Well, balls.

Also the further you move toward the poles the more pronounced the difference between the length of day and night is. Worst part of a far-north (or south) heatwave is it doesn’t get dark long enough for meaningful cooling.

It feels like a uniquely American capitalist take to assume these traditions will make you completely self sufficient. You need a lot of people, a lot of time, a lot of knowledge across a lot of subjects, and a lot of luck to provide for everyone's nutritional needs.

So should you even bother trying to be more self sufficient with your food? I argue yes. Foraging and gardening are fun and will teach you so much about many things. They are deeply rewarding activities that can supplement your diet. There are herbs I haven't bought in years because I grow my own. There are dishes I can only make with foraged ingredients because I can't get them in stores.

"A man would shelter, if he could, in the nook behind this new plywood. The building, abandoned, the man is too. How I wish you'd imagined that it were you"

The administration either got rid of or didn't listen to people who could explain the algae problem, and decided that the problem was because other administrations were just stupid and didn't know how to take care of the pool, and also saw an opportunity for grifting some money.

So they painted the bottom of the pool dark blue, which absorbed more heat from the sun and made the algae bloom faster than ever. So they dumped hydrogen peroxide in it, which only killed the algae around the edges and also made the new paint job peel.

Water in Washington DC that flows through its two main rivers is brackish, and the city is a natural tidal marsh. The rivers rise and fall with the tides, and if you go to the national mall you can see the tide change. It’s not that far away from the Atlantic Ocean.

That being said, the natural ecosystems in the area are meant to support brackish tidal water (it’s why Maryland, the state that gave up the land to make DC, is known for crabs and oysters). And it’s why the Obama administration changed the pool to draw directly from the river. It’s better for the environment and better reflects what the land was like before development.

DC residents get their drinking water from the river as well, but it’s treated, and pulled from further upstream where the water contains less salt. (Yes. You can find seashells on the shores/beaches of the rivers in DC)

With the area being a tidal marsh it is 1. Important for the environment because it acts as a giant filter for the water going into the Chesapeake and the Atlantic. And then 2. Supports a diverse ecosystem. However, it’s hot and humid because it’s summer and algae loves that. But ponds and rivers in DC aren’t constantly covered in algae blooms…. In fact it’s not actually a problem here because things are often designed with the fact that this is tidal area in mind.

The fact that the current administration has ignored ALL of this, and now the local wildlife is suffering is directly their fault. It’s actually impressive. DC has never seen something like this until this administration.

Now, orthophosphate also happens to be a *potent* algae fertilizer. And using hydrogen peroxide to kill the algae doesn't help, because the dead algae just release the phosphates back into the water, so the surviving algae will gobble it up and bloom again.

my mom is in fact aware that dandelions exist. she temporarily forgot the name and there was some miscommunication.

the truth is actually weirder

she’s aware dandelions look like this

she is familiar with this flower. she knows the name of this flower. she declines to believe, however, that these are also dandelions

she does not believe these are the same plant. I tried to explain, and she thought I was either misinformed or lying. so I asked her what exactly did she think the yellow ones were called?

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