Grey Liliy's Journal

Today is partly sunny and mild.

I fed the birds.  I haven't seen much activity yet.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 6/10/25 -- I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a male cardinal, and at least one mourning dove.

EDIT 6/10/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I heard a blue jay screaming but didn't see it.

EDIT 6/10/25 -- I've been outside a couple of times to walk around the yard.  Fireflies are starting to come out, but it's still so light that they're hard to see.  I may try again later. I've seen a bat over the south lot, and a skunk on the patio.

EDIT 6/10/25 -- We went out a little later to see the fireflies.  This is the most I've seen so far, earlier it was just ones and twos.  There aren't as many as there will be later in the season, but it's the first big flush so we're pleased to see them.

I am done for the night.

Musician Sly Stone has passed away. He will be missed.  Listen to a performance.


Carry on the Work

How to Become a Musician

Social Activism -- how to articles from wikiHow

Ten Ways to Fight Hate: A Community Response Guide

Today we visited the butterfly gardens at Lake Charleston.

( Walk with me ... )

Today I started making liquid fertilizer from Russian comfrey. This plant fills a lot of guild roles in permaculture including fertilizer, miner, mulcher, protector, attractor. I have been using it primarily as a bee plant that I can also slash-and-drop several times a season. I grow it under many of my trees and there's some in the prairie garden too.

There are various ways to make liquid fertilizer from comfrey. I will be testing two: 1) a small amount of comfrey leaves in a large amount of water, and 2) only comfrey leaves crammed tightly in a jug. (See Part 2: Leaves.)

( Walk with me ... )

Krakencoder predicts brain function 20x better than past methods

Scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine have developed a new algorithm, the Krakencoder, that merges multiple types of brain imaging data to better understand how the brain s wiring underpins behavior, thought, and recovery after injury. This cutting-edge tool can predict brain function from structure with unprecedented accuracy 20 times better than past models and even estimate traits like age, sex, and cognitive ability.


That ... sounds pretty exactly like something over in Terramagne. It's part of Thalassia's health care system, although they've had theirs for a while. *ponder* I think the ~20 year gap between here and there is holding steady.

We've reached the end of scheduled themes for the Poetry Fishbowl project. It's time to brainstorm some new themes! These are a few that I've jotted down earlier, ones that I've thought up or people have suggested, to give you an idea what kind of stuff might be suitable:

* Angels and Demons
* Apocalyptic Visions
* Emotional Regulation
* Faeries and Fey
* Fixit
* Pirates, Rascals, and Rogues
* Time Travel
* Westerns

What other themes would you like to see me write about? What would you like to buy? Suggest them in a comment below this post.

( Read more... )

These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Pride Month
Birdfeeding
Early Humans
Today's Adventures
Birdfeeding
Philosophical Questions: Looks
Today's Adventures
Poem: "The Result of Your Own Bad Behavior"
Poem: "When Warmth and Gentleness Are Needed"
Poem: "Emodox"
Birdfeeding
Skate Park
Follow Friday 6-6-25: Active Communities on Dreamwidth Spring 2025 J-Z
Recipes
New Crowdfunding Project: "Aces and Aros"
Poem: "All It Takes to Be Invulnerable"
Poem: "The Bond with a Dog"
Birdfeeding
Read "Do you ever dream of land?"
Books
Wildlife
Birdfeeding
Good News

"Not a Destination, But a Process" has 138 comments. "The Democratic Armada of the Caribbean" has 89 comments.


Last week's Poetry Fishbowl went well. I actually finished a draft of the last obligatory poem yesterday, just need to get that tallied, proofread, and thumnailed. \o/


summerofthe69 is now open! You can see the calendar here and the initial theme is "First Time 69: Everyone has to start somewhere."


"In the Heart of the Hidden Garden" belongs to the Antimatter and Stalwart Stan thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. It needs $86 to be fully funded. Lawrence shows Stan around the campus at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.


The weather has been warm and wet here. It rained again last night. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, two mourning doves, a male cardinal, a catbird, and a fox squirrel. Astilbe, snowball bush, and daylilies have flower buds. Peonies are done blooming. Privet and mock orange are winding down. Currently blooming: dandelions, honeysuckle, pansies, violas, marigolds, petunias, red salvia, wild strawberries, verbena, lantana, sweet alyssum, zinnias, snapdragons, blue lobelia, perennial pinks, impatiens, oxalis, moss rose, yarrow, red coreopsis, anise hyssop, firecracker plant, tomatoes, tomatillos, dogwood, Asiatic lilies, cucumber. Raspberries, blackberries, and tomatoes have green fruit. Wild strawberries and mulberries are ripe.