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crystallizedday · 1 year

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So for the past few weeks, I’ve been fleshing out my “PPG 20 Years Later” AU a bit in my spare time, & I’ve finally decided to share what I have so far with y’all!

Do keep in mind that these are just concepts I may change later & these are all just sketches for the most part, but I’m way too excited about this AU & I’m too lazy to do the line work, so uh

HERE YA GO!!

Also, this AU’s based off of the first 4 seasons of the original show, so uh… do keep that in mind too.

Anyway, let’s start off with the designs for the trio.

Since Blossom’s the most academically smart of the three, I had her be the one to follow her father’s footsteps & becoming a professor, a master of many scientific trades. During that 20 year time skip, Professor Utonium actually created his own research facility, one that Blossom later inherits & runs.

Bubbles is a veterinarian, the best Townsville could ever offer. Being able to speak to & understand any & all animals certainly helped her obtain that title. Her kindness from her childhood is still as strong as ever, evident by how she spends most of her time outside of her job doing community work & generally helping out the city however she can.

Buttercup is Townsville’s star athlete, competing in any & every sport she can schedule. She is far more in control of her own emotions than when she was a child, rarely ever lashing out at anyone who didn’t deserve it. She is a lot more patient & considerate of others than she used to be, & is never afraid to lend a helping hand when needed.

Out of the three, Blossom is the most… well, not okay as she begins to struggle with feelings of self doubt. During one of her more concerning episodes, she created a little A.I. buddy to keep herself more emotionally stable.

Button was programmed to be very kind & considerate, her primary function being to keep Blossom company & to ensure she did not do anything too… heinous, something Blossom is immensely paranoid of. Button CAN & WILL go beyond her initial programming to try & get Blossom to socialize more often instead of being cooped up in her lab 24/7.

Button is only visible through a particular pair of goggles Blossom created for herself, just to make sure no one else would discover Button’s existence. After all, she didn’t want anyone thinking she’s finally lost it, & she didn’t trust anyone else to know about her dwindling mental & emotional state.

Because therapy is apparently overrated.

Button simply wants the best for Blossom & everyone else in the world, constantly pushing Blossom to focus on inventions that ensure the safety of the people & could help them thrive. However, this clashes with Blossom’s ever-growing desire to do something about the rising crime rates, since Blossom’s solutions for that particular issue tend to be rather extreme, much to Button’s disapproval.

& while Blossom for the most part listens to whatever Button will suggest, her initial trust in Button’s opinions become… skewed, not due to anything Button does in particular, but more so due to Blossom’s dwindling self worth taking…

too much of a toll on her…

…

NOW ON TO THE BADDIES!!

Mojo Jojo is still kicking, just as persistent & petty as ever. & while the city has grown more used to his… questionable acts of villainy or even his genuine practices of his own citizenship, he is still VERY MUCH a threat, his mechs & schemes growing more & more dangerous by the year.

He’s also… incredibly lonely, & will pathetically beg for ANY other villain to hang out with him so he’ll have SOMEONE to talk to for once.

Princess Morbucks has recently inherited her father’s business, just as Blossom has. She is still very much a brat, but now she no longer needs her father’s permission (for the most part) to throw money at her problems. Despite her criminal record & unlikable attitude, she has become a bit of a celebrity to Townsville & even other neighboring cities. She will almost always use this fame to rag on anyone she pleases, particularly Blossom & the facility she inherited. However, Blossom couldn’t give less of a shit, often leaving Morbucks frustrated with how she can never get a reaction out of her.

Fuzzy Lumpkins is VERY much retired & spends most of his time in his lil shack, enjoying the quiet & beauty of the luscious forest around him. He surprisingly doesn’t mind visitors nowadays, but he rarely ever speaks. He just likes to listen. Bubbles often visits him from time to time to talk with him, since she worries poor Fuzzy gets rather lonely, & she feels like he doesn’t deserve to feel so lonely.

Him has gotten quite the transformation over the years. He’s become a little more monstrous now with no pupils & no visible mouth… at least not at first. He doesn’t actually SPEAK with his claws, he simply eats with them. WHAT exactly? Well I’m sure you can figure that one out. His boa has also formed into a sort of tail for him, constantly moving around & such. He rarely ever leaves his own dimension, only ever bringing certain mortals into his world either for his own entertainment or as a snack. Thus, it’s a lot harder to really deal with him.

The Amoeba Boys are NOT the same characters as the ORIGINAL idiotic Amoeba Boys. Instead, they are mitosis-created descendants of what has essentially become a sort of mafia-esque family, with three of them getting the originals’ hats as a sign of “passing on the torch”. Unfortunately, the youngest one’s hat had become far too torn & tattered throughout the years, so all that the little guy’s left with is a hat they stole at some convenience store one day.

With how fast they’ve been multiplying for the past few years, it might not be long until they’re eventually taken care of for good to prevent them from taking over Townsville with their sheer numbers ALONE.

Sedusa has long since retired from her criminal ways, now settling down as a still-single woman (cause, let’s face it, she may be hot, but no one in Townsville wants to share their bank account with this woman) just trying to keep herself beautiful.

She’s cranky, irritable, & even the mere mention of the PPG gets her in a bad mood after all the shit they’ve done to her. All she wants nowadays is to be left alone to live her life without being accused of a crime she didn’t commit… which happens a lot on a count of she used to be a master of disguise & all.

Now…

It is time for the IMPORTANT SIDE CHARACTERS!!

