#western columbine

[summerwages]

How sweet it is..

[photo-biont]

[snowyplover]

Western columbine (Aquilegia formosa)

[d3vdgvrlll]

this is the most romantic and honest to god truest thing any one has ever said to me idk how it’s possible that i’ve gon 16 yrs without being this understood but i finally feel seen. i need to be a zombie cowboy. im gonna suck on u sloppy

@salviastomb

[skaerdir]

needle felting rules you can just make a little guy

[aisling-saoirse]

Colorado White Columbine Aquilegia caerulea var. ochroleuca

This grouping immediately caught my attention, being from the east our Columbines inhabit a much less extreme habitat niche. Here I found many along a shaded cove canyon wall under an overhang on a dry-river bed, most growing through high cracks within the rock itself.

Because I'm less familiar with western species I actually did a fair bit of research as to why this flower was white if A. caeulea was commonly blue. Turns out this species exhibits a white color variation in Utah specifically to appeal to local pollinators in this range. There are many species of columbine in the west, some with little-to-no information about habitat and range, while I'm not 100% certain on the exact species, I'm just ID-ing off best inclination feel free to correct me.

As for habitat, Columbines are typically found from mid to relatively high elevations, in shadier zones, in a variety of soils that drain well, and in this case rock fractures. They typically grow around 18-20 inches tall, and have three lobbed leaves which are are deeply cleft and hydrophobic interraction with water. Keep an eye out, I always find them in rocky outcroppings

[cricketchirp]

A Day of Firsts

This has never happened before. Then again, there’s a first for everything. My Guy and I have been hiking together for the last 38 years, and in all that time, never, ever have we been greeted by neighborhood chickens, with one rooster even sending us off to the tune of his cock-a-doodle-do. The past is always present and just after the send off, we paused by the homestead foundation, possibly…

[idontliekmondays]

the halifax mass shooting plot or der untergang

what was this? who planned it? where?

the halifax mass shooting plot was the idea that lindsay souvannarath, james gamble, and randall ’randy’ shepherd came up with to commit a mass shooting at a shopping centre in halifax, nova scotia, on valentine’s day.

more on who

lindsay souvannarath was 23 years old when she was arrested. she was born in chicago, illinois, on january 9, 1992, and lived there up until the time of the planned shooting. she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole. she’s still serving her sentence, and her most recent request for appeal in 2019 was denied.

james gamble was 19 years old at the time of his death on february 12, 2015. he was born in halifax, nova scotia, on august 6, 1995. there doesn’t seem to be much information available about what was done with his remains after death.

randall ‘randy’ shepherd was 20 years old when he was arrested on february 13. he was born in victoria, british columbia, on july 4, 1994. shortly after his birth, he and his family moved to halifax, nova scotia. he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and was sentenced to 10 years in jail. he was released due to statutory release in 2021 after serving seven years and four months; however, he was ordered to stay off the internet and was to live in a halfway house in nova scotia.

how did randy and james meet?

both randy and james attended a high school located a short distance outside of halifax, which is where “they met and bonded over metal music, horror movies, marijuana, and a shared fascination with death and morbidity, often focusing on school shootings and mass murders.”

both were described as having increasing mental struggles following up to the incident.

as time passed, james considered committing a mass killing in halifax. he asked randy to be his partner in crime, who refused but continued to be a willing audience to his ideas.

how did lindsay meet them? what was her relationship with james like?

on december of 2014, james began to follow lindsay because of a “justgirlythings” meme she had posted onto her tumblr. it was captioned “not being able to live without your best friend” and was edited to have the columbine library photo underneath. they started messaging on facebook after this and formed a friendship quickly.

court documents state lindsay and james would repeatedly claim that they were adopting the personas of eric harris and dylan klebold, respectively. lindsay even said she felt the spirit of eric harris was taking over her body at times. they would refer to each other as reb and vodka and often speak of going “nbk” and quote passages to each other from the journals of the columbine shooters.

they also had a similar taste in music and lindsay introduced him to national socialist black metal.

their friendship blossomed into something more sexual that included sending nudes and sexting as they began to plan the shooting and then into something romantic as james began to show a lot of affection and attachment.

they expressed that they believed they were fated to each other and that their destiny was to commit this massacre and to die together. they “just felt like their relationship was destiny.”

the preparation

one of the first things they did was start thinking of possible locations. lindsay left most of that up to james. he came up with various ideas, such as a hospital, a library, and an elementary school, all of which lindsay disagreed with because she thought they would send the wrong message.

one location she ended up agreeing to was a mall.

“it was kind of this symbolism of western decadence and the modern world in general. just the idea of this place where people go to consume. it seemed like it would be a protest against capitalism, against consumerism, against greed.”

