#poplar falls

[puresolacex]

What a way to end the Poplar Falls series! After all the triumphs Sonia has been through with Ricky throughout the other five books, I’m so 𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗗 that Sonia 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 found the happy ever after she truly deserved.

There were a few storms thundering her way but Foster was there with an umbrella and heart full of warmth… and 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚.

Similar to Elle’s story, I wasn’t really too interested in Sonia or her story. I read the book more-so to finish off the series. However, I actually enjoyed reading her story. If there was anyone who deserves a happily ever after, it’s Sonia.

Throughout the entire series, it’s been expressed how much she has given herself to a man who doesn’t appreciate her nor returns her love. Ricky is a taker who’s sucked Sonia dry until there was nothing left and she sworn off love.

Foster couldn’t be anymore perfect. Off the bat, they’re opposites yet one and the same. She’s outgoing and he’s more reserved. They both are withering a divorce, discovering life as newly singles while also subconsciously wanting to equally love and be loved in return. Their chemistry has been present from day one, regardless of their spouses at the time.

Their story seemed too short and a bit rushed. There were certain occurrences that I wished were more detailed and expressed, rather than grazed over and subtly mentioned. Still, the book was overall enjoyable and filled me with such bittersweet emotions now that Poplar Falls has come to an end.

[trippingthemoonlightfantastic]

Grovey Gold

Watercolor On Black Paper

2024, 8"x 10"

Aspen Leaves

[fictionadventurer]

Potential May Reading:

Once a Queen by Sarah Arthur

Pioneer Girl: The Path into Fiction

"The Moorland Cottage" by Elizabeth Gaskell

One of the Glen St. Mary books in the Anne of Green Gables series

Something by G.K. Chesterton

Something about Lincoln and/or the Civil War

Something about art

[soulmaking]

Vincent van Gogh, Avenue of Poplars in Autumn (1884)

[aisling-saoirse]

Tulip Poplars in the Wissahickon - December 9th 2022

[careful-disorder]

Vincent van Gogh, Lane of poplars at sunset - Kröller-Müller Museum

[faebriel]

listening to oc playlists just to have shrimp emotions again. Sorry

[lacymoonchild]

[ceilidho]

prompt: reader is hired as a live in house cleaner because ghost is always away and he only comes back on leave and he insists she stay in the guest room. Over time he increasingly acts like she’s his live in girlfriend or something. Very confusing for reader lmao.

-

The job comes at the exact right time. 

The way you stumble onto your new job is a bit dicey, if you’re being honest. You’ve been meaning to get out of the waitressing life for a while—the tips are shit and the number of times that you’ve had your backside pinched has slowly but steadily climbed into the double digits. You just haven’t had direction; somewhere to go. 

Your savior comes in the form of a six foot plus soldier. Oh, he doesn’t tell you that, but his body language speaks for itself. 

At first, even the sight of him makes your belly clench and palms sweat like when you watch rock climbing documentaries or parkour videos online (all moist and clammy and you have to wipe them on your jeans before shaking his hand). He’s a one-time customer at your little roadside diner that gradually becomes a repeat offender. 

He comes at odd times, sometimes disappearing for a month or two before he’s back to sitting in the booth at the back of the diner with his back against the wall. You smile shakily when you pour him coffee after coffee. He never eats. Always sits in the same booth, dressed in the same black hoodie that does nothing to hide the sheer size of him and a black surgical mask that he never removes. He has a sixth sense for when you’re watching him from behind the counter, waiting for him to take a sip.

You never do catch a glimpse of his face. Not completely anyway. You know him only by the faint smell of gunpowder and metal that clings to him like a second skin, and the feeling of his calloused hand against yours. 

Like ice slowly chipping off a glacier that one day cracks, a huge chunk splintering off and crashing into the sea, you know nothing about him until you’re suddenly in his house. Simon, he tells you, and the sound of his name awakens something in you. He needs a housekeeper and you need a reason to leave. 

You quit the diner; barely even put in a week’s notice. 