Or at least a few of them, because I am reaching the image limit for this post & I haven’t fleshed out too many citizens yet.

While I am not COMPLETELY sure about this one, I am thinking Miss Bellum probably stepped up to be mayor once the OLD mayor… well… yeah.

She didn’t necessarily WANT to, feeling like she didn’t really deserve to be the mayor (showing that, despite how she knew of the old mayor’s incompetence, she still cared for & respected him very much), but Townsville quite liked her & how much she’s helped the city over the years, so she was encouraged into this position. Her competence has greatly helped Townsville stay afloat, & her own combat skills means she can handle almost any attempts to harm her or take her hostage without the need to call for aid.

Now…

Y’all remember Mr. Green from the Chris Savino seasons of the original series?

Well, while I have my fair share of problems with that episode, I decided to not waste the potential of this character & use him as the basis for a bit of an oc of mine…

SOOOOOOOO…

Miss Keane is still a kindergarten teacher, but she often still keeps contact with the PPG to see how they’re all doing. She’s even sweeter than she used to be 20 years ago, & every kid in Townsville absolutely adores her for it.

However, at some point, she met a certain someone, a fellow teacher. On account of the green skin, unnaturally white hair, & the horns, this guy was most likely from Monster Isle, where all the monsters that attack Townsville are from. It’s odd how he’s more humanly proportioned & it HAS raised a few eyebrows considering this isn’t what monsters are usually known for, but Miss Keane didn’t care.

She saw how sweet & considerate he was & eventually fell in love with him, the two being married for a good few years now. This as well as a few other accounts of Townsville civilians showing some compassion & humanity towards other “monsters” has recently resulted in a sort of shift of attitude towards monsters in general, even if tensions between the two sides are still rather high.

So uh

Yeah!

Meet Mr. Oliver Tilia!

A play on both the word “Reptilia” as well as the tilia genus, which (during my brief research on it) can be found in some species of trees & bushes! This’ll make sense in another post.

So uh…

Yeah!

That’s pretty much what I got so far!

Imma make a reblog of this to showcase some other sketches of mine to further flesh out this AU, but this shall be the main post about it!

I hope y’all enjoy this AU!

& hopefully I’ll get a better name for it soon JWIWKWKCKSKDL

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blackswallowtailbutterfly · 11 months

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Plant names that are used as names or might be nice as names

Abelia (Abby, Bibi, Bel, Bee, Lia)

Achillea (feminine of Achilles; Lea)

Aletris (like Alexis or Beatris; Al, Allie, Tris, Trissy)

Alisma (Al, Allie, Lee, Alis, Lissy)

Alliaria (Al, Allie, Lia, Lee, Ria)

Amaranthus (actual name already; Amy, Mara, Anne, Annie)

Ambrosia (actual name already; Amy, Rosie)

Ammophila (Amy, Phil)

Andromeda (actual name already; Anne, Annie, Andy, Mimi)

Angelica (actual name already; Angie)

Anise (Anne, Annie)

Anthea (actual name already; Anne, Annie, Thea)

Apple (actual name already)

Aquilegia (Gigi)

Aralia (Lee, Lia)

Argemone (Gem, Gemmy, Monnie)

Argentina (Gen, Genny, Tina)

Arisaema (Aris)

Aronia (Ro, Nia)

Artemisia (actual name already; Art, Arty, Mimi, Missy)

Ash/Ashley (actual name already)

Aster (like Esther)

Barley (like Bartley)

Betula (Bett, Bettie, Tula)

Bluet (Blue, Bett, Bettie)

Blossom (actual name already)

Calla (Cal, Al, Allie)

Callirhoe (Cal, Al, Allie, Ro)

Caltha (Cal, Al, Allie)

Calystegia (Cal, Al, Aly, Gia)

Carya (actual name already)

Celastrus (like Celeste; Cece, Cela)

Celosia (like Celeste; Cece, Cela)

Celtis

Chelone (Lonnie)

Cherry (actual name already)

Clarkia (Clark, Kia, Kiki)

Claytonia (Clay, Toni)

Clematis (Clem)

Cleome (Cleo, Clem, Mimi)

Clintonia (Clint, Lin, Toni)

Clover (Clo)

Comandra (like Cassandra; Anne, Annie, Andy, Maddie, Mandy)

Commelina (Mel, Lina, Melly, Lin, Lee)

Cotton

Dahlia (like Delia or Thalia)

Daisy (actual name already)

Dale (actual name already)

Dalea (like Delia or Thalia)

Daphne (actual name already)

Datura (Dottie, Tura)

Della (actual name already)

Dianthus (Dia, Dianne, Anne, Annie)

Dicentra

Drosera (Dro, Ro, Sera)

Dryas

Erigenia (Eri, Gigi, Gen, Genny, Genie, Genia, Nia)

Evadne (actual name already; Eve, Evie, Eva)

Fern (actual name already)

Filipendula (Fil, Filly, Flippa, Penn, Penny)

Flower/Fleure/Flora/etc. (actual names already)

Forest (actual name already)

Gale (actual name already)

Ginger (actual name already)

Grindelia (Dede, Delia, Lia)

Halesia (Hal, Hally, Al, Allie)

Hazel (actual name already)

Heather (actual name already)

Holly (actual name already)

Hydrangea (Hydie, Angie, Gigi)

Iris (actual name already)

Isotria (Izzy, Tria)

Juniper (actual name already; June, Junie)

Laurel (actual name already)

Lavender (actual name already; Lav, Vendy)

Leafie (actual name already)