“i believe it was the film dawn of the dead that had zombies attacking the shopping mall, and it was supposed to be like this metaphor for our modern society and how obsessed with consumption it is. so i thought that would be perfect.”

in february of 2015, james and randy went to the halifax shopping centre and filmed videos of where the shooting was planned to happen. these were referred to as their “basement tapes.”

in one of these videos, they discussed how the temporary walls in the food court might block some of the shots, and randy stated that if at least one person from his high school was killed, the attack would be worth it. in another one of these, james calmly stares into the camera and says, “you're lucky i couldn’t get any more bullets.”

the plan

the mass shooting was to take place on valentines day, february 14, at the halifax shopping centre food court. the shopping centre was chosen with the intention to cause “mass panic.” (the date of the shooting was switched due to price increases on tickets. the original date was february 1st. james had the idea to change the date to valentines day because there would be more people in the food court and the time and he believed it would be more shocking.)

lindsay would travel by air to halifax to meet james on february 13.

james was to shoot both of his parents before lindsay arrived.

they would both then spend the night together in the gamble residence.

randy hoped to be shot and killed by james the same evening as a form of assisted suicide. (lindsay was not involved with this part of the plan). james wanted randy to make a video recording of the shooting instead of committing suicide.

the next day they would begin the shooting in the food court, which was the area they believed would provide them the most cover.

they were going to go into the food court bathrooms, change outfits, get their weapons and come out and open fire.

they were going to start the shooting by throwing molotov cocktails into the food court. (randy was to provide six bottles for the molotov cocktails.)

james was to arm himself with his father’s lever-action hunting rifle along with a hunting knife.

lindsay would be armed with his father’s single-action 16-gauge shotgun.

each was to wear previously selected death outfits that, in many ways, were chosen to pay tribute to the columbine shooters.

they wanted to shoot as many people as their ammunition allowed.

they were going to save their last bullets for themselves and “just like columbine” they would kneel facing each other and shoot themselves on the count of three.

what actually happened

the morning of feburary 12, 2015, lindsay snuck out of her family home and began the trip to halifax. she described herself as “very eager, very excited, very very thrilled to be leaving home.”

james then faltered in his plans to murder his parents and sent lindsay a facebook message that read, “i’m going to have to wait until tomorrow to kill them” and “you’ll have to stay at randy’s for the night.”

the same day of february 12, crime stoppers received an anonymous tip. a summary of the tip is as follows:

two people are posting on social media sites that they plan to shoot up the mall in halifax, nova scotia.

the two people are obsessed with school shootings.

a female is to leave chicago on a delta airlines flight to meet up with a male who has weapons for them to use.

the female is asian, known as lindsay, last name unknown but begins with “s”, she is approximately twenty-three years old, born 01-16-92 and is 5’3’’ tall and weighs 90lbs. lindsay has black shoulder length hair, which is dyed red right now and she wears brown framed glasses;

lindsay is friends with the male, james gamble;

lindsay has multiple social media accounts such as a facebook under the name “lindsay shubniggurath”, a tumblr account under the name “cockswastika”, and skype account under the name “thenewheresy”.

the male is james gamble, white male, nineteen years old, born 08-06-95, and is described as very skinny with dark brown hair parted to one side;

james gamble lives in halifax, nova scotia;

the anonymous source has not met james gamble in person;

james gamble is lindsay’s friend from online;

james has several social media accounts such as a facebook account under the name “james gamble” and a tumblr account under the name “shallowexistences”.

the canadian border services agency was contacted and issued a lookout to their agents to identify anyone who might match the description of the female.

soon officers arrived at the gamble residence in timberlea, nova scotia. james was contacted by telephone and suggested to exit the residence, which he agreed to do. instead, he committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with a single bullet from his father’s hunting rifle.

as previously agreed on, shepherd arrived at the stanfield international airport by city bus to pick up lindsay. he messaged lindsay and reiterated that james was behind on schedule killing his parents and that she would have to stay with him for the night.

lindsay landed in halifax at midnight, february 13th. at 12:10am she presented herself to primary immigration and spoke to a CBSA agent. the national lookout did not raise a flag at the time.

the CBSA agent was concerned by lindsay regardless. she communicated to him that she flew to canada on a one way ticket, had only $33, and did not know where her boyfriend lived. the agent thought that she may have been attempting to bring drugs into canada and noted that “she had very bad teeth and her complexion was very bad with scars on her face. this made me think that she may be on drugs.”

the agent directed lindsay to a secondary immigration examination as well as a secondary customs inspection.

she was questioned at secondary immigration by an agent. the agent questioned lindsay and confirmed that she didn’t know where she was going, had a small amount of money, and did not have a return ticket. lindsay communicated that she was in halifax to have a “memorable” valentine’s day weekend with her boyfriend who she had previously met online. she further communicated that randy was at the airport to pick her up, which was confirmed by CBSA officials.

the contents of her luggage were searched. she had little with her, aside from some makeup, her death outfit, and two books on serial killers.

while she was being dealt with by agents, officials reviewed the national lookout and determined that lindsay may be the person of interest.

police soon arrived at the airport and quickly arrested both randy and lindsay.

their online trail

they left a steady trail of posts referencing the planned shooting. there was a playlist posted on lindsay's tumblr blog to “cement the aesthetic” along with countless other posts hinting towards their plan. lindsay also queued her manifesto to post on her blog after the shooting.

my main source

[liberalsarecool]

25 years of 'thoughts and prayers'.

