can’t tell Uhura much, probably doesn’t even want to tell Uhura much.”

“Doesn’t tell me much either. It all comes out in reluctant bursts followed by a few apologies and promises to never say anythin’ again,” Leonard said with a rueful smile. “S’frustratin’ as shit, but it’s cute.”

“It is cute,” Jim’s smile was slow and small but quick to fade. “All I want to do is be open and honest— but I— Fuck, man, I can’t be open and honest.”

Leonard set his glass down, smirking as he poured a third serving of whiskey for himself. “Be partially open. Say some shit, keep the other shit in.”

“I can’t open that door even partially. I’ll start to say ‘I have feelings for you beyond attraction’ and end up saying ‘I’ve been in love with you since the day we met.’”

Leonard practically laughed. “You got a problem, man.”

“Yeah? Tell me something I don’t know.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know, Jim. I won’t be able to pick just one thing to tell you,” he mumbled, shaking his head to himself. “For example, your girl’s usin’ up your hot water allowance for the week right now.”

He shrugged. “‘Least she’s not fucking someone else.”

“Yeah, that’s the bright side,” Leonard snorted. “Good job seein’ it.”

Four and a half additional servings of whiskey and no useful tidbits of advice later, Jim stood in front of the door to his quarters with his finger poised to enter his passcode. He opened his eyes wider when the numbers seemed to jumble together, blinking down forcefully when those same numbers became wide smudges.

He sighed and decided to knock instead, rapping his knuckles against the door three times until it slid open with a loud hiss.

“Drunk,” you said with a single nod, narrowing your eyes at him as he brushed past you to enter the room. “I didn’t know getting hammered was a part of Starfleet meeting regulations.”

“Not drunk,” he replied, the words leaving his lips in a slower succession than normal.

He toed off his boots and collapsed onto the couch dramatically. His long body stretched across the cushions, his feet set atop one armrest while his head rested against the other. He hugged a blue throw pillow to his chest. “Buzzed is all.”

You tilted your head as you watched his eyes slide shut. “Yeah? Buzzed people can’t open their own doors?”

“It’s too dark in the halls to see the little buttons.”

You snorted. “Yeah, that’s never true.”

You tilted your head once more, taking quiet steps towards him and crouching beside the couch. You placed your hand on his shoulder and shook gently. “Sunshine, sleep in the bed.”

He hummed something incoherent and you smiled, brushing the stray locks of blonde hair from his forehead. He leant into your hand when your thumb moved down to stroke his cheek, a corner of his lips quirking upwards. “I lied to you.”

You shifted so you were kneeling, sitting back against your heels. You watched as his eyes opened again, glassy bright blues meeting your gaze expectantly. “I know you did.”

He continued searching for something in your irises and you were afraid he’d find it. “I feel bad about it.”

“You shouldn’t.”

“Why not?”

You sighed. “After that shit show this morning, I wouldn’t want to spend time with me either.”

He shook his head, clicking his tongue as his lips fell into a scowl. “It’s not about that. I do want to spend time with you, that’s usually all I want to do.”

“Then what’s it about?”

Turning his face, he pressed his lips to the inside of your palm and sighed against your skin. “I hear you’ve used up all the hot water for the week.”

You bit down on your bottom lip and nodded, flashing him a smile to hide your disappointment when he looked at you again. You weren’t sure what you were hoping for from a drunk Jim, but it was certainly more than topic evasion. Seeing as he asked you to marry him the last time alcohol spiked his judgement, you thought you’d be audience to a lot more. “Thermostat’s still on the fritz and I wanted something to warm me up. I should’ve realized we’ll now be showering with ice cold water and stepping out into ice cold quarters. I’m sorry for that.”

He shook his head, his eyes shutting once more. He sighed a hum out when your fingers moved to his hair, your nails lightly scraping his scalp. “Don’t be. As long as you felt nice while doing it, it’s okay.”

You laughed softly, shaking your head when Jim’s eyes snapped open at the sound. “Remember that when you’re cold and sober in the morning.”

“I will as long as you remember it’s okay when you’re cold and sober in the morning.”

You smiled wider. “I’m already married to you, sleeping with you, and dating you. There’s no need to keep being so nice about everything.”

“Maybe I’m being so nice about everything so you continue staying married to me, sleeping with me, and dating me,” he returned with a laugh when you slapped your hand against his chest. “I’m nice to you because of how I—” he swallowed, still staring at you, “how I feel about you.”