Lemna

Liatris (like Beatris; Li, Lia, Tris, Trissy)

Lilac (like Lilah)

Lily (actual name already)

Linaria (Lin, Linny)

Lindera (Lin, Linny, Lindy)

Linnaea (Lin, Linny)

Lobelia (Lo, Lola, Bel, Lia)

Lonicera (Lon, Lonnie, Cera)

Lotus (actual name already; Lottie)

Lunaria (Lulu, Luna)

Magnolia (Maggie, Nola, Lia)

Malia (actual name already)

Maple (like Maybel; May)

Meadow (actual name already)

Melia (actual name already; Mel, Melly)

Melothria (Mel, Melly)

Mentha (actual name already)

Mertensia (like Mercedes)

Mitchella (feminine of Mitchel; Mimi, Mitch, Chella)

Monarda (Monnie, Mona)

Montia (like Monty; Monnie, Monty, Tia)

Myrtle (actual name already)

Myrica (like Erica)

Nemesia

Nyssa

Oakley (actual name already)

Olive/Olivia/etc. (actual name already)

Pansy (actual name already)

Peach (actual name already)

Peltandra (Pel, Tandy, Andy)

Persicaria (Persi, Kari, Carrie, Caria)

Petunia (actual name already)

Phyllis (actual name already)

Picea

Pilea

Pontederia (Ted, Teddie)

Poppy (actual name already)

Praline (Lina)

Primula (Prima)

Prunella (Nel, Nelly, Nella)

Robinia (Rob, Robby, Bob, Bobby, Robin, Nia)

Rose/Rosa/Rosaria/Rhode/etc. (actual names already)

Rosemary (actual name already)

Salvia (like Silvia; Sally, Vivi)

Sibara

Sida

Silvia/Sylvie/Sylvaine/etc. (actual name already; Vivi)

Tansy (actual name already)

Thuja

Tilia

Valley (Val, Al, Alley)

Vallisneria (Val, Valli, Al, Alli, Allis, Lissy, Neri)

Verbena

Veronica (actual name already)

Violet/Viola/etc. (actual name already; Vi, Vivi)

Willow (actual name already; Will, Willie)

Yarrow

Zea

#long text post #list of names #list

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mooresmithtreecare · 18 days

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Choosing the Right Tree for Your Yard: Factors to Consider and Popular Options

As a passionate gardener and tree enthusiast, I firmly believe that the right tree can transform your yard into a true oasis of beauty and tranquility. The tree you select not only adds visual appeal but also plays a crucial role in the overall health and functionality of your outdoor space. Whether you're looking to create a lush, shaded retreat, enhance your home's curb appeal, or provide a haven for wildlife, the choice of tree can make all the difference.

In this comprehensive guide, I'll share my expertise and guide you through the process of selecting the perfect tree for your yard. By the end of this article, you'll have the knowledge and confidence to make an informed decision that will bring lasting joy and value to your property.

Factors to consider when choosing a tree for your yard

Choosing the right tree for your yard requires careful consideration of several key factors. Here are the essential elements you should keep in mind:

Climate and Growing Conditions: Understanding the climate and growing conditions in your local area is crucial. Different tree species thrive in specific temperature ranges, precipitation levels, and soil types. Matching the tree to your region's climate will ensure its long-term success and vitality.

Available Space: Carefully measure the available space in your yard, taking into account the tree's mature size, including its canopy spread and root system. Selecting a tree that fits the allocated area will prevent overcrowding and potential damage to your property.

Desired Purpose: Consider the primary function you want the tree to serve, such as providing shade, enhancing privacy, or adding aesthetic value. This will guide you towards the most suitable species that can fulfill your specific needs.

Maintenance Requirements: Some tree species require more frequent pruning, pest management, or specialized care than others. Evaluate your willingness and ability to maintain the tree before making your selection.

Aesthetic Preferences: Personal preferences, such as leaf color, bark texture, and flowering characteristics, can also play a role in your decision-making process. Choose a tree that aligns with your desired visual appeal.

By carefully weighing these factors, you'll be well on your way to selecting the perfect tree that will thrive in your yard and meet your specific needs.

Popular tree species for different climates

One of the most crucial steps in choosing the right tree is understanding the various species that perform well in different climatic conditions. Here's a breakdown of some popular tree options for various regions:

Temperate Climates (e.g., Northeastern United States, Central Europe):

Oak (Quercus spp.)

Maple (Acer spp.)

Linden (Tilia spp.)

Birch (Betula spp.)

Beech (Fagus spp.)

Subtropical Climates (e.g., Southeastern United States, Southern Europe):

Live Oak (Quercus virginiana)

Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica)

Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora)

Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum)

Crepe Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica)

Arid/Semi-Arid Climates (e.g., Southwestern United States, Mediterranean Region):

Mesquite (Prosopis spp.)

Palo Verde (Parkinsonia spp.)

Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis)

Olive (Olea europaea)

Citrus (Citrus spp.)

Tropical Climates (e.g., Southern Florida, Hawaii):

Royal Palm (Roystonea regia)

Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera)

Mango (Mangifera indica)

Banyan Tree (Ficus benghalensis)

Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia)

By familiarizing yourself with the tree species that thrive in your specific climate, you can make an informed decision that will ensure the long-term health and success of your chosen tree.

How to assess the health and condition of a tree

Before making your final selection, it's crucial to carefully evaluate the health and condition of the tree you're considering. Here are some key factors to assess:

Trunk and Bark: Examine the trunk for any signs of damage, cracks, or abnormal growths. The bark should be smooth and free of any unusual discoloration or peeling.