Thurston High School

Columbine High School

Heritage High School

Deming Middle School

Fort Gibson Middle School

Buell Elementary School

Lake Worth Middle School

University of Arkansas

Junipero Serra High School

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Lew Wallace High School

Martin Luther King, Jr High School

Appalachian School of Law

Washington High School

Conception Abbey

Benjamin Tasker Middle School

University of Arizona

Lincoln High School

John McDonogh High School

Red Lion Area Junior High School

Case Western Reserve University

Rocori High School

Ballou High School

Randallstown High School

Bowen High School

Red Lake Senior High School

Harlan Community Academy High School

Campbell County High School

Milwee Middle School

Roseburg High School

Pine Middle School

Essex Elementary School

Duquesne University

Platte Canyon High School

Weston High School

West Nickel Mines School

Joplin Memorial Middle School

Henry Foss High School

Compton Centennial High School

Virginia Tech

Success Tech Academy

Miami Carol City Senior High School

Hamilton High School

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Mitchell High School

EO Green Junior High School

Northern Illinois University

Lakota Middle School

Knoxville Central High School

Willoughby South High School

Henry Ford High School

University of Central Arkansas

Dillard High School

Dunbar High School

Hampton University

Harvard College

Larose-Cut Off Middle School

International Studies Academy

Skyline College

Discovery Middle School

University of Alabama

DeKalb School

Deer Creek Middle School

Ohio State University

Mumford High School

University of Texas

Kelly Elementary School

Marinette High School

Aurora Central High School

Millard South High School

Martinsville West Middle School

Worthing High School

Millard South High School

Highlands Intermediate School

Cape Fear High School

Chardon High School

Episcopal School of Jacksonville

Oikos University

Hamilton High School

Perry Hall School

Normal Community High School

University of South Alabama

Banner Academy South

University of Southern California

Sandy Hook Elementary School

Apostolic Revival Center Christian School

Taft Union High School

Osborn High School

Stevens Institute of Business and Arts

Hazard Community and Technical College

Chicago State University

Lone Star College-North

Cesar Chavez High School

Price Middle School

University of Central Florida

New River Community College

Grambling State University

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School

Ronald E McNair Discovery Academy

North Panola High School

Carver High School

Agape Christian Academy

Sparks Middle School

North Carolina A&T State University

Stephenson High School

Brashear High School

West Orange High School

Arapahoe High School

Edison High School

Liberty Technology Magnet High School

Hillhouse High School

Berrendo Middle School

Purdue University

South Carolina State University

Los Angeles Valley College

Charles F Brush High School

University of Southern California

Georgia Regents University

Academy of Knowledge Preschool

Benjamin Banneker High School

D H Conley High School

East English Village Preparatory Academy

Paine College

Georgia Gwinnett College

John F Kennedy High School

Seattle Pacific University

Reynolds High School

Indiana State University

Albemarle High School

Fern Creek Traditional High School

Langston Hughes High School

Marysville Pilchuck High School

Florida State University

Miami Carol City High School

Rogers State University

Rosemary Anderson High School

Wisconsin Lutheran High School

Frederick High School

Tenaya Middle School

Bethune-Cookman University

Pershing Elementary School

Wayne Community College

JB Martin Middle School

Southwestern Classical Academy

Savannah State University

Harrisburg High School

Umpqua Community College

Northern Arizona University

Texas Southern University

Tennessee State University

Winston-Salem State University

Mojave High School

Lawrence Central High School

Franklin High School

Muskegon Heights High School

Independence High School

Madison High School

Antigo High School

University of California-Los Angeles

Jeremiah Burke High School

Alpine High School

Townville Elementary School

Vigor High School

Linden McKinley STEM Academy

June Jordan High School for Equity

Union Middle School

Mueller Park Junior High School

West Liberty-Salem High School

University of Washington

King City High School

North Park Elementary School

North Lake College

Freeman High School

Mattoon High School

Rancho Tehama Elementary School

Aztec High School

Wake Forest University

Italy High School

NET Charter High School

Marshall County High School

Sal Castro Middle School

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School

Great Mills High School

Central Michigan University

Huffman High School

Frederick Douglass High School

Forest High School

Highland High School

Dixon High School

Santa Fe High School

Noblesville West Middle School

University of North Carolina Charlotte

STEM School Highlands Ranch

Edgewood High School

Palm Beach Central High School

Providence Career & Technical Academy

Fairley High School (school bus)