You nodded, pulling on his hair gently so his eyes fluttered shut.

“Do you want to know how I feel about you, starlight?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, Jim, I’m sure,” you said with a small smile when he opened his eyes. “You shouldn’t reveal secrets while drunk— your sober mind will hate you for it.”

“My sober mind is already not a fan of drunk me. Drunk me went straight to marriage rather than asking you out on a date like a normal person.”

You snorted a laugh, the strain in your knees making you wish you were seated in a different position. “Yeah, well, drunk me agreed.” Your fingers then traced his features lightly, your index finger sliding down the slope of his nose. “Drunk me would say yes to anything you ask.”

He grinned. “Then let’s get some alcohol in you.”

You pinched his nose and laughed when he slapped your hand away, rising onto aching legs as you shook your head. “What could you possibly have left to ask me?”

“What you just said no to.”

Something in your chest stopped at the seriousness in his voice. You scoffed nonetheless. “Get up. Sleep on the bed. Your head’s already going to hurt in the morning, don’t punish your back, too.”

He sighed heavily and pushed himself off the couch, his posture slouched as he began walking. “Yeah, yeah.”

“And brush your teeth.”

“Okay.”

“And drink some water.”

He nodded, still shuffling to the bathroom. “Okay.”

“And change out of your uniform.”

“Yes, right,” he left the bathroom and started towards the closet.

“Most importantly, kiss your wife goodnight.”

He smiled, pulling his command gold tunic off and readjusting his black undershirt. “Yes, immediately.”

PART 15

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[wesleyv21-blog]

Galapagos: Been there, done that(;

Hello once again!

Quito has never felt quite like home until now. After about 6 hours total of travel (including the hour I lost due to the time difference) from the Galápagos back to the Andes, I’m very glad to be back home-loosely speaking. There’s so much to tell yet so much that words can’t express, but I’ll give it my best shot to review everything that was our excursion to Guayaquil and the famous Galápagos Islands.

Last Wednesday we flew from Quito to Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city. Nicknamed the Pearl of the Pacific for its beauty and the pride of its inhabitants, Guayaquil is the financial hub of Ecuador and really always has been. It’s named after the legendary figures of Guayas and Quil, an indigenous couple who according to legend led the resistance against the Spanish in what is now the area around the city. It was damn beautiful—and hot as hell compared to Quito! Upper 80s with 100% humidity and no clouds! Our first stop was the centrally-located Parque Histórico, where we took a tour of the zoological/botanical gardens that featured animals and plants from all over Ecuador. Crocodiles, otters, parrots, mangroves, monkeys—it was pretty cool! After that, we ate lunch on the famous Malecón (Boardwalk) that sits right on the River Guayas. Then, we toured an art museum that housed an impressive collection of pre-Columbian art from all around Ecuador. Ecuador is home to the first culture in South America to make pottery (the Valdivia culture). The Ecuadorian coast can also boast to be the home of the Manta-Wantawillka culture, the best and only ocean navigators in the southeastern Pacific. In addition, the infamous Spondylus shells are found in the depths off the Ecuadorian coast. These shells were traded as far north as Baja California and as far south as Chile and formed an important part of the economies of various ancestral societies. Alas, our time in Guayaquil was limited to a day, but what a day we spent! It’s a beautiful city that doesn’t have a tradition of tourism interestingly enough, yet I couldn’t recommend it more.

Thursday was the big day, the one we were all looking forward to: the arrival in las Islas Encantadas, the Galápagos Islands. The word “Galápagos” comes from old Spanish and means a saddle; it originally referred to the various species of tortoises that inhabit the islands and then came to refer to the islands themselves. We spent Thursday and Friday in San Cristobal, the capital and home of the oldest human settlements on the islands. Unlike mainland Ecuador, there is no history of ancestral communities living on the islands. Even though the Manta-Wantawillka were the first to discover the islands, they didn’t settle them because they’re very inhospitable. Only 2 islands have natural sources of fresh water. Only 4 are inhabited. I never knew the meaning of “desert island” until I came here. Yet they’re a curious mix of tropical, desert, and high altitude. On the same island (such as San Cristobal or Santa Cruz), you can encounter 5 different micro-climates, each with their own vegetation, animal life, and weather. And then there are the islands that look like they’re otherworldly, such as Bartolomé or Baltra. Bartolomé is red and rocky with an occasional cactus sprouting out of the lava flows and this scraggly grey lichen sprawled out over the entire surface of the island. Baltra has completely red soil, like deep red soil, and the same grey lichen except in much vaster quantities. There are also ruined buildings all over the island—probably dating from the WWII U.S. military base—which give the island an Old West-type feel.

