rainy days & sunny hearts

[id in alt]

tags by @eatyourdamnpears

Yes, what really infuriates me, is when those posts will mention ticks, then wave them off. like go 'oh these dumb people think any taller grass is a danger to neighborhood aesthetics and full of tics' as if the two are in any way equivalent, and then, cruelly and dangerously, leave it at that, as if ticks are a made up problem. or they'll use their image in their memes as a boogeyman then ignore any concerns.

My point isn't AT ALL 'lawns are better because ticks', there can be a middle ground. There are things like bug spray and ultrasonic repellent devices, neither of which are 100% effective, so the most important thing is always looking over yourself/your family, especially on your scalp, after you've been in a risky area. Lyme is stored in ticks' intestines, not their saliva, so if the tick is removed within a day or two, the risk of infection is low. I know someone who sent a tick for testing, and it came back positive for lyme, but since they removed it fast, they don't have it (had every test possible) however other tick-borne diseases like encephalitis (brain inflamation, sometimes deadly) are in their saliva and will infect you immediately, so I absolutely don't want you to think it's fine to get ticks as long as you get rid of them fast. it's better to get rid of them fast, send them for testing, and probably get on preventative antibiotics for a couple of weeks, because if caught early, lyme is treatable, even curable.

So it's all about a reasonable balance. Yes we need to restore biodiversity, but it's not without risks. is the lawn somewhere children play unsupervised every day? Somewhere you often walk barefoot? do you live in an at-risk area, or near woods with wild animals like deer who can infect ticks? then keep it to short grass. Conversely, large swathes of unused land, or tiny patches of decorative grass in the middle of a city that no one ever walks on, hiking spots where you only go with appropriate gear and bug spray, maybe even a designated spot in your backyard if you live far from wild animals, can and should be used to restore native plants as tall as you wish.

1 John 1:9 ESV If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

"like two years ago"

"you mean i could've been drinking the tap water all this time?"

"yeah. they gave us individual mailboxes too finally, you don't have to dig through the communal bin anymore"

"are you for real right now?? i just redirected my mail, i didnt know"

and the new tennant is like "why did you guys even live here if it was so bad"

"we like it."

As many of you know, tomorrow will be Thursday. Many people find themselves unprepared for Thursday and suffer the consequences. Here’s what you need to know to be safe:

Cockroaches are active on Thursdays.

A single month can contain well over 2 Thursdays.

Physicist Albert Rose died on a Thursday, as did several nuns and a poodle.

There are five times more car accidents on every Thursday than on 1/5 of any other weekday.

Wearing lipstick on a Thursday will almost always result in pigmentary encrustation of the procheilon tissue.

Many Thursdays are followed immediately by a resulting Friday.

There's a history of pickled beets in my family. Growing up in the great depression meant that for my grandma that was sometimes the only thing available to eat and she HATES them. But my grandpa loved them so she would always buy a jar and when he opened the jar she'd be all the way in the next room and somehow just KNOW he was opening the jar of beets. She'd come running into the kitchen just to tell him 'yuck!'

Years pass, grandpa died, my dad got into the habit of taking her out to eat at places with a salad bar so we could make sure we all get our greens. He'd always pick out a few pickled beets for himself. Grandma would point at them and say 'yuck!'

Years pass, my grandma is getting on in years. She has a Facebook account, but she just kind of treats it like a family newsletter and barely actually interacts with anyone and just kind of lurks. She has an aide to help her around the house and keep her company and do things that are hard for her. She can't really type anything because last month she had a stroke that messed with her spatial reasoning and typing is hard.

A few days ago, I told Facebook that I had pickled beets on a taco and it was pretty good. My grandmother, age 96, alerted her aide that it was imperative that she reply. And so her aide Naiya, age 22, on behalf of the matriarch of the family, got on her Facebook specifically to tell me...

'Yuck.'

Facebook User: I wish my posts reached further, then I’d get famous.

Instagram User: I wish I had more followers so I can unlock more basic features for my account.

TikTok User: I wish I had more views then I’d be a real influencer.

And yes, it does:

Every single dad packed into the car:

Your husband and all his coworkers:

I know for a fact that I avoid disagreements and difficult conversations because it makes me super tense and i’m constantly trying to anticipate the person’s reaction/what they would like to hear to keep myself safe.