Canyon Springs High School

Dennis Intermediate School

Florida International University

Central Elementary School

Cascade Middle School

Davidson High School

Prairie View A & M University

Altascocita High School

Central Academy of Excellence

Cleveland High School

Robert E Lee High School

Cheyenne South High School

Grambling State University

Blountsville Elementary School

Holmes County, Mississippi (school bus)

Prescott High School

College of the Mainland

Wynbrooke Elementary School

UNC Charlotte

Riverview Florida (school bus)

Second Chance High School

Carman-Ainsworth High School

Williwaw Elementary School

Monroe Clark Middle School

Central Catholic High School

Jeanette High School

Eastern Hills High School

DeAnza High School

Ridgway High School

Reginald F Lewis High School

Saugus High School

Pleasantville High School

Waukesha South High School

Oshkosh High School

Catholic Academy of New Haven

Bellaire High School

North Crowley High School

McAuliffe Elementary School

South Oak Cliff High School

Texas A&M University-Commerce

Sonora High School

Western Illinois University

Oxford High School

Robb Elementary SchoolThurston High School

Columbine High School

Heritage High School

Deming Middle School

Fort Gibson Middle School

Buell Elementary School

Lake Worth Middle School

University of Arkansas

Junipero Serra High School

Santana High School

Bishop Neumann High School

Pacific Lutheran University

Granite Hills High School

Lew Wallace High School

Martin Luther King, Jr High School

Appalachian School of Law

Washington High School

Conception Abbey

Benjamin Tasker Middle School

University of Arizona

Lincoln High School

John McDonogh High School

Red Lion Area Junior High School

Case Western Reserve University

Rocori High School

Ballou High School

Randallstown High School

Bowen High School

Red Lake Senior High School

Harlan Community Academy High School

Campbell County High School

Milwee Middle School

Roseburg High School

Pine Middle School

Essex Elementary School

Duquesne University

Platte Canyon High School

Weston High School

West Nickel Mines School

Joplin Memorial Middle School

Henry Foss High School

Compton Centennial High School

Virginia Tech

Success Tech Academy

Miami Carol City Senior High School

Hamilton High School

Louisiana Technical College

Mitchell High School

EO Green Junior High School

Northern Illinois University

Lakota Middle School

Knoxville Central High School

Willoughby South High School

Henry Ford High School

University of Central Arkansas

Dillard High School

Dunbar High School

Hampton University

Harvard College

Larose-Cut Off Middle School

International Studies Academy

Skyline College

Discovery Middle School

University of Alabama

DeKalb School

Deer Creek Middle School

Ohio State University

Mumford High School

University of Texas

Kelly Elementary School

Marinette High School

Aurora Central High School

Millard South High School

Martinsville West Middle School

Worthing High School

Millard South High School

Highlands Intermediate School

Cape Fear High School

Chardon High School

Episcopal School of Jacksonville

Oikos University

Hamilton High School

Perry Hall School

Normal Community High School

University of South Alabama

Banner Academy South

University of Southern California

Sandy Hook Elementary School

Apostolic Revival Center Christian School

Taft Union High School

Osborn High School

Stevens Institute of Business and Arts

Hazard Community and Technical College

Chicago State University

Lone Star College-North

Cesar Chavez High School

Price Middle School

University of Central Florida

New River Community College

Grambling State University

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School

Ronald E McNair Discovery Academy

North Panola High School

Carver High School

Agape Christian Academy

Sparks Middle School

North Carolina A&T State University

Stephenson High School

Brashear High School

West Orange High School

Arapahoe High School

Edison High School

Liberty Technology Magnet High School

Hillhouse High School

Berrendo Middle School

Purdue University

South Carolina State University

Los Angeles Valley College

Charles F Brush High School

University of Southern California

Georgia Regents University

Academy of Knowledge Preschool

Benjamin Banneker High School

D H Conley High School

East English Village Preparatory Academy

Paine College

Georgia Gwinnett College

John F Kennedy High School

Seattle Pacific University

Reynolds High School

Indiana State University

Albemarle High School

Fern Creek Traditional High School

Langston Hughes High School

Marysville Pilchuck High School

Florida State University

Miami Carol City High School

Rogers State University

Rosemary Anderson High School

Wisconsin Lutheran High School

Frederick High School

Tenaya Middle School

Bethune-Cookman University

Pershing Elementary School

Wayne Community College

JB Martin Middle School

Southwestern Classical Academy

Savannah State University

Harrisburg High School

Umpqua Community College

Northern Arizona University

Texas Southern University

Tennessee State University

Winston-Salem State University

Mojave High School

Lawrence Central High School

Franklin High School

Muskegon Heights High School

Independence High School

Madison High School

Antigo High School

University of California-Los Angeles

Jeremiah Burke High School

Alpine High School

Townville Elementary School

Vigor High School

Linden McKinley STEM Academy

June Jordan High School for Equity

Union Middle School

Mueller Park Junior High School

West Liberty-Salem High School

University of Washington

King City High School

North Park Elementary School

North Lake College

Freeman High School

Mattoon High School

Rancho Tehama Elementary School

Aztec High School

Wake Forest University

Italy High School

NET Charter High School

Marshall County High School

Sal Castro Middle School

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School

Great Mills High School

Central Michigan University

Huffman High School

Frederick Douglass High School

Forest High School

Highland High School

Dixon High School

Santa Fe High School

Noblesville West Middle School

University of North Carolina Charlotte

STEM School Highlands Ranch

Edgewood High School

Palm Beach Central High School

Providence Career & Technical Academy

Fairley High School (school bus)

