#sell plants Australia

[plantark]

Exploring the Growing Market of Online Plants in Australia

The digital revolution has transformed various industries, and the plant market in Australia is no exception. With the increasing trend of indoor gardening and the convenience of online shopping, more Australians are turning to the internet to buy plants. This article delves into the burgeoning Australia plant market online, highlighting the benefits, tips for buying, and popular choices among Australian gardeners.

The Rise of Online Plant Shopping

Convenience and Accessibility

One of the primary reasons for the surge in online plants Australia is the convenience it offers. Traditional plant shopping involves visiting multiple nurseries, often located far apart. Online shopping eliminates this hassle, allowing customers to browse a wide variety of plants from the comfort of their homes.

Diverse Selection

Online platforms provide a more extensive selection compared to physical stores. From rare exotic species to everyday houseplants, the variety available online caters to all kinds of gardening enthusiasts. This diversity is particularly appealing to those looking for unique flowering plants online Australia.

Benefits of Buying Plants Online

Detailed Information

Online plant stores often provide comprehensive information about each plant, including its care requirements, growth habits, and potential problems. This information helps buyers make informed decisions, ensuring they choose plants that suit their environment and lifestyle.

Customer Reviews and Ratings

Another advantage of purchasing plants online is access to customer reviews and ratings. These reviews offer insights into the quality of the plants and the reliability of the seller. For instance, positive reviews on platforms that sell plants Australia can significantly influence purchasing decisions.

Home Delivery

The convenience of home delivery is a significant draw for many buyers. Plants are carefully packaged and shipped directly to the customer’s doorstep, saving time and effort. This service is especially beneficial for those living in remote areas or those with busy schedules.

Popular Online Plant Categories

Indoor Plants

Indoor plants have seen a massive rise in popularity, particularly among urban dwellers. They not only enhance the aesthetic appeal of homes but also improve air quality. Popular choices include pothos, snake plants, and peace lilies.

Flowering Plants

For those looking to add a splash of color, flowering plants online Australia offer a vast array of options. From vibrant hibiscus to elegant orchids, the choices are endless. Flowering plants are perfect for both indoor and outdoor gardens, providing visual appeal and a pleasant fragrance.

Succulents and Cacti

Succulents and cacti are favored for their low maintenance and unique appearance. These drought-tolerant plants are ideal for those new to gardening or those with a busy lifestyle. Online stores often offer a variety of these hardy plants, including rare and collectible species.

Herbs and Edibles

Growing herbs and edible plants at home is a trend that has gained momentum in recent years. Online plant markets offer a wide range of herbs like basil, mint, and rosemary, along with edible plants such as tomatoes and strawberries. These plants are not only functional but also add a touch of greenery to kitchens and patios.

Tips for Buying Plants Online

Research the Seller

Before making a purchase, it’s crucial to research the seller. Look for reviews and ratings from previous customers to gauge the quality of their plants and service. Reliable sellers will have positive feedback and a strong online presence.

Understand Plant Requirements

Different plants have different care requirements. Ensure you understand the needs of the plants you’re buying, including light, water, and soil preferences. This information is usually available on the product page or can be obtained from the seller.

Check Shipping Policies

Shipping plants require special care to ensure they arrive healthy. Check the seller’s shipping policies, including packaging methods and delivery times. Some sellers offer guarantees on plant health upon arrival, which can provide additional peace of mind.

Start with Easy-to-Grow Plants

If you’re new to gardening, start with easy-to-grow plants. These plants are more forgiving of mistakes and require less maintenance. Once you gain confidence, you can gradually expand your collection to include more challenging species.

Popular Online Plant Stores in Australia

The Plant Society

The Plant Society is renowned for its curated selection of indoor plants and stylish pots. They offer a wide range of plants suitable for different environments and provide detailed care instructions to help buyers succeed.

Plants in a Box

Plants in a Box specializes in delivering high-quality plants directly to your door. They offer a variety of plants, including flowering plants, herbs, and succulents. Their packaging ensures plants arrive in excellent condition.

The Jungle Collective

The Jungle Collective is known for its pop-up plant sales and online store. They offer a diverse range of indoor and outdoor plants, along with expert advice on plant care. Their unique collection attracts both novice and experienced gardeners.

The Future of Online Plant Shopping

Technological Advancements

As technology continues to evolve, the online plant market is expected to grow further. Virtual reality and augmented reality tools may allow customers to visualize plants in their homes before making a purchase. Additionally, advanced algorithms can recommend plants based on individual preferences and environmental conditions.

Sustainable Practices

Sustainability is becoming increasingly important in all industries, including horticulture. Online plant stores are adopting eco-friendly practices, such as using biodegradable packaging and partnering with local growers to reduce carbon footprints.

Community and Support

Online plant communities are thriving, providing a platform for plant enthusiasts to share knowledge and experiences. Social media groups, forums, and blogs offer valuable resources for both beginners and seasoned gardeners.

Conclusion

The Australia plant market online is flourishing, offering a convenient and diverse shopping experience for plant enthusiasts. With the benefits of detailed information, customer reviews, and home delivery, more Australians are choosing to buy plants online. Whether you’re looking for flowering plants online Australia or seeking a reputable platform to sell plants Australia, the online plant market caters to all your needs. Embrace the digital age of gardening and bring nature into your home with ease and style.

[doyoulikethissong-poll]

Fleetwood Mac - The Chain 1977

"The Chain" is a song by British-American rockband Fleetwood Mac, released on their 1977 album Rumours, which won Album of the Year at the 1978 Grammy Awards and received Diamond certifications in several countries, including the UK, Canada, Australia, and the US, in where it is certified 21× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). As of February 2023, Rumours has sold over 40 million copies worldwide, making it the 5th best-selling album of the 1970s and the 9th best-selling album of all time. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2003, and was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry in 2017, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress.

"The Chain" was created from combinations of several previously rejected materials, including solo work by Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, and Christine McVie. The song was assembled, often manually by splicing tapes with a razor blade, at the Record Plant in Sausalito, California, with engineers Ken Caillat and Richard Dashut. Stevie Nicks wrote the lyrics about Lindsey Buckingham as their relationship was falling apart. Buckingham and Nicks share lead vocals on the song.

In 1997, Fleetwood Mac released a live concert CD/DVD package called The Dance, which featured the reunion of the Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac members. The rendition of "The Chain" reached number 30 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Additionally, the studio version began appearing on the charts in 2009, where it peaked at number 81 in the UK. In October 2023, the song was certified quadruple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales and streams of over 2,400,000 units.

"The Chain" received a total of 92% yes votes!

[i-am-church-the-cat]

I have a flower shop/tattoo parlor maxiel + loscar AU building from a tropical storm into a hurricane in my head so here are some thoughts

+ When Max hires him, this is what he says to Logan’s arrangement: “It is not the worst thing I’ve ever seen. I can make it better.” What he really meant was that Max could make Logan better, but he wouldn’t come to understand that until later.

+ There’s a phone that sits on the back wall of Max’s shop. The first time it rang while Logan was working, he’d mistakenly answered it. He’d watched Max’s face go bleach white from across the shop as Logan answered “Hello, this is Verstappen’s Floral, how can I help you?” The barrage of angry Dutch he’d gotten back in return had shocked Logan into silence, making it easier for Max to steal the receiver from his hand. Now, Logan knows to just let it ring.

+ Oscar is pretty sure Daniel only gave him an interview because their moms are in a book club together. The owner of Honey Badger Tattoos was always friendly and outgoing but he was notoriously possessive about his art. In the ten years the shop has been open, it’s had four employees. Daniel Ricciardo, the founder, Daniel Kvyat, Daniel’s partner who he bought out after the first year, Lando Norris who worked part-time at the front desk, and now Oscar.

“I’ve never had an apprentice before, I probably wouldn’t be very good at it,” Daniel says during his interview. He’d said he liked Oscar’s work and already showed an interest in teaching Oscar more of his signature American style. But the guy was still hesitant, fidgeting with excess nerves. “Just ask Lando.

Lando nods from his seat at the front desk which Oscar can see from the open door of Daniel’s office. “He doesn’t know what he’s doing half the time, I wouldn’t trust him to teach other people.”

Daniel does not look like that’s the support he was going for, wincing at the dry criticism but not arguing.

“That’s fine,” Oscar confirms with a shrug. He’s already done the majority of his apprenticeship under Mark Webber. But when the man decided he’d had enough of the South of France and was selling the shop and moving back to Australia, Oscar had to look for somewhere else to work. “I only have six months left before I can get my certification.”

Daniel doesn’t look very reassured. Oscar can take a hint so he decides to get out before he’s kicked out.

“Hey, it’s cool, mate, thanks for meeting with me anyway-”

“Can you start next week?” Daniel asks, leg bouncing up and down and rocking the desk he’s sitting behind. He sees Oscar’s confused expression and sighs. “I really need more help here.”

“Yeah,” Oscar decides, not looking a gift horse in the mouth. “I’ll text you my schedule.”

And that’s how he starts working for the Honey Badger.

+ “This is a tulip,” Max is saying in French, word draw out and pointing at the multi-colored bulbs. Logan has tried telling him that he’s lived in Europe for the majority of his life at this point and can do his job in English, French, and Spanish but Max doesn’t believe him. At least Logan’s starting to pick up more Dutch.

Logan is rescued from his impromptu language lesson by the bell on the door ringing. He turns towards the sound, customer service smile already in place.

