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muccamukk

( Six of Pentacles )

( What is this about? )

There's another really cool tarot meme here:

The Mystical Dream Tarot & Citadel Oracle
Prompt Meme
Open to all fanworks. Come play with us!

cmcmck

The palace:

( More pics: )

Current Mood: photographical
Current Location: 'ereabouts

bookviewcafe_feed

Posted by Sara Stamey

https://bookviewcafe.com/the-rambling-writer-earth-week-on-the-salish-sea/

https://bookviewcafe.com/?p=22902

This Earth Week, I celebrate the beauty of wildlife from our home on the shore of the Salish Sea in the Pacific Northwest.

Even as the greedy Powers that Be seem intent on destroying what remains of the natural world, we bear witness to the resilience and beauty of the wild creatures we are so lucky to live among here on the edge of the vibrant sea. When Thor and I acquired this land — a rare high-bank waterfront parcel along Semiahmoo Drive just south of the Canadian border — the previous owner had illegally clearcut, and it was mostly rubble and stumps. The county required us to plant and protect a native-plant buffer, which we call our Wild Zone. We love the beauty of the plants like the pink-blooming wild currant bushes, and so much bird and other animal life it supports.

Thor built a (removeable) swinging cabana at the edge of the Wild Zone so we could watch the seabirds, seals, and whales up close. This spring we’ve been lucky to spot several pods of migrating gray whales as they passed close to our home. A couple days ago, while eating dinner on our deck, we first heard loud snorting from the sea, then spotted the spouting whales passing by, surfacing and blowing:

The whales migrate from winter birthing in Baja California to summer feeding in the Arctic. On the way, they cruise into Semiahmoo Bay to feed on the shallow bottom by turning sideways and scraping up small crustaceans. A large pod followed along the other day while I was wading (needed my mermaid fix of the sea) along Semiahmoo Spit, looking toward the Canadian mountains across the bay.

I’m posting my complete blog entries on my author website at www.sarastamey.com, where you can finish this episode and enjoy all the accompanying photos. Please continue reading by clicking on the link below, then you can return here (use “go back” arrow above) to comment, ask questions, or join a conversation. We love your responses!

https://sarastamey.com/the-rambling-writer-earth-week-on-the-salish-sea/

*****

You will find The Rambling Writer’s blog posts here every Saturday. Sara’s latest novel from Book View Café is Pause, a First Place winner of the Chanticleer Somerset Award and an International Pulpwood Queens Book Club selection. “A must-read novel about friendship, love, and killer hot flashes.” (Mindy Klasky). It’s also a love letter to the stunning beauty of her native Pacific Northwest wild places. Sign up for her quarterly email newsletter at www.sarastamey.com

https://bookviewcafe.com/the-rambling-writer-earth-week-on-the-salish-sea/

https://bookviewcafe.com/?p=22902

loganberrybunny

Public

From the Guardian a couple of days ago: US won’t give unredacted Epstein documents to UK police without formal request in the Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Peter Mandelson cases. The US Department of Justice is insisting on the bureaucratic and lengthy process of a mutual legal assistance request. The Metropolitan Police commissioner and others have tried more informal routes, but the DOJ is proving unhelpful. Now there's a shock.

Current Mood: irate

ysabetwordsmith

Today is sunny and mild. It rained on and off yesterday.

We went out early to catch the native plant sale at Douglas-Hart Nature Center. Then we had more errands to run.

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

I put out water for the birds.

I set out some flats of pots and watered them.

EDIT 4/25/26 -- I planted four Burpless Cucumbers in pots, two on the old picnic table garden and two on the new picnic table garden.

EDIT 4/25/26 -- I planted four chocolate cherry tomatoes in pots, two on the old picnic table garden and two on the new picnic table garden.

I planted a garden sage and a variegated sage in a trough pot, and a cilantro in another trough pot, at the new picnic table garden. I still need to do more with the troughs because their soil level is low.

.

Current Mood: busy

soc_puppet posting in

dreamsheep

Hello, everyone; happy Dreamwidth Anniversary!

Today I come bearing some simple colored Dreamsheep icons, for your color-themed blogs. These are just some basic web-safe colors I grabbed, so it's not everything on the spectrum or color wheel, but I aimed for a decent variety. Also, if there's a color or color combination that you really want, I'm willing to take requests! It may take me a couple of days to get to them, though, just a heads up.

Anyway, ( Colorful Dreamsheep )

If you decide to use one, please credit soc_puppet or Socchan somewhere; other than that, no restrictions apply 👍

I hope you find one you like!

dewline

I should not have to set police and lawyers on someone else in order to get physiotherapy, dammit. No one else in similar straits should, either. They should be able to just take their prescription for such treatment to the appropriate clinic and get going without paying out of pocket.