Canyon Springs High School

Dennis Intermediate School

Florida International University

Central Elementary School

Cascade Middle School

Davidson High School

Prairie View A & M University

Altascocita High School

Central Academy of Excellence

Cleveland High School

Robert E Lee High School

Cheyenne South High School

Grambling State University

Blountsville Elementary School

Holmes County, Mississippi (school bus)

Prescott High School

College of the Mainland

Wynbrooke Elementary School

UNC Charlotte

Riverview Florida (school bus)

Second Chance High School

Carman-Ainsworth High School

Williwaw Elementary School

Monroe Clark Middle School

Central Catholic High School

Jeanette High School

Eastern Hills High School

DeAnza High School

Ridgway High School

Reginald F Lewis High School

Saugus High School

Pleasantville High School

Waukesha South High School

Oshkosh High School

Catholic Academy of New Haven

Bellaire High School

North Crowley High School

McAuliffe Elementary School

South Oak Cliff High School

Texas A&M University-Commerce

Sonora High School

Western Illinois University

Oxford High School

Bridgewater University

Robb Elementary School

Michigan State University

Covenant Christian School

.

TBA

***feel free to copy and paste, then share ****

[seabeck]

Western columbine

[jewish-sideblog]

I think we are encountering the dawn of a kind of decolourized supremacy. By that, I mean that many white and otherwise privileged Westerners are keen to dismantle their own internalized White Supremacy in our modern era, and that is a good thing in theory. But while many of them do a decent job of deconstructing the externalized expressions of racism, ie the Whiteness, very few actually manage to address the underlying ideals of Supremacy.

Lee Edelman touches on this while critiquing reproductive futurism in No Future: Queer Theory and the Death Drive. He quotes the White Supremacist slogan: "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children". Edelman argues that this slogan is not repulsive exclusively because of the word "white"-- if you take the racism out, it still represents a very harmful and repressive colonialist ideology. The idea that we survive through our children and that we must secure their future at any cost is harmful to feminist, queer, and other minority causes. When held by US Republicans, it is the ideal that led to the Dobbs repeal of Roe v Wade, and any number of oppressive anti-Queer legislation targeted at "protecting children".

Yet it is also a harmful ideology found in many Western liberals and leftists-- The idea that we can't have kink at Pride because a shirtless gay guy in a leather dog mask could somehow be harmful to a Queer child. The idea that we have to combat the climate crisis for the sake of future generations, as if the Third World is not already experiencing the effects of climate devastation firsthand today. The idea that we have to enact common sense gun reform in the USA to protect children from school shootings, not to protect adults and children alike in communities of colour who have been dying to gun violence since long before Sandy Hook or Columbine. None of the examples in this paragraph are explicitly homophobic, imperialist, or racist, but they can and do still carry those effects. The ideals of supremacy linger, even when the whiteness is cut out.

Jewish communities right now are seeing a deeply insidious form of this decolourized supremacy. The explicit racism is gone, but the underlying currents of antisemitic and colonialist supremacy are still going strong. Hence the shift from targeting Jews to targeting (((Zionists))), but not ever targeting evangelical Christian Zionists, who outnumber Jewish Zionists by the millions. Hence the disrespect and trivialization of the Jewish connection to our native lands, and the hatred towards the most successful land-back movement in history, while they still offer lip service and slactivism towards the native groups whose land they actively occupy. These are convenient ways for them to perpetuate supremacist ideals without an indefensible appearance of racism or coloniality.

It is a new and disguised racism, and the most terrifying thing is that it’s disguised internally against the very people who are being racist. They’re incapable of seeing their own bigotry or wrongdoings. Their own supremacy has convinced them that they are right, that they are righteous, that they are good and can do no wrong. We’ve seen this before— it’s the same kind of supremacy responsible for Manifest Destiny and the White Man's Burden. They act as though they know better about our own cultures and people than we do, and that they somehow know what’s best for us, even as they talk over us and disregard the pain they are causing.

This is rapidly becoming the default position of liberal and leftist activism. And, mark my words, it will destroy progressive movements in the Western world if left unchecked.

[highways-are-liminal-spaces]

28, 29, 45, and 50! (yes I’m sending you more 😂🤷🏻‍♀️)

28. What’s your favorite local animal you see all the time but still love?

Off the top of my head, I can only think of two days when I saw a raccoon and seeing the raccoon was not the absolute highlight of my day. Also, when I'm up in Juneau, having Harbor Seals around everywhere is so special.