“Hi, welcome to Verstappen Floral, how can I-”

“Oh, it is you again.”

Logan stops and looks at Max who is frowning at the guy who just came in. The man is curly-haired and tanned, with tattoos scrawled over the majority of visible skin. His grin is big and toothy when he shoots it at Max.

“Hey, Maxy, aren’t you happy to see me?”

Logan blinks in shock at the nickname. Even their regular customers don’t get to act that familiar with Max. Logan doesn’t get to act that familiar with Max.

Max crosses his arms, lips pursing. “For the last time, I do not know what these flowers mean. I speak four languages and plant is not one of them.”

“Always a ray of sunshine, aren’t you, Max?” The man asks, unphased by Max’s grouchy demeanor. He leans forward onto the glass counter, certainly leaving smudges behind, but Max surprisingly doesn’t yell at him about it. “Lando sent me to pick up his order.”

Lando is someone Logan knows. He comes in about every other week and talks to Max about streaming and video games that partly goes over Logan’s head. He always leaves with a red and white bouquet, though the flowers change each time.

“Why could he not come get them himself?” Max grumbles, heading in the direction of the cooler where they kept to-go orders. Daniel shrugs and wraps his knuckles against the glass.

"He was late for a meeting or something, you know I don’t ask about his other job,” Daniel supplies. He changes his focus to Logan and the blond is met with the full force of the man’s mega-watt smile. Logan blames his mom’s genes for how easily he blushes. “Hey, you’re the new guy, right?”

Logan opens his mouth to answer but Max is suddenly im between them, Lando’s bouquet in his hands.

“Yes, this is Logan, no, he does not want any of your garish tattoos.”

Daniel pouts at Logan’s boss. He wonders how it doesn’t look strange for a guy who’s at least 30 to be pouting.

“Don’t be mean, Maxy. I wasn’t even going to mention the tattoos.”

Logan racks his brain for tattoo shops nearby. They obviously have a close relationship outside of just Lando. And Lando did say he worked for an artist…

“Oh hey, are you the Honey Badger?” Logan asks, moving his head to be seen around Max’s wider frame. Daniel jerks his eyes away from Max’s, as if he’s been caught doing something he shouldn’t. “I pass by there all the time. Not a lot of shops do American style out here.”

Daniel’s face lights up, looking between Logan and Max. “Max, you hired an American?”

Max sighs, more long-suffering than Logan thinks is necessary. “This is why I did not want you to speak with him. I knew you were going to be weird about it.”

“I’m not being weird!” Daniel argues. “I’m just surprised!”

Max and Daniel have another weird silent staring contest. Logan clears his throat reluctantly and they both snap to him.

“Um, where’d you learn to do that style?”

Daniel looks ready to excitedly burst into the story of his tattooing style and his interest in America, but Max cuts him off by pushing the bouquet into his chest.

“We do not have time for that, these are going to wilt. Take these to Lando.”

“Bossy, bossy,” Daniel murmurs, picking up the bouquet gently. He doesn’t sound annoyed by Max’s demands. Rather amused, actually. He shoots Logan another grin over Max’s shoulder. “I don’t envy you, mate. But hey if you want to talk tattoos, come by the shop sometime.”

“Definitely!” Logan agrees before Max can say anything else on his behalf. Daniel shoots him a one-handed finger gun before turning back to Max. His smile becomes a lot less joking and more sincere.

“See you later, Maximus”

Max loses some of his prickliness, voice soft when he says, “Goodbye, Daniel.”

+ There’s a man talking to Lando at the front desk when Oscar comes in that day. It’s neither of the two Oscar is used to seeing who come talk to Lando pretty regularly. Oscar’s pretty sure one of them’s his boyfriend and the other is his business partner but he can never tell which is which.

“Did you leave Logan alone at the shop?” Lando is asking while Oscar sets his station up.

“Well, I had to do it at some point,” the guy says, his accent reminiscent of German or Dutch. “What is the point of hiring another employee if I cannot leave for a few minutes?"

“Daniel never leaves me alone here,” Lando points out, a tad resentful. Oscar snorts.

“That’s because he has control issues,” Oscar claims. Both of the men look at him, one in amusement and one in confusion.

“Who are you?” The mystery guy asks. Weird, Oscar was going to ask him the same thing. He looks to Lando who makes the introductions.

"Max, this is Oscar, Daniel's new apprentice. Oscar, this is Max, one of our neighbors."

Oscar frowns. "I thought Max was your..." he trails off, leaving space for Lando to fill in the blank. He waves his hand.

"Different Max. This is Max Verstappen, he run's Verstappen Floral."

The new Max is still looking at him strangely. "Daniel does not take apprentices. He says he is a bad teacher."

Oscar shrugs, not sure what to tell him. He doesn't know how he got the job either. Luckily, he's saved from having to respond by Daniel coming out of the back office.

"Oscar, good, you're here, I wanted to talk about-" Daniel stops abruptly when he sees Max standing in the lobby. His entire demeanor shifts when he says, "Max, hey! What are you doing here?"

Daniel is normally a friendly guy, sometimes too much in Oscar's opinion, but he's practically glowing as he bounds over to Max. While Max's expression doesn't shift, his body language opens up to Daniel like one of his blooming flowers.

"I am talking to Lando about our stream tonight," Max answers. "He has not been very forthcoming with the details."

Lando tries to protest but even Oscar can see that it's a lost cause. This new guy showed up and suddenly it's like nothing else exists to Daniel. His boss giggles at nothing and that's when Oscar decides to get back to work.

[sserajeans]

you are in love | 24. match made in ocean

- gyuthegoofy started a video call.

- ynthesexy, hanthebitch, and wonythemvp joined the call.

audio directory: wonyoung, leehan, gyuvin, y/n

—

"so what are we supposed to be looking at here?"

"the fundraiser proposal.... again."

"someone needs to hold me back before i commit a REAL HEINOUS CRIME against that hagrat excuse of a principal."

"i'm so glad you said that over call instead of text 'cause..."

"shut up."

"wait guys focus please..."

"right sorry."

"i'm using all the brain juice i got i swear but this is so hard."

"right? i have no idea how serenades didnt pass..."

"as much as i'd hate singing around with y/n it was a good idea as a fundraiser. low cost."

"matches the school tradition too. i don't know why so many people confess around christmas time, but it could've worked!"

"for real. hagrat lim."

"you're going down with y/n."

"absolutely not! how could the ever-so-lovely scholar kim gyuvin be disrespectful to his teachers! meanwhile school jock swim captain lee y/n..."

"I'M NOT EVEN A JOCK?"

"we're definitely getting off topic."

"oops..."

"anyways..."

"i think we should definitely stick to something on the romance side. it just sells more?"

"yeah, we can make it a little general for people who wanna do it for friends or family too."

"okay so... romance... romantics... what's something you guys would like to receive?"

"flowers without pollen."

"i laughed a bit i'm sorry."

"jellies!"

"candy could be low-cost, but won't the students feel like they could just buy them from the grocery or the cafeteria?"

"flowers could work. it's quite tiresome to pass by florist shops these days, so having them close by is convenient. sorry, y/n."

"i mean... i guess i'll be fine if i take the medicine before leaving?"

"i'm sorry y/n... we'll keep this as a backup idea so we can continue looking for something better and less... life threatening?"

"it's okay guys i don't mind it as long as principal lim gets off our back."

"we'll think of something else y/n... this'll just be the absolute last resort."

"speaking of flowers and y/n's pollen allergy though..."

"i know where this is going."

"I'M SORRY OKAY.... we just, or i, just wanna know!"

"didn't i tell you already??"

"details, y/n... details!!"

"I ALMOST DIED GYU..."

"LMAO PLEASE..."

"okay so you almost died... DETAILS!!"

"fine..."

"stay strong lee y/n..."

"we went to the cafe after practice, we talked about stuff. started with classes and how she's adjusting to the workload of juniors, then how i'm going around with colleges as an athlete. speaking of which, coach gave me a semi-scolding over text earlier today, but moving on."

"god he dumps the pressure of the swim team's success on you as if he isn't the literal COACH."

"for real like y/n is human too... hello?"

"yeah, then when we got to the cafe we had a mini argument over who was gonna pay but the cashier suggested to pay for our own, so that's what we did."

"you're so... anti-romantic."

"what? what did i do??"

"you're supposed to pay for her regardless, like never back down."

"NEVER BACK DOWN NEVER WHAT?"

"NEVER GIVE UP!!"

"but it was a date that dani asked for, so? kinda cancels out right, wony?"

"hm... i guess.. anyways, continue, y/n."

"well... yeah after i updated wony via text when i was in the toilet, we mostly talked about our interests and stuff. so me and movies, music, and mostly swim."

"90% swim. you might've bored her to death..."

"don't say that!"

"i'm being honest! she might've thought you were a fish in your past life or something..."

"she brought up swim in the conversation first actually! she said she swims a lot whenever she goes back home to australia during the summers."

"well isn't that a lovely surprise? match made in heaven!"

"match made in ocean.."

"she definitely knows how to keep y/n hooked that's for sure."

"oh yeah... great pair in that sense!"

"what were the other interests she talked about?"

"flowers, plants, nature in general! she's so outdoorsy."

"this is so ironic 'cause didn't you almost fail biology?"

"so that's where the park part came from..."

"no i did not almost fail bio... it just simply is my lowest scoring subject okay..."

