#soil web

[ovrgrwn]

If ya think about it... rocks are just inaccessible nutrients that water helps break down over time, which then can be accessed by plant roots and the delivered to us or other animals as edible nutrients.

Plants are just catalysts to help us eat rocks.

[simplefoodsmallfarmz]

In the tradition.

When you operate a small farm, stuff happens and ya gotta stop and repair, replace or recycle what’s broken. It’s not always easy and it definitely is a time commitment, however, it still remains a blessing because during the downtime, lessons are learned.

What have you fixed recently?

[soilthesimpletruth]

Two of my favorite plants for this time of year for the northern hemisphere. Goldenrod, the yellow one and the other plant that is orange and yellow is called Lantana. Both of them are tremendous pollinator plants that support butterflies, bees and birds. Goldenrod supports birds with its seeds in the winter and Lantana supports hummingbirds with its nectar June through November.

[amphibimations]

Choose your own adventure comic, poll below!

You spend a very long time trying to decide what shape to make Pete. You immediately decide against a human or cow shape; A human would be too boring, and you don’t want to even try making something imaginary like a cow. The decision you struggle with is whether it will be a rat or a dragon… you really like both animals.

You decide you like dragons a bit more, so you gather up a mound of dirt and sculpt it into the shape of a tiny wyvern. You were thinking about rats so much while sculpting that it ends up looking a bit rat-like… that’s fine. It’s still clearly a dragon, even with the whiskers. 

You take a little stick and carve his name into his forehead (it’s the only thing you know how to spell in Shebic), and then you use petramancy to bring him to life!!!

He doesn’t need any instructions from you, he automatically knows what to do. You’ve made Pete so many times that he can basically read your mind. He runs off and starts searching the pitcher plants and sundews, quickly finding plenty of little bones. You’re so proud of him.

He drops the skeletons he's collected so far at your feet, and then turns around and runs off again to collect even more. Suddenly, you hear soft hoofbeats approaching. You turn around and see…

YOUR ARCH NEMESIS!!!!! ... It’s Heather Destrier. She thinks she’s so much better than you just because she’s a year older and knows history facts and is the daughter of a baroness. She thinks she’s better even though she has a weird haircut and a weird dad. One time she put a worm in your food when you weren’t looking. And she’s always saying mean things. Mean things like… “Ugh, what are YOU doing here?? You’re like, a two hour walk from your house… Did you get lost?? Is your brain made of dirt?? Is your dirt-brain the reason you’re always playing in the mud? That's so embarrassing for you.” Heather says.

You bet she’s just jealous that you can make a golem and she can’t. It doesn’t stop you from feeling angry. More than angry, though, you’re confused. Why is Heather riding her unicorn all the way out here? Right now, you two are at the farthest point into the bog you feel comfortable going. If a person goes much further they start running into the fairies, the harpies, the water monsters. They start running into the deceptive blankets of ground that float above the water and suck you in when you make a wrong step. Heather could die if she rides out there. You think about what you should say next.

Your first thought is that warning her away from the bog will be a great opportunity to call her an idiot, and just insult her in general. And she'll totally owe you one for saving her.

Your second thought is: why even warn her! If she gets lost that’s her own fault. You should skip straight to the insults. You could even remind her that her dress is illegal. She hates that.

Your third thought is…maybe you should try to stop her from going any further… by force. She needs to be saved from her own stupid decisions!! You could use magic to knock her off her unicorn! It would totally be for a good and moral reason. And not just because you want to knock her off her unicorn. 

This collaborative choose-your-own-adventure comic is called Codex Calluna. A new page will be posted every Saturday evening (est). If you would like to, reblogs mean more people will be able to see this and participate! 