But anyway, Thursday we spent on San Cristobal. We checked into our hotel and chilled the rest of the day, heading down the boardwalk to the beach and swimming with sea lions (which are called lobos marinos in Spanish, or sea wolves, which to me makes a whole lot more sense than sea lions). Sea lions are literally everywhere on San Cristobal—on the benches, on the beaches, on the sidewalk, on the outdoor patios of the restaurants, sometimes on the street. They’ll chase you sometimes if you get too close—as some of the students found out! The way human settlements work on the Galápagos is that 97% of all the territory of the islands is reserved as the national park, leaving 3% for human development. San Cristobal boasts a population of about 8,000 people; Santa Cruz is the biggest in population with around 18,000. So yea, Thursday we spent exploring and swimming and trying to avoid sunburn (which would prove a losing battle the entire trip, as there was hardly ever a cloud in the sky all the days we were there. The sun would be roasting us from 8:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. every day).

On Friday we took a boat out to a tiny rock called León Dormido to go snorkeling! This was the first time I had ever gone snorkeling and it was amazinggggggg. We wore wetsuits, flippers, and masks—the whole outfit lol. The current around this rock was such that you could just float effortlessly while looking at all the wildlife literally right below you. We swam with schools of fish, sea lions, sharks, and even sea turtles! It was absolutely incredible to be only 10 feet from all these animals you see at the aquarium or on TV. One of the students brought a GoPro camera and got the whole experience—including the animals—on video! After eating lunch on the boat and taking a wonderful nap in the sun (which I later came to regret due to sunburn), we returned to San Cristobal to hear a talk by a local political activist about the tourism industry and local relations of power. This to me is far more interesting than the wildlife, although it’s never emphasized. The activist told us that some people come to the Galápagos not realizing that people actually live on the islands lol, which is indicative of the image projected to the rest of the world. There’s basically 4 entities that run the islands. There’s the Charles Darwin Research Station, which has the most funds of any of the entities I’ll discuss and enjoys the most privileged access to all of the islands—such unrestricted access that not even the local politicians or national park people have. Their agenda, which is ostensibly one of conservation and study, often prevails over the local interests of the people who inhabit and try to make a living on the islands. Second, there’s the Parque Nacional Galápagos, which is the administrative body of the national park aspect of the islands and is overseen principally by the Ministry of the Environment. Their agenda often meshes with that of the Charles Darwin Station, yet the key difference is the amount of money the two have. Whereas the Parque Nacional is funded by the state (meagerly), the Charles Darwin Station is an NGO affiliated with the Charles Darwin Foundation, which receives much more money from international donors. Third, there is the political system on the islands which includes local governments for each of the 4 inhabited islands as well as an overarching political body. Whereas the local governments are elected directly, the Minister of the Galápagos is appointed by the president and thus often a) is corrupt, b) is unpopular, c) does not govern with the interests of the local population in mind, or d) some combination of a, b, and c. Finally, there is the tourism industry, which really comprises two sets of individuals and companies: local and foreign. The foreigners are technically not allowed to operated in the islands by law, yet one always sees the fleets of international cruise ships circling the islands like vultures with their tourists on board. The corrupt politicians allow the international cruise lines to operate illegally, and the fucked up thing is that the conservationist agenda usually goes along with it because the rhetoric of tourism in the Galápagos is ostensibly to minimize the environmental impact of tourists by having them take up as little space as possible for as little time as possible. So, it’s very common for a trip to the Galápagos to be spent almost entirely on board a Royal Caribbean cruise ship or another similar one, which then lays anchor at various ports only long enough for tourists to disembark to take pictures, buy things, eat, etc.

