JiM's Dreams

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Today is partly cloudy and cold.  It snowed a bit more last night, leaving white patches sprinkled over the yard.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 11/10/25 -- I finished assembling the lantern terrarium with the air plants.  \o/  It looks pretty good.  I had to put it on the table with two other terrariums, though, because today is too cloudy to see where the light falls in the planter window.

Also I need to bring in the ceramic pots from outside, which I should have done earlier.

EDIT 11/10/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I've seen a large mixed flock of sparrows and house finches mobbing the fly-through feeder.

Most of the mulberry leaves dropped all at once, and this year they're a muddy shade of yellowish-brown instead of the normal bright gold.

EDIT 11/10/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 11/10/25 -- I brought in the goddess statue and the ceramic pots.

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night. 

These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Extreme Animals
Birdfeeding
Grand Prairie Friends
Communities
Photos: Lake Charleston
Photos: Coles County Community Garden
Photos: Charleston Food Forest
Activism
Safety
Birdfeeding
Philosophical Questions: Community
Today's Smoothie
Poem: "A Clear Path of Freedom"
Climate Change
Birdfeeding
Follow Friday 11-7-25: Kingdom Hearts
Climate Change
Birdfeeding
Food
Birdfeeding
Poem: "To the Rational Mind"
Early Humans
Hard Things

Trauma has 36 comments. Affordable Housing has 60 comments. Robotics has 97 comments.


Last week's Poetry Fishbowl went well. I still have at least one more poem to write.


"An Inkling of Things to Come" belongs to Polychrome: Shiv and needs $191 to be complete. Maiara and Arthur discuss taking notes.


The weather was pleasantly cool, then today the temperature suddenly plummeted and it snowed a little. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a large mixed flock of sparrows and house finches plus a goldfinch. A great horned owl has been hoo-hooing outside along with a shrieking owlet. :D 3q3q3q!!! Currently blooming: dandelions, marigolds, red salvia, sweet alyssum, blue lobelia, firecracker plant. Fields are almost all harvested.

There are currently three poems available from this week's fishbowl, and I'm working on the next.  If you're still shopping, now's the time to make your choices. 

Life found in a place scientists thought impossible

Life defies limits in the deep sea—microbes flourish where Earth’s chemistry seems too extreme for survival.

Deep beneath the ocean, scientists uncovered thriving microbial life in one of Earth’s harshest environments—an area with a pH of 12, where survival seems nearly impossible. Using lipid biomarkers instead of DNA, researchers revealed how these microbes persist by metabolizing methane and sulfate. The discovery not only sheds light on deep-sea carbon cycling but also suggests that life may have originated in similar extreme conditions, offering a glimpse into both Earth’s past and the limits of life itself.


Extremophiles are fascinating.

Also, I really want to play with that blue serpentine mud to see if it would stand up to pinching, coiling, slabbing, or throwing and what would happen to it in a kiln.  It looks  like clay.  I am betting it would fire either to a soft blue-gray (nice) or a sky blue (so much wow).

Today is cloudy and much colder.  Bits of snow and grauppel are falling from the sky.  Last night it drizzled a bit.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 11/9/25 -- I went out looking for more bits to use in the lantern terrarium, but didn't find much.  It started snowing more briskly, enough to collect in places on the ground, which counts as First Snow.

EDIT 11/9/25 -- I went out looking for more bits to use in the lantern terrarium, and found a bit more.

I've seen a large mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.

EDIT 11/9/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 11/9/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

I am done for the night.

Grand Prairie Friends Acquires New Property- Warbler Bend

Grand Prairie Friends (GPF) is thrilled to announce the purchase of Warbler Bend, a meandering 110 acres along the Embarras River in Coles County (IL). This purchase expands the Conservation Land Trust’s existing Warbler Ridge Conservation Area, now totaling almost 1,400 acres. Warbler Bend is GPF’s second property north of Highway 130, joining Warbler Bluff, located on Harrison St. Rd (Charleston).

Over the last decade, GPF has restored more than 1,200 acres at their Warbler Ridge Conservation Area including the addition of 90,000 trees, nine acres of wetlands and hundreds of acres of pollinator fields.