Archive blog with only the comic pages: here Page one

[fishsticksart]

the embrace of soil and soul

the way you say soil sounds like soul // the way you say soil you make a poem out of every speck of dirt

[Galatée, Charles François Jalabert // soil, Irène P. Mathieu // Take Me to Church, Hozier // Quote, Jonathan Swift // The Triassic Cuddle, alissaurus_rex // Poem, Tanner Olson // Painting (detail), Josef Neugebauer // Work Song, Hozier // Wolfstar Microfic, tumblr user @mkaugust // Dreaming of Pomegranates, Felice Casorati]

[rebeccathenaturalist]

One of my recent Rainy Rambles columns is an introduction to the "Wood Wide Web", that intricate mycorrhizal relationship among soil fungi and plant roots. It's a quick read that just hits the highlights, but it's a good starting point for those unfamiliar with the concept. Enjoy :)

[mauricesmall]

It’s so beneficial, peaceful and important.

[galacticnova3]

I have pet isopods now

[spacedustpan]

" So I know that they're adorable and really, really fascinating...but let's just let them be their chunky, adorable little selves out in the wild where they belong. "

Giant Emerald Pill-Millipede: when these enormous millipedes are all rolled up, their bodies can be as big as a baseball, a tennis ball, or a small orange

This species (Zoosphaerium neptunus) is commonly known as a giant emerald pill-millipede. The females can measure up to 90mm long (roughly 3.5 inches), making this the largest species of pill-millipede in the world.

There is a significant degree of sexual dimorphism in this species, with the males measuring only about 45mm (1.8 inches) long -- roughly half the size of the females.

Giant emerald pill-millipedes are found only in Madagascar, which is home to several endemic species of giant pill-millipedes (order Sphaerotheriida). The Malagasy name for giant pill-millipedes is "Tainkintana," which means "shooting-star."

Pill-millipedes use conglobation as a defense mechanism, which means that they can curl their bodies up into a spherical shape so that their dorsal plates form a protective shield around the softer, more vulnerable parts of their bodies, just like an actual pill-bug or a "roly-poly."

When they roll themselves up completely, they look almost like gently polished chunks of malachite, emerald, or jade.

Giant emerald pill-millipedes will sometimes form large swarms that travel together as a group. This is the only species of giant pill-millipede that engages in any sort of swarming behavior, and the purpose of that behavior is still unclear. The swarms often contain thousands of individuals, with almost all of them moving in the same direction, even when there is no physical contact that might allow the millipedes to "herd" one another along.

Their swarming behavior also has some very peculiar features, as this article explains:

During swarming, Zoosphaerium neptunus individuals pay little attention to their surroundings; many specimens were observed walking straight into and drowning in small puddles. Some swarms even display ‘cliché lemming behaviour:' in Marojejy, a large part of a swarm walked into and drowned in a small river.

No single specimen was observed walking ‘against the current,' all specimens were moving in the same direction (southeast), even when not in contact with one another.

Of 273 randomly collected individuals, 105 were males, while 168 were females. The males were 8.3 - 14.1 mm wide (average width 10.4 mm). According to the inner horns of the posterior telopods, all males were sexually mature. The females were 9.95 - 15.4 mm wide (average width 11.4 mm). All females displayed non sclerotized vulvae and were sexually immature.

Some researchers argue that the swarming serves as a defense mechanism, providing a layer of protection (or at least some cryptic cover) against local predators, but the swarming behavior is still poorly understood.

Important Note: I just want to remind everyone that these animals belong in their own natural habitat -- they should not be trapped, bought/sold, traded, shipped, collected, or kept as pets. This particular species does not survive well in captivity, either, and the demand for these "exotic" invertebrates is putting the wild populations in jeopardy. The previous article discusses those issues, too:

Another possible threat for Z. neptunus swarms are collections for the pet trade. There exists a large demand in Japan, Europe and North America for 'green -eyed monsters’ as pets. Giant pill -millipedes from Madagascar unfortunately have a very short survival time in terraria. The species is specialized on low-energy food (dead leaves), and adapted to the cool climates (<20°C) of the highlands. Specimens in terraria often starve to death quickly.

So I know that they're adorable and really, really fascinating...but let's just let them be their chunky, adorable little selves out in the wild where they belong.