"whatever you say!"

"but yeah that's when she brought up the park, and i just couldn't say no. she was talking about how this specific flower only bloomed in autumn and she wanted to see it at its first day."

"you didn't bother telling her you had an allergy?"

"she sounded so excited you guys i didn't want to ruin that... and i guess i kinda wanted to see the flowers too, they were really pretty! i'll show you pics."

"you couldn't say no to flowers... so you just put your life at risk instead?"

"i had a mask! and i didn't think it'd react that bad again."

"right."

"so yeah that's all that happened, really."

"sounds like you had a fun enough time to almost kill yourself!"

"OH MAN....."

"YES I DID! okay? i did have a fun time! she's really nice, cute, pretty, outgoing and all. we talked about going to a different nature park to rent bikes next time."

"i'm kicking my feet in the air right now you guys have no idea."

"we do actually."

"and don't bother showing us."

"yeah we can go a day without seeing your feet gyu."

"I DIDN'T EVEN OFFER?"

"you'd do it whether we liked it or not, unfortunately."

"she's right on that... AND DID YOU SAY NEXT TIME?"

"SHE DID!!"

"weren't we supposed to be finishing work so we could be free tomorrow? right we were! isn't that right, wony?"

"but... but that's... fine, yeah."

"wonderful! let's get back to work then!"

masterlist. next.

taglist: @yyeonmis @lostamoeba @jisooftme @yoontoonwhs @awkwardtoafault @kvnii @lcv3lies @limbforalimb @spritin @kaypanaq @i06kkura @manooffline @kimsgayness @justme-idle @jenaissantex @mightymyo @sewiouslyz @txtbrainrot @li0ilthecxnt @captivq @paranoxic @sofakingwoso @daniellobers @pandafuriosa60 @haerinkisser @staryujinnie @wowowowcake @lesleepyyy @haechansbbg @rosiehrs @jiwoneiric

[luunaathh]

•Powwow of the Nonhuman Presenter and Vendor Applications are Open!•

•Greetings! The powwow of the nonhuman event is now accepting applications for presenters and vendors who wish to participate in the first annual powwow of the nonhuman!

What is Powwow of the Nonhuman?

•The powwow of the nonhuman is an annual virtual event meant to promote representation for indigenous peoples and people of color who identify as nonhuman. We are sadly fragmented and unrepresented among the otherkind community, this event seeks to change that sad fact. Powwows are not only for indigenous peoples from the continental americas, though also for indigenous peoples from everywhere in the world! We welcome indigenous peoples from Africa, Asia, Island Nations, Australia, The Middle East, and other parts of the world! All people of color are welcome to this event, regardless of whether or not they identify with being indigenous or not!

Powwow Presenter Details

•Presenters for the powwow of the nonhuman will be allowed to speak about any topic pertaining to their indigenous heritage, their otherkinity, their experiences with spirituality, or their environmental work. The experiences discussed in these presentations can be positive or negative in nature, we want every powwow presenter to feel truly free to express every aspect of themselves. All presentations for the powwow will be pre-recorded and edited in to premier on December 20th. Presenters will be working with staff members and video editors to create their ideal presentation for the powwow.

Powwow Vendor Details

•Vendors for the powwow of the nonhuman will be able to advertise and sell their wares during the event. Vendors for the powwow will be allowed to sell artwork (drawings, paintings, sculptures, ceramics, literature, or music), crafts (pottery, jewelry, dreamcatchers, rattles, medicine bags, drums, pipes, beadwork, baskets, woodworks, and animal medicine), items from nature (flowers, plants, sage, ceremonial wood, stones, crystals, animal pelts, or bones), foods (fruits, seeds, vegetables, baked goods, or candy) and miscellaneous services in between powwow presentations. Vendors for the powwow will be working with staff members and video editors to create a short advertisement for their wares to premier at the powwow December 20th.

Want to Participate?

•If you desire to be a presenter or a vendor for the powwow of the nonhuman, please feel free to send my being a message! If you have any general questions about the powwow, do not be afraid to ask!

•We have a server for event planning! This server is also a general place for people of color who identify as otherkind to meet in a safe environment! •https://discord.gg/nHtFHwAe4q

[vicsy]

maxiel wrestling au ✨ 2.7k words that boinked me in the head cause i miss the good old days.

The new guy is way too green to be fit into a match right before the main event and Daniel voices his genuine concern with zero hesitation. It's his reputation at risk. Christian claps him on the shoulder assuredly, paints the guy — his name is Max and he goes by Super Max until creative will have something to do with that, fuck's sake — in the brightest colors. Tries to make a sell, a corporate rat in and out of the ring.  

And the thing is, the new guy is sort of gloomy, doesn't smile much even when Daniel offers his signature greeting. He's not a fucking asshole, he won't tell a rookie to go to hell for that. They've all been there, first day jitters and all. But, man, this new guy. Something is off about him. 

His ring gear, for starters, and Daniel shouldn't be the judge since his mom made him his first ill-fitting set back in Australia when Daniel was seventeen and scrawny, fresh-faced with crooked teeth and the energy of three hundred power plants. So, yeah, it's bad wrestling etiquette or whatever but the outline of a lion in the middle of the rookies' — sorry, Max's — ass is… something. The blue and gold shorty shorts fit alright, though, Daniel does give them an appreciative look. He prefers pants and shin guards, that's all.  

And, shit, looks like this Super Max, for crying out loud, designs his gear himself, judging by this very self-indulgent print. People are gonna tear him to shreds, like vultures; crush his spirit, knowing how this biz works when you're twenty-five and still wide-eyed, full of dreams of making it big, becoming the next Shawn Michaels or The Great Senna. 

Max is surely no wrestling royalty, no Rosberg or Flair or Schumaher. His dad was some midcarder in the late eighties back when FWF was at the cusp of breaking viewership records. And, surely, Max is a texbook continuation of his father's unfulfilled hopes. Daniel can read it in the way Max held himself, in the way his arms fidget when he talks and beside him Christian nods, proud, like it was his son making his big screen debut.

Daniel wonders, why him. Putting Max against younger guys would have been more plausible. Putting a company rookie against an established champion definitely seemed like a choice. 

"Don't forget that I make the calls, Daniel," Christian says, the finality in his voice clear as day when Max steps away to put his signature on a contract for the night. Then the suit-and-tie fucker gives him a cunning little smile and Daniel swallows a witty response stuck on the tip of his tongue. "Besides, he asked very, uh, insistently to pair you two up. How could I have been in the right mind to say no to the future of wrestling wanting to take on one of the crowd favorites?"

Well. Fuck. Daniel would know how, being an absolute gem on the mic but nobody's asking, so he's shit out of luck in that department. And currently booked in match with a guy who apparently admires him. Same height and, what? Eight years younger? Daniel tries not to read it as a sign for retirement. 

They settle on a cage match and, surely, it means essentially throwing Max into the deep end from day one but his eyes shine eagerly and he goes on a tangent, dissects the match step by step as if he's been running with the FWF for as long as Daniel did. Ten fucking years, thank you very much, and he knows damn well how to put on a show without some jobber — alright, sure, Daniel isn't supposed to squash him but still — running his mouth with a wrestling for dummies kind of talk. But Max didn't look like the same person who glowered at Daniel minutes before. He seems like someone who loved wrestling with all his being, lived and breathed the craft, came alive with the sound of the bell, the boos and cheers; the bruises and tore muscles, broken bones and bittersweet victories. 

"We doing the spot?" Daniel interrupts but in good nature, stretching his shoulders one by one, wearing a lazy smile to hide his annoyance. He half expects Max to refuse, back out of it. Wouldn't blame him, really. "Top of the cage, before the bell."

"Of course," Max answers too quickly, voice croaky, his chin lifted high as if Daniel offended him. Doubted him on the spot; doubted his hunger to make a name in the biggest wrestling federation known in the world. "It's a cage match after all. We have to make a good show."

We, huh? Perhaps the kid knows a thing or two. 

"Yeah, cool," Daniel tugs his Beats on, cues a special playlist in a pre-match ritual. "See ya in the ring, Super Maxy-Max."

He walks off to warm up as the show begins but not before noticing a sudden blush on Max's pale cheeks, his chest puffing with a response that he breathes out in a language Daniel can't place. He bounces around backstage, high-fives miserable-looking Charles on his way from the ring. His chest is streaked with red lines. Poor guy took the brunt of Fernando's chops. Daniel could still hear his music playing as he celebrated a win accompanied by heartfelt boos of the crowd. Eh, fucking marks. 

Daniel makes a point of not acknowledging Max at gorilla position, adjusting his shockingly colourful ring gear instead, slinging the FWF championship belt over his shoulder. It's childish to use it as a shield and Daniel is the nicest guy to his core, cross his heart, but the wrestling biz is cutthroat. And even Max's music is not on par with the standarts when it plays after Daniel finished making his way to the ring, greeted the crowd and sent the shirt he wore flying towards the grabby hands of his faithful fans. They are, truly so, booing loudly along with the generic entrance song, letting Max feel their disdain from the start, not letting him mistake it as a warm welcome. Not against their favorite Badger. 

And yet, Max's face remains blank. The way he slowly removes his own t-shirt and neatly leaves it on the side of the ring pulls a chuckle out of Daniel. God, he's so spectacularly green. 