The day you drive up the long beaten road up to his property, a cabin deep in the English countryside, clear blue skies follow you. Clouds crisp, delicate even. Simon takes you through the house, showing you to the guest room where you’ll be staying while he’s away. He never directly confirms your suspicions, but the faint tightness around his eyes when he mentions his job tells you all you need to know. No wonder he needs someone to keep the house in order. Never around to do it himself.

Then he’s gone, swift as a ghost. You wake up in the guest room to a hastily scrawled note on your bedside table and a faint feeling of loss. 

You scrub tiles and dust the top bit of the fan that everyone always misses; you mow the lawn, clean the gutters, and sit under the shade of a poplar tree with a glass of lemonade in the early evenings. If you look up into the tree, you’ll see spiders and squirrel nests. It’s almost therapeutic. 

Weeks pass at a time. Simon reemerges like clear skies between periods of rain. Sometimes even before you wake up, you can feel the change like lighting sizzling in the air, crackling hot under your fingertips and then stumbling into the kitchen to find him leaning against the counter, coffee already brewing. You blush into an apology that he waves off.

Good soldier. Better boss. 

You fall into a routine, something of a cadence that is only interrupted by Simon’s hands on your hips when he moves you out of the way to grab a mug from the top shelf. His finger brushing over the curve of your cheekbone to wipe away flour smudged on your cheek. Then he’s gone again, passing through like a ghost. 

Perhaps he’s a more tactile man than you originally assumed. Something about the way he held himself in those first few weeks in the diner suggested otherwise, the way he seemed to radiate a latent hostility. Do not get close. You read this in the general slope of his eyebrows and the scars across his muscled forearms up until he reaches out to touch you, growing more and more comfortable with you around.

“You alright, love?” said into your ear on a warm night when Simon materializes onto the couch beside you, practically out of thin air. Your heart almost bursts in your chest. 

When you turn, he’s as beautiful as ever, honey burnt eyes staring out from behind a balaclava this time. Still dresses in his standard issue tactical pants, the faint smear of grime and gore around the ankles. There’s a lump in your throat when you smile. 

He smells richer now. Deeper, like the forest floor. Like crawling through mud and spider webs and a thick, cloying miasma of desperation. 

“Sorry—I didn’t know you’d be back,” you apologize, going to rise up to your feet. It feels wrong to commandeer his house when he’s on leave, even though you live here too.

A heavy hand on your shoulder pulls you down, settling you to his side. “Off your feet now—there you go, atta girl. No sense getting up; show’s not even done.” 

He angles you back to face the TV and tugs you into his lap almost effortlessly. You do not look back, even when you feel him slip the balaclava off, hot breath fanning over your neck. Not even when fingers play over the thin line of skin where your shirt rides up. You blink like your eyes are gummy and try not to shudder when his thumb dips underneath your shirt.

[riversebb]

while i usually prefer to let nature do its thing, sometimes i feel inclined to interact. like today, the trees all bent double over my daily walking path. spent some time gently shaking the snow off them. it was very rewarding when the bigger ones, unburdened, sprang from my hands to once again reach towards the stars. only touched the ones that were on my route. it seems important not to overdo things like this. not sure why it seems important, but it also seems important to do them. dunno. we only get so many trips around the sun. if it's on my way i like to touch lives gently and pay attention to what follows.

[puresolacex]

“𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐲. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐮𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐧. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐭 𝐮𝐬.”

I’m an absolute sucker for the he falls first, womanizer’s falling head over heels for a woman trope. Walker Reid is d 100% the “I can fix him” and make him change his ways book boyfriend…more so after seeing how Elle managed to wrap the playboy rancher around her pretty little finger.

I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive about reading this book. I had high hopes that the plot line would be amazing (it’s Amber Kelly duh!!!) but what made me weary was for the age-gap trope and the female main character, Elle Young.

With her appearances in the first two novels, I didn’t really care for her character. It wasn’t that I didn’t like her, her persona was just a little off-putting (again, not in a bad way). I simply response with older, mature characters; whereas, Elle is apart of the younger generation — early twenties (at least young to me). She’s cute— still innocent in the majority of areas of life when it comes to love and intimacy. There are moments where her immaturity comes to play so I’m just like eh, but after a reminder, I’m sure I was the same way when I was freshly twenty-one with my first love.