Sources & More Info:

European Journal of Taxonomy: Seven New Giant Pill-Millipede Species and New Records of the Genus Zoosphaerium from Madagascar

Madagascar Conservation & Development: Swarming Behavior in the World's Largest Giant Pill-Millipede, Z. neptunus, and its Implication for Conservation Efforts

Bonn Zoological Bulletin Supplementum: The Giant Millipedes, Order Sphaerotheriida (an Annotated Species Catalogue) (PDF)

African Invertebrates: Madagascar's Living Giants: Discovery of Five New Species of Endemic Giant Pill-Millipedes from Madagascar (PDF)

[simplefoodsmallfarmz]

Old school simplicity with new school flava.

[soilthesimpletruth]

These hot peppers where the last to be harvested for the year 2024. There are still four times this amount drying on the stem in the greenhouse. We will grind them into flakes and use in our culinary kitchen and some will be pulverized into a powder for insect and critter control. Twas a great season for peppers overall.

[msb-lair]

Clutch #3576 - Bothari/Dendarii

Mated On: 2024-05-08 # of eggs: 4 Hatched On: 2024-05-14

Progeny:

Hatchling 9506 (Arthur) - Veilspun Male, Sanddollar Shell/Marigold Hawkmoth/Soil Flecks, Bright - 15,000 on 2024-05-15

Hatchling 9507 (Sunflower) - Veilspun Female, Banana Giraffe/Yellow Web/Brown Flecks, Common - 15 gems on 2024-05-19

Hatchling 9508 (Legend) - Veilspun Female, Grapefruit Shell/Ivory Hawkmoth/Sable Flecks, Dark - 15,000 on 2024-06-07

Hatchling 9509 (Hix) - Veilspun Female, Yellow Shell/Sunset Hawkmoth/Hickory Flecks, Unusual - 10,962 on 2024-07-20

Comments: I'm at least a little amused that this clutch has both bright and dark eyes in it.

[dmitriene]

plink inspiration

humping simon riley's cock, you're in your panties, soft, cottony fabric sticking wet with drippy slick to your puffy folds, as you glide across the engorged, thick girth of his throbbing cock, rudy tip spilling pearly precum that soils your underwear and turns his pale skin all tacky, gleaming under the warm light of the night lamp.

he doesn't urges your movements, warm palms holding onto your thighs as you roll your hips tentatively, pressing heavy on simon's erection through every spill of his precum, soaking your already slick stained panties through gruff, grunted moans, fluttering eyes heavy lidded, pale eyelashes sweeping across his cheekbones while he gazes you up and down.

you're both tired, a quick fuck simon offered before the sleep turned in just mindless humping, while you drag your pantied, warm pussy over his spasming, rippling cock, over every webbing, glistening vein, gazing at the reddening crown before you twist your hips, making your clit bump against his swollen, bulbous tip, riding on it with gasping, lazy little moans.

the slow, gliding movements is enough to make simon cum, spilling the thick, milky ropes over his abdomen and soaking in your panties, warm against your fluttering, pulsing cunt as you gush in your underwear, stretching glistening strings from where you were seated on simon's jerking cock, as you shift to slip your panties off your hips, exposing the sight of your pussy.

the fabric rolls down your legs along the dragging of your fingers, while you roll to sit against the pillows, taking the soiled, sodden panties to wipe simon's cum off his twitching abdomen and cock, humming a murmured apology when he hisses at the brief overstimulation, before you drop your underwear off on the floor and curl yourself into his side, nuzzling closer and falling asleep.

main masterlist. quidelines.

[mauricesmall]

Best advice:

“Always be patient with your compost and yourself.”

[thebrightgreen]

I recently woke from a restless dream wherein I was helping a spider finish her web. Grimly, the spider had opted to build this web upon two severed feet in a pot of soil. I tried to help fix the web with the only material I had to hand, bubblewrap, to no avail. What's more, when I tried to plant the feet in the soil to make them a sturdy base to build on, the spider told me I should not. The spider's name was Maeve.

My sleep has been disturbed recently and dreams like this may be the cause, though I can't remember any others. If anyone would care to analyse this dream, by all means have at it.

[onenakedfarmer]

Currently Reading

Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis TEAMING WITH MICROBES The Organic Gardener’s Guide to the Soil Food Web