Simply on the grounds of Daniel being a fucking face, he reaches his hand out after the bell dings and the metal cage above them descends agonizingly slow, inviting Max to lock up; a class act. Max knocks his hand away, expression scrunched in a mask of disgust. Daniel takes every assumption he made back; they're about to have a grand ol' time. 

Max's style is a bit choppy but he doesn't strike Daniel as a high-flying type. Mostly old school moves, orchestrated to a precision not every rookie has. They exchange a couple of blows and Daniel takes initiative for the time being. He ducks away from a spear and Max hits the turnbuckle shoulder first, turning with a grimace of pain. He doesn't oversell, a great fucking sign for them both, and Daniel bounces off the ropes to deliver a flying knee to the side of Max's jaw. He takes it magnificently, falling to his knees completely unbalanced. 

Maybe, just maybe, he owes Christian the benefit of the doubt. At very least, their styles are a match, perfect opposites to elevate each other's strengths. Max's brawler against Daniel's technician; a study of contrasts between the brawn and the showmanship. 

He ends up putting Max in a figure-four smack dab in the middle of the ring so he can’t reach for the ropes to save himself and, shit, he sells so wonderfully that Daniel's mind wanders. There is something in the bend of Max's neck, in the strength of his entire figure — built but limber, writhing under Daniel's scrutiny, completely at his mercy. The give Max's body begs to be molded in his hands and, suddenly, a startlingly clear image surfaces at the back of Daniel's mind. Tag matches turning into tag titles, titles turning into a betrayal to feed the storyline; and then the redemption arc.

Then, a reunion. Full circle. Squared circle.

It's breathtaking, in truth. The easy push and pull, the synergy buzzing in the air between them, Max struggling out of the submission hold to pin Daniel's shoulders against the mat. A brash fucking attempt for a pin; he kicks out at one and rolls some distance away, eyeing Max to add to the dramatic of their unlikely clash. 

The crowd goes wild. Daniel stretches his lips in a smile, sharp like the jagged edges of the glass they pour out for hardcore matches. He catches himself thinking that he'd go for one with Max. Maybe just to see those lips bloodied, returning his smile tenfold. 

Time's almost out, the referee lets them know discreetly. Daniel lets Max turn the tide, drive him head first into the wall of the cage, hitting through the ropes with a clang. Daniel's head gets beaten against the turnbuckle, his back slammed against the mat with a perfectly executed chokeslam and the crowd gasps with sympathy. Max busies himself with prying the gate of the cage open, acting the heel part eerily well as Daniel catches his breath, sells Max's beating appropriately, without an overkill. 

He pulls Daniel outside of the cage, outside the ring, dragging his face against the barricade towards the commentator table. Max makes sure to interact with the crows, give them an opportunity to hate him, call him names. Something akin to adoration swells in Daniel's chest; he doesn't understand where it's coming from and then Max clotheslines him hard and he crumbles onto the floor lined with thin mats.

Good move, that. Suits the set up right.

Max almost throws a middle finger to the crowd and starts climbing the side of the cage with a single intent, much to the horror of the arena. Yeah, real fucking marks but Daniel wouldn't have it any other way. He counts to thirty in his head, sprawled flat on his back near the commentator table, having one of their tiny screens jammed in his midsection before by Max's enthusiastic efforts. He counts and follows the lines of Max's body, the broadness of his shoulders and the paleness of his skin. It makes Daniel's mind wander anew, in a direction it shouldn't, not in the middle of a high-risk match. 

The crowd gets antsy, urging Daniel to get the hell up, and so he does, Max halfway up on the cage, unknowing, with a sinister plan of his own. His muscles protest but it's hardly anything new. Daniel manages to catch up to Max in a flurry of adrenaline-addled motion, reaching up to hook his hand in Max's ridiculous shorts. Max looks down at him, expression purely shocked to satisfy the crowd and Daniel counts again as he tugs. Once, twice.

It's never pleasant, plummeting down and straight onto the commentator table. It breaks with a horrible sound under Max's back and he lies there, unmoving, the commentators standing not far away, still doing their job. Daniel hangs onto the slippery metal of the cage, listening to the crowd yelling and frothing at the mouth for him to do the thing they all came here for. He raises one hand and pumps his fists in the air twice, eliciting a reaction that makes his mind go into an overdrive. 

He takes a breath, bending his elbow for his signature move and jumps.

The Ricciardo Special lands beautifully on Max's midsection, making him yelp and seize from the pain. Daniel is so used to hitting the ground this way but the calmness that comes hand in hand with the fall is forever unsettling. Max breathes raggedly underneath him, limbs akimbo and his eyes half-shut, eyelashes fanning his splotched cheeks. From Daniel's point of view he looks like someone gave him a fuck of a lifetime. The sight makes Daniel's heart skip.

In the wreckage at the ringside, the perpetual hunger Daniel left unsated stirs impatiently, awakening from a famished slumber.  

Max's body under his own feels like it belongs; feels like a missing piece finally fitting. It hits Daniel like a freight train, the all-encompassing normalcy in the midst of controlled chaos.

He squeezes Max's wrist twice in a silent question, their limbs tangled together on the broken bits of the table. Max's fingers twitch against his hold — yes, I'm okay. 

And the show goes on towards the long-awaited climax. 

It takes Daniel thirty seconds to peel Max off the floor by the back of his neck, squeezing tight and roughly hauling him back inside the cage, rolling them both into the ring. It's a whole ordeal, his body exhausted and Max matches him there, too, playing the beaten to the pulp heel as if he's been doing it since he learned how to walk. Daniel drags him to the middle of the mat again, admiring the pliancy with which Max follows. There's a persistent ringing in his ears and an electric shock wracks through him when he gets his hand's on parts of Max's body he managed not yet to touch, no resistance as he bends him in half, Daniel's palm sliding against the sweaty skin under Max's knees. The referee appears next to them, slamming his palm against the mat.

One. Two. 

And when Max eats the pin like he's supposed to, like they've settled in the pre-match booking with Christian, Max's prominent mouth pressed into a thin line making Daniel think who the fuck does this jobber think he is, all the sounds of the packed arena rush into his ears as the bell rings and the cage finally lifts, freeing them. The crowd erupts and Daniel rolls over onto his back, gulping air, Max's arm pinned under him, sweaty skin sticking together. His music hits like a fucking tornado; another win sequred under his belt but all Daniel can muster at that moment is to turn his head against the stiffness in his neck, catching Max's gaze already trained on him. Mouth open, chest rising up and falling so rapidly Daniel seems to lose his breath again. 

Or perhaps it's the shine in Max's eyes, their color clear-blue like the spotlights above. Daniel finds it hard to look away and he desperately needs to drag himself to his feet, clutch the championship belt to his chest, an assurance of his stature; something solid to hang on to.

Max asked to wrestle him first. Daniel grasps at the foreign feeling blooming behind his ribcage.

His win doesn't feel like one. Not with Max suddenly so close to claiming a space for himself, claiming what's his and he's so damned good it scares Daniel momentarily. But the fear dissipates as quickly as the pain does when someone lands a chair shot just the right way. A satisfying kind of pain. With a slight twitch of his mouth, Max is the first to move away, further to the ropes. The skin of his back is angry red, the mess of moles speckled with blood where the impact from the commentator table scratched and tore into his flesh. 

Max rolls off the ring and limps up the ramp, holding his ribs gingerly. He turns when the referee raises Daniel's hand and he manages to straighten the other one with belt in it, showing it off as you still got it echoes in a thousand voices. For the first time he doesn't revel in the outpour of love and adoration, the crowd clapping and chanting his name. He doesn't look them over with a smile and his chest still feels caged, much like he and Max were moments ago, locked in what wasn't just a match. 

Something snaps; something ends. Daniel feels the shift clear, like the Earth tilting on its axis taking him with it and leaving Max standing still, his scuffed, golden boots rooted firmly to the ground. The weight of the championship belt turns laden, drags Daniel deep into the uncharted waters as he stares Max down, challenging and unabashed, blood thrumming with adrenaline. The bundled tightness in his chest lingers and lingers and lingers.

A corner of Max's mouth quirks up, eyes crinkling; no real malice behind them, just an answer to a soundless call, a promise for more. 

Daniel feels like he's the one plummeting down from the cage, from the top of a tower he built in his own name, not with stone but with blood, sweat and tears. Max follows suit, crashing into him without reservation, raw talent and blunt force, the soft edges of him breaking through skin and bone going straight for the heart; straight for the pin. 

The count follows, inescapably.

In his mind, Daniel doesn't kick out. 

[fatehbaz]

Slavery in Australia. Queensland attempted to “build a second Louisiana” based on explicit racial castes and the wealth of sugar plantations. Islanders from the South Pacific were kidnapped and forced to work on plantations. Between 1863 and 1904, there were at least 62,000 Islanders brought to Australia, and they composed 85% of sugar field workforce. The prominent Queensland planter Louis Hope bought his sugar plants from a slaver, and also hired field supervisors who had been slave overseers in Jamaica. The city of Townsville (Queensland) is named for Robert Towns, who had chartered ships loaded with Islanders brought to work on his property. The town of Tascott (New South Wales) is named for Australia’s celebrated sugar industry pioneer, who had initially made his wealth buying, selling, and managing African slaves at his family’s plantation in the Caribbean. Even so-called “liberal” or “reformist” politicians at the time proposed, as an alternative to Queensland’s “death squad” mounted police killings of Indigenous people, that Aboriginal people simply be captured and forced to work like the Islanders. In 1884, an Australian vessel opened fire and killed at least 38 Islanders resisting kidnapping/recruitment. Prime Minister Barton and Attorney General Alfred Deakin boasted that Australia’s constitution was superior to the United States’s because the Australian document gave explicit permission for racial discrimination and non-white immigration restriction. Then, frightened that Islanders and Aboriginal laborers might gain too much social presence, the government tried deporting all of the Islanders, beginning in 1904.

