sasha_feather: Retro-style poster of skier on pluto.   (Default)
Quick Netflix rec:
My Octopus Teacher

A nature documentary about one man and his observations of a single octopus over the course of a year. It's soothing and beautiful with good story-telling. The guy sometimes seems to take himself a little too seriously, but I got used to his style and really got into this story. Suitable for all ages. There is some animal harm and death in the context of natural life cycles and predation.
sasha_feather: Logan from X-men (Logan)
The nature report! Today I saw sunflowers and star gazer lilies in bloom.

The tall grass is very tall and lush. There are lots of mosquitoes here especially in the evening, but not too bad out at the dog park.

I watched "The Old Guard" on Netflix and totally loved it. It's about a group of immortal warriors that work as mercenaries, taking jobs they feel do some good in the world. Looking forward to reading fan fic about these characters, especially because there are canon queers. Charlize Theron is amazing all the time, but I especially love when she goes butch and violent.

I was bored so I made a list of my current favorite movies.

63 movies )
sasha_feather: Bright green grass (green grass)
Things blooming right now!

Orange day lilies, I believe they are called Tiger lilies. Stella d'Oro day lilies, which are a popular city plant with a bright yellow flower.

Bird's foot trefoil, which is a low-lying ground cover with a very cheerful yellow flower, sometimes seen along roadsides and in pastures. This plant is a Nitrogen fixer I think.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_corniculatus

Milkweed! The only food source for Monarch caterpillars. There appear to be many varieties of milkweed; the ones around here have soft, broad leaves and a purple flower.

The spaghetti squash that I planted in the back have a few flowers.

Coming into fruit right now are mulberries. I found some in the neighborhood and picked them. They taste a bit like tart cherries.

Mid June

Jun. 19th, 2020 08:56 pm
sasha_feather: Bright green grass (green grass)
Blooming right now: the bean Catalpa trees, of which there are 4 in the neighborhood. My roommate said they look like trees out of a Studio Ghibli movie. Huge, heart-shaped leaves provide wonderful deep shade. The flowers are a cone of white blooms. Later in the year, long bean pods droop from the trees and fall onto the ground.

I bought a small fucshia at the garden store and it has one blossom and some buds. Today I moved some hosta plants in the backyard; I took them out of the full sun and planted them behind the building where it's shady. In the small garden plot out back, I have spaghetti squash and red cabbage, and it's fun to go out in the morning and water them with the hose.

I was bored enough, or let's say inspired by Queer Eye, to organize one of the kitchen cupboards and do a small bit of cleaning. I find this show to be very heartwarming and uplifting.
sasha_feather: dog looking over a valley (dog and landscape)
I am visiting my parents at their hobby farm. I've seen a ruby-throated hummingbird, an Oriole, a deer, and blue jays. Irises are blooming. They are a flower that is elegant without being pretentious.
sasha_feather: Leela from the 5th element (multipass)
We had about 3 days of Spring, and now it's hot and muggy. Too hot for me, but the plants like it. Today I moved some more house plants outside. I started a few spaghetti squash from seed and planted them in the back. Lilacs and Wild Rocket are blooming.

Today my roommate and I saw two Sandhill Cranes with two chicks. The chicks looked half-grown already, despite the cool Spring. They were lounging under a Willow tree near the convention center. I turned my car around and drove back for another look.

WisCon was all online this year; a combination of live youtube streams, Discord chats, and Zoom room parties. I loved the vid show, which worked pretty well. I liked being able to watch panels after the fact and from the comfort of my home. I didn't spend much time on the Discord, which was a little overwhelming. Rebecca Roanhorse, the guest of honor, seems thoughtful, funny, and kind. She spoke about using reading and writing for survival.

Attending online means I didn't get to see many friends except on Zoom calls, but overall it was much less exhausting to experience a con this way. WisCon always feels like it feeds my soul, and I did get a bit of that this year too.
sasha_feather: Person in old-time SCUBA gear on a suburban lawn (Tales from Outer Suburbia)
Due to smoke in the air from Canadian wildfires, and pollen so thick it's coating my windshield, I closed the apartment windows. I'm sad about it, and have been thinking often of this insightful article:

Lyme Disease Changed my Relationship with the Outdoors, by Blair Braverman

https://www.outsideonline.com/2395555/lyme-disease-changed-my-relationship-outdoors

I became acutely aware of how much life outdoors revolves around tolerable discomfort, or threading a thin line to avoid that discomfort...

But now that I was sick, I couldn’t absorb any discomfort. I needed everything around me to be perfect: the right temperature, the right light, the right soft surfaces and quiet voices. Houses are highly efficient shrines to comfort, and when you’re sick, it seems like that external comfort is all you have. Just as my life as a healthy person had been defined by time outside, being indoors became a symbol of being unwell to me.
sasha_feather: horses grazing on a hill with thunderheads (horses and lightning)
I read an article about mosquito research a month or so ago. The author used a phrase that really stuck with me: "Like many people, I feel uniquely persectued by mosquitoes," was how I remembered it.

I looked up the article and it's acutally:
"I don’t have a phobia, exactly, but like a lot of people I feel uniquely hunted by mosquitoes. "

http://www.thedailybeast.com/mosquitoes-love-some-people-more-and-science-wants-to-know-why

I thought, that's it. That's it exactly! It feels personal. Rather than just being creatures that exist in the world, they are out to get me. And me especially, somehow-- an illogical and demonstrably false belief.

This summer and last summer I've been chased inside by these beasts. I haven't gardened nearly as much, nor sat outside reading. They get into the house and my car. We kill them and a surprising amount of blood results, leaving small gory streaks on the apartment walls.

I fancy myself a nature lover. But lately I've been more about spending time indoors. Autumn will be welcome.
sasha_feather: Big book of Lesbian Horse stories book cover (lesbian horse stories)
At a local dog park the other day, I looked out at the rise and fall of the land. The oak savannah giving way to open farmland. The sun shining on dandelions' happy faces. I felt an expansive joy that landscapes and nature give to me; a sense of peace. Almost an aching kind of happiness.

Nature

Aug. 6th, 2011 11:23 am
sasha_feather: Person in old-time SCUBA gear on a suburban lawn (Tales from Outer Suburbia)
Me: Don't touch those, they're nettles.
Ogre_911: They're what?
Me: Nettles! They'll sting you!
Ogre_911: I've never heard of them before.
Me: Did you not go outside as a kid?
Ogre_911: Not really.

A few minutes later I am paid back for my teasing when I am stung twice by wasps after accidentally kicking a nest. Ugh, the pain is not diminishing. I think it will be an afternoon of movie watching.

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