Yes, I do expect that to come out of my OHIP premiums to Queens Park. (Adapt as needed to your home jurisdiction.)

Current Mood: annoyed

conuly

Don't get me wrong, I love doing them - five hours of reading, three hours of work, what's not to love? - but talking about them? Don't get me started. Every single time it's a back and forth to confirm the actual day the shift starts.

I got a shift through the staffing agency, and I say "So, to confirm, I go to work at midnight Monday?" and he goes "No, Sunday". "So, I leave my house at 11:30 today...?"

No, he meant midnight Monday to 8am Monday.

Every time I look at the schedule at the usual place I find myself momentarily baffled by the fact that the overnight shift is at the top, as the first shift of the day.

Also, literally as I typed that last sentence a spam text came in with the word "lpuuuu", which seems low effort even for a spam text. I get that their business model depends on weeding out everybody smart enough to say "Seems fake!", but seriously?

james_davis_nicoll

Four books new to me. Three fantasy, one horror (maybe?) and at least one is part of a series.

Books Received, April 18 — April 24

Poll #34517 Books Received, April 18 — April 24

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 20

View Respondents

Which of these look interesting?

View Answers

The Drakon King by Terry J. Benton-Walker (November 2026)
0 (0.0%)

They Cry by Glen Cook (November 2026)
5 (25.0%)

The Raven at the Ash Door by K. A. Linde (June 2026)
4 (20.0%)

Monsters of Ohio by John Scalzi (November 2026)
14 (70.0%)

Some other option (see comments)
1 (5.0%)

Cats!
18 (90.0%)

omens

A meme borrowed from

3weeks4dreamwidth (this post) - Put your mp3 player/phone/streaming collection on shuffle, and write down the first line of the first twenty songs. Post the poem that results.

This sounded fun to me and also like it would probably be crap but also make me lol - I'm not a poetry fan but ngl, I think it turned out coherent!! I cheated minimally 😇 I skipped a song I hated and also one that started with like, onomatopoeia :P

poetry (& english translation) inside

Me desperté pensando en to' lo que me hacía'
patrzę jak zegar odmierza mi czas
przebudź się - jesteś wolny, jesteś wolny, jesteś wolny
Got a secret, can you keep it?
nie umiem śnić

Ja idę ciągle swoją drogą
Je viens d'une ville où il n'y a plus de loi
I never thought I would put my freedom in your hands
nie mów że mnie znasz
otwieram jedną z ksiażek
I can feel it in my bones
Nie znam słowa
Skasowałam Poloneza obok kina w mur
Hej, ja przed Tobą się rozbieram
Jestem dziewczyną lat 47

And just like that it's over
Trochę deszczu
Powiedz mi, czy wszystko okey?
I just wanna go back, back to 1999
Tak niewiele sam o sobie wiem

& in English (this is just google translating for the most part, so buyer beware)--

I woke up thinking about everything you did to me
I watch the clock tick away
wake up - you are free, you are free, you are free
Got a secret, can you keep it?
I can't dream

I keep going my own way
I come from a city where there are no more laws
I never thought I would put my freedom in your hands
don't say you know me
I open one of the books
I can feel it in my bones
I don't know the word
I crashed a Polonez into a wall next to the cinema
Hey, I'm in front of you, undressing -
I'm a 47 year old girl.

And just like that it's over.
A little rain..
Tell me, is everything okay?
I just wanna go back, back to 1999 -
I know so little about myself.

It's not bad, right?? Nostalgic and a little self-destructive and with too many I's, but plausible! A little Gender, too?? (The narration switches gender & idk, I think it works.) Anyway, you can tell my Tidal account is heavily weighted to Polish music, lol. I've only had it 5 years or so.

rolanni

Saturday. Sunny. The weatherbeans give it as their opinion that it will achieve "warm" today.

Found one of Rookie's whiskers -- I don't find them nearly as often as I find the long white sort favored by the girls -- so that was exciting. Also, he managed to bank two out of three possible new balls, so I ordered in nine more (3 additional cards) from Petsmart, which declares that they will deliver these essential items today. Guess somebody in Augusta thinks it's a nice day for a ride.

Next up, putting the kettle on and rustling up some breakfast before I hit the books.

What's on the books for Saturday at your place?
#
And, in celebration of a sunny Saturday, one of my favorite character interactions, in which we learn that Clonak isn't ... quite ... a fool, after all. From I Dare:

"You fed me to them," [Val Con] said, and his voice was, perhaps, not quite steady. "The scouts gave me to the Department."