Text below is an excerpt from an overview of Queensland’s “sugar slavery,” an article from 2022 by scholar Jeff Sparrow.

---

[T]he practice – sometimes known as “sugar slavery” [...] was not a minor or incidental phenomenon. In fact, it was so important to plantation owners that, to defend it, they briefly contemplated separation from the rest of the colony, with Townsville mooted as the capital of what many observers dubbed a “slave state”. This “scheme for the extension and perpetuation of the slavery system” showed, one journalist claimed at the time, that Queensland had become “what the United States were before the Wars of the Secession”. [...]

Australia’s first prime minister, Edmund Barton, explained, quite accurately, that the “limited slavery” of the cane fields had agitated “the whole of Australia” and so was “a question which belongs to the Federation we have succeeded in establishing”. He also outlined the shocking philosophy upon which he considered Australia based:

I do not think either that the doctrine of the equality of man was really ever intended to include racial equality. There is no racial equality. There is basic inequality. These races are, in comparison with white races – I think no one wants convincing of this fact – unequal and inferior. The doctrine of the equality of man was never intended to apply to the equality of the Englishman and the Chinaman. There is deep-set difference, and we see no prospect and no promise of its ever being effaced. Nothing in this world can put these two races upon an equality. Nothing we can do by cultivation, by refinement, or by anything else will make some races equal to others. [...]

In the Australian context, a strange contradiction contributes to the ongoing amnesia about slavery and its consequences. From the very beginning, enslavement shaped white settlement in Australia [...].

---

From the very start, the Australian sugar industry demonstrated how formal and real freedoms might collide.

In Tascott, New South Wales, you can still find a plaque celebrating the man who gave the town its name: a certain Thomas Scott, who, we are told, “arrived in the colony in 1816 [and] pioneered the sugar industry in Australia”. The Tascott memorial neglects to mention Scott’s background in the slave trade. Yet that was how he developed his familiarity with sugar. As a young man, he assisted an uncle buying and selling Africans, before he began managing slave labour on his family’s plantation in Antigua. [...]

In the context of that widespread enthusiasm for the South (the welcome extended to the Confederate ship Shenandoah in Melbourne in 1865 led one of its officers to conclude “the heart of colonial Britain was in our cause”), Queenslanders dreamed of building a “second Louisiana”. They could, they thought, capitalise on the disruption of the international cotton and sugar trades [...].

---

So, in 1863, the shipping tycoon Robert Towns (the man who gave Townsville its name) tried another approach. Towns knew that, back in 1847, an entrepreneur called Benjamin Boyd – another man with a background in Caribbean slavery – had scandalised the colony by transporting men from the Pacific Islands of Tanna and Lifou to supply his cattle station with labour. [...]

In Boyd’s inauspicious venture, Towns glimpsed a solution, a means by which he might recreate Louisiana in Queensland. The insatiable demands of the textile industry meant, he thought, that cotton plantations would be far more profitable than Boyd’s cattle stations. Accordingly, Towns chartered a ship called the Don Juan and sailed it to the New Hebrides from where it returned crammed with Islanders destined for Towns’ huge property near the Logan River.

---

That was how it began.

Between 1863 and 1904, 62,000 South Sea Islanders were transported to Australia, landing in Brisbane, Maryborough, Bundaberg, Rockhampton, Mackay, Bowen, Townsville, Innisfail and Cairns. Most indentured labourers arrived from the New Hebrides, with a substantial proportion taken from the Solomons, as well as smaller islands. By the 1890s, Pacific Islanders constituted 85 per cent of the workforce for Australian sugar.

---

The men did not merely adopt a lifestyle associated with New World slavery. They also relied on its techniques and its personnel. [...]

Hope, for instance, acquired his sugar plants from the old slaver Thomas Scott. He hired supervisors from Jamaica and Barbados, looking for those with experience driving plantation slaves. To obtain the men for his fields, he turned – just as Boyd had before him – to a certain Captain Lewin, a notoriously shady character.

The Royal Navy’s Commander George Palmer described Lewin’s vessels as “fitted up precisely like an African slaver, minus the irons” and noted that, “I heard of him [Lewin] at every island I was at as a man stealer and kidnapper”. [...] Between 1863 and 1868, this was the man responsible for “recruiting” nearly half the Islanders who arrived in Australia. [...]

In 1884, at the height of that demand, a vessel called the Hopeful opened fire on Islanders who resisted being stolen, killing at least 38 people and possibly more. [...] By 1884, the annual mortality rate for Islanders in Queensland had climbed to 147 deaths per 1000 people. [...]

---

The Conservative Premier Sir Thomas McIlwraith, a man with personal interests in the sugar industry, expressed the perspective of the planters. He wanted, he said, a Queensland both successful and white. [...] Hence the necessity for a subservient caste of Islanders, who could ensure Queensland remained “a white man’s colony, influenced by white men and owned by white men”. His Liberal rival Samuel Griffith, on the other hand, argued that the importation of Islanders would foster the “degeneration which we have seen whenever the black and white races have endeavoured to mix”. [...]

---

Local parliamentarians pledged not to make the same mistake, congratulating themselves on the superiority of their constitution over the one ratified by the United States, on the basis that its Section 51 (the so-called “race powers”) allowed them, as Prime Minister Barton had explained, “to regulate the affairs of the people of coloured or inferior races who are in the Commonwealth”.

Attorney General Alfred Deakin went so far as to boast that “our Constitution marks a distinct advance upon and difference from that of the United States”. Its passages explicitly permitting racial discrimination enabled parliament to pass the Immigration Restriction Act (to keep non-whites out) and the Pacific Islands Labourers Act (to deport those Islanders already in Australia).

“The two things go hand in hand,” Deakin explained. Stopping the “lesser races” from arriving (with Islander recruitment ceasing in 1903) and expelling those who were currently resident: these were “the necessary complement of a single policy – the policy of securing a White Australia”.

The new nation thus signalled its birth by [...] ethnically cleansing its former slaves. The deportations began in 1904.

---

Text above by: Jeff Sparrow. “Friday essay: a slave state - how blackbirding in colonial Australia created a legacy of racism.” The Conversation. 4 August 2022. [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me. Italicized first paragraph and heading in this post added by me.]

[vintagelacerosette]

Weekly Tag game (Catch up)

Forgive meee I am late but I had the other one in my drafts & I hadn't be able to finish it off yet 😅

I was tagged by these sweethearts 💖💕💖

Jessica @guinguin1984 Julia @blue-disco-lights Deanna @deedala Georgia @iansw0rld

Face @burninface Jaclyn @crossmydna Evie @energievie

Bri @y0itsbri Lyle Lyle crocodile @kiinard Macy @heymacy

Mel @gardenerian Sarah @sleepyheadgallavich Julissa @heymrspatel

Harvey @mikhailoisbaby Kat @mybrainismelted Ling @lingy910y

Name: Shermyn

Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? (or you): Sydney in the western part  

Ok, so this week we are going to snoop into your google search. Type in each phrase and tell us what the first suggestion is that google gives you!

What is the best way to….rule? (hehe nice maybe my Leo tendencies 🤣🦁

This is what I saw on Quora

1) Become a community organizer · 2) Learn to speak eloquently · 3) Tell people what they want to hear · 4) Sell your soul to the Devil · 5) ...

😂😂😂

Where can I…. watch Saltburn? (it's on my watch list haha) Amazon Prime

How old is…. Taylor Swift? (i didn't search this but i guess she's top result) 34

How long does it take… to get to mars? (wow a fun one) Now quoting NASA, "If jt all goes well, you'll get to the Red Planet in about seven ot eight months." ♂️🔴

How many… states in Australia? Six states 🇦🇺

Who set the record for…. the highest jump? Javier Sotomayor good job my dude 👏

When did….michael jackson die? 25 june 2009 (woah I started 1st year of high school then)

What does it feel like to… to be in love? (ummm ive never searched that but damn a pointed search 😭😭😭) Reddit says "when you wake up thinking of that person & go to bed thinking of them"

Can you…go parasailing in sydney? (So me bc i missed out when i was in the Philippines 🥲) You can't anymore booo 👎

Why do… i sweat so much? Google says could he nerves that trigger it.

