🌳 Fritillaria 🌳 @Fritillaria2@octodon.social

The OKC guy who I messaged a month ago to tell him he needed to ditch his photo with the Morrissey shirt... who never messaged me back... tonight I see he ditched the Morrissey shirt photo. Good boy.

I'm planning an internet-free weekend, or will try. As a favor to me, please be boring until Monday. Thank you in advance.

@seachanged I've thought of it, never looked into it. Two have mentioned it, so it's on my list now.

I don't mind waiting a little. I'm realizing this would be better with some referencing for backup. Not that it's a treatise per se, but that I can write that these ideas have current validity. I usually try less to convince, more to cast some doubt on the reader's assumptions (especially if they are absolute) and offer them something to consider.

@seachanged Ummm.... Good question.

The best answer is: It's more THAT I need to write it with the idea that people will read it. I honestly have zero motivation to organize, deepen and edit my thoughts unless someone at sometime will read it.

So... Hm... second best answer: Those that have absolutist notions like I did. One guy seemed to think you could selectively harvest and have it look like nothing happened and I'm like, okaaaay <nods> <internally rolls eyes>

I like pushing boundaries.

@nev And we can dress real neat from our *pants* to our feet and surprise them with our victory cry

Small-scale sustainable forestry ultimately led me to study forestry formally. I have an instructor that teaches alternative harvest systems, and in fact the property of the friend and neighbor who introduced me to the concept is one of the field trips we took in the forest management class.

Surprisingly, I'm now defending some clearcut practices over selective logging, whereas I was once strictly against them..

I need a place to post an essay once I get my thoughts together. Suggestions?

@Mainebot Ooch. ☹️

Nasturtiums in my sort-of-first garden.

Oooooh, I made a big batch of penne with sausage, mushrooms and marinara, and it was so good, so good.

And it was good.
Good again.
Alright, here it is!
Here it is.
And here it is again.
Holy fuck how much did I make?
Almost... halfway.
Sigh.
Yeah, it's good.
Yeah...
😩

@nev You're welcome! (Same for me about spiders. 😊)

@compostablespork You too? Self-employed?

My Sunday job is leftover from my housekeeping days, but it's for a shop that makes organic wool bedding. I clean the wool and fabric dust from top to bottom and everywhere. I picked that up while I was still actively cleaning residences.

PS Any kind of full time work is ... ugh. (Don't tell the interviewers I said that.😉 )

@nev Stachys byzantina, aka Wooly Lamb's Ear. It's closest relatives are called "hedge nettles". Mint family.

(I wrote that and THEN discovered that you wondered about what it was. Phew!)

@knittingsquirrel The "paid better" part comes later. At least, I keep reminding myself. There are good, well-paying jobs out there.

In the meantime, I'm enjoying my schooling immensely. It is truly the best decision I've made in... maybe ever. It was never a financial decision, nor has any of my work been. I just get discouraged if I think too much about it.

I wanted to briefly and cynically point out that today I'm working for less than half of what I made per hour *twenty years ago*.

My gardening and housekeeping rates? I have not had a raise in twenty years.

Alright, enough pouting. Chainsaw-stinky pants on. Coffee poured. Music queued up for the car. Minimum wage, here I come.

Yesterday I did some cleaning for an old housekeeping client. *25 bucks an hour.* Ex passed a couple of gardening jobs my way for the summer. *25 bucks and hour*.

Today I'm back doing forestry work study at *12 bucks an hour*, and even when I find a job, it will likely be less than what I make at my old professions.

It's so easy to think "what the hell am I doing"? Then I have to walk myself through all the decision making that led me here. There is a reason.

@memnus Damn. @brook stole my “Daaaang!”

But anyway... DAAAANG! That last photo by the Aurora bridge really drives it home.

@Mainebot I didn’t know that. Huh. Curious.

@Mainebot Being American, I’ve never given it a serious look. 😉 (Seriously, though, I’m sure it has a lot to recommend it, and with a Biology minor, I’m doing my best to internalize metric... thing... measurements. I’d like to take a closer look at the time thing.)

What would happen to Americans if the rest of the world adopted metric time? I fear our brains might liquify or explode. Could this be weaponized against us? Hm... one wonders... 🤔

The cat at the house I’m cleaning is hiding and meowing, essentially saying, “I’m scared of you Are you going to feed me? I’m scared. Feed me?”