Branches and Foliage: Look for a balanced, symmetrical branching structure with healthy, vibrant leaves. Avoid trees with excessive dead or dying branches.

Root System: If possible, inspect the root system for any signs of damage or disease. Healthy roots should be firm, white, and free of any fungal growth or decay.

Overall Appearance: The tree should have a full, lush canopy and exhibit signs of active growth, such as new leaf buds or shoot development.

Professional Inspection: For added assurance, consider consulting with a certified arborist who can provide a comprehensive assessment of the tree's health and suitability for your yard.

By carefully evaluating these key factors, you can ensure that the tree you select is in optimal condition and well-suited to thrive in your yard.

Tree planting tips for optimal growth

Proper planting techniques are crucial for the long-term success of your chosen tree. Here are some essential tips to ensure your tree gets off to a strong start:

Site Preparation: Carefully select the planting location, ensuring it aligns with the tree's specific needs. Dig a hole that is two to three times the width of the root ball, but no deeper.

Root Ball Placement: Place the tree in the hole, making sure the top of the root ball is level with the surrounding soil. Avoid planting the tree too deep.

Backfilling: Gently backfill the hole with the original soil, avoiding the use of amendments or fertilizers at this stage. Lightly tamp the soil to eliminate air pockets.

Watering: Thoroughly water the tree immediately after planting, ensuring the soil is evenly moist but not waterlogged.

Mulching: Apply a 2-4 inch layer of organic mulch around the base of the tree, keeping it a few inches away from the trunk to prevent moisture buildup and rot.

Staking: If necessary, provide temporary staking to help the tree establish a strong root system and resist wind damage.

Ongoing Care: Continue to monitor the tree's water needs and adjust watering schedules as needed, particularly during the first year after planting.

By following these best practices, you'll give your newly planted tree the best possible start, setting it up for long-term health and growth.

Maintaining and caring for your chosen tree

Proper maintenance and care are essential for the long-term health and vitality of your tree. Here are some key considerations:

Pruning: Regularly prune your tree to maintain its shape, remove any dead or damaged branches, and promote healthy growth. Consult with a professional arborist for guidance on the appropriate pruning techniques and timing.

Watering: Ensure your tree receives adequate moisture, especially during periods of drought or extreme heat. Adjust watering schedules based on the tree's specific needs and local climate conditions.

Fertilization: Apply a balanced, slow-release fertilizer to provide the necessary nutrients for optimal growth. Avoid over-fertilizing, as this can lead to excessive foliage growth and weaken the tree.

Pest and Disease Management: Monitor your tree for any signs of pests or diseases and take prompt action to address any issues. Consult with a professional if you're unsure of the appropriate treatment methods.

Mulching: Maintain a 2-4 inch layer of organic mulch around the base of the tree, replenishing it as needed to retain moisture and suppress weed growth.

Seasonal Considerations: Adjust your care routine to accommodate the tree's seasonal needs, such as preparing it for winter dormancy or supporting new growth during the spring.

By diligently following these maintenance practices, you'll ensure your chosen tree thrives and continues to provide the desired benefits to your yard for years to come.

Common tree planting mistakes to avoid

To ensure the long-term success of your tree, it's essential to be aware of common planting mistakes and how to avoid them. Here are some pitfalls to steer clear of:

Planting too deep: Burying the tree's root flare too deep in the soil can lead to root rot and other health issues.

Improper soil preparation: Failing to loosen the soil or amend it properly can hinder root growth and establishment.

Inadequate watering: Under-watering or over-watering can both be detrimental to the tree's health.

Incorrect mulching: Applying mulch too deeply or too close to the trunk can cause moisture buildup and bark decay.

Lack of staking or support: Neglecting to provide temporary staking can result in unstable trees that struggle to establish a strong root system.

Transplanting at the wrong time: Choosing the wrong season or weather conditions for planting can put unnecessary stress on the tree.

Ignoring tree size and growth habits: Selecting a tree that is incompatible with the available space in your yard can lead to future problems.

By being mindful of these common mistakes and taking the necessary precautions, you'll give your tree the best possible start and set it up for long-term success.

Trees for specific purposes - shade, privacy, aesthetics

When choosing a tree for your yard, it's important to consider its intended purpose. Here are some recommendations for trees that excel in specific roles:

Shade Trees:

Oak (Quercus spp.)

Maple (Acer spp.)

Linden (Tilia spp.)

Elm (Ulmus spp.)

Sycamore (Platanus spp.)

Privacy Trees:

Evergreen Trees (e.g., Spruce, Fir, Pine)

Arborvitae (Thuja spp.)

Leyland Cypress (x Cupressocyparis leylandii)

Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana)

Bamboo (Bambusoideae spp.)

Aesthetic/Ornamental Trees:

Flowering Trees (e.g., Cherry, Dogwood, Magnolia)

Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum)

Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica)

Redbud (Cercis canadensis)

Serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.)

By aligning your tree selection with your specific needs and preferences, you can create a visually stunning and functional outdoor space that enhances your property's overall appeal.

Consulting with a professional arborist for tree selection

While this guide provides a wealth of information to help you make an informed decision, there's no substitute for the expertise of a professional arborist. Consulting with an arborist can be invaluable in the tree selection process. Here's why:

Tailored Recommendations: Arborists have in-depth knowledge of local climate, soil conditions, and the specific needs of various tree species. They can provide personalized recommendations that are perfectly suited to your yard and growing environment.