Is there a way… to save karlach? I really wanna play Baldur's gate 3 what's gonna happen to her?? I love her?? 🥺

How old do you have to be… to work? (boooo i don't wanna work but i want money 😩) In NSW minimum age for full time work is 17

Where do the… kardashians live? (i don't care) Malibu

What is the best time to… to go to fiji? (aaayee holiday??) June to September

And to finish us off…. What comes up when you type in Shameless? shameless last episode date

11 April 2021 I needed it for my gallacrafts 🥹

Name: Myn

Age: 27

Astrological sign: Leo ♌️

Upon which continent do you reside: Stralia 🦘

tell us how you're feeling right now using 3-5 emojis: 🥶💸🤔🤫🤗

whats your favorite flavor of gum? Juicy fruit but the flavour never lasts long

whats the last movie you watched? Anastasia for my nieces first viewing 😆 It mostly became a sing-a-long with my big sis 🎤

what was your worst subject in high school? Maybe science?

whats the job you stayed at for the shortest period of time? Working for a weekend event at a convention centre for the active wear brand Lorna Jane. I got lost on the 1st day & didn't get paid for that 15 min 😅

whats your favorite thing to do at an amusement park? Try all the interesting foods 😋

what condiments go on top of the perfect hot dog (meat or plant-based)? BBQ sauce & caramelised onions 🌰

cincinnati chili, thoughts? Never heard of it!

do you sleep with a plushie? No my plushies are on a shelf bc I can get kicked out of my room every 2nd weekend bc my sister & her family takes it over haha. But worth it to have my baby niece over 🥰

how do you feel about thunderstorms? No strong emotions. It's cool when boom

what's the last animal you touched? My dog Roxy 🐕 ❤️

grab the nearest item with words on it that ISNT a book and tell me the final word: Tulip on this korean dry shampoo I'm trying 🌷

have you ever forgotten to do an assignment until the night before its due? Oh I was organised at knowing darw but procrastinated the hell out of the assignment until the due date. Then trying to finish the night before 😅 I found an old diary entry calling myself a dumb bitch for doing that to myself & saying to never do it again (she did) 😭

Not tagging anyone bc LATE but if you wanna play consider yourself tagged! 🩷🐇

[didnt-hear-cold-as-you-live]

everything always falls together just in time for it to fall apart.

I couldn't wait to leave for 6 weeks. and, as John green once tackily said, 'falling in love is like falling asleep. slowly, and then all at once'. it all clicked into place. and the reasons why I have to leave, too, have all clicked into place: I hate my job. Now I've quit my job. Taylor concert in Melbourne, need to be in Melbourne. boyfriend flying into Sydney, need to pick him up in Sydney on the way down. 2 favorite Aussie bands at a music festival hours and hours' drive into the middle of nowhere; need my car to get there. Got to drive from QLD to Sydney to Melb. Housemate is leaving to go to England next week anyway, a lot of what I like about it here will be gone. Well, now I've found more things to like. Well, now the landlord is selling the house. Well, housemates are getting a new place together but I've still got all the other things that render me staying impossible. Well, now there's a cyclone headed straight for this region that I've got to outrun. Now there's a girl I know who wants a ride south who will help me with gas when I'm financially stressed. Time to go. Now.

There is no other answer but to leave. One of my housemates is a big believer in the power of the universe and when it wants you to do things. And yet, I wish I could stand here and brace myself against the gale force winds of the cyclone, feet cemented to the earth, and stay. I keep thinking, "if it wasn't for this I would stay", "if it wasn't for this I would stay" and before I've known it, "this" is literally every single factor that could possibly be worth considering except for where my heart is. I think it through and I know it's true: I came to Australia to see Taylor and I'd die without doing so. My boyfriend is flying in and I need to see him, and the impending cyclone would keep us apart his entire trip here if I don't leave to meet him; he couldn't fly up and I couldn't drive down any later than tomorrow. He wants to see the Great Ocean Road, I need my car in Victoria for the music festival. 2/3 of the people I love here are leaving and if I stay it won't be the same anyway; it won't be worth missing everything else for.

But my heart is tethered to the one street in town and the 2 palm trees on the beach that are beautiful to sit under on a sunny day, and to the girl at the boba tea spot who always looks so happy to see me and the sweet woman who owns the coffee shop I frequent, and the grass on the great lawn overlooking the turquoise sea and the memories of the books I've read in the marina, and the breakfasts I've eaten and taken for granted on the deck in the morning light filtered through the bamboo and birds of paradise plants. All the things that were, for the most fleeting moment, simple things about my home. My day to day life. Only about 2 weeks ago did I realize how extraordinary these things were compared to what my life in New York looked like. The novelty of the turquoise water and staring out at the sun glistening off the ships and the beach a 2 minute drive away and the most loving, maybe closest friends I've ever had living in my home; waiting for me to cook dinner and debrief the day over wine every single day. Taking an electric scooter around when I can't drive. the orange flowers that hang over the driveway. For these two weeks I have looked at everything with the sense of nostalgia and wonderment I will one day look back on it with, so as to not look back and think about how I didn't appreciate it.

I still don't think I appreciated it. How could someone ever live in an affordable and wonderfully furnished house 2 minutes from the beach and want to leave? With good coffee and colorful flowers and an ocean the temperature of a heated pool. I know there are reasons why I did, but now that the "nostalgia" I feel will become the present and not the future in just 24 hours, I feel sick to my stomach. Katie asked me if I'd packed yet and the thought of leaving this room empty never to see it again left me sick to my stomach. Another chapter of my life coming to an abrupt halt. This one, like the sun breaking through in the middle of an endless rainstorm. And just as you're reveling in the glory of the daylight, the clouds roll back in. They go on as far as the eye can see.

I don't know if I will ever find anything like this again in the whole time I am alive. Struggle has presided over my entire time in Australia thus far, and struggle is all I see on the horizon as I am unsure where I will go next in this country, how I will earn money, or where I will live. I am dreading seeing my boyfriend and cannot even place excitement for it in my brain, because it means I will be gone from here and back into the storm of uncertainty and all the bad things this country has brought me. The past few weeks in this place were the rainbow filled eye of a terrible cyclone, one far bigger than the one that is currently stampeding towards this place.

I do not want to go back to the rain.

[pigeon-behavior]

Uh oh, another grit post /j

This is a simple recommendation list for pigeon grit. These are the best grits I've found on the market in the USA. (If you're in Australia, look for something like 'pink powder minerals' instead of grit to supplement minerals.)

The absolute best two grits available are the All-in-One Versele-Laga grit and the Jovati grit. Both of these offer a full complement of vitamins and minerals and even some amino acids. (Reminder to get your pigeon some UVB light anyway though, just to be safe.)

It can be a bit hard to find the actual full ingredient list for the Jovati online, but I've seen it through pictures via other people who have bought them, so I know for a fact that it contains Lysine (amino acid) among things I'd like to make sure my pigeons are getting. At least, the versions that I have seen! It's possible the formula has changed since then, but I haven't been alerted if that's happened.

Here's a couple links to these products, just so you can see exactly what I'm pointing at. I have zero affiliate or commission link business going on here, but I want you to be sure you're getting what I suggested you get, even if it's not on the same website.

(Side note, thanks for the thorough labeling VL, I do love that about you.)

I'm not actually sure if anyone else sells the Jovati. I think it's possible its a European product (like the VL) that is only being sold through one USAmerican retailer. But I'm not really sure.

You might be thinking, well okay Evelyn, but what if for some reason I just can't get one of these grits, even if I wait for them to come back into stock, or save up money, or whatever! Don't fear. There's still a third option.

I don't think it is quite as good as these two. It doesn't offer amino acids, and that's something I really am pleased the other two grits are supplying. But I think it's a HELL of a lot better than a granite grit, an oyster-only grit, an un-enhanced red grit, or god forbid nothing at all.

It's the Red Pigeon Grit & Mineral-Plus Mix by Des Moines, to which I will just refer to it as the Des Moines grit. Annoyingly, everywhere it is listed the ingredient list has been cut about in half - I was informed recently that it is almost as complete as our two top favorites up above, but they've neglected to bother telling us so unless you have the physical packaging in your hands. Here's a link to the Des Moines grit.

It is my understanding you can get this stuff on Amazon, and in smaller quantities than the VL and Jovati. Remember that it should last you a good long while, so long as you store it in a cool, dark, dry location, but I understand not wanting to buy so much for only one bird.

Remember, the vitamins these grits are providing are important. The minerals they are providing are important. Pigeons with deficiencies can behave strangely. They can develop serious health problems. They may be trying to eat all the plants in your house. Their eggs might look like utter crap, they might break easily. Their feathers don't look quite as good. Their health needs this support. They can't go out and get it! We're all they have.

AND REMEMBER. THIS IS IMPORTANT.

If your pigeon has not been on an enhanced grit, do not start by free feeding them. You have to ease them into it for at least a couple weeks. They cannot moderate themselves. Provide no more than a pinch or two daily. If you do not do this, you risk them impacting.

Once they have absorbed a comfortable amount of minerals and vitamins they have been lacking, they will moderate themselves just fine, and you can free feed grit with no worries.

If you enjoy my posts, please consider tipping me on ko-fi!

[plantark]

Exploring the Australia Plant Market Online: A Comprehensive Guide

The digital landscape has transformed the way we shop, and the plant market in Australia is no exception. With the increasing popularity of e-commerce, many Australians are turning to the internet to buy their favorite greenery. This article delves into the Australia plant market online, exploring its benefits, popular options, and tips for purchasing.

The Rise of Online Plant Shopping in Australia

Convenience and Accessibility

One of the primary reasons for the surge in online plant shopping is convenience. Shopping online allows you to browse through a vast array of plants from the comfort of your home. Whether you're looking for indoor plants, outdoor plants, or flowering plants, the internet has it all.

Diverse Selection

The online plant market offers a more extensive selection than most local nurseries. From exotic species to native Australian plants, you can find everything you need. This diverse selection is a significant advantage for plant enthusiasts looking to expand their collection.