29. What’s your favorite type of wetland?

Bogs, my dearly beloved bogs <3

45. What is your favorite wildflower?

Probably either Utah Columbine or Wyoming Indian Paintbrush—but really, any of the western mountain wildflowers are elite.

50. What fictional environment would you most like to explore?

My instant reaction is the version of the high arctic from The Terror but I watched the show and learned about hubris. So instead let's say that I want to go birding in Borogravia with Polly and Oliver Perks.

Nature Ask Meme

[ghostoffuturespast]

No Friday field notes last week? 🥺👉👈 tell me one cool nature thing you saw last week. Saturday I got to see up close near my porch a robin with a beakful of worms. It's funny how they just kinda hang out and wobble with how they hold them. I also saw a wasp crawling along my sliding glass door so I got to get an up close look at its little face.

Oh! And Friday after my tattoo I heard a common nighthawk!!!!

Hey! Lol, I didn't realize the field notes would be missed so much! 🌿🌱🐣 🧡 Makes my little nature heart happy to hear though.

I try to do the field notes weekly, but there are times when I just might not have the gas to get to them. Summer is the busiest time for me work wise and this past month has been insane. Tail-end of field trip season, so I probably saw several hundred K-12 students in the span of 2 weeks, got sick, and then I've been coordinating installation and maintenance for a native plant garden.

June is gonna be even crazier because I've got back to back weeks of summer day camp (which I still need to put the agendas together for by like tomorrow lmfao), prepping for a booth at a comic-con, planning a community art event, field restoration workdays, more garden stuff, and I'm taking a plant identification course too, but the classes are on one of my days off, so I will technically only have one day off a week for the entire month... I will do my best to keep posting these regularly (because I do love doing them), but if I skip a week, just know it's probably because I passed out and am taking a nap.

Aw, mama Robin with worms! They are very cute when they are out hunting for food and I've seen quite a few out my office window this past spring. Bug faces are so fascinating to see up close, getting them to stay still long enough to get a good look is the hardest part though. Saw a neat metallic green Thread-waisted Wasp the other day (no idea on the species) , striking and beautiful! And a Common Nighthawk! I've yet to see or hear one, so that is very cool that you did.

What else have I seen... Lots of baby Bunnies and Prairie Dogs (all adorable), and the Bald Eagle chicks in the (4?) nests we've been monitoring are all fledging too which is very exciting! They're all getting ready to leave the nests. And the Pronghorn mamas are all about ready to pop, so hopefully we'll be spotting some babies soon.

Late spring flowers are starting to bloom here on the prairie! Rocky Mountain Columbine (Aquilegia caerulea) on the left and Western Wild Rose (Rosa woodsii) on the right. I'm very proud of those Columbines because they were incredibly sad when I planted them last year and they didn't flower. But they bloomed this year!

On my home brew native plant garden project, I'm happy to report I did manage to get 12 out of the 14 species I planted to germinate, with roughly 50% success rate, which is pretty good. (The seeds for the Little Bluestem and the Winterfat I think were blanks unfortunately, so I'll try again next season.) And my vegetable garden is getting there too. Snap peas and zucchini!

But, yeah, getting ready to blow half a paycheck on plant starts for my front yard lol...

[pnwnativeplants]

Hey there! I recently moved to to a property owned by my fiance's family in the greater Seattle area, and there are a lot of empty pots on site. I'd like to plant native plants in them, but my fiance's family would definitely prefer showy nonnatives like geraniums and petunias. Do you have any ideas of long-lasting (not ephemeral like camas - I grow those in a meadow format, but I wouldn't use them in a pot) and showy (absolutely no fringecup or piggy-back plant lol) native flowers for partly-shaded to full sun pots?

You can grow achillea millefolium, or any kind of lupine potentially. Achillea might not be showy enough, but they at least have a long bloom time. Big leaf lupine have very showy purple flowers and cute palmate leaves year round. Irix tenax is a native iris that's very showy. Western columbine (Aquilegia formosa) is also pretty popular everywhere. Lonicera hispidula is pink honeysuckle, which is a vine you can train and it keeps it's leaves year-round. Lonicera ciliosa has more flowers but is deciduous in winter time, so its vine just look like dead sticks till spring. Both big hummingbird plants. You can have beach strawberry around anything else you grow too, to help keep weeds down. Granted I've never tried planting any of these in containers so I have no idea how they do. (except achillea can probably do whatever it wants to be honest, it doesnt care hahaha)

If you have bigger containers you can mess with small shrubs but I just stuck with forbs here since you mentioned looking for alternatives to petunias and such.

[only-lonely-stars]

A Bride for the Prince (Chapter 1 - The Hairclip)

[Prologue] // [Chapter 1 of 9 - you are here!] // [Chapter 2 of 9] – (FFN) (AO3)

Part of the @ninjago-fairy-tale-au!

