Horses are good company -- The Witcher

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.

1. What’s involved in “queering up straight people”?

I think I listed this as a joke, but it's also something I strive for: when around straight people (at work, at family gatherings, at the dog park, etc), try to gently challenge those folks and influence them in the direction of queer politics. I don't always achieve this.

2. Tell me about your first houseplants

I had spider plants pretty early on, and I still have those same spider plants. I don't remember getting them. I also had a rabbit's-foot fern, a hanging plant. These plants have fuzzy rhizomes that look like rabbits' feet. The rhizomes reached all around the pot and nearly encased it.

3. Why do fanvids makes you happy?

They are a way to really feel something for about 3 minutes, and then be done with that feeling if you so choose. They are creative, beautiful, and some of them are like the essence of a cerain emotion. A great blending of audio and visual beauty. A way to turn off the intellectual narrator part of my brain and just feel, for a little while.

4. How did you decide to be a scientist?

I loved animals and plants, always, and so biology was a natural fit. I felt that going into research was a way to make the world a better place and contribute to humanity's knowledge in some small way. I also felt that going into science would be a more secure way to earn a living than being a writer.

5. If money were no issue, would you like to live alone?

No; I have lived alone and it was fine, but I do better if I have a good roommate. I like knowing that someone is around. I stay on top of chores more and I simply feel better.

Having a weird mood crash. It helped to get out of the house and do things, so I picked up another shift at the humane society. Also: air conditioning. It was 85 degrees F today (29 C), which is hot for this early in the season, and I'm not used to it yet.

I dropped off some clothes at Good Will and went inside to admire their newly remodeled store.

Went to the dog park. Mostly sat on a bench in the shade, and eventually some of the regulars came by so I sat and listened to them chat. Ended up spending close to two hours at the park.

Watered some plants. It's time for this asparagus fern to get rehomed, because it just stabbed me in the finger with one of its thorns. Some of the other plants I have look a little rough from being newly placed outside.

Picked some strawberries from the back garden and am eating them right now!

I broke a glass today and a plate yesterday. Dropping things and not-quite-grasping things is one of those weird RA symptoms. I think my anxious/depressed mood is a combo of missing WisCon people and having inflammation and the hot weather.

currently blooming:

Pink campanula (volunteer perennial)
Peace Lilly (house plant)
African violet (house plant)
Orange day lillies

Lettuce is growing in the vegetable garden

:)

I made this terrarium out of an old dessicator. A dessicator is a piece of laboratory equipment used for drying samples. They are heavy and made from thick glass; this one has an opening on the lid where a vacuum pump can be attached.

I put glass beads and activated charcoal in the bottom, then sphagnum moss, then potting soil and the plants. I had to go to three different stores to find a greenhouse with small, healthy plants that I wanted. The greenhouse that I did find was fantastic; all the plants looked very healthy and happy. I got the activated charcoal at a pet store (and probably paid too much for it, as it's sold for aquarium filters).

I hope the plants live. But if not, I can just do this project again in the spring!