Popular Online Plant Retailers in Australia

1. The Plant Society

The Plant Society is a renowned online retailer known for its high-quality plants and excellent customer service. They offer a variety of plants, including succulents, ferns, and flowering plants. Their website is user-friendly, making it easy to find and purchase your desired plants.

2. Plants in a Box

Plants in a Box is another popular choice for online plants in Australia. They provide a wide range of plants, from small indoor plants to large outdoor varieties. Their plants are carefully packaged and delivered to your doorstep, ensuring they arrive in perfect condition.

3. Garden Express

Garden Express is a well-established online nursery that offers an extensive selection of plants and gardening supplies. They cater to both novice and experienced gardeners, providing detailed plant care information and gardening tips.

Benefits of Buying Flowering Plants Online in Australia

1. Quality and Freshness

Online plant retailers often source their plants directly from growers, ensuring they are fresh and healthy. This direct supply chain reduces the time plants spend in transit, maintaining their quality and vitality.

2. Detailed Information

Most online plant stores provide detailed descriptions, care instructions, and photos of their plants. This information helps buyers make informed decisions and ensures they select the right plants for their needs and environment.

3. Customer Reviews and Ratings

Customer reviews and ratings are invaluable when shopping for plants online. They provide insights into the quality of the plants and the reliability of the retailer. Reading reviews can help you avoid potential issues and ensure a positive shopping experience.

Tips for Buying Plants Online in Australia

1. Research the Seller

Before making a purchase, research the seller to ensure they are reputable. Look for reviews, ratings, and testimonials from other customers. A reliable seller will have positive feedback and a good track record.

2. Check Plant Descriptions

Pay close attention to plant descriptions. Look for information about the plant's size, care requirements, and ideal growing conditions. This information will help you select plants that are suitable for your home or garden.

3. Consider the Climate

Australia's diverse climate can impact plant growth. Make sure to choose plants that are suited to your local climate. Many online retailers provide information on the best plants for different regions in Australia.

4. Review the Return Policy

Before purchasing, review the retailer's return policy. Ensure they offer a satisfaction guarantee or a return policy in case the plants arrive damaged or are not as described.

Best Practices for Caring for Your Online Plants

1. Acclimate Your Plants

When your plants arrive, give them time to acclimate to their new environment. Gradually introduce them to their new surroundings, starting with indirect light and slowly moving them to their permanent location.

2. Follow Care Instructions

Carefully follow the care instructions provided by the retailer. Proper watering, lighting, and fertilization are crucial for the health and growth of your plants.

3. Monitor for Pests

Keep an eye out for pests that can affect your plants. Regularly inspect your plants for signs of infestation and take prompt action if you notice any issues.

Popular Flowering Plants Online in Australia

1. Roses

Roses are a favorite among Australian gardeners. They come in a variety of colors and sizes, making them a versatile choice for any garden. Many online retailers offer a wide selection of rose varieties, from classic to modern hybrids.

2. Lavender

Lavender is another popular choice for its beautiful blooms and pleasant fragrance. It's a hardy plant that thrives in Australia's climate, making it a great addition to any garden or balcony.

3. Hibiscus

Hibiscus plants are known for their large, colorful flowers. They are easy to care for and can add a tropical touch to your garden. Many online stores offer different varieties of hibiscus, catering to various tastes and preferences.

Why Choose Online Plants in Australia?

1. Competitive Pricing

Online plant retailers often offer competitive pricing compared to local nurseries. By shopping online, you can take advantage of discounts, sales, and special offers.

2. Home Delivery

One of the significant advantages of buying plants online is home delivery. You don't have to worry about transporting large or delicate plants, as they are carefully packaged and delivered to your doorstep.

3. Expert Advice

Many online plant stores provide expert advice and customer support. Whether you have questions about plant care or need help selecting the right plants, knowledgeable staff are available to assist you.

How to Sell Plants Online in Australia

1. Create an Attractive Website

To sell plants online, start by creating an attractive and user-friendly website. Ensure your website is easy to navigate and provides detailed information about your plants and services.

2. Offer a Wide Selection

Stock a wide selection of plants to cater to different customer preferences. Include popular choices like indoor plants, outdoor plants, and flowering plants online in Australia.

3. Provide Excellent Customer Service

Customer service is crucial in the online plant market. Offer prompt responses to inquiries, provide detailed care instructions, and ensure timely delivery of orders.

4. Use High-Quality Images

High-quality images are essential for showcasing your plants. Invest in professional photography to capture the beauty of your plants and attract potential buyers.

5. Market Your Business

Promote your online plant store through various marketing channels. Use social media, email marketing, and search engine optimization (SEO) to reach a wider audience.

Conclusion

The Australia plant market online offers numerous benefits, from a diverse selection to convenient home delivery. Whether you're looking to buy or sell plants, the online marketplace provides a platform for plant enthusiasts to connect and share their love for greenery. By following the tips and best practices outlined in this guide, you can successfully navigate the online plant market and enjoy the beauty and benefits of plants in your home or garden.

[bumblebeeappletree]

We meet a garden guru known for celebrating the diverse and unique flora of arid Alice Springs.

Geoff Miers is a garden legend who calls the heart of Australia home. He's passionate about coaching others to garden in arid conditions, and his career on ABC talkback radio has run for as long as Gardening Australia has been on the air. Over the decades, Geoff's also been growing and selling plants from his nursery and has learned a thing or two about coping with an arid climate.

"It's a desert environment; the climatic extremes are colossal," says Geoff with winter temperatures dropping below -8°C for weeks at a time and summer temperatures reaching 45°C in the shade. "We can have no rain for two months, three months, six months and then the Todd (River) will flow. You never know what's around the corner," says Geoff. "That's the exciting part; it's challenging. But if you understand and respect the environment, and work with the climate, you will have a fantastic garden." The NT has the highest population turnover in Australia and Geoff says, "constantly people are exposed to the new environment, and they need coaching, and that's where I try to play an important role."

In his nursery, Geoff sells citrus and other plants suitable for arid zones. He shows us plants with fine needle-like leaves that don't lose a lot of water through evaporation. One example, Acacia peuce or Waddywood, is a rare tree. Geoff says, "they'll grow for 500 years and once they are old you can't even put a nail in them, they're that tough. They have adapted to the most extreme environment anywhere in the world," says Geoff. The red mulga, Acacia cyperophylla is another one that's similar. Geoff says, "it's a hardy tree and it has this flaking, minni ritchi bark. It's just stunningly red and it's the most outstanding feature." Eremophilas are increasingly popular with many varieties of colour and fantastic blooms. Geoff says, "they are such a fantastic plant for diverse conditions, they are just stunning in terms of the floral display… and they'll grow in sand, they'll grow in even heavy clay." Geoff says his favourite is Eremophila macdonnellii 'Simpson Desert Form' because it has "flowers through spring, summer and autumn, is tolerant of a diverse range of soil conditions."

Geoff propagates thousands of plants each year at home, including 3,000 native lemongrass, 1,500 kangaroo grass or Themeda triandra, and several groundcovers. "They're bird attracting, bush tucker foods, suitable for this environment and the demand for them is endless," says Geoff. His propagation house has over 5,000 cuttings, "all starting to develop roots… before long all these plants will be in tubes and pots, and by next autumn and they'll be out in people's gardens," says Geoff. His own home garden is filled with central Australian plants with a towering ghost gum as the centrepiece. He says this tree "epitomises to me everything about central Australia, it's glorious." When the dog chewed through the irrigation lines 18 years ago, he turned the water off. "I now only water this garden in the first or second week of January and that's it. I give it five inches of water and that recharges the plants," says Geoff, "I try to demonstrate what I preach in my front yard; it's designed to suit this environment."

Appropriate gardens and water conservation is something Geoff has preached and written about for over 30 years. Geoff says, "that's been my message all along. With climate change, it was predicted that we would have greater droughts, greater floods, greater extremes of temperature. We're already experiencing that in central Australia, so you've got to be prepared for that. The best way to do that, is to create a garden that's best suited for the climatic extremes."

[theverumproject]

Story/WIP Tour Tag!

Thanks for the tag @topazadine

Luce, Dethra, Bluctro, Arushi and Zri’Kla shall guide us through this tour of their worlds!

This will be a longer post, so I'll put the tour below the cut. But to perhaps to gain some interest, here's the contents:

Verum I: The Awakening: Redville (Australia), The Basement, The secret government facility, Uncle Martin's Villa

Verum II: The Robotic Era (wip): The old farm, The Death Rings / The tunnels of Glasgow (Scotland), Arushi's home village, Deogarh (India), Jungles of Eastern India, Arushi's Camp, The Death Camps, Kotrul, Ke;Sanra, The Milkyway, The Solar System, Space stations, Cargo space ships, The Galactic Confederation / The Galactic Core

Tags: @creative-author @rivenantiqnerd @teamarine777

Verum I: The Awakening 

Redville, Australia

Luce: Redville was the town I spent my childhood in. It is somewhere north of Kalgoorlie, which is the closest bigger town, though there still are some quite many kilometers between the two. There's a forest next to our town, somebody planted it there once many many decades ago. I spent a lot of time there back when I still lived in Redville. My mom was good friends with the local veterinarian, sometimes I was allowed to help at the clinic a little. Funny thing, despite being a human, I myself was operated on in there once.