Clonak stared at him as if he'd taken leave of his wits. "Well, *of course* we gave you to them, Shadow! Who else did we have more likely to trump them than a first-in, pure-blood yos'Phelium scout commander? Concentrated random action. Would we waste such a weapon? Would you? I didn't think so. Besides," he finished, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's the duty of the Captain to protect the passengers. Er Thom can't have missed telling you that!"

"As close-kin, I ask that you not kill him," Daav said into the silence that followed this. "I allow him to be twelve times an idiot. But he is also my oldest friend, and I value him."

frith

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth starts now, whoop whoop! I don't guarantee nuthin' but I'll give posting everyday for three weeks a shot. ^_^ It'll be a little easier to find fresh pictures to post now that the plants are waking up and waving their sex organs at the bees, butterflies and anything else that can be bribed to bump and grind past their pistils and stamens. Mother Nature will try anything.

calzephyr posting in

1word1day

Spit the dummy

An Austrlian idiom to describe someone who is overreacting or acting wildly childish.

Watch on YouTube

puddleshark

A walk up through the nature reserve at Durlston to see the cowslips in flower, listen to the skylarks singing above the meadows by the sea.

( Read more... )

andrewducker

I've been working my way back through some albums I haven't listened to in decades, to see how they hold up.

I just started a shower with Sisters of Mercy: Floodland, and sang along with the whole first song, despite not having heard it in 30 years.

Brought back a lot of university memories too.

Funny thing, memory.

smartbitches_feed

Posted by Amanda

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/04/whatcha-reading-april-2026-part-two/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=172223

Cozy seat in beautiful backyard flower garden Welcome back! Here’s what we’re reading right now:

Carrie: I just finished the Trembling Hand, ( A | BN | K | AB ) a nonfiction that I read slowly, and am starting The Chamber, ( A | BN | K | AB ) a thriller which I hope to speed through since it’s all plot

Lara: I just started a cosy mystery by an author that (from what I can tell) started as an influencer. The Potting Shed Murder by Paula Sutton. ( A | BN | K | AB ) I’m only a couple pages in but I’m intrigued!

A | BN

Amanda: I started The Fey Hotel, but my brain is all over the place and was having some issues latching onto the world building. I was not aware it took place in a fantasy Seattle based on the cover.

Sarah: I finished Fair Game by Patricia Briggs, ( A | BN | K | AB ) part of the Alpha & Omega series, and am debating whether to move to the next book or take a break. I love the relationship development and the exploration of ethics, justice, and acceptance, but woo damn are they violent AF. I mean, for me. There are probably more violent books out there.

A | BN | K | AB

Elyse: I just finished the entire ACOTAR series ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) and went from my cynical self to a die hard fan. I took off 10/27. There is something addicting in those pages…

Shana: I just started Key Lime Sky by Al Hess. So far there’s pie, queers, and alien invasions.

Susan: I’m reading Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, ( A | BN ) which is very dramatic and somehow is not m/m romance, despite reading exactly like Global Examination.

Whatcha reading? Let us know in the comments!

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/04/whatcha-reading-april-2026-part-two/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=172223

ysabetwordsmith

This year during Three Weeks for Dreamwidth, I'm writing about reading as a way of becoming an expert in a given subject.

Part 1: Introduction to Becoming an Expert

Previously I posted about "How to Get Good at Anything." That touched on "The 3 Book Rule to Become An Expert." The premise is that, if you have read just three books on a subject, you know more about it than the general level of knowledge. You don't know as much as a professional should, but you know enough to answer about 80% of questions on the matter. This is enough to be useful to most people regarding most issues in that area. The really complicated or difficult stuff can be left to the professional level of experts.

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth April 25-May 15

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth April 25-May 15

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Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth runs April 25-May 15. During this time, people post content only visible on Dreamwidth (although it can be reposted elsewhere after the event ends). There's usually a flurry of activity as bloggers share anchor posts, new fiction, icons, banners, questionnaires, friending fests, memes, and other goodies. Community hosts often hold special activities in their communities too. Watch your reading page for more festivities. (See the introductory posts from 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025.) To find posts for this event, follow the Threeweeks feed.

This year I plan to post about becoming an expert by reading three books on a subject. See "My Blog Is About..." for an overview of my blogging in general.

I have also posted about this event in my communities. See the entries:

* THREE WEEKS FOR DREAMWIDTH: INTRODUCTION in

allbingo
THREE WEEKS FOR DREAMWIDTH: SHARE YOUR CARDS

* Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Introduction in

birdfeeding

* Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Introduction in

crowdfunding

* Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Introduction in

goals_on_dw

* Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Introduction in

newcomers

* Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Introduction in

reddit_refugees

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth April 25-May 15

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