It was beautiful to see Elle grow into the adult woman she is. Any chance she gets, she’s constantly spewing to her brother Braxton and love interest Walker that she’s a grown woman. In the beginning, it was annoying. However, she blossomed and it was a delight to actually see her not be afraid to speak her mind, branch away from her sibling to be independent, and discover what it is she wants out of her life.

Amber Kelly always does tremendous at appealing realism to character development and experiences. Elle endured similar struggles any young adult would: fostering independence, discovering love and intimacy for the first time, seeking oneself and purpose in the world, and direction into furthering education and careers.

She’s a relatable character for young adults and her responses are realistic rather than fantasy mindsets. They’re practical and believable.

Walker Reid is the cliche womanizing rancher. He’s absolutely stunning, easy on the eyes, a massive flirt, and good with his hands (in more ways than one). He works hard on the ranch and even harder to care for his mom. He has everything a bachelor his age could want… so he thinks.

It’s not until Ellen where he finds himself looking at what’s beneath a woman’s surface besides a good lay. With Elle, he is wants more than a drunk fling after the bar. He wants to be better, regardless of the fact he feels unworthy of her. Still, he’s willing to make the changes throughout their developing relationship, even if it’ll cost him a rib or two.

[trippingthemoonlightfantastic]

The Most Poplar Tree In The Forest

Watercolor on Black Paper

2023, 22"x 30"

Aspen Trees

[somanyratsinthewalls]

Heyy! I’m new here and I absolutely love your writings wksiwksjwjshe is your 300 event still open?

if yes I would love to req a cinnamon + poplar ! hehe thank you! (If it’s already closed then don’t mind me)

*HI sorry this took forever! But I hope you love it ;) Ace is such a filthy boy in this one, EYE certainly enjoyed it*

Pairing: Ace x Fem Reader

WC: 2200

Prompt: “Shh I know baby, I know it’s good. You’re doing so good for me…” 

TW: SEX, shameless flirting in public, Ace being kind of a pervert, reader is a bit older than young buck Ace, p in v sex, unprotected sex (don't) creampie (also don't) fingering, teasing, pet names, filthy language. the usual?

— — 

You sat at your desk in the medical ward of the ship, up to your ears in paperwork. Blood test results to log, supply order forms to go over, you had so much on your plate and it was eating away at you. The rest of the crew was in the galley drinking but you were stuck working. 

Suddenly the door to the med bay swings open and in waltzes the crew’s head doctor. 

“Ok little chicken, that’s enough work for tonight.” Marco smiles warmly at you as he approaches your desk. 

“Please stop calling me that." You sigh and rub your eyes. "And I still have more releases to sign off on, and the IV tubing we use for Dad is on backorder, so I have to decide if we go up a size or down a size and did you know-“ You ramble on and on while Marco rolls his eyes. 

“I’ll handle it. Go out and have a drink.” Marco eyes your tired face. “Gods know you need it, kiddo.” 

You sigh. You feign a smile as you rise from your desk chair, the joints in your back and knees popping from how long you had been sitting. 

“Was… was that your back?” Marco asks with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes. Shut up.” You say as you push your way out of the med bay. You follow the sounds of music and riotous laughter towards the galley and enter quietly. You slunk between the groups of pirates towards the center of the room and grab a beer from the barrel full of ice. You pull your cigarette lighter out of your pocket and use it to pop the cap off your beer. You stow the lighter back into your pocket. 

“Hey, y/n! Over here!” 

You turn around and see a somewhat intoxicated Ace waving you over to his table. He had that stupid, goofy grin on his face. You smiled back and headed in his direction. He was standing around a wooden table with Thatch, Izou and a few other Whitebeard pirates and nurses. 

“Jeez y/n you look like you’ve been up for a week.” Ace teases you. 

“I think I have, now that you mention it…” You say and take a sip of your beer. 

“Man I haven’t seen you this down before, y/n. What the hell is going on with you?” Izou asks. 