Comprehensive Assessments: Arborists can conduct a thorough evaluation of your property, taking into account factors such as available space, existing vegetation, and potential challenges. This holistic approach ensures you choose the right tree for your unique situation.

Planting and Maintenance Guidance: Experienced arborists can offer expert advice on proper planting techniques, ongoing care and maintenance, and strategies for addressing any issues that may arise.

Long-Term Planning: Arborists can help you develop a comprehensive, long-term plan for your yard, factoring in the growth and maturity of your chosen tree species to ensure a harmonious and sustainable landscape.

By partnering with a professional arborist, you can have the peace of mind that comes with knowing you've selected the perfect tree for your yard. Contact a certified arborist in your area today to get started.

Choosing the right tree for your yard is a decision that can have a lasting impact on the beauty, functionality, and overall value of your outdoor space. By considering the factors outlined in this guide, you'll be well on your way to selecting a tree that will thrive and provide countless benefits for years to come.

Whether you're looking to create a shaded oasis, enhance your home's curb appeal, or attract more wildlife, the perfect tree is out there waiting for you. With a little research, careful planning, and the guidance of a professional arborist, you can transform your yard into a true sanctuary that you and your family will cherish for generations.

Selecting the right tree service company and arborist in Belle Meade, TN, requires careful consideration to ensure the health and longevity of your trees. Begin your search by examining the credentials and experience of potential candidates. Look for certifications from respected organizations such as the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) and the Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA). These certifications indicate a commitment to industry standards and ongoing education, ensuring that the arborist you choose is well-equipped to handle the complexities of tree care.

Insurance and licensing are also essential factors to consider. Confirm that the company holds appropriate insurance coverage and is licensed to operate in your area. This protects you from liability in the event of accidents or property damage during the course of the work.

Evaluate the range of services offered by each tree care company. Ideally, you'll want to choose a provider that offers a comprehensive suite of services, including tree pruning, removal, stump grinding, and tree health assessments. A company that can address all of your tree care needs will save you time and hassle in the long run.

Consider the company's approach to tree care, including the techniques and equipment they use. Modern, well-maintained equipment and environmentally friendly practices demonstrate a commitment to safety and sustainability. Additionally, inquire about the arborist's knowledge of local tree species and their expertise in diagnosing and treating common tree ailments.

Customer reviews and referrals can provide valuable insights into the reputation and quality of a tree service company. Ask for references and inquire about past projects similar to yours. Transparent communication and detailed estimates are also crucial. A reputable company will provide clear explanations of the proposed work and a breakdown of the associated costs.

Ultimately, choose a tree service company and arborist that instills confidence through their expertise, professionalism, and dedication to the health and well-being of your trees in Belle Meade, TN. By taking the time to research and vet potential candidates, you can ensure that your trees receive the care they deserve.

Moore & Smith Tree Care LLC 301 S Perimeter Park Dr #100, Nashville, TN 37211, United States (615) 877-8733 https://nashvilletntreeservice.com/

#tree service #tree service company

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fwl22 · 5 months

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Spring Letter, 2005

On the wall of the 14th century house, above the pool, the wisteria (wisteria floribunda) is blossoming. There are actually three ancient plants nesting in the terrace between the stone pavers, planted, perhaps in the early 1930s after completion of the works to renew the house by Giangiulio (pronounced jahn julio) and Teresa. Inevitably the flowering of these wisteria is a week or so behind their city neighbors, living as they do on a west facing wall with three stories of house above it and closed in on the south by the extension of the old tower and the fattoria. It sees the sun only for a few hours each day, and this spring the sun has been playing hide and seek with us.

Just as the summer tailed luxuriously into autumn and the autumn stayed with us to Christmas, the winter is not wanting to leave us with the spring. The wind remains cold and strong at times, and the rain falls in big drops instead of soft drizzle. When the sun pops out we still can’t feel the warmth that we crave.

But the trees and flowers and the birds are leaving no doubt that they think it is spring. it is not freezing anymore, and thus it is time to get to work. The pear, plum, cherry and apricot trees are going wild with snowy white and pink blossoms and the wild flowers cover the ground in their annual display of color. The tulips have come up and the wisteria are opening now. In a few weeks the iris will erupt in all their purple and periwinkle.

With the spring comes the atmosphere of paradise that so often comes out in comments from the guests of the B&B. The roses beginning to leaf, soon to flower, the lemons, hauled back out of hibernation from the limonaia, full of fruit and blossoms, the olives newly trimmed and the fruit trees covered in tiny white flowers, filling the air with perfume. It reminds me of the feeling I had while working in Florence, every day arriving on the train with hundreds of tourists coming to the city for an enjoyable day while I had to go be shut up in a small office and help others plan their vacations. One has to literally stop and take it in or else it is lost to the list of tasks.

We have been at work in the garden, trimming trees and taking out invaders. The bushes, so long left to their own devices, have been severely and brusquely cut. The lemon trees were out in the garden before Easter and we have been cleaning up a year’s worth (at least a winter’s worth) of dead leaves in the forest glen. We have been cutting and trimming the taller trees to open up the façade of the limonaia to the southern sun so next winter the lemon trees will get a bit more warmth while inside.

