johnpalmer | Reading

fuzzyred is hosting a pool for the half-price sale in Polychrome Heroics. Comment on that post to join the pool.

My main targets will be all of the Shiv poems and "Our Homemade Safety Nets." If there is more interest, I would like to contribute to the open epic "No Faster or Firmer Friendships," then possibly Rutledge poems if people are interested.
[---8<---]
If there is a specific poem you would like, let me know, and it can be added to the pool goals.

Current Mood: busy

mdlbear

Today I am thankful for...

An instruction book written half in English.
Fast delivery, when I can get it. Thank you, Bol and PetsPlace! NO thanks for Ticia needing a kidney diet now.
Diclofenac, Ibuprofen, and Naproxen.
A vet who makes house calls.

Current Mood: grateful
Current Location: Schildhaven in Den Haag

ysabetwordsmith

scabrous (SKAB-ruhs) - adj., covered with scales or scabs; hence, very coarse or rough; hence, disgusting, repellent; hence, dealing with suggestive, indecent, or scandalous themes; difficult, thorny, troublesome.

In botany, this lacks the negative connotations, and it is used heavily to describe things as diverse as tree bark, fruit, and squashes.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

The Pit of Bones: A Death Chamber Time Capsule

In 1997, scientists discovered this small chamber within a much larger complex cave system. They’ve found other human occupation sites within it, but The Pit of Bones was no place for the living. To date, more than 50,000 partially fossilized bones have been collected. These bones include more than 6500 belonging to an ancient hominid species, in addition to bones of over 160 individuals of an extinct species of cave bear, a panther, lynxes, canines, and small mammals.

In addition to some nice details and diagrams of the actual science, there is an amusing discussion of how badly this fits the "young Earth creationism" fantasy.

Current Mood: amused

ysabetwordsmith

Today is sunny and hot, with fluffy white clouds in the sky.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 4/23/26 -- I took some pictures around the yard.

EDIT 4/23/26 -- I refilled potting soil into the hollow logs at the front of the log garden. Then I planted a 4-pack of white impatiens in the holes.

I put the flats of plants outside to get some sun.

I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches plus a male cardinal.

EDIT 4/23/26 -- I watered the impatiens and flats of plants.

I've seen a starling at the hopper feeder.

EDIT 4/23/26 -- I potted up four green sweet basil plants and one purple ruffles basil, then watered them.

I've seen a fox squirrel at the hopper feeder.

EDIT 4/23/26 -- We hauled the new bag of grass seed out of the car.

EDIT 4/23/26 -- I sowed grass seed in the big bare patch at the west edge of the south lot.

EDIT 4/23/26 -- We hauled out the tape hose and the new sprinkler head. There is not enough hose to reach the grass patch, and with the low water pressure that we have, the spray only covers about 6 feet wide. *sigh*

EDIT 4/23/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 4/23/26 -- I planted a small trough pot with orange mint, mojito mint, and apple mint. There is room for one more mint there.

.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

The Great Oxidation Event Was Earth’s First Apocalypse

The Great Oxidation Event marks the point when oxygen first began to accumulate in Earth’s atmosphere and shallow oceans, permanently altering the course of life on our planet.

I was really pleased to find this description, since most sources ignore Earth's first mass extinction.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

This year I'm doing Community Thursdays. Some of my activity will involve maintaining communities I run, and my favorites. Some will involve checking my list of subscriptions and posting in lower-traffic ones. Today I have interacted with the following communities...

* Commented on "Gratitude Journaling" in

journalsandplanners.

* Commented on "just create - beard edition" in

justcreate.

* Posted "Books" to

lgbtqiapluswriters.

* Commented on "Just One Thing" in

awesomeers.

* Posted "Birdfeeding" in

birdfeeding.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

These are the content notes for "No Faster or Firmer Friendships."

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

dialecticdreamer

A Complicated Tangle
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 5
Word count (story only): 1259
[Tuesday, 3 January 2017]

:: Frank the Crank is analyzing the next sections of road to clear, and trying to decide if the promise of payment is enough to warrant hiring a crew captain for a new work crew. All these difficulties, and he hasn’t even seen the next tangle in person yet! Part of the Polychrome Heroics universe, this story is written for the April Magpie Monday, and will post in five parts. Thank you all for your support. Enjoy! ::

On to part two

Frank stared at the photograph taken by a kids’ drone, looking at the array of cars abandoned on the two-lane road, though the cars were four deep for long stretches, and that had created other problems as some of the cars were parked on farmland. Most drivers had largely treated the ditches as property boundaries, and respected that invisible line, but in wider, flatter areas, there were deep furrows made by tires as other drivers had tried to drive around the blockage, then become stranded themselves. Several cars, even in the aerial photo, were shorter than they should be.