“Well, since you’ve asked! I’m exhausted. I’m bored. I’m stressed. I can’t tell if I want 5 more beers or to fall asleep on the floor! I am wildly overworked and under-fucked.” You finish your rant and slam your beer. 

“Anyone else need another one?” You ask to the now silent group of people that surrounded you at the table. You were met with mostly blank stares, shocked at your sudden outburst. You turn and head to grab a new beer. 

“I’ll come with you!” Ace is quick to join with a mischievous smirk on his lips. 

He follows you like a puppy as you head towards the beer. 

“You know I can help you with that, right?” Ace grabs your arm and pulls you to face him. 

You laugh. 

“I don’t really think Marco would trust you enough to run my blood tests for me, but thanks.” 

“No no, the other part. The being under-fucked part.” Ace smirks down at you. Again, you laugh. 

“Haha, oh yeah? What are you, like 23? Like you’d know what to do with it if you had a chance.” You smile playfully and wiggle out of his grip, finally retrieving another beer. Ace does the same and sidles close behind you on your way back to the table. Suddenly Ace’s breath is hot in your ear as he leans in to whisper something to you. 

“Well I’ve got an 8 inch cock that might change your mind on that…” You stop dead in your tracks and your eyes widen. 

“Wha-?”

Ace passes by you and goes to join the table again. “Only if you want, though! Come on, let’s have another drink!” Ace beckons you over like he hadn’t just whispered the most crude, filthy thing in your ear 30 seconds ago. 

Convincing yourself you had imagined it, you snap out of your trance and return to the table to drink. 

You enjoy a few more rounds of drinks and you notice with each beer, Ace slides his body closer and closer to yours. You could attribute this to the size of your party shrinking as people headed off to bed, but at this point he was basically pressing his side into yours, occasionally grazing his warm hand over your hip. 

His touch was fleeting, but hot… it made you crave more. You found yourself leaning into him and he pulled you closer in return. He felt you shudder. 

“Oh man, y/n, you must really be tired. Do you need help getting back to your room okay?” Ace looks down at you with a devious smirk.  You knew what he was really asking.. and you were far too quick to respond. 

“Yes, I think I’d like that, Ace.” You smile and he wraps his arm around your hip and pulls you away from the table. 

Ace is all but giggling as he brings you back to your room, pinching and squeezing your skin anywhere he could tease it. He stops at your door and looks at you expectantly. 

You laugh. 

“Would you like to come inside, Ace?” 

“Hell yeah!” Ace practically jumps into your room behind you and slams the door shut. 

From the instant the door is closed, Ace’s lips are on yours. You barely had time to react to the kiss before he started tugging at your clothes. You laugh and pull back from the kiss. 

“Haha slow down!  We have all night Ace… I’m not going anywhere.” You purr at him and stroke his cheek. What a sweet, eager little thing he was. 

Ace nuzzles himself into your neck and plants a wet kiss. 

“‘M’sorry, just hate seeing you like this…” Ace continued licking and biting at your neck. You whimper. “Gonna fix it… gonna make you feel so good, baby.” 

Your cunt clenched in anticipated of what he was about to do to your body. Ace pulls your dress over your head and tosses it to the floor. He distracts you with more kisses as he unclasps your bra and pulls it off of you. Ace kisses down to your stomach and gently pulls your panties down. You step out of them and realize you’re completely bare in front of your friend. 

You covered your breasts instinctively. Those doesn’t go unnoticed by Ace, who was coming up to meet your eye again. He pulls your arm gently away from your chest and smiles. 

“Aww are you shy, baby?” Ace coos at you. You blush so hard you think your face might be on fire. Why was he having this affect on you? He was a young blowhard at least 5 years your junior, and yet he ended up with all of the control in this situation…

“That’s ok, come here…” Ace gets on your bed and sits up with his back against the pillows and headboard. “Let me show you why you don’t need to be shy.” He smirks and holds out his arms to you. 

You lick your lips and climb into Ace’s waiting lap. He positions you with your back again his chest, sitting between his legs. This position reminded you how Ace was still fully clothed and you were completely naked. Something about being so vulnerable in front of him was intoxicating… 

“Spread your legs, sugar. Show me that cute pussy.” Ace whispers in your ear as he pulls your legs over his own, spreading them as far as they could go comfortably. 