Connected to Lake Charleston to the north, and Fox Ridge State Park to the south, Warbler Ridge Conservation Area began in 2015, to connect these three landscapes to create an over 4,000 acre contiguous corridor for wildlife, natural habitats and public natural space for the community.


I am so excited! More riverfront!

displacementdiaries  -- Displacement Diaries
A reflective space for journaling life abroad, family complexity, grief, and personal growth.
Displacement Diaries is a reflective space for journaling life transitions, grief, family complexity, and experiences abroad. This community is for those who write about survival, emotional upheaval, and the slow work of rebuilding one’s life. Longform personal narratives, introspective essays, and memory-based storytelling are welcome.

For my friends who are from afar, or forced away from home, or may become so.

Today we visited the Charleston Food Forest, Coles County Community Garden, and Lake Charleston. These are the lake pictures, thus meeting my fall goal for birdwatching / leafpeeping. (Begin with the food forest, community garden.)

( Walk with me ... )

Today we visited the Charleston Food Forest, Coles County Community Garden, and Lake Charleston.  These are the community garden pictures.  (Begin with the food forest.  Continue with the lake.)

( Walk with me ... )

Today we visited the Charleston Food Forest, Coles County Community Garden, and Lake Charleston. These are the food forest pictures. What started out as a beautiful fall day, sunny and cool, clouded over by the time we got out of the house. So the lighting isn't great, but at least the pictures look okay. (Continue with the community garden and the lake.)

( Walk with me ... )

Engineers built a drifting wheelchair for an injured colleague. 

Given how crappy the official  medical equipment is, and how expensive, I'm delighted to see people making adaptive equipment on their own.

Common pesticides may cause testicular damage and lower sperm counts

Widespread farm pesticides may be quietly undermining male reproductive health.

A decade-long review by George Mason University researchers reveals growing evidence that neonicotinoid insecticides—the world’s most widely used class of pesticides—may harm male reproductive health. The findings, based on 21 animal studies, show consistent links between exposure and reduced sperm quality, hormonal disruption, and testicular damage.


This will be useful to people seeking to ban or limit harmful pesticides. Perpetrators may not care about the environment or other humans, but they almost certainly care about their own virility.  Similarly victims who are lethargic about other health threats may rally over this one.

Today is sunny and cool, a beautiful fall day.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 11/8/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 11/8/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 11/8/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 11/8/25 -- We went to the Charleston Food Forest and Coles County Community Garden, where I gathered more seeds.

We also stopped by Lake Charleston in search of migratory birds, which was largely a bust. :/

EDIT 11/8/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

As it is now dark, I am done for the night.

People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

Is hierarchy necessary for all successful human communities?


No. It's just easier. Humans seem inclined to prefer having leadership. Egalitarian communities exist, but they tend to take more work to create and maintain.

Today we made a smoothie with:

1 cup strawberry apple cider
1 cup Brown Cow vanilla yogurt
1 banana
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup ice

The result is bright pink and on the thin side, with a nice fruity flavor.  We used strawberry apple cider from Grissom Orchard -- they have a few different flavors, all good.  It's at least the second time we've made this, but I forgot to write it down earlier. 

This poem is spillover from the November 4, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired and sponsored by librarygeek. It also fills the "I didn't want power. All I wanted was control. Over my life." square in my 11-1-25 card for the Fairy Tales and Fantasy Stories Bingo fest.

Warning: This poem contains intense and controversial topics. Highlight to read the more detailed notes, some of which are spoilers. It includes a ritual for justice with violent ends, ominous mythical figures, a bad leader, reference to sexual assault, reference to abuse under color of authority, treachery, and other challenges. If these are touchy topics for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.

( Read more... )

Today is sunny and mild.

I fed the birds. I've seen a large mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

Today's theme is Kingdom Hearts.


addme_fandom  -- find friends who share your fannish obsessions.
[Active with one post in October.]

akuroku  -- BURN BABY!!!!!
The axel/roxas community.
[Active with one post in November.]

khkinkanon  -- Kingdom Hearts Anonymous Kink Meme
[Active with multiple posts in October.]

kingdomhearts  -- Kingdom Hearts Community
For Fans of Kingdom Hearts.
[Somewhat active with last post in March.]






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