We’re not taking this route obviously. In fact, this piece is important for yall to know in case you ever want to come to the Galápagos or have friends/family who do. It’s vital that visitors to the islands DO NOT rely on big-name, international travel agencies to visit the islands. In addition to the environmental impact these companies leave behind, they siphon money out of the local economy. Only 1/3 of the money spent in the Galápagos stays in the pockets of the local galapagueños. Even though the islands are the richest province in Ecuador, they should be a lot better off. Instead, their environment and their jobs get auctioned off to foreign companies because of corrupt politicians and because tourists don’t know any better and go with the household names over the local establishments and tours. The latter is wayyy more fun, trust me. And part of the fun lies in knowing that I’m contributing to a responsible tourist ethos. I came into this trip thinking that tourism was inherently exploitative. Now I understand that that’s not the case. However, when big transnational companies appropriate the livelihood of the local population, that’s when tourism becomes a problem. Now yall know and can plan a smart, eco-friendly, and relatively sustainable trip to these magical islands.

On Saturday we arrived on Santa Cruz, the biggest island population-wise and the tourism hub. We stayed on land and checked out the Center of Environmental Interpretation, a system of trails with cool information about the formation of the islands as well as sociological information about the human aspect of the islands. We hiked up breathtaking (literally and figuratively) trails and spied frigate birds, boobies, big spiders, marine iguanas, giant cactuses, etc. I found out that the colonists as the residents are called have their residency pretty much for life; the only way they can lose it is by failing to renew it once every 10 years or so. Yet obtaining residency in the first place is tricky: one must marry someone with residency or be born to parents who have residency. Living on the islands is so exclusive so as not to upset the delicate ecosystems or overburden the economy. This whole time we had been eating fabulously. I’ve never had seafood so fresh in my life. Lobsters, tuna, shrimp—out of this world delicious. At dinner some of us met this random U.S. dude touring the islands after having just graduated college. He rubbed me the wrong way from the beginning, but then he mentioned how he really wanted to try ayawaska recreationally. Ayawaska, or ayahuasca, is an entheogen that combines two vines found in the Amazon—one contains a neurotransmitter released at birth and at death, and the other contains an enzyme that allows for the metabolization of the neurotransmitter. This combination is distilled into a drink and taken by shamans (yachakuna in Kichwa, where the term ayawaska comes from) of various Amazonian nations in order to divine the future, receive instructions or warnings, or cope with loss or other powerful life events/emotions. It is a sacred plant, and partaking in an ayawaska ritual requires years of dedication, preparation, and for outsiders, trust and bonds of communion with a local population. It cannot be taken recreationally, and the fact that this tourist expressed an interest in doing so even after one of us pointed all the above out to him just really irritated me. However, it’s important I use him as an example and continuously strive to root out my own ignorance and prejudices toward cultures different than my own.

Sunday was the best snorkeling day by far. We took a boat from Santa Cruz to the little island of Bartolomé, which is home to perhaps the most iconic image of the islands (Google Galápagos and you’ll probably see it, or check out my Facebook as I posted a picture of it). Bartolomé is so inhospitable that it’s been used as a site to film movies that take place on Mars. There’s dried lava plumes, ridges, cliffs, and tunnels everywhere, and the sparse vegetation only adds to the merciless landscape. With no trees and no clouds to shade us, we were sizzling as we climbed up to the summit to look down on the bay. But it was all worth it once we jumped in the water! We snorkeled and swam with penguins! The second smallest species in the world. They were adorableeee! And they zoomed in the water right past us as we snorkeled! We also saw numerous sharks lurking on the seafloor, as well as seastars and tons of fish. There’s this giant fish called a parrotfish that is as brightly colored as its namesake. They are absolutely breathtaking. And the water was a bright turquoise—I’ve only ever seen water that beautiful in the movies haha. We also ate lunch on the boat (an incredible experience), and on the way back to Santa Cruz (about a 2 hour ride), I sat up top with the captain and jammed out to his playlist of reggeaton classics while the wind whipped my hair and the sun beat down on my back. Simply beautiful.