“Ace…” You whimper quietly, trying to turn your head away. You were embarrassed at how aroused he had made you, all while barely touching you… but not nearly embarrassed enough to ask him to stop. 

Ace wastes no time before his hands are on your dripping sex. 

“Holy shit…” Ace glides a finger up and down your slit. “Look at how wet you are, pretty.” His one finger turns to two fingers as he collects more of your slick from your hole and brings it up to rub firm circles onto your clit. 

“Ace! Fuck!” You throw your head back, body feeling like it was filled with static electricity. He had you so worked up that every little touch felt like it was amplified by 100. 

“You’re so wet that I bet I could just slip my fingers in..” Ace smirks and swiftly plunges the two digits into your hole. You moan. “And I bet that if I do this…” Ace begins to firmly pull and tap his fingers into that delicious spot inside of your cunt. “… you’ll cum.” 

“Shit, fuck, Ace! O-oh my- Ah! ACE!” You cry out and explode all over Ace’s arm and the bed in front of you. 

“Looks like I was right, huh baby? That’s a good girl, give it all to me.” Ace playfully reacts as he rubs at your clit to prolong your orgasm. 

“Fuck… Ace…” You lay heaving on your bed in Ace’s arms, the spasms from your climax finally ceasing. 

You feel Ace smiling into your neck as he peppers it with sweet kisses. 

“I wouldn’t know what to do with it, huh???” He chuckles into your damp skin. 

“Shut up and fuck me already.” You roll your eyes. 

Ace gently moves you out from between his legs and he rises from the bed to remove his vest and shorts. You audibly gasp at the sight of his huge member springing free from its confines. 

“Jeez you weren’t kidding…” You say softly, eyes not leaving Ace’s cock in front of you. 

“I’m a pirate, baby, not a liar.” He flashes you that stupid grin again. “Now face down, ass up, sugar.” 

You quickly oblige, grabbing a pillow to cushion your face that was now stained with mascara. The first thing you feel is a warm hand sliding up your spine and massaging your skin, then you feel the prodding of Ace’s thick cock at your sopping wet entrance, the heavy mushroom tip barely breaching your hole. Ace dipped his tip teasingly in and out… 

“Ace…. please…” You whine as you push your hips back to entice him to fully enter you. 

“Okay, okay, I’ll give it to you, you don’t ever need to beg for me, pretty.” Ace plants both hands on your hips and pulls your ass flush against his pelvis, sinking his cock as deep as it will go into you. 

Strangled moans leave the both of you as he bottoms out. Ace pulls out slowly, looking down to admire the wet mess you’ve already left on his cock. He pushes back in and you moan again, squeezing him involuntarily. 

“Gods you were right… this tight little pussy is under-fucked.” Ace speeds up his thrusts and you gasp, the wind nearly knocked out of you. “Don’t worry baby, I’m gonna make sure that never happens to you again… gonna fuck you every day… make you feel so fucking good…” 

Ace was slamming into you at an animalistic pace and you felt a second orgasm creeping up on you. You could feel the droplets of sweat from Ace’s face splatter on your back, as well as the crazed, possessive grip on your hips almost certainly leaving bruises. You couldn’t form words, only broken sobs and shrieks as your lover drilled into you, dead set on making you cum again. 

Tears fell from your eyes against the pillow and you whined, so close to reaching your peak again. 

“Shh I know baby, I know it’s good. You’re doing so good for me…” Ace coos at you. “Cum on my cock and I’ll fill you up, ‘kay sugar?” Ace leans forward and presses his chest to you as he continues his brutal assault on your pussy. He reaches one hand from your hip down and around to rub at your clit. The stimulation sends you over the edge and your orgasm rips through your whole body. “Ace!” You scream out and lurch forward, no longer able to hold your torso up with your arms anymore. 

“Good fucking girl! Now I’m gonna make you mine…” Ace praises you. 

You try to mumble out “please” but you truly have no idea if you were saying anything coherent.

