Megan is for the girls…

My betrothed and I are heading off on our unofficial honeymoon this weekend. We’re driving my car, Hades, down to the redwoods.

So I’ve spent all morning getting Hades tidied up and running errands and my last stop was an oil change. So it was a huge bummer when they told me my coolant is boiling.

From a quick google it could just be a faulty thermometer which should be quick. My fingers are crossed that it’s nothing serious.

truly the only point of those cheap dropshipping sites is so I can type "earrings for men" into them at 3am and then go "🤔 hmm..." at all the pictures

What to Do Once Things Are Planted?

This is my seventh post in a series I’ll be making on how to increase biodiversity on a budget! I’m not an expert--just an enthusiast--but I hope something you find here helps! 

So you’ve gotten started on making a garden to boost biodiversity! 10/10, excellent work! So, now what?

First, you’ll need to keep watering the plants--especially if you’re going through a dry season. Native plants will be more acclimated to your area’s seasonal weather, but they’ll need a helping hand while they’re getting established--especially if you’re starting with young, tender seedlings. With that in mind, if you accidentally skip out on crucial watering days, don't panic! There's been tons of times where I haven't watered for an entire summer and had perennials come back the next spring! Even this year, during a heatwave, I completely did not water my swamp milkweeds, but they're already popping back up! You may also need to go in and weed, especially if you’re seeing invasive species popping up in the garden. Invasives are no good--if you do anything, do your best to get those out as effectively and safely as possible!

If you’re needing to maintain your shrubs in spring and summer, double check to make sure there are no active bird or insect nests within them. If it’s possible to wait until later to cut your shrubs, it could be extremely beneficial.

When fall and winter come around and your plants begin to die back, don’t cut them away if you can! Many insects overwinter in the plant stems left behind as perennials die back to the roots. In addition, birds will use seed heads as a source of food over the winter. Try not to clean things up until late winter/early spring, when other food sources are beginning to come back and things are growing again. By then, the insects should be waking up and leaving the plant stems as well.

However, don’t let this discourage you from collecting seeds! Collecting seed from your plants is a great way to continue gardening at low cost, as well as making friends and encouraging others to garden by trading seeds or offering them as gifts. If you're in an area where you do need to cut back, this is a great opportunity to collect the seeds and save them for the future. You could also cut back what’s dying in the front yard and keep things to overwinter in the backyard. Some overwintering habitat is better than no overwintering habitat.

Want to know how to collect seeds from specific plants? I've found YouTube to be a great source of info for this! Knowing what you're doing and when is key to getting a viable harvest.

As your mulch begins to break down, you’ll need to keep adding more to top it off, if you can. It can get a bit repetitive, but no worries--the mulch breaking down means your soil is improving! 

If possible, add to your garden! Expand, add in new things, and keep encouraging the growth of native plants. If you couldn’t add that water feature in year one, see if you can in year two! New interest in birds? Add a birdhouse, or more bird feeders. Loving the butterflies? Add plenty more nectar-rich plants, or do more research into what they lay their eggs on! Want more color? See what else you can add in! Came into some new pots to expand your flowerpot garden with? Find cool native plants to put in them! I always encourage people to start small and then expand over time, as opposed to starting big and getting overwhelmed.

Keep learning and observing native species of birds, insects, mammals, etc. See what’s coming to your yard now, and look into how you can improve things more for them on your budget. If you aren’t seeing what you were hoping, see if there’s other actions you can take that’ll attract what you’re hoping to see in your backyard habitat. Knowing more about the world around you makes it easier to know how to help the world around you. Talk to others about what you’re doing, the changes you’ve made, and the results you’ve seen! Curious neighbors? Work friends? Your closest homies? Your family? All fair game! You just might be the one who gets someone else interested in making their space a habitat for local wildlife!

That’s the end of this post! My next post is gonna be about the secret Other Thing you can do to help biodiversity--tackling invasives! Until then, I hope this advice was helpful! Feel free to reply with any questions, your success stories, or anything you think I may have forgotten to add in!

Nami and Ussop are the kind of friends to fake proposals and breakups to get free food but honestly they are doing so much it would be easier just to pay. Memorized proposal speeches, rom-com level backstories, cheating allegations, pregnancy scares, neither of them will admit they like the drama as much as the reward

It's my own opinion but the more I watch the new season of the Bad Batch the more I feel like Tech's death was just cheap.

In a series focused on the Bad Batch, we saw more Rampart and Emerie than Echo . An integral member since the beginning.