On the other side of the building, the courtyard, or piazzale, needs a clean up. A photograph from 1895 shows the courtyard of the villa with no large trees. Only the cypress and the newly planted Linden (tilia cordata) and Ilex (Quercus ilex), staked and already growing stand near the round fountain basin. Planted in the 1890s, they are giant trees shading the piazzale today. Laurel was grown in hedges to create a maze, and by the time the trees grew to full size, the maze was well established and filled the courtyard until the 1970s. Huge cypress grow very close all over the hillside above and around the house, and one can only imagine that eventually they will fall. More and more the old trees’ roots are pushing up paving stones and terraces. All of them shed leaves, twigs, and branches in winter storms and spring winds.

A terrible storm a week ago pushed over countless trees in Prato and a few here at Canneto. Luckily we had finished a large job of trimming prior to the high winds. Still there is so much debris to collect. Abramo laments that one can’t find mules anymore to get to the places deep in the forest where the paths don’t go to collect and cut and trim.

Canneto means literally the place where the cane stalks grow. Like so many place names in Italy, there are many cannetos (and Pratos – prato meaning meadow), and this one along the Bisenzio river is just about out of cane. My wife’s older brother has had Ivo strengthen and improve the grape vine structures and thus there is less need for the actual, supple wisps of cane stalks used traditionally to tie the vines to the wires of the structure. There is hope that this practice will help the vines to grow stronger and produce more fruit.

My wife and I have also been hard at work inside the house, painting and working to spruce up a bit. Like this, the slumber of the house is shaken off. Each of us have to reassess how we are going to live here, how we want to be, how we can tolerate each other and move forward as a group, a business, and a family. Without their mother Giovanna, it is not easy. I think it bears saying that some people are not replaceable. That would be to admit that ultimately we shall persevere and find new ways of doing things, but it is hard to imagine that it shall ever have the efficiency Giovanna maintained. It can also be said that having one owner is always better than having four. It is impossible to find someone who can fill the shoes of the mother and the owner of the house. It was she who was able, when no one else could make a decision, to tell people exactly what to do and they would do it.

Italy is in some ways burdened by it history. While Germany has a history it must overcome, Italy which doesn’t even have a strong sense of being a nation, has to overcome the permeating sense that so many great things have dotted the past that it is almost impossible to accomplish anything of equal value today. This is a country in the throes of a decisive battle between the modern life as lived in the big cities of the west and the embrace of the “old ways” and the slow life which calls for the kind of respect of environment and pace and quality of life that is too often put off and brushed aside by the rush to achieve. That is, in the rush to be as much of a consumer society as the neighbors.

Living in an old house, one is very much aware of the ramifications of each choice in each process. Following the choice to live in this building comes the awareness that there is no simple project. Board and bat, wallboard and stucco, peg and groove are all phrases for easy work. While we were in Los Angeles in September (2004), back here in Canneto, the muratore (literally mason, but more appropriately contractor) and the electrician tore the kitchen apart to install a stove, a gas range top, three new lights and accompanying switches and plugs. It is all in stone and brick. Then the muratore was back in the winter when the old lead pipe burst in the wall and he had to break a hole in the wall and through the floor. The new pipe went in and the old pipe remains right next to it. No sense in taking the whole wall apart to remove what has been there for over 100 years. It was a cold room while we had an indoor/outdoor kitchen for three weeks in the dead of winter.

My wife’s worries are much greater of course, and much more difficult to comprehend. This is due in large part to the connection of her expectation that her brothers and their families would welcome our presence here. Being an optimist she was quite convinced that everyone would be so happy that we would come to Canneto to help run the B&B, to help her father Paolo and take part in family life. The natural conclusion was that the other families would be interested in helping us to be comfortable and happy that we would be taking steps to administrate the future of the house, the division of spaces, the establishment of rules for using the spaces, and generally agreeing to how the house would be left to the next generation.

Not surprisingly, no one was particularly thrilled that we would move back to Canneto from Los Angeles, and in fact it was not too difficult to see how our presence was seen as an annoyance at best, and a threat at worst. How many years will it take for the balance to return to the community? No one really cares that we are here to help Paolo or help run the B&B – no one really cared about the work Giovanna did. And certainly no one is interested in giving up any space to help us be more comfortable. And all of this is taking a long time for Francesca to process.

Fortunately there is too much to do to allow oneself to dwell on that which we can’t really control. We have two small people to raise, and we have Paolo to assist in the absence of his wife of 50 years. Paolo, for his part, has no interest or intention to touch Giovanna’s things that remain exactly as they were when she died in March of 2002. It is one of those great reminders to focus on what you can actually do and leave behind what you can’t change. The building itself is a reminder that I am just a fleeting shadow, and this place which has been here for centuries will still be here long after I am gone.

So just soak of the atmosphere of living in an historical place. When we talk of updating a bathroom we are not only faced with the logistical challenges of working with the aging plumbing and electrical systems (read: having to either redo everything or modify something very old) and the architectural realities of maneuvering in stone and brick, but also in trying to not allow our ideas to demand larger modifications of the house (ie, doorways, windows, skylights, new walls, etc.). The idea is to maintain or at most adapt the existing building to meet our basic, minimum needs.

In preserving the place mostly as it is, and in thinking long and hard before making large changes in the use of spaces (such as changing the carpenter’s wood shop into a bedroom), trying to consider all of the impacts of such works and how the changes would fit into the ultimate use of the house – and thus calling into question what is that ultimate use, i.e. residence and hotel, residence only, condominium, divided houses in a single structure?. And these are actions that no one is interested in taking. No one in very enthusiastic in having to get approval for work they want to do from everyone else, and no one is interested in spending hours meeting with the brothers and sister to talk and talk about what needs to be done.

