I wanted this platform to be a nice place where maybe I could share a few moments of joy and have some musings about life, like I used to back in ye olde days of livejournal.
But the reality is that most days it just feels like the performative virtue Olympics, so I just stopped logging on.
Instead of compulsively scrolling social media, I’ve started to lovingly check on my birb on the Finch app.
I think it’s been a positive because instead of feeling sad/angry or annoyed, I end up sending encouragement to friends and remembering to drink water.
It’s firefly season and I am so excited to see all those glowing butts blinking in my yard!
A bowl of green soup and brown bread on a white plate.
Spring also means it’s French sorrel soup time!
Early spring garden greens are wonderful.
A solar oven on a lawn. The solar oven has a central compartment with clear door to see inside—but the door is covered in condensation, so a loaf of bread is barely visible. The compartment is surrounded by mirror reflector panels that direct the sunlight.
The arrival of spring means that my spouse is baking bread in the solar oven once more.
What are your favorite (preferably free, or inexpensive) resources for learning French?
Level: beginner with the ghost of a memory of my past life as a high school student in the 90s.
On Good Friday we commemorate that insecure men in positions of power had Jesus executed for spreading the radical message of love, justice, and mercy.
Attending CTY in the 90s as a teen from rural Maine changed my life in countless ways, and also left me with a lifetime’s worth of imposter syndrome.
A patch of Iris reticulata, which are also known as dwarf iris. This variety has ghostly bluish white standards and falls, streaked through with muted indigo. There are bright yellow patches on each fall, with dark speckles. There are no leaves, because those don’t emerge until after blooming.
Iris reticulata ‘Katharine Hodgkin’ emerges after my crocus and snowdrops.
I love the ethereal coloring, and that it’s an early flower after a long Maine winter.
#bloomsky
I got a dozen for $4.19 earlier this week.
(Don’t Go Back To) Rockville
Although also quite fond of Pretty Persuasion.
I used to play the board game after church with my friend. I was OBSESSED with the series. And probably continued reading it past the target age range.
I read a ton as a kid, and have fond memories of a lot of books. But when I moved to NYC years ago, I had so many moments of saying "I read about this in the Baby-Sitters Club Super Special!" So, obviously, it left a lasting impression.
Repost with a favorite book from childhood
A patch of yellow crocus are blooming. Around them are bits of dried dead leaves and grass, and a couple green leaves.
There’s something special about the earliest flowers; the ones that bloom before the trees have leaves. They are little beacons of hope and promise.
#bloomsky
A black-capped chickadee perched in a bare mock orange shrub.
Spotted on my lunchbreak meandering. I said “Hello friend, may I take your picture?”
Black-capped chickadees are such friendly birds.
#birdsky #maine
It’s actually rather peaceful with the sound of trickling water and bird call.
Also aiming to plant more so that I can have a surplus to donate to local food cupboards (or directly to those I know are in need).
If you garden, have you considered growing a little extra to share with food insecure neighbors?
This spring, while I’m getting seedlings and cuttings started, I’m also trying to get some extras to share with my community. Since I’m rural, there are many who have space to grow food, but don’t always have time or money to get started.
A Mason jar full of water with several elderberry cuttings leafing out sits in the foreground. In the background is a planter of lettuce starts. They all sit under grow light.
We’ve got roots!
Plant propagation is so cool. Some of these will be used to expand my own plantings, and others will go to local folks.
Also, I love visible mending.
A pair of feet wearing black, white, and gray striped socks with visible darning patches on the toes.
My spouse darned my socks for me! Now I can continue to wear one of my favorite pairs.
A small patch of purple species crocuses blooming.
My first flowers of 2025 are crocus. Although later, I saw that I also had a single snowdrop.
After the long Maine winter, it’s encouraging to see something bloom again.
#bloomsky
I only use it for very small channels set up by friends. One was originally an AIM group chat associated with an LJ community. The other started as a small, private FB group.
I can’t imagine being in a big channel with that much activity!
Humpty Dumpty is the best brand of potato chips.
I just started playing them one day because I saw a friend of mine did. Like it seemed like a strange feature, but I love little puzzles.
But… now I’m even more confused.
No edit button, but it was actually 29.5
Spent the afternoon celebrating a friend who, after taking classes for 24.5 years, earned his bachelor’s. Getting to hang out with dear friends I hadn’t really spent time with in over a decade was amazing.
Just a friendly reminder that the Independent senator from Maine, Angus King is not a Democrat.
He left the party in 1993, before he was Governor.