So what if killing of Tech was just another quick way to get rid of a character they wouldn't have had time to write a role for? I mean, they barely talk about him and we never get to see anyone's reaction to his death.

It just feels like killing him was a way to get rid of a character easily to focus on others or just to make more drama in the new season.

"Oh Tech isn't here to do that so I guess we're going to have to risk our lives for this things."

"If Tech were here it would be easier but since he's not, guess we're going to have to take the long road !"

random AU that I can’t stop thinking about for some reason: you move into a house/apartment that’s haunted by your f/o (who is a ghost)

Will you guys be interested in maybe some random paper sketch commissions, like for example you tip me 5 dollars I draw you 5 random doodles of the character of your choosing

The internet owes an apology to Poppy Playtime I think

GOT THE SCREEN TABLET I AM IN LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I EVEN GOT A REVERSE ARCHERY GLOVE WITH IT!!

just bought new wacom nibs for the first time in my entire history of owning a wacom tablet. about to either have a life changing experience or hate it

:/

Watch the 2024 American Climate Leadership Awards for High School Students now: https://youtu.be/5C-bb9PoRLc

The recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by student climate leaders! Join Aishah-Nyeta Brown & Jerome Foster II and be inspired by student climate leaders as we recognize the High School Student finalists. Watch now to find out which student received the $25,000 grand prize and top recognition!

Free yourself of the notion that expensive foods must inherently taste better than inexpensive ones. For example. I have yet to find a string cheese more personally pleasing and delicious than the ones I get at the Dollar General.

okay so after Tales of the Jedi we're getting Tales of the Empire and on a complete non-squitur, in TBB episode 3x10 Hemlock says the other operatives aren't ready yet, which means there're more clone assassins in the making my bet is still on clone x (or the current assassin clone or whatever you call him) being Tech, because him being Cody just wouldn't be the same, it wouldn't be as emotionally devastating for Omega and the Bad Batch as the clone being Tech would be and I saw a theory that maybe Cody is one of the other operatives whose brainwashing just isn't done yet instead so hear me out, hear me out after Tales of the Empire, we could get Tales of the Clones, right? and in Tales of the Clones we could get the story of what happened to Cody, that maybe Cody tried to escape the Empire in TBB 2x03, but he was caught and sent to Hemlock's sick assassin clone program, but the badass he is he's resisting the brainwashing and he maybe escapes??? MAYBE WE COULD GET THAT STORY OR SOMETHING??? WHERE HE ENDS UP ON TATOOINE LIKE HE WAS SUPPOSED TO IN THE OG KENOBI SHOW SCRIPT???? I'D BE SO UP FOR IT OKAY???

How to Increase Biodiversity on a Budget - Masterpost

It cannot be stressed enough that supporting native wildlife is important, wherever you are and however you can. But it can feel a bit daunting to think about doing, especially if you’re operating on a smaller budget. It’s not uncommon to hear about someone’s success story and think how much did it cost to do that?

I’m hoping that I can provide a good bunch of ideas on how to help heal the world around you without hurting your wallet. Feel free to use this as a guide, or a bouncing-off point to do actions in your own style!

Before we get Started

I want to make it clear that this is not a checklist of things you are required to do in order to be ‘helping.’ This isn’t an ‘all or nothing’ kind of deal. Every little bit you do helps. Being aware of these options and spreading awareness helps. Doing even just a handful of these options as you’re able to helps.

With that being said, we need to acknowledge that not everything in this list is feasible for everyone. Some people have a fenced yard in the suburbs. Some people have an unfenced yard with judgy neighbors and/or a restrictive HOA policy. Some people can’t directly control their own landscaping, whether that be because of an external lawn maintenance ruling or something like ‘living with your parents.’ Some people have a 4th story apartment with a small balcony. Some people rent and can’t grow directly into the ground. If the best you can do is put up a bird feeder, or grow a few pollinator-friendly plants in pots? I see you. I feel you. I’ve been there. I appreciate what you’re doing, and you know what? So does the wildlife.

Un-actions, or Restriction of Activities

Things to Do that Aren’t Related to Growing Plants

The Plants-Related Section

Adding To, or Starting, A Garden

Cheaply Starting

Supporting Your Plants for Cheap: Composting, Mulching, and Trellises

What Plants to Add

What to Do Once Things Are Planted

The Secret Other Thing - Managing Invasive Plants and Animals

Parting Words and Sources

If you’re interested in joining a group of gardening enthusiasts who are always down to talk about biodiversity, project ideas, and native plants, feel free to hop into my gardening discord! 

ive been playing stardew valley nd whenever i see harvey he reminds me of remus sm idk

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!