johnpalmer

These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Review: "Maple Syrup: 40 Tried & True Recipes"
Birdfeeding
Valentines Bingo Card 2-1-26
Today's Adventures
Books
Bingo
Art
Birdfeeding
Philosophical Questions: Intelligence
Recipe: "Thumbprint Cookies with Cornstarch"
New Year's Resolutions Check In
Birdfeeding
Gaming
Poetry Fishbowl Report for January 6, 2026
Follow Friday 1-30-26: Literature
Birdfeeding
Community Thursdays
Alien Romance
Website Updates
Early Humans
Birdfeeding
Hard Things

Safety has 25 comments. Food has 40 comments. Wildlife has 26 comments. Animal Communication has 49 comments. Food has 64 comments. Robotics has 134 comments.

There will be a Poetry Fishbowl on Tuesday, February 3 with a theme of "Books and Literacy." I hope to see you then!

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Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Over 500 Million Years Ago, Early Vertebrates Had Four Eyes That Could See 360 Degrees

Every mammal, every fish, every vertebrate (creatures that have a spine) has two eyes. It’s been that way for millions and millions of years. But maybe it wasn’t like that forever.

During the Cambrian, when evolution was experimenting all sorts of strategies, early vertebrates may have had four eyes, and they were high-res eyes, too.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Maple Syrup: 40 Tried & True Recipes
Paperback – Lay Flat, February 11, 2020
by Corrine Kozlak (Author), Kevin Scott Ramos (Photographer)

Today we finished reading our first cookbook of the year. \o/ We bought this just a couple weeks ago at the small farm show. Our friends at Golden Ridge Farms had their maple root beer and also these cookbooks. I had just seen a different book that was mostly history and only a few recipes, so when I spotted this one, I pounced on it. The front matter includes a table of contents, Preface, Tree to Table, Maple Syrup History, How Maple Syrup Is Made, Maple Syrup Grading, Sugar Shack Fun, Do-It-Yourself Maple Syruping or Backyard Sugaring, and Cooking and Baking with Maple Syrup. The recipe chapters are Breads and Breakfast, Entrees, Sides, Sweets and Desserts, Appetizers and Beverages. The index in the back does include both ingredients and titles, but is not greatly detailed.

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Current Mood: accomplished

dialecticdreamer

Shoring Up
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1a of 1
Word count (story only): 706
[Tuesday, May 12, 2020, 9 am]

:: Now it’s time to take care of Ed and Amber. Part of the Edison’s Mirror (Teague Family) story arc. ::

“How long would it take?” Nik asked quietly. His voice carried clearly. “How long to find out how much damage Ronna did, then to fix what you can?”

“Fifty or sixty years, at least,” Aesh answered.
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Current Mood: awake

minoanmiss

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Current Mood: relieved

ysabetwordsmith

Middle age is becoming a breaking point in the U.S.

For many Americans, midlife is no longer a plateau—it’s a pressure point.

Middle age is becoming a tougher chapter for many Americans, especially those born in the 1960s and early 1970s. Compared with earlier generations, they report more loneliness and depression, along with weaker physical strength and declining memory. These troubling trends stand out internationally, as similar declines are largely absent in other wealthy nations, particularly in Nordic Europe, where midlife well-being has improved.

The article actually said most of what I would've said regarding causes and solutions. One thing it missed: the sandwich effect. Middle-age adults, mostly but not exclusively women, often become responsible for aging parents as well as children. It's actually worse for the few male caregivers: almost all of the rare support programs serve only female caregivers. Even if they're permitted in, being the only man in a group of women can feel more isolating than just staying home.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today is partly cloudy and cold.

I fed the birds. I've seen a large flock of sparrows, two starlings, a male cardinal, and a wren. The sparrows are widely foraging on the ground under bushes.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 2/1/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I refilled the hopper feeder.

EDIT 2/1/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I put out more birdseed.

EDIT 2/1/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I am done for the night.

Current Mood: busy

minoanmiss

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Current Mood: curious

elainegrey

Friday, i managed to get ice off much of the deck and sidewalk. Deck's gonna need repainting and i think i will do it myself this time and address the issues that were not by the professional. (Eye roll). It was physically engaging, and i felt i'd had a real work out. The salt was impressive: while i didn't get rid of some of it in the driveway, i could rake and roughen the surface in a wa where i'd scattered salt that i couldn't elsewhere. Seeing the rusty salt on the white sleet-creet did give me opinions about my seed spreader: it definitely is not even. (But more even than hand casting.) I just disappeared into a book after all the effort.

Yesterday morning Other Places were snowed in and we were in the "dry slot." My feelings churned around the changing travel, but around 12:30 snow started. By 4:45 pm we had 1 7/8" of snow (measured using the recommended white board, which was then swept off), and it kept coming. This morning we have an additional 2 5/8" on the board, so that's a nice even 4.5" total

I hope i can relax today and also prep for the trip. I got a cancellation notice for the Sunday flight i had changed to Monday, but i've confirmed that i am booked Monday.

ysabetwordsmith

Here is my card for the Valentines Bingo over in

allbingo. The fest runs from February 1-28. (See all my 2026 bingo cards.)

If you'd like to sponsor a particular square, especially if you have an idea for what character, series, or situation it would fit -- talk to me and we'll work something out. I've had a few requests for this and the results have been awesome so far. This is a good opportunity for those of you with favorites that don't always mesh well with the themes of my monthly projects. I may still post some of the fills for free, because I'm using this to attract new readers; but if it brings in money, that means I can do more of it. That's part of why I'm crossing some of the bingo prompts with other projects, such as the Poetry Fishbowl.

Underlined prompts have been filled.

VALENTINES BINGO CARD

Read a Book	Praise	Interracial or Interspecies Love	Marrakesh in Morocco	Take a Class
Taking It Slow	Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming USA	Experimentation	Can't get no satisfaction	Nonphysical Passions
Validate Yourself	Helplessness	WILD CARD	Lac Rose in Senegal	Breaking the rules
Nonsexual Touch	Respect Limits	Sedona in Arizona USA	Denial	Fantasies
Odd couple	You are so busted	Do What You Love	Such a gentleman	Enjoy Some Private Time

Current Mood: busy

mdlbear

Welcome to February, 2026!

Because I am at a con, the weekly "done since" post will be put off to Monday. Also see yesterday's s4s post for today's remembered disaster.

Current Location: Contabile, outside Norwich
Current Music: Rocket Rider's Prayer

minoanmiss

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Current Mood: exhausted

minoanmiss

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Current Mood: grumpy

wcg

Happy Kalends of Febriarias! Are you ready for Lupercalia?

dialecticdreamer

Shoring Up
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1a of 1
Word count (story only): 631
[Tuesday, May 12, 2020, 9 am]

:: Now it’s time to take care of Ed and Amber. Part of the Edison’s Mirror (Teague Family) story arc. ::

“First, can you eat a little something?” Vic asked his younger brother. “I’ll make something for you and Amber. We’ll eat in the kitchen at the island, so Nik and the others can talk about whatever they need to.”
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