ShoppityShop

If you’re nervous about them (not yknow. allergic. let’s not intentionally misinterpret what I’m saying) ignore them. And I do mean IGNORE. Don’t react.

Also, are you watering or generally handling a source of liquid and they won’t leave you alone? Share some at a distance from yourself. Hell are you eating and they want some? Share it.

Honestly if people treated them with the calmness and affection they show bees they’d have better experiences.

all of the above advice works 100%. wasps and bees and all stinging critters are very very unlikely to sting you if you stay calm and move slowly. they are VERY LIKELY to sting you if you move quickly and jerkily, and are guaranteed to try to sting you if you attempt to kill them. they are not hunting you, they are not stupid, they know you are the size of a skyscraper. they will ONLY sting you if they believe you are trying to hurt or kill them.

many species of wasps, and especially yellowjackets, are solitary or social predators/scavengers. they are extremely intelligent, and aware of you as a fellow creature, whatever that may mean to their bug intelligence.

they are not mindless computers, they are more like little cats or wolves. and they are just doing what it takes to make a living on god’s gay earth: looking for food and water for their children 

This is exactly why I made this post—not that I expect everyone to fall head over heels in love with these creatures but to see their importance beyond the cultural knee-jerk reaction because of the reductive view we’ve cultivated of them.

I’m also not saying that they’re never somewhat unpredictable and that they’ll never hurt you—just like any other creature they have the capacity too. It’s just very much increased when the reaction to them is to flail and swat and scream.

Thank you guys for your thoughtful additions to this post I appreciate beyond words. Pls continue to carry this level of care and education as our friends wake for winter and start flying around again!

The callery pear, sometimes known by the name of its infamous domestic cultivar, the Bradford pear, is a HIGHLY invasive species throughout the US! At this time of year (late winter to early spring), callery pears bloom and leaf out before any other native tree species, which can lead to overcrowding.

The history of the fuckass Bradford pear:

The Bradford cultivar of the callery pear was introduced into the United States in the 1960s as the ultimate ornamental tree: it flowers and leaves out early, it is naturally straight and tall, and grows super quick. Its leaves are deep red in fall and its toxic fruits are candy to birds. But these attributes would lead to it being a highly invasive species. Where I live, these trees are already greening up when most grass is still barely colored. The fact is that these trees fill in before any others, crowding out younger native plants.

(image courtesy of Leslie Mehrnoff)

Then there are the growing habits of the Bradford pear. The Bradford was originally praised for its rapid, even growth. However, these trees grow so fast that they can't build as much strength as slower-growing species, such as oaks. The forks in limbs and branches are the weak spots, and any amount of wind sends down showers of twigs. When I was younger, I lived in a house with three of these fuckers out front, and it was a hassle to constantly pick up branches and twigs from the lawn.

(image courtesy of Rebekah Wallace)

As a result of their accelerated growth, Bradford pears are HIGHLY susceptible to storm damage, and this can hurt houses, automobiles and other people's property. On top of that, they're not very pretty to look at whenever they're not flowering or colored up for fall.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Pull/dig up any suckers or saplings that you find. Beware that wild-type callery pears have enormous thorns on the ends of their branches, so proceed with caution.

Cut them the hell down. Depending on where you live, you may receive payment or even a free native tree for pear trees you cut down. Note, DO NOT cut down trees on others' property without permission from the owner of said property.

Inform others! The best way to stop the spread of these trees is to teach others about the problem! More people cutting down callery pears means less shitty invasive trees!

All the little reddish seeds that are starting to sprout are mini white clover seeds. I threw fistfulls of these seeds all over my front yard a day ago, and they're already starting to sprout after the rain we've had.

As my update on my last post says, I recently bought a house. My first one ever. *excited squealing* One of the first things I'm doing is replacing the lawn with mini clover. This will probably irritate my neighbors, but since there is no HOA (I wouldn't have bought it if it did), I don't care. There are several reasons why I am doing this:

• mini clover only grows about 6 inches tall max, so it does not require mowing

• clover, being a legume, is a nitrogen fixer, which helps enrich the soil, and doesn't require massive amounts of fertilizer to stay green

• clover is broad leafed, so is better at shading out other undesirable plants/weeds, which means it doesn't require massive amounts of herbicides to create a uniform lawn (I am not advocating for monocultures here, but if that's what you want, then clover does it better than grass)

• clover emerges from dormancy sooner in the spring, stays green in the fall/winter longer, and requires less watering than grass, so it looks nicer when everyone else's lawns are dead and brown due to changing seasons or drought

• clover produces beautiful little white flowers that bees and butterflies love, which supports and attracts these pollinators to other areas of the garden

• clover leaves and flowers are edible

This fragrant and hearty Thyme Goat's Milk Polenta could be a lovely side to a wide array of fish, meat or stews; but it's also deliciously comforting on its own on a dull and grey Saturday. Have a good one!

Ingredients (serves 2):

3/4 cup whole goat's milk

1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

1 bay leaf

2 fluffy sprigs fresh thyme

½ cup polenta

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

In a medium saucepan, combine goat's milk, water, coarse sea salt, bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Heat over a medium flame until simmering. Allow to infuse a bit, then remove bay leaf and thyme sprigs.

Add polenta all at once, energetically stirring with a whisk to prevent lumps from forming. Whisk constantly until mixture thickens. Once it has, gradually whisk in butter until completely melted and you have a beautifully smooth polenta.

The most poisonous plant in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the Castor oil plant is also known as the “palm of Christ”, or Palma Christi, which stems from the plant oil’s ability to heal wounds. However, it also has the power to kill, as just one milligram of the plant’s poison can kill an adult, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

For centuries, the Chinese have used castor oil as a medicine and when bandaging injuries. The plant is also used to produce biodiesel fuel in Brazil, where it is called mamona oil. Castor oil can also be found in chocolate when it is used as a cocoa butter substitute, as well as in soap, laxatives, ink and plastics .

neocities.org 👈 for website hosting

internetingishard.com 👈 for coding tutorial

w3schools.com 👈 for a searchable index of every html and css term under the sun and live examples of how each one works