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Points Donation Challenge Wrap-Up by yourlibrarian 

In the end we had 16 donors and 20 giftees. Donors have been notified and will be making their point gifts directly to assigned giftees. If you offered to donate and have not received a direct message from me, please let me know.

Giftees should be seeing messages from Dreamwidth when the gifts go through. If you have not received anything by May 31, please let me know as something may have gone awry.

Once all gifts have been sent we will have added $402 to Dreamwidth's intake this year.

Extreme weather events, especially heatwaves, cause enormous harm to bird populations worldwide

Outdoor thermometers tell you the temperature. They don’t capture how the air actually feels – and on muggy summer days, the combination of heat and humidity is what pushes animals past their limits.

Birds face the same physics, but with far fewer escape routes. A new review from Sweden argues that the full picture of how heatwaves kill or weaken birds has been hiding in the humidity data all along.


While individuals cannot influence weather directly, we can do many things to protect birds from heat and drought.

( Read more... )

Today's the last day for the 2026 Theme Poll at summerofthe69. If you haven't already voted, now's the time to choose what smut you want to enjoy later.

This year during Three Weeks for Dreamwidth, I'm writing about reading as a way of becoming an expert in a given subject. Read Part 1: Introduction to Becoming an Expert, Part 2: Architecture, Part 3: Dance, Part 4: Music, Part 5: Painting, Part 6: Poetry, Part 7: Sculpture, Part 8: Conflict Resolution, Part 9: Cooking, Part 10: Coping Skills, Part 11: Gardening, Part 12: Relationship Skills, Part 13: Repairing, Part 14: Survival Skills, Part 15: Archaeology, Part 16: Biology, Part 17: Chemistry, Part 18: Linguistics, Part 19: Meteorology, Part 20: Physics.


Three Weeks for Dreamwidth Part 21: Psychology

Psychology is the science of studying the mind, thoughts and feelings, and behavior. Thus it branches into cognitive science (thoughts) and behavioral science (actions). It underlies counseling, which aims to treat mental problems and promote mental health. Psychology is closely related to neuroscience, studying the brain and nervous system; and to other parts of biology and anatomy such as the endocrine system. Here on Dreamwidth, check out bullying_begone, cherishchanges, ethical_society_of_satan, gimpy, journalsandplanners, and openhearts_openminds. You may also like the communities with gather or check-in posts; see that section in Most Useful Communities.




( Read more... )

Today is mostly sunny and mild.

I fed the birds. In the forest garden, I've seen a large mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a gray catbird, and a brown thrasher. I also saw a ruby-throated hummingbird, poking into the irises under the maple tree of all places. :D 3q3q3q!!! Fortunately the barrel garden with its fire-colored flowers is already established, so there are plenty of suitable flowers available.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 5/14/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 5/14/26 -- I planted the coleus in the grape pot. This one is dark purple, almost black, with hot pink streaks down the middle of the leaves. I'm hoping to get more coleus in mixed colors to stuff in around it. Home Depot should have those.

EDIT 5/14/26 -- I trimmed grass and dug a hole at the north edge of the savanna.

EDIT 5/14/26 -- I planted the American plum at the north edge of the savanna.

EDIT 5/14/26 -- I cut brush around the pawpaw seedlings.

EDIT 5/14/26 -- I sowed Scarlet Runner Bean in a trough pot at the west end of the new picnic table garden.

EDIT 5/14/26 -- I got a pretty good look at a bird that doesn't match any description. It had the small red head patch and thick black collar of a northern flicker, but not the distinctive spotted breast. The red-bellied woodpecker has a plain breast, but doesn't match the other markings. And nothing else in Illinois comes close. The bird was drinking from the little trough pond beside the log garden.

EDIT 5/14/26 -- I sowed switch grass seed along the westmost of the north-south strips through the prairie garden. This is my first time working with switch grass; the seed is fine and light and slippery, very pleasant to work with. I have a lot of it left, too. :D I also sowed OPN Seed 20th Anniversary Prairie Native Seed Mix there.

EDIT 5/14/26 -- I sowed big bluestem seed along the middle of the north-south strips through the prairie garden. I also sowed OPN Seed Fall Pollinator Fuel Native Seed Mix there.

I heard the great horned owl hooting in the trees above the ritual meadow. :D

EDIT 5/14/26 -- I sowed American Meadows Monarch Butterfly Wildflower Seed Patch along the east-west strip and the north notch in the prairie garden. This mix is rated for butterflies, bees, and birds. I also sowed a large mount of foraged zinnia seed from the Coles County Community Garden 10-9-25 in both places.

EDIT 5/14/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 5/14/26 -- I sowed sun-shade grass mix and white clover seed along the eastmost of the north-south strips through the prairie garden. That will be this year's walking path to cut through the middle, kept mowed short.

EDIT 5/14/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I sowed common milkweed and black-eyed Susan seeds along the westmost north-south strip of the prairie garden. I sowed purple aster and Mexican hat along the middle north-south strip. I also sowed Mexican hat along the east-west strip and in the north notch, because I had a lot of that one. These are all seeds foraged from the Charleston Food Forest or Coles County Community Garden.

A white Dutch Iris is blooming in the tulip bed. :D

As it is now dark, I am done for the night.

From the author's newsletter:

The Return of The Wiccan Wheel Mysteries by Jennifer David Hesse

I’ll be republishing all six books this year—each one slightly revised
and with a bit of new content. After that, I’ll pick up where I left off
and get to work on subsequent installments in the series. The writing is
already well underway.

To kick things off, the 10^th anniversary edition of Book 1, Midsummer
Night’s Mischief, will come out on the Summer Solstice: June 21, 2026.

Author Website