“Haaa, fuck!” Ace cries out and spills his load impossibly deep into your warm hole. You whimper as you feel rope after rope of Ace’s hot seed filling you. Ace rubs firm circles into your hips as he calms down from his release. 

Suddenly, Ace pulls out of you and flops back into your bed and pulls you to his chest. You nuzzle into his sweaty pecs as you throw a leg over his hips. Ace pulls the blanket over the two of you, briefly leaning upwards to make sure your whole body was covered and comfortable before settling back on the pillows. 

“So you were serious?” You ask quietly. 

“About what, baby?” Ace answers as he strokes your hair. 

“About fucking me every day?” You chuckle. 

“Mmhmm…” Ace kisses the top of your head. “Tomorrow. And the next day.. and the next day… and the next day… and the next… and…” 

You hear Ace start snoring and smile. 

xx 

[probablyasocialecologist]

For as long as scientists have studied trees, we have categorised them into two types based on the sort of wood they make. Softwoods include pines and firs and generally grow faster than hardwoods, like oaks and maples, which can take several decades to mature and make a denser wood. However, our recent research has uncovered something completely new: a third category we’re calling “midwood”. This discovery could prove to be valuable in the fight against rising carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels in Earth’s atmosphere – the primary cause of climate change. Trees are natural carbon sinks. This means they absorb huge amounts of CO₂ from the air and store it in their wood. The tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), also known as the yellow poplar, is a top performer in carbon capture. In the mid-Atlantic US, forests dominated by tulip trees store between two and six times more carbon than forests where other species prevail. The tulip tree is already popular in plantations in parts of south-east Asia and cited as a good choice for carbon capture for gardeners and urban planners in the US. This species, along with its close relative the Chinese tulip tree (Liriodendron chinense), belongs to an ancient lineage dating back 50-30 million years — a period marked by significant shifts in atmospheric CO₂. Only these two species survive. And until recently, their chemistry and structure, which might tell us why these trees are so good at capturing carbon, were largely unknown.

[...]

When tulip trees first evolved, atmospheric CO₂ levels were falling from about 1,000 parts per million (ppm) to 500 ppm. This reduction in available CO₂ may have driven tulip trees to develop a more efficient method of carbon storage, leading to their unique macrofibril structure. Today, this adaptation likely contributes to their exceptional ability to sequester carbon. We can no longer assume, when looking at a previously unstudied tree, that it falls into the same two categories (softwood or hardwood) scientists have placed trees in for years. The tulip tree, with its midwood structure, corresponds with a “carbon-hungry” attitude. We are now looking at whether its seemingly unique wood structure is the sole reason it is king of carbon capture, and we are widening our search to find out if there are any more midwood trees – or even more new wood types out there.

9 September 2024

[headspace-hotel]

i learn a staggering amount of things just being in nature and paying attention to what's going on. Things that are obvious are seldom written down so they can be found where people look. I get stressed out that people don't know things. It's dire that they have to be taught at all.

I'm watching everything prepare for winter. Well, not watching. I'm gathering seeds, preparing beds, labeling seed packets. The leaves are falling, the flowers are dying back.

I was surprised to see how long seeds will just hang out on withered plants, instead of being eaten or falling or blowing away. Acorns and nuts cover the forest floor. Hackberries cling to trees throughout winter. Seeds are produced in wild abundance.

It's difficult not to assign purpose to these things—the plants produce seeds and nuts so the birds and animals don't go hungry. It's discouraged to view nature as having some kind of purposeful agency.

The leaves cover the ground now in deep drifts. I learned that moths and butterflies sleep through winter in fallen leaves.

How did I not know that? How was this not important enough to be taught?

Homeowners seem to think of leaves as a nuisance. It's common practice to rake them into piles and burn them or bag them up to be sent to landfills. This is horrifyingly wasteful, on top of destroying the insects that hibernate in them. Fallen leaves are pure gold, a vital source of nourishment and insulation for the soil. Rotting leaves mulch and fertilize the forest floor.