Water from broken pipes shimmered like a desert mirage, but flooded the fields on either side of the plaque for more than a dozen yards into the rich black ridges, now submerged completely under half a foot of water. Everyone on the work crews at least needed galoshes, or possibly hip waders, given the odds that half-decomposed manure polluted the entire area.

He needed to see the situation for himself.
( Read more... )

Current Mood: accomplished

ysabetwordsmith

Here are the character notes for "No Faster or Firmer Friendships."

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

elainegrey

I am still here.

--== ∞ ==--

Reddit account is in a banned state. I am not emotionally invested in whether it is unbanned, but it would be nice. Posted a 250 character limited request to be unbanned tonight.

Friday i was booted out of the chat app that i use with Christine and that i stash all sorts of temporary data in the "saved messages" chat. I got back in but couldn't terminate the session from China for 24 hours. I've gone through all the data i had stashed and i am not happy about it's likely availability to bad actors but what are you going to do.

Today the cloud service that had $300 of charges on the 10th had more charges made against it, but they didn't go through because the payment method on the account hasn't been updated. I am glad i have a year's subscription instead of monthly billing. I think there's some particular vulnerability their system has around gift subscriptions.

I have a lot of energy in anticipating what is the next bad internet thing that i wish i could let relax. I did find some additional security settings on my phone i could turn on.

--== ∞ ==--

I did much mowing and other yard work this weekend. For a moment everything seems idyllic except for invasive Youngia thunbergiana /Youngia japonica going to seed. Peony blooming! Iris blooming! Piedmont azalea blooming! lovely stands of fleabane blooming!

The pawpaw has set fruit, the blueberries and mulberries look very productive. I can see the impact of the drought in places and it worries me. Non trivial investment in plants this winter, and finding some dead woody plants that were over a year old disappoints me. I am glad that last year i planted a tree in my vegetable plot so i kept it alive more easily.

--== ∞ ==--

Tuesday morning we went out very early to see if we could see comet C/2025 R3 (PANSTARRS). We didn't but it felt good to have the little adventure. But wowza, not used to very early mornings and then working all day.

--== ∞ ==--

Bruno and Marlowe are making progress: Marlowe's assaults are less ... urgent? more performative? And Bruno is spending more time out of his room when she's outside.

--== ∞ ==--

There are so many layers of entropy around me. I hope i can find a way to bring a little more order than disorder, but sometimes it feels like the disorder is winning.

ysabetwordsmith

This poem is spillover from the August 5, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from

dialecticdreamer,

rix_scaedu, and

jake67jake. It also fills the "Somebody at the Door" square in my 8-1-25 card for the Crime Classics Bingo fest. It belongs to the Big One thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. It is the third in a triptych, after "Where You Find Light" and "When You Learn to Read."

Warning: This poem touches on family tragedies and earthquake aftermath, but the current context is safe and supportive.

This microfunded poem is being posted one verse at a time, as donations come in to cover them. The rate is $0.25/line, so $5 will reveal 20 new lines, and so forth. There is a permanent donation button on my profile page, or you can contact me for other arrangements. You can also ask me about the number of lines per verse, if you want to fund a certain number of verses. So far sponsors include:

janetmiles.

515 lines, Buy It Now = $129
Amount donated = $34
Verses posted = 38 of 146
Amount remaining to fund fully = $95
Amount needed to fund next verse = $1.25
Amount needed to fund the verse after that = $0.50

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today is Earth Day. Here are some ideas to celebrate it.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Here are the content notes for "When You Learn to Read."

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

These are the character notes for "When You Learn to Read" Part 2: Bolivar Family.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Here are the character notes for "When You Learn to Read" Part 1: Sanon Family.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

mdlbear

This may not be the best day for writing a "state of the Bear" post, but it felt like it wanted to be written, so here I am. Mostly I just want to complain. Don't expect it to be organized.

Lately I've been having quite a bit of random pain -- mostly in my hands, in the form of trigger finger, which I assume is mostly RSI. Over the last few days I've also had trouble with my left shoulder; I sleep on that side, so it's not surprising either. (I've been treating the hands with diclofenac topical gel in the appropriate locations, and both with ibuprofen.)