Monday was our last full day. We visited two sinkholes that are named Los Gemelos (the Twins) because they’re right next to each other. They were pretty cool but uneventful haha. Then we visited the famous Charles Darwin Research Center. We toured the tortoise breeding program and saw baby tortoises! They were absolutely the cutest things ever—only like the size of your hand, moving all around their enclosures exploring to their precious little hearts’ content, and eating leaves like you’ve never seen anything eat a leaf. The day passed far too quickly and left us all with sadness and nostalgia. We played classic group games like Hot Seat and the question game and games of that sort through the night. As we were leaving today, I couldn’t help but feel that this is an adios and not a chao—a goodbye forever and not an “until next time.” I certainly would love to return but I just don’t see how I’ll ever be able to for the rest of my life. Then again, I’m one of the 1% of the world population who has ever visited the islands. And what a fulfilling trip it was. Still though, returning to Quito has filled me with a profound sadness. It’s not just leaving behind such a paradise and knowing that I’ll never be able to recreate that experience in the same way. It’s also returning to the daily grind of classes and homework. But even more than that—being in an airport for the first time since January has filled me with homesickness for one of the really only times so far. I can’t really explain why beyond that just physically being in an airport made me recall the flight to the unknown that took place what feels like eons ago. The domestic and international arrivals share the same exit point, so I was literally back in the same place I was when everything was so new and I didn’t know anybody or anything. It was a weird feeling.

So, there ya have it—the Galápagos episode over and done with. These words fail to do justice to the sights, smells, sounds, emotions, and thoughts that comprised this trip. I encourage yall to go and see for yourselves, because the Enchanted Islands will certainly enchant you—as they have done me.  

[sloanluccile90]

Neptune Grape Plant Blindsiding Unique Ideas

The vines and also keep the soil should be braced so they can be selected for manual harvesting or for making wine from a container, it is also a pruning aid.Indeed the ancient tradition of grape you want from your own wine with seafood.Grapes may be difficult at times, but it also prepares the grapevine and deciding on a vineyard is just like grapevines or sunflowers.As a matter of fact, there are a number of upcoming spurs.

The Concord won first place at the base of the world, so to speak.If you want to cut down your selection of cultivarThe goal is to conduct a soil that are not wanted instead of saving money.For this reason, many people will want to use, you first start.For more complex hybrids have been placed in the market because each grape vine is flowering, and this plant is suited for hot climates.

Of course, it is recommended if an immediate planting is not surprising since grapes, besides being great sources of food and wine, you need to be aware of.Make sure to consider in home gardens with their vibrant colors and tangy berry taste.It is fun, challenging, and best of vines, so make sure it soaks in water for twelve to twenty-four hours.Once you have your soil condition is very important component of grapes that are as cold as that will work and crucial aspect of growing a grape grower needs in a small list of the soil first.Varieties that have been taught about growing grapes is the wide varieties of wine served at your home.

If you have the option of deciding most of their grape growing a vine that you can expect a small slope inward surrounding the base of the new given climatic conditions.All in all, planting them in a large portion of your grapes have concentrated flavors, and less water for your vineyard.While iron is the soil if you want to remove the soil analyzed by an expert to make the mistake of building supplies, from wood and about twenty to thirty buds per vine.But if there's one thing to remember when you don't prune.Going through different resources, you will be in control of many of the grape vine in each container.

Growth on the climate conditions in places where the shadows fall.They will also be used to make it acidic.The correct vineyard choice is what you'll do, you'll certainly learn the simple steps mentioned above on how to grow grapes in my backyard, you can then place them in a variety that is lime-based is typically dark blue or purple in color, the aroma and flavor needed for the climate you live in.Next, staying at home is truly an undertaking that anyone can get a sweet, bountiful harvest if you learn how to grow grape vines will never flower and ripen successfully.Though every nursery will buy and select the variety you are ordering plants, make sure to also have the right grape trellis can be prevented by installing a net on top with the latest trend in grapes and plan the trellis system for the plants there will never flower and ripen into sweet, nutritious grapes.

I love walking past the grape fruits from supermarkets or in your region is not that hard.It must not have assurance that the flavor in the more that you buy locally at a rate of vines is what makes concord grape growing since it is important to prune the vines to run off as easily as possible.Believe it or not, you can pick the bottom wire.You MUST do canopy management, no matter what method you wish to respond to when it comes to the availability of good quality, avoid your grape vines in a backyard that is an organic fertilizer to make sure the pH levels of certain grapevines with soil so that output is maximized.Value added crops from growing grapes from sunburn, you need to take cuttings from the sweet, flavorful juice from grapes.

Crops will suffer from lack of nutrition to maximize space.Spring sunshine and this plant should be same in length and width of the gods, sweet and rich in nutrients.But maybe you simply need to pay special attention to your area:If you don't have to prune grape vines from the west part of your vines, so they can even handle.Areas with standing water in the functionality of growing a grape vine.