(Redville and it's forest are both fictional)

The Basement

Luce: Hidden inside the forest, there's a bunker that my father and I called the basement. It's where he taught me all about robotics and AI. We tried to create sentient life, but when we finally succeeded, he was already dead… Bluctro was the one that was born in there.

The secret government facility

Dethra: It was hidden somewhere deep within the Australian outback. It was Michael's, the father of Luce, workplace and where I was created. More specifically, it was one of many military bases, this one focused on creating a new weapon of war, me. Mike and I were a team for years, he eventually helped me out of there, but it cost him his own life. I killed everyone in there and burned the whole place down. Everybody eventually died, even if they weren't there at the moment. All the information that it held is gone. It and the place should never be rediscovered.

Uncle Martin's villa

Luce: Martin was the brother of my father. He was a rich business man, living somewhere near the northern, western coast of Australia. He helped us flee back when the government was still after us.

Verum II: The Robotic Era

The old farm

Bluctro: After we fled to Scotland, we made a little farm in the Highlands our new home. It was a good place to hide, we could sustain ourselves, grow food for Luce and even sell the food we grew to the nearest towns. The house wasn't a big one by any means, we also didn't use that much farm land, only for how much we needed for ourselves, which wasn't a lot, and to earn our money. We lived there for many years.

The Death Rings / The tunnels of Glasgow, Scotland

Bluctro: Hidden inside the tunnels of Glasgow reside some of the Death Rings that we seek out and destroy. Their purpose is to entertain cruel rich people and to kill members of the robotic population.

Arushi's home village

Arushi: I grew up in a small village of Odisha, an Indian state. I spent my childhood on my parents farm, where I, if I wasn't at school, usually spent my time looking after the sheep herd with our family dog, Chandra. Another place I liked was the cemetery where I used to look for human bones. It might sound weird, but it was what I was obsessed with as a child. I only got caught once!

Deogarh, India

Arushi: I moved to Deogarh to study anthropology. I started my studies young and also became a professor at a young age. Gods, I loved to teach at the University of Deogarh. Though there was an ugly side to the city. The hate against robots was especially strong there. You could see vandalization and hate speech on posters that were advertising bots everywhere. It made me sick. 

(The University is fictional)

Jungles of Eastern India

Arushi: The jungle was my home for the last two years. After me and O-5 had been kidnapped, tortured and with them being killed… with me committing mass murder as revenge, I couldn't return… I became a nomad, slowly traveling through Odisha's jungles, looking for the next camp to destroy.

Arushi's Camp

Arushi: I usually stay at one place for a while, until every last camp more or less near it has been destroyed. My current camp is inside a little cave behind a waterfall. You have to climb a little to reach it. There's a big hole on the ceiling, it reaches up quite a few meters. On a clear night, I can watch the stars. When it rains, I have a roof that I can set up quickly. The water drains into the little stream that exits the cave. I sleep and eat in the middle, below the hole. In front of my makeshift bed is the campfire, set up with a grill and pots whenever I need them. Further back in the cave, there are little pools of cool water, the water comes out from between the cracks in the stone, it even is cold on the hottest days, since it doesn't touch the surface. I use one of them as a fridge, where I keep my food inside little containers. The other one is my bath and source of water.

The Death Camps

Arushi: Death camps, like the one me and O-5 got taken to, are hidden within the jungles of Asia. Ever since O-5 got murdered by these people, I've been seeking them out. To save the ones that have been captured there and to kill the ones that took them.

Kotrul

Zri’Kla: Kotrul is the name of my home planet. It's one of the most beautiful planets known to the Galactic Confederation. The Planet is covered in giant trees, there's almost no area on the surface that isn't jungle. We don't have any seas like other planets, but we have many rivers and smaller lakes. Us Kotrulians have adapted to live in the trees, they are our homes. Our houses are built into them. We hollow the outer layers of the trees out while leaving the inner layers untouched, this way the trees can keep on living without any problems for millenia. Unlike most housings on other planets, our walls don't have any corners, they are round. At least the outer walls are. While the highway is on the ground, between trees, smaller and main roads are on the branches of the trees, connected by bridges.

Ke;Sanra

Zri’Kla: Ke;Sanra was the city I studied ship engineering in, at the university for robotics, engineering and programming. The entry lounge and secretary are on the lowest floor, then comes the many schooling rooms reaching a few stories high. At the very top are the living quarters of the students, also reaching a few stories high. There are exits and entries for the students and teachers on many floors, connecting to the roads. It would be impractical to only have one at the very bottom.

The Milkyway

Zri’Kla: The milkyway, as the humans call our galaxy, is the home of many different species. Most of them are either microbial, plant- and animal-like, but some of them are sapient, like us. Advanced sapient species are all part of the so-called Galactic Confederation. Except one, the Tapzians.

The Solar System

Zri’Kla: This particular star system is the home of the humans and many other species. It is one of many systems that we, as the Galactic confederation, hide and protect from the Tapzians. If we didn't, they would have long been destroyed. We hope to introduce the homo sapiens to the Galactic Confederation one day.

Space stations

Zri’Kla: There are many space stations throughout the galaxy, most of them belong to the GC. They are the work place of many people from all kinds of planets. After I finished my studies, I worked at one too. Until it got attacked by Tapzians. My will to become a soldier reached one hundred percent that day.

Cargo space ships

Zri’Kla: Like stations, most cargo ships also belong to the GC, with all kinds of people working there. Either temporarily, like I did as a soldier, or permanently. Ships are always the most likely to be attacked by Tapzians, since they carry important technology that they want.

The Galactic Confederation / The Galactic Core

Zri’Kla: The main HQ of the GC lies within the Galactic core. From the view of an earthling, it would probably appear like a palast. Vegetation, rivers and waterfalls surround it. The colors of the outer walls are white in the light spectrum. It is a majestic place, I had the honor to visit it a few times in my life.

[rachiesratirementhome]

Today is World Wildlife Day, which means it's time for another of Grover's Educational Rambles!

WWD was established by the UN to "celebrate all the world's wild animals and plants and the contribution that they make to our lives and the health of the planet."

Usually I'd take the chance to rave about one of the 4660 odd species of rodent in the world, but this date was chosen because it's the birthday of CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which is celebrating its 50th today!

"Grove." you say "Those are all definitely words but what do they mean, and why do I care about this?"

Well I would love to go over the Instagram word limit telling you all about that. (Sorry Ally!)

CITES is basically a global, legally binding system that defines the restrictions on the trade of plants and animals under threat. In 2023 it's obvious to us that something like this should exist, think of rhinos for example. But back in the 60's when the conversations that would eventually lead to CITES were happening, attitudes to conservation were very different.

Each country has their own native species protection laws, for example Australia varies state-to-state but in most of the country you can't collect or sell native bones at all without specific permits. Each country also has their own biosecurity protocols, for example in Australia we can export rats, but can't import them (not a bad thing, we lack several devastating diseases here that would make the rescue near impossible to run!)

But what about the conservation angle? What is it that makes selling a cowhide rug different to selling a tiger pelt? THAT'S what CITES is for. Parties (think countries, all but a handful) signed with CITES are legally bound to write policies around and enforce CITES regulations. There are three appendices covering species at different levels of risk.

Appendix 1 handles animals threatened with extinction, and prohibits trade except in exceptional circumstances. So for example, a Zoo maintains a red panda population in which it has a breeding and conservation program. One dies of old age, and it's deemed of no harm and noncommercial scientific interest for the national museum to prepare and display it as taxidermy. The Zoo has CITES paperwork to keep the animals, and paperwork is generated that must stay with the specimen permanently once it's in the museum.

Appendix 2 handles animals not threatened by extinction specifically but who need careful management to keep them from becoming so by unregulated trade. For example, you see a hippo skull for sale. You check if it has its CITES paperwork, so you can own it legally and be sure that it was legally obtained. The seller dodges your questions and turns out to be an illegal poacher, you report them to the authorities, huzzah the system works!

Appendix 3 covers species that are protected in at least one country, which has asked other CITES Parties for assistance in controlling the trade. An example of this would be things like a specific species of goat, Capra hircus aegagrus, in which domestic specimens are non-CITES and free to sell and own, wild populations in their endemic location in Pakistan are protected by the CITES system, to prevent people from capturing them for their own use as livestock.

Basically, it's comprehensive and conservation focused, and is the framework that allows animal based trade and lifestyles to exist while protecting those that need it. It's not without criticism, for example being a negative list means that a species isn't protected until it's listed, rather than having a positive list, where species are protected by default until decided otherwise, but given that there are an estimated 6.5 million land species and 2.2 million in the ocean, I really do understand why it's done this way.

Happy birthday CITES, cheers to 50 years of defining trade restrictions based on conservation needs. We're grateful you exist!

- #Grover

[melonteee]

In regards to what to you said about character essays at the end of your latest video, I know it can come off as egotistic to think you caused more interest in the but that type of thing can happen. I should know, I singlehandedly caused more interest in black flowers and plants with dark coloured/purple/black foliage and, thanks to me working within horticulture, helped cause easier access to such plants within Australia.

The tl;dr of how I did it, I got stuck home because of lockdowns during Covid, so I begun looking into black flowers and plants with dark foliage that I could grow, begun growing such plants and photographed them during the course of the lockdowns which caused the Instagram I have under the same username to explode with likes and follows. I brought up the interest in such flowers and plants at work which helped snowball in selling more of said plants.

i want to believe you sent your mind waves to all of Australia and made everyone think about black flowers and plants with dark foliage