Summary:

Once upon a time, there lived a faithful and hardworking girl named Pixal Borg, who worked every day to satisfy her demanding stepmother. For years, she cleaned and cooked, giving no argument, until the day came when she met the prince. A Pixane Cinderella retelling.

Chapter summary:

Pixal Borg is a dedicated student and a creative problem-solver, but her life never seems to get any easier...

In the Borg household, life progressed in its norm, as every family member expected it to.

Cyrus Borg worked long and hard, creating inventions and conferring with inventors from every corner of the Central Commonwealth. His second wife, Amaryllis, lived as a queen and headed their estate, doting on her daughters Begonia and Columbine as if they were incarnate angels. Pixal, for her part, toiled daily to do the chores and housework, eager to please the spirit of her mother even as her stepmother and sisters tormented her. In the little free time she had, she worked on her own sorts of inventions and sciences in the safety of her basement, to which she had been cast when Columbine had taken custody of her old bedroom.

One day, as was his habit, Cyrus gathered the women of his household before he left on yet another business trip. He asked each of them a question.

"My dearest, what gift would you like me to bring home when I return?"

Each gave a separate response.

"I would like for you to bring home a bolt of fine western silk brocade, so that I might have an evening gown made from it," Amaryllis requested, gently smoothing the taffeta fabric of her skirt.

"I want many strings of pearls!" Columbine demanded, pulling on the chain of her gold necklace.

"I want the most beautiful set of combs you find, with gold and silver inlay," Begonia cried, stroking her long locks of auburn hair.

Pixal was silent when Cyrus came to her. Concerned, he took her hands in his. "Pixal, my daughter, what gift would you like? Your sisters and stepmother have asked for such beautiful things. Would you like me to bring you those, too?"

Pixal shook her head. "No, Father. I do not want gold or jewels. My only wish is that you might find something small and rare– a flower, or a locket. Something with a story, that I might hear it."

Cyrus smiled and kissed her forehead. "Of course, Pixal. I promise, I will bring you a rare treasure, with a magic all its own."

Once all his goodbyes had been said, Cyrus departed from the Borg estate, and the women went back to their lives, with even more resentment toward Pixal because of Cyrus' greater love for her.

-----

After several weeks of travel, Cyrus Borg eventually returned to his estate, laden with gifts. Just as he had promised, he brought back fine fabrics, stones, accessories, and garments for them, all paid for with the money he had earned from selling yet another invention. When he parceled them out, he gave each many things. One such item was a beautiful purple dress with white and red embroidery and matching shoes, given to Pixal. Along with it, he also placed a little box in her hand.

"What is inside?" she asked, opening it.

"It is a silver clip. I searched far and wide to find it for you, my daughter. The man who sold it to me promised that it has a magical property, but he could not explain it. You will have the pleasure of learning from it."

Pixal took out the hairclip and examined it. It was plain silver, with no adornment of any kind, save for a tiny engraving of an ancient symbol. She smiled and put it in her hair, which it seemed to blend with, the color nearly identical. "Thank you, Father. I will cherish it." Once he had given out his gifts, Cyrus and Pixal talked for a long time about his travels.

When he had gone to bed, Columbine and Begonia came to see Pixal in her basement. She had laid her new dress and shoes safely away, hidden behind a loose wall panel, but still wore the clip. Her stepsisters came up to her, smugly adorned in their new finery, fingering them with pride.

"Your clip is so dull, Pixal," Begonia said. "I've never seen such a useless hairpiece."

"Why would you ask for something like that?" Columbine asked incredulously. "At least the dress makes sense."

"I do not want finery," Pixal said, meeting their eyes with eerie intensity. "I wish for utility instead, even though you do not understand why."

"No wonder you are a maid, Pixal. Nobody in their right mind would ask for something so useless and claim it's useful."

"With that strange name, could she be anything else? Really, Pixal, it's a wonder Father puts up with you."

The two stepsisters snickered to themselves. Pixal only watched them and was unafraid. Eventually they tired of her and left, claiming to have other things to do. Only then did she take out her hair clip so she could examine it.

The clip was indeed simple, as if it were a cheap gift. For a moment, Pixal wondered if it had been a scam. However, her father had trusted, the vendor, so perhaps it was true. With her nail, she traced the engraving. It was a complex character of an ancient script, perhaps Old Shintaran. She went to the library with it and pulled out a book of history, which she opened to a section on Shintaro, the elusive northern kingdom.

It was as she had thought. The symbol was magical, with an incantation to match. Slowly, she sounded out the symbol, which was a word.

"Salva me in opere..." The clip began to glow in her hand. Pixal's eyes widened, and she glanced at the translation again for guidance. The symbol was used for tools to help the user in work. Magical items that used it would be able to do all sorts of things– saddling horses, cleaning dishes, and lifting heavy furniture were all examples. Knowing this, she looked back at the clip. "Close the book," she told it.