The reality that exists is that doing nothing is the best course. For the casual guest, the people who come and pay to stay at the house, the magic still exists For them, especially with the various seasons, there is a sense of timelessness that is quite overwhelming. For them, the enormous amount of dust and haphazard quality of furnishings and furniture can be overlooked and accepted as part of the funkiness of the place. And the brothers and my wife, I think, know this intuitively. For all of their own dissatisfaction they understand that the house exists as its own entity and serves its purpose quite well.

At the same time it is evident to the observer that this place was so much more at a different time and place. The 100 acres of today were probably at one time 300 or 400 acres of land with olive trees, grazing sheep, grain growing under the trees and ten families owing their livelihoods to the farm work. It was a quiet valley with the lazy river flowing by and the city of Prato a full 4 km away, just beyond the fields that fell away below the house. It is quite easy to imagine how a previous generation would have seen this place as a very different kind of paradise.

Change is inevitable and I would imagine that for my wife’s grandfather, Giangiulio, especially, the change came quite rapidly and repeatedly in his lifetime. And each change brought new complications that had to be dealt with and each generation has had to face the changes and challenges. It is difficult to imagine for a guest here what the place was like before the first World War. Today, from the loggia, the view takes in the railroad line that passes close by under the house and enters a short tunnel that lies under the eastern flank of the village. The scene is dominated by the sound of traffic on the Via Bologna on the far side of the valley, with the fields of the olive orchard below stretching out to the river bed that lies below the road.

In the early 1930s the Italian government completed the railroad up the Bisenzio valley, making good on plans first developed in the 1880s. Known as the Direttissima, this line from Florence, via Prato, to Bologna, was a key part of improving the country’s north south rail connection, finally creating a fast, direct link through the Apennine mountains. It is a notable piece of construction and engineering, featuring an 18 km tunnel under the mountains. Cosimo had made several trips to Rome, beginning most likely with the establishment of a governmental commission to study the proposal in 1908, attempting to persuade the state to use the next valley toward Florence in the Mugello for the railway (where the autostrada and the high speed train line now runs), but the effort was futile. Giangiulio also worked to stop the construction when he became proprietor of Canneto in the mid 1920s, working with his father, but by the late 1920’s the work was in progress.

Cosimo and Giangiulio’s opposition to the plan is evident today. The railroad climbs up the valley, passing below the house, and it doesn’t take a lot of imagination to understand the noise and the smoke that came with a powerful steam driven train of the epoch. What is more difficult to imagine is that the eminent domain of the government split the Rucellai property. All of the fields and a good sized farm with a dairy that were on the other side of the railroad line were a part of the estate.

In the flat area below the Villa on this side of the river one can see rows of olive trees with stone walls circling the trunks in an area where the level of the field is lower than the adjoining plots. These walls were built at the direction of Cosimo when the state was building the roadbed for the railway. The construction crews simply came and took away the soil around these trees and the farmers built the walls as protection to keep the trees intact. Even though the walls are falling apart today, the plan worked to save the trees. The family legend is that he never went back after the railroad was built, but the truth is that he died suddenly when on a visit to Naples in 1930. Up until his death, he and Edith were in negotiation to purchase land on the hillside on the other side of the Bisenzio river and the Via Bologna, across from Canneto, in order to maintain the land and the vista as it was at the time, but from the words of his daughter, the railroad killed the magic for her father. When Cosimo died, Edith withdrew from the negotiations and the Canneto estate passed to Giangiulio.

When Giangiulio died in 1969, his and Teresa’s children divided the property, selling off small pieces and giving family homes to the farming families that had worked the land of the estate for generations. Following World War II the kinds of “sharecropping” contracts – the standard agreements of mezzadria that dated from the middle ages – that divided responsibilities between land owner and farmer were outlawed. Existing contracts would continue to be valid until nullified by the parties. It was thus at Giangiulio’s death that these contracts became void at Canneto and his son Niccolò made agreements with the families for transfer of title on the houses. Sadly, the economics of the times meant that there would be no new agreements for working the land, and the farm activities faded away, leaving only the less labor intensive work of olives and grapes.

Today many of these old case coloniche have been developed into wonderfully comfortable “villettas” in the countryside. The city of Prato, following an amazingly smart trend at work in Tuscany in the late 1960s, had designated the area on the Canneto side of the valley a no build zone, and a wildlife refuge “no hunting” zone, and only houses that were already on the land can be lived in. No new buildings or remodeling is allowed without great bureaucratic work involved.

These no build laws were thought to be a passing fancy in the early 1970s. There were those who purchased the large tract of land along the river in the flat area below the Villa on the other side of the railway line, and they seemed sure that eventually the city would have to allow for building in the area to keep up with housing demands for Prato. But as time has passed, the city has made more moves to keep the open “green” land and the locals have continued to harvest the olives and the houses remain in the hands of the aging tenants and former farmers. My wife took me to visit the farmhouse of the dairy a few years back just after we were married. We entered into the large kitchen which still centered on the focolare or fireplace that still served as cooking fire as well as the source of heat for the room. The smell of wood smoke from generations imbued every surface. I was amazed at the gracious welcome we received as unannounced visitors, and the warm conversation over coffee and cake we enjoyed. My wife went to elementary school with the family’s son, and he has moved to the city. How much longer will this old place remain a home?

Thankfully there are plenty of dead leaves to rake up and pieces of wood to gather for kindling. While the days grow longer, it is still too chilly to sit outside to watch the sunset. The spring rains are cold for now, but there is comfort knowing that not only is the fireplace warm, but also that the wisteria will bloom, followed by the iris, and the olives will also bloom, and the fruit will grow, and life will go on.

