So it was with this desktop greenhouse.

I took it home and after taking an appropriate time to “season” my idea in my mind (read: a month or two) I set to make my vision of a mini botanical garden a reality.

I started by removing the heavy glass panels and building a raised floor above the latch. I wanted to use the base as a foundation on the building.

I wrapped the foundation in plastic stone textured flooring (meant for Christmas villages) and built a pond at one end of the same. I then gave it a more realistic paint job and designed a rough layout for my plants and displays.

I also knew I wanted to make the ironwork significantly more intricate, but I wasn’t sure how just yet…

Up next - PLANTS! I went wild making all kinds of plants. Some were specific species and some were more conceptual.

I made several trees with polymer clay and moss, cacti out of beads and flocking, cattails out of raffia, hot glue and coffee grounds, and giant monstera leaves out of paper and wire.

This part should have taken me a long time, but it really came together fast. I loved finding ways to replicate natural shapes and patterns using bits of this and that.

I did make adjustments to my plans as I went like eliminating benches in favor of a simpler overall design.

Then I needed to fill my pond with water. For this I used resin. Lily pads were added to the top layer, and I wired in simple LED fairy lights. The batteries are kept in the box under the foundation.

In a weekend frenzy I added more plants, metal (paper) steps, new (plexi)glass windows, a roof, wrought-iron vines (paper again), doors that open, and a hose reel disguising the latch. Suddenly, a project I thought would take months was finished…

I love my desktop botanical garden. Right now it sits on a simple lazy Susan in my office. But I’d love to get it a proper display box to protect from dust.

Cole's Insight

Quest Type: Companion Location: The Lighthouse

When Rook first finds Cole at the Lighthouse, there will be a short cutscene. Speaking to Cole afterwards triggers this conversation:

Rook: Anything going on I should know about?

Cole: Sometimes.

Rook: Are... You gonna tell me?

Cole: Heavy shoulders. Smiles that slip when no one sees. Questions with no words. You answer without being asked.

Rook: Right. Should've seen that coming.

Cole: I hear the hurt. You answer it. They don't ask for help. I tell you where the silence is loudest.

Rook: So, basic translation, you'll tell me if one of my friends needs me. Is that it?

Cole: Yes.

"wow that must be so terrible" "deserts are so ugly" "I would never want to live in a wasteland like that" "it's just empty nothingness"

wishing 10,000 exploding hammers upon you

behold New Mexico

[ID 1: tall, snowcapped rocky mountains rising above a plain filled with desert scrub

ID 2: brightly colored banded cliff walls of several mesas climbing their way into mountains

ID 3: a desert prairie

ID 4: colorful hoodoos against a twilight sky

ID 5: white sand dunes as far as the eye can see

ID 6: a collection of hoodoos against a stormy sky at sunset

ID 7: a juniper tree standing with a cliff wall in the background

right now the trump administration is attacking the public lands in the Southwestern US. most recently (July 2026), in Utah the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments have been cut by over 90% to allow for mining. these lands are sacred to multiple Native nations in the area and contain irreplaceable archeological sites. additionally, the commission of Native representatives who aided in management of these lands has been dissolved leaving Native people without a voice in caring for the remaining land. (read more here)

here in New Mexico, the 10 mile buffer zone surrounding Chaco Canyon preventing oil and gas drilling is under attack. Chaco Canyon contains incredibly old and incredibly fragile archeological sites sacred to Pueblo people. these sites are threatened by mining and drilling. (read more here)

They're a crystal shop in Milton Keynes (UK) except without the woo, just the science. Looking at the pics of the store interior, I can see why your Great Dane, Irish wolfhound or mastiff might not be welcome...

The entire Film- the whole thing, will be spoken and acted in Middle English. Presumably with Subtitles.

A good video that accurately explains why stud is a term used for black lesbians only, not white, not poc, BLACK

the person in the video is a fem presenting black person in their car. they say “i love that you asked, lemme give you a little history lesson. full disclaimer, no hate to the commenter, i’m just giving everybody a bit of a debrief! now firstly, let’s talk about where the term stud actually comes from.

back in the days of slavery, when people still used to refer to us as animals, black people that were taller were known to be stronger because they could do more work. so down in the south, they started comparing us to horses. that then coined the term[s] studs for men, and stallions for females. like megan thee stallion. it was really big in the south. to compare us to animals.

but enough about the bleach brigade, let’s actually get back into the history. as you know, or if you don’t know, black women were not able to enter the working class until well into the 1960s. before then, there was a small populous of women that were still working, even though they technically were not supposed to.

‘how was it possible?’ these women would be dressing more masculine—using binders in order to help put down their chests, dressing more in a male form—and because of the fact that most bleach bandits believed that we, as black women, were already masculine, they got away with it. thus coining the term, in the black community, “stud.” because all the dudes knew, but she was one of the guys. so what did it matter?

any time the chlorine community would come up to black people and be like “hey! is that a female working!?” the guys would just save her and be like ‘nah, that’s a stud right there.” it was joke to them because they all knew. but as times changed and slang did too, the black community still keeps it close at heart. and yes, it was rooted in racism, but we’re taking it back for ourselves.

I got the idea from cowcatchers old locomotives used to have.

Anyways, yesterday I uploaded the model to Thingiverse, and just hours after uploading it, the Community Relationship Manager of the whole website left a comment suggesting I enter the model into a competition that's currently being held on the site.

So I did... and now it's in third place not even a day later. First place is $500, but the competition still has a month to go.

Then the Community Manager contacted me again, telling me they want to feature my model in an upcoming design promotion.

Just, what is happening? I mostly made this thing for myself in, like, an hour, and now it's suddenly super popular? This is all a little bit overwhelming 😵‍💫

Other models I worked on for weeks didn't get nearly as popular. I swear, it's impossible to predict what people will like.

Anyways, if you want to print the wheel guards yourself, you can get the model here or here.

I also made a quiet version you can stick furniture felt pads on.