The clip began to shine brighter, and an apparition of light burst from it in the form of a hand. The hand went to the book and closed it gently, then disappeared. Once it did, the clip laid still and silent once again.

Pixal beamed at it, knowing her father had spoken truly. She re-fastened it in her hair and asked it again. "Salve me in opere. Put the book away and dust the shelf."

Just like before, the clip began to glow, and two apparitions burst from it. Just as she had instructed, they did the work asked of them, disappearing into the air when they were finished. Pixal gazed in amazement as they worked, faster than she ever could. This tool was more invaluable than anyone could tell her, but clearly more valuable as well. She could not tell her family– not even her father, who would entrust the knowledge to her stepmother. Instead, it would be her secret.

-----

Days and weeks passed, and Pixal slowly learned more about her magical tool. Just as the book had told, the clip could do incomparable things. It washed dishes, cleaned, retrieved things, and more. However, it was not infallible, so she eventually composed a mental list of restrictions, which she kept in the forefront of her mind. The clip could not be used without the trigger phrase, could not lift or move anything weighing more than fifty pounds, and could not be used more than twenty times per day. If she commanded it to do something it could not, it would do nothing, as if it were never magical at all. Knowing this, she began to use it well.

Over time, Pixal learned to use the clip for the most time-consuming work, so that she might use her energy for the quicker things. With the time it afforded her, she began to read copiously, learning as much as she could about mathematics, the sciences, histories, the arts, and politics. Whenever her father would ask her what she desired after his travels, she would ask for literature and heavy tomes, such that he carried a trunk just for her gifts during each journey. Her thirst for knowledge was great and rarely abated, such that she would often spend her nights reading by candle light. In envy of her father's love, however, Begonia and Columbine began to tell Pixal to do more and more work for them, so that she would be unable to educate herself so thoroughly. Amaryllis encouraged them, and slowly, Pixal took on all the work of the hired help, who were thus dismissed.

Unbeknownst to everyone, however, Pixal began to learn from her tomes the quiet ways of magic. She learned of wards and spells, hexes and curses, and all manner of charms, and slowly became a novice mage, even as her workload grew.

-----

NOTE:

For the rest of this fic, underlined sections are meant to be "magic words." (That is, things translated into Latin with Google Translate, because I was being lazy. If I wrote this fic today, instead of 4 years ago, I'd go the J.R.R. Tolkien route and actually make up a fictional language... but I'm not about to go back and change my old works just to fix it.)

Salva me in opere = "Help me in my work"

[mariacallous]

leftists and guns is kinda the ultimate "you are not immune to propaganda" like if you have a normal rational relationship with fire arms you realize A) accidents do happen, people hurt themselves with their own guns ALL the time, B) just the whole suicide issue and you have a minor in the home...

but guns are magical and having them makes you the perfect gun owner who is also magically Dirty Harry crossed with Annie Oakley, like that ain't real mama, life is not a video game that shot gun does not make you the Space Marine from Doom.

My dad was a cop and had been in the Marines, and a lot of the men in my family have either served in the military and/or were some kind of first responder, and they were cops during the 70s and 80s and 90s in the San Francisco Bay Area around Oakland and Richmond.

It made my dad more liberal/leftist and more in favor of both restrictions/regulations on cops and gun control because of the shit he saw and dealt with, and he was incredibly clear with us the seriousness and danger of guns. He kept his gun in a safe/lockbox either in his closet or in a drawer.

All that means, really, is that if he wanted to, he would have been the only one to find and use it.

Fortunately, he disliked it, and he left the police for a variety of reasons but one of the things he told me was that he wanted a job where he wouldn't have to carry or think about guns all day. (Granted, because this is America, the latter isn't really possible but).

I remember Columbine, and Aurora, and the shootings since. And when I moved to the midwest (and specifically Western Minnesota/Eastern North Dakota initially) and even now in NYC, I try to be careful and aware when I'm out and about, and I'm also aware of the possibility of being followed and attacked or worse (ever since the day I had someone drive by and call me a faggot and then follow me back to my apartment in Fargo - fortunately my last day there - it's never left my mind, and even moreso now).

People talk about other countries and how sane they are with guns, but apart from political and other elements, we have literally always had a gun and violence culture in this country, deeply tied to the racism and sexism and classism that is such a huge element of our history and society. Otherwise we wouldn't be constantly adapting around all these mass shootings - at least, what 608 this year so far? - and constantly having the right-wing judges knock down any efforts to restrict them or increase public safety.

And the right *wants* people to think that more guns are necessary, or that guns are the only way to protect yourself. They *want* more women, more people of color, more lgbtq people, carrying weapons and being armed. Because then they can *further* justify and empower violence against those groups. Because then it really *is* an existential or power issue. They *want* armed minority groups because that plays into every single one of their fantasies and fears, and then they can be the noble defender of traditional values and lifestyles.