There is so much to be worried about under Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Agriculture that it’s hard to pick which fear to unlock first. Years ago there was a show called “Monsters Inside Me” and I was obsessed. I learned that there is no greater fear than the botfly (for me) and I’ve been terrified of it since. That being said, there are far greater threats than the botfly, so I’m not saying it is a rational fear. But, unlike the botfly, the screwworm uses mammalian hosts to feed their larvae (maggots), while pupating in the soil.
Continue reading The Screwiest of WormsA Power [Plant] Party
A couple of weekends ago my friend hosted a power point party. In case you’ve not heard of this, this is where everyone puts together a power point on any topic they wish to discuss and presents it at the party. It sounds like work, and it sort of is, but it is also a lot of fun. I won’t detail all of the power points that were presented that day, but there was everything from how beavers are little ecosystem engineers, saving wetlands and forests to musing over what makes something a door or a window to using one’s own acid-fueled dreams to demonstrate the energy and water cost of AI by depicting said dreams as simple AI comics. That last one was both a comedy of comical comics as well as a sad realization to what we are doing to the environment for a few lolz.
Continue reading A Power [Plant] PartyDo Fish Deserve Care?
There are times when I have found myself in a conversation with someone and I begin to feel like the proverbial lunatic. The person so detached from a reality in which everyone else has agreed to participate. At some point, I took the red pill. Or maybe I took the blue one. Who knows. In these conversations, the bottom line for the other person (or people) is always about humanity.
Continue reading Do Fish Deserve Care?Two Pollinators
Last week, the world around me began to bloom. Mother nature pulled out her paint pallet and began to dab the Eastern U.S. in a thousand different colors we haven’t seen in months.
We aren’t the only ones who are waking up to see the new world. With every bud and blossom that emerges, so does another critter. To drink and feast on the sugars and chomp on the detritus in a dizzy display.
Continue reading Two PollinatorsThrow My Ball!
This girl’s favourite thing in the world, apart from pets, is her ball.
Continue reading Throw My Ball!The Drunkard’s Wingman
This weekend we went to the annual work party for my partner’s company – always a swanky affair with lots of great food and booze. Think: open bar, beautiful floral centre pieces, and flatware nicer than anything I own. Every year, the company opens up a tab at a local bar for an after-party which means…more and more alcohol. This year I was talked into attending the after-party by a friend, but my body was telling me two days later what a mistake that was, and I wasn’t even inebriated.
Continue reading The Drunkard’s WingmanTransitive Healing in Nature
I’m not sure how to change, but winter is always tough for me, partly because I refuse to go outside unless I have to. The walls and windows are a comfortable barrier between me and the outdoors, keeping me warm and snuggly inside. Unfortunately, warm and snuggly does not necessarily equate a complete, harmonious state of mental wellbeing.
Continue reading Transitive Healing in NatureWitchy wondering
Recently, my partner asked me why something was bothering me (well, really he was confused about WHEN something had started bothering me) which ended up causing a great deal of frustration. How could he not understand why I would be bothered? That eventually lead to me wondering how he could be so insensitive, but after seeing my hurt he did come back around to ask his questions differently. What was the seed that planted this disagreement and hurt feelings?
Continue reading Witchy wonderingMisty Mornings
I’ve no idea why, but fog is one of my favourite weather events. There was always an abundance of fog in Germany where we lived, but seeing it in the heavily populated area of Maryland is rare.
Continue reading Misty MorningsA Winter Hug
A chill emerges.
The air freezes
Then the Earth disappears.
The ground becomes stone.
Companions stand bare and silent