#Villa Rucellai #Prato #Tuscany #Italian Garden

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valgasnewsthings · 1 year

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Lotions are for beauty.

Preventing mimic wrinkles and smoothing wrinkles, use lotions for 2 times/day for morning and evening.

Lotion as nature s gift.

Horse tail field, yarrow, sage, thyme, chamomile, root Althea , coltsfot. In thermos add 2 tbl.sp. of mixed mass in 2 glasses of the hot water, infuse 8 hours, filter, add two tea.sp. of boric spirit.

Lotion Dionis.

Chamomile 2 tbl.sp. sp , mint, calendula with one tea.sp. rosemary, add 0.5 l. of wine wine and infuse 15 days, filter.

Vineyard s lotion.

Chop grape and filter through gauze , as 200 ml. juice in one tbl.sp. of honey and salt pinch. , shake, filter, and add 150 ml. of vodka.

For strengthening hairs roots.

Yolk mix in one tbl.sp. castor oil, apply on hairs, keep 3 hours, wash warm water with shampoo.

For hairs better growing.

Cook mixture of juice onion 4 tbl.sp, one tbl.sp. honey, rub mass in hairs roots, wash in 40 min warm water.

Against dandruff.

2 pills of aspirin chop, add shampoo, wash this mixture a head, not wash foam right away, keep for 25 min, after wash.

Dry corns.

2tbl.sp. chopped onion peel, add in glass of apple vinegar, infuse in dark place for 2 weeks, filter, wet pads and apply to corns, fix with plaster or bandage. Keep for night, on a morning steam leg in soda infusion as of one tbl.sp. soda in one l. of water and care remove corn.

Cure treacherous antritis.

For two times/day put bags to the nose sides with sands hot, or hot hard-boiled eggs.

A few times/day draw in nose and let out through mouth a weak salted warmed water or weak chamomile infusion or plantain of.

Drink more hot tea with tilia, raspberry, black currant.

Shred root of black radish 1/3 glass, add juice of three lemons, use everyday in 20 min after breakfast, course a cure month.

A juice of kalanchoe one tea.sp. drip are ten drops in every nostril, that fighting inflammation process removing, drip for 3 times/day for 5 days.

A hope cure against lichen.

As help in all kinds of lichen, for 3 times to grease an he will leave you. Wet in pads in window sweat, this condensate ,which forming on windows , damage sides are to grease on the skin, that method am used and my relatives.

Against bowel ulcer.

White egg one, shake with sugar powder one tbl.sp, and one tbl.sp. olive oil till creamy kind, use one tbl.sp. for morning on an empty stomach, and evening before sleep, course are ten days.

Anti stress balsam.

200 gr of chopped cedarwood nuts with peel, 2 tbl.sp. of sugar, add water till top in half l. of jar of dark glass, infuse month, shaking periodically, filter, keep in refrigerator, use for morning and lunch one tea.sp. in water glass with.

Youthful elixir.

200 gr of nettle, 0.5 l. of vodka, and jar wrap top with gauze, firs days keep jar on the window, after 6 days in dark place, filter, and use on an empty stomach one tea.sp. before meal, and one tea.sp. before sleep.

One tbl.sp. rye or millet brans add in 2 glasses of water, boil 40 min, mixing, add one tbl.sp. honey, boil 3 min. Use on 50 gr for 3 times/day , month for.

These infusion restoring forces and energy .

from Valga s health news,gardening,and cooking ,and beauty . https://ift.tt/eP4hkwC via https://ift.tt/0khDpYd

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444names · 2 years

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portuguese, early quenya and altmer from tes names

Abria Abritar Adjector Adro Agna Aguilarrea Aica Aicands Aiwende Alareldimin Albuquenya Alcaril Alcil Aldarsart Altone Aminil Ancalira Ancar Andawinga Angainsano Angaril Angatança Angor Angwen Angélian Anil Antormilola Anya Aonurdurld Arethus Arne Arnine Arqinganir Arrimo Artilian Aruldire Aste Asterilende Athetista Auler Bathar Bene Bernaranyra Bernarion Birdwardalf Brie Brien Caemar Caeras Caeta Caldor Calinandire Cama Camareth Camartino Cambamin Camen Camirila Camo Canormindon Cantelda Carrion Caryanda Caryona Catales Catenwe Caval Ceryeril Chesinir Chil Chivia Cimarcus Cinna Cinturu Cira Ciran Cirtino Clarreatha Colelya Condilwe Conquese Conso Corada Core Corea Corion Corrie Corrinorne Corrirmarte Cout Cristira Cuina Cuinyia Cuiva Culaetarnen Cularran Culdhon Culdomawen Culu Culumder Curwunien Cymbaryafwe Cyreth Cássis Dana Dandalin Dantor Diocleril Domairen Dour Dwen Déborne Délicio Eaglenwe Ealerni Earangilda Eardalf Earetath Earrie Egunda Elaatelion Elan Elando Elanotistor Eldo Eles Elisage Elmo Elon Elpio Elsinti Elsinyeor Elwi Emen Endalf Endelmion Enuqáme Erion Eros Errowerin Erya Esaawen Esidore Espelina Estiness Esunie Eutia Evalus Faluudes Faneril Fanerymil Fanya Fara Faranyawen Farianorwe Farie Faril Farmil Farwe Fease Feliano Fenath