I have a query in to my GP's office.

Meanwhile Ticia, my lovely old lady cat, is not doing well. She had a vet appointment Monday; she's lost a lot of weight, and according to the lab results her kidneys are failing. I'm putting her on a kidney-friendly diet, but even so I'm afraid she may not have much time left.

And I'm not all that sure about me, either.

Current Mood: worried
Current Location: Schildhaven Centraal
Current Music: Big Yellow Taxi

ysabetwordsmith

This poem is spillover from the August 5, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from

dialecticdreamer,

rix_scaedu, and

jake67jake. It also fills the "Somebody at the Door" square in my 8-1-25 card for the Crime Classics Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by

janetmiles. It belongs to the Big One thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. It is the second in a triptych, between "Where You Find Light" and "No Faster or Firmer Friendships."

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Bruce the Parrot Landed Atop the Pecking Order, Without a Beak

In 2021, a disabled parrot named Bruce made headlines worldwide for creating his own prosthetic beak. He didn’t stop there: Scientists reported on Monday that Bruce has now become the alpha male of his group.

And he did it by learning to joust.

I had heard about the prosthetic beak, but the jousting is new. :D

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today is sunny and warm.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few house finches. Red-winged blackbirds are singing in the trees. I've seen others at the drainage ditch, so I wonder how long these will stick around.

I put out water for the birds. Honeybees have been draining the birdbaths.

I set out my small flats of seedlings.

EDIT 4/22/26 -- I planted 4 snapdragons and a yellow-and-orange lantana in the barrel garden. I realized that I forgot to pick up the firecracker plant for hummingbirds that I meant to get yesterday. >_< I may get back to DeBurh's another day, or somewhere else might have it.

EDIT 4/22/26 -- I planted a pineapple sage besides the barrel garden.

EDIT 4/22/26 -- I planted a Yellow Pear tomato, a Santa (a red grape tomato), a Cherokee Purple (a slicing tomato), a Mr. Stripey (a sweet yellow-and-red slicer), and an Old German (a slicer, mostly yellow with a bit of orange or red inside) in the new picnic table garden.

EDIT 4/22/26 -- I planted 4 'Safari Yellow' marigolds around the 'Santa' tomato. I need to watch for more marigolds; my attempts at sprouting them from seeds didn't produce many this year.

EDIT 4/22/26 -- We picked up sticks from the west end of the south lot, so that can be mowed later today. There is a big patch of ground there which is either bare or growing weeds from having the big branch on it for several years. So it needs to be mowed close, then raked and sown with grass seed. Friday looks like rain.

EDIT 4/22/26 -- I watered the newly planted things.

EDIT 4/22/26 -- I buffed the apothecary cabinet, so that part is done. A couple of the hanging pegs on the bottom are loose, so I want to put wood glue on those before we hang it.

EDIT 4/22/26 -- I planted a fennel, a sweet marjoram, a curry plant, and a dill in the large trough pot on the old picnic table garden.

EDIT 4/22/26 -- I raked the west end of the south lot.

EDIT 4/22/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 4/22/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I planted the Forever Purple heuchera in the forest garden and watered it.

As it is now dark, I am done for the night.

Current Mood: busy

Profile

johnpalmer

November 2025

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Page Summary

ysabetwordsmith - Pool Open!
mdlbear - Thankful Thursday
ysabetwordsmith - Vocabulary: Scabrous
ysabetwordsmith - History
ysabetwordsmith - Birdfeeding
ysabetwordsmith - History
ysabetwordsmith - Community Thursdays
ysabetwordsmith - Content notes for "No Faster or Firmer Friendships"
dialecticdreamer - A Complicated Tangle (part 1 of 5)
ysabetwordsmith - Character notes for "No Faster or Firmer Friendships"
elainegrey - (evening writing)
ysabetwordsmith - Poem: "No Faster or Firmer Friendships"
ysabetwordsmith - Earth Day
ysabetwordsmith - Content notes for "When You Learn to Read"
ysabetwordsmith - Character notes for "When You Learn to Read" Part 2: Bolivar Family
ysabetwordsmith - Character notes for "When You Learn to Read" Part 1: Sanon Family
mdlbear - River: State of the Bear, with bonus cat
ysabetwordsmith - Poem: "When You Learn to Read"
ysabetwordsmith - Wildlife
ysabetwordsmith - Birdfeeding

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