Fallen leaves don't just nourish, they protect. I found the smaller of my tree seedlings covered by a thick layer of fallen leaves, shielded from an early frost. Farmer Family Friend advises mulching the baby trees for the winter to keep them safe from the extremes of the cold.

They are a near-perfect insulating and mulching material, but I rarely see people using them as such. "Use fallen leaves as mulch" is a Gardening Hack found on Pinterest, a novel trick.

It is discouraged to assign motive and purpose to natural processes, but it is devastating to accept the alternative—that something an organism does isn't "for" a purpose except the organism's own survival. Leaves fall because they can't withstand the winter cold, and it is more economical to enter a period of dormancy. We know this.

And yet. The horrors it has caused, for people to decide that the leaves are not for anything, that they only make a mess and can be burned or sent to a landfill (!!). We have to spread memes online telling everyone to leave alone their fallen leaves, because it's not common knowledge that the butterflies need them.

The harsh, competitive thinking about nature stops people from thinking of nature as the intricate system it is.

I was afraid that the frost last night killed my tiny tulip poplar. I found it safe and unharmed, covered by leaves blown all the way from the neighbor's yard—leaves from a mature tulip poplar tree, shielding the small one. I keep telling myself not to be fanciful, but my heart aches with something indescribable.

[callmearcturus]

Glass Animals Tier List, from least best to most best

F-Tier (well they can't all be winners)

Golden Antlers (ZABA extra)

D-Tier (the Skip List unfortunately)

"Melon and the Coconut" (Dreamland)

"Domestic Bliss" (Dreamland)

"Season 2 Episode 3" (HTBAHB)

"Cocoa Hooves II" (ZABA extras)

C-Tier (perfectly fine but I'm never craving them)

Intruxx (ZABA)

"Tangerine" (Dreamland)

"Helium" (Dreamland)

"Hot Sugar" (Dreamland)

"JDNT" (ZABA)

B-Tier (Oops! All Bangers!)

"Wyrd" (ZABA)

"Psylla" (ZABA extras)

"Solar Power" (Spotify Sessions)

"Dust in Your Pocket" (Leaflings)

"[Premade Sandwiches]" (HTBAHB) (yes really)

"Mama's Gun" (HTBAHB)

"Cane Shuga" (HTBAHB)

"Take a Slice" (HTBAHB)

"Youth" (HTBAHB)

"Heart-Shaped Box" (Quarantine Covers)

"Heat Waves" (Dreamland)

"White Roses" (ILYSFM)

"Lost in the Ocean" (ILYSFM)

A-Tier (truly amazing songs, never skipped)

"Black Mambo" (ZABA)

"Walla Walla" (ZABA)

"Hazey" (ZABA)

"Cocoa Hooves" (ZABA)

"Exxus" (ZABA extras)

"Dreamland" (Dreamland)

"Young and Beautiful" (Quarantine Covers)

"Show Pony" (ILYSFM)

"A Tear in Space (Airlock)" (ILYSFM)

"On the Run" (ILYSFM)

"I Can't Make You Fall In Love Again" (ILYSFM)

"How I Learned to Love the Bomb" (ILYSFM)

S-Tier (the pinnacle the peak the greatest nothing but hits no misses)

"Pools" (ZABA)

"Gooey" (ZABA)

"Flip" (ZABA)

"Holiest" (ZABA extras)

"Life Itself" (HTBAHB)

"Space Ghost Coast to Coast" (Dreamland)

"Your Love (Deja Vu)" (Dreamland)

"Waterfalls Coming Out Your Mouth" (Dreamland)

"It's All So Incredibly Loud" (Dreamland)

"Don't Wanna Talk I Just Wanna Dance" (Dreamland extras)

"Creatures in Heaven" (ILYSFM)

"whatthehellishappening?" (ILYSFM)

S+-Tier (masterpieces)

"Pork Soda" (HTBAHB)

"Other Side of Paradise" (HTBAHB)

"Poplar St" (HTBAHB)

"Agnes" (HTBAHB)

"Wonderful Nothing" (ILYSFM)

And the best Glass Animals song is of course

"Tokyo Drifting (feat. Denzel Curry)" (Dreamland)