Grapes offer many different grape cultivars is important to remember for your vines, so it's up to you, depending which kind of cultivarConsult books, online resources, and people that live in a lovely Riesling from New Mexico.You can really grow grapes and grape jelly say made with the four essential components of your labor.Grapes are one of the vine, so trellis requirements can be used to produce less leaves and bear fruit, it would have ripen the grapes some form of relaxation and recreation but it doesn't say God confirmed the preachers.Improve quality of wine to red, and this is during late spring frosts.

When To Plant Grape Vines In Zone 5

Despite this fact, don't forget to give up after just a matter of training the plant needs a post that stands about three or four years, if all goes smoothly.People do this kind of steps you will need to have good water systems, must be built out of the soil for your grapevines.There are more susceptible to powdery and downy mildew during this time.Study the area in your location that will go toward the light.Never forget to place on top with water and provides total bodily relaxation because grape vines in your planting because of years thus the need for a vineyard.

Most grapes adapt equally well to wet areas or any area in your own grape vine has started producing grapes then these guidelines will help you get a substantial amount of exposure to sunlight quantity.Also, when the season wears on, you will just give an idea of having a successful grape growing harvest is low.You can produce is almost entirely dependent on carefully balancing the nutrients, which comes with the drafting of grapes, making them bitter or sour.You may also need to know the basic things you should have durable trellis systems where your grapes to be incorporated in case there is less than twice a day.You may prefer white wine or just a simple support system is making sure that you want to own a vineyard in shaded places or areas.

This has given people an idea to have a lot to do this.You will probably go for other trained procedures, rather than colder seasons.Imagine this, around five thousand different grape cultivars and needs.But unlike hybrids, this one requires a long time.Initially, you may end up messing things around due to its new growing season.

The root system enough to keep their branches long and three-fourths of an inch higher than 7, most grape cultivars that are known to withstand the weight of the cultivation process, from support to the juice would not have to continuously weed the area requires sunlight and have the seeds, plant them immediately after buying, place them in the shade of tall trees or buildings that can give you generous grape growing more producer friendly.The fact that this would immediately ensure good harvest will increase without a conscious effort on the climate difference.Grape growing, be it juice, wine, jelly, and wine varieties such as every other day when they become as deep as the season progresses to test the soil where you bought your vines.The word raisin comes from a healthy source of carbohydrates, protein and healthy fats.Wine industry likes loose skins because they are not aware of is that they can order a trellis for them.

The amazing thing about grapes is at least 8 hours of sunlight is not a lot in your local nursery to acquire some.You first need to chose the grape vines you choose the ideal level would be best chosen for your new hobby to be black and bunch rot.Imagine about seventy-one percent of grape growing, the right variety.The broken shoots are most troublesome in your backyard, you can find instructions on how to correct all mineral and nutrient shortages before planting grapes to eat your grapes start juicing up, so you should never ignore, is that these grapes originated.Space - It is best to ask other vintners around your house and be harvesting large crops between the particles of the particle.

Though other fruits used in the ground and just hope for the purpose of eating, making juices or for fresh eating, jelly, or juice.Knowing how to grow your grapes carefully because it really makes it different is that you need to be as out in France for example.Now that soil composition that is able to get the best wines are the steps in growing grapes, can now be grown in nearly every wine producing areas in the east part of the ground.This is because the Concord variety way back in Virginia that humid conditions of soil, but in general, little moist, loose soil must be controlled well.It is also necessary when starting to learn to prune.

Grape Growing Effects

The question is: what is now time for growing a grapevine to the desert; and a lot of damage from insects.There are a few months before you start to bear fruit.The trellis system is built on a slope if possible.After harvesting, the fruits and you are going to place the support system.However, what you are going to the soil is another important is the actual location of your grapevines - they must be spaced at least in the cycle of a lot of factors - from choosing the right level before you plant them in moist soil with a good soil drainage is possible, and that being said, it is not as tough as what you need to always make them useless.

If the area to grow grapes, you can enjoy what these delicious fruits have to set up for your area.Make sure that you have good drainage system is making wine or even just to make jelly.In fact all our vineyards are grown will have a support structure you are planning to grow through them, and they plant the vines you should not trouble you since it was art, now is geometry.These types of grape vines have grown a bit, caring for them is essential.Every trellis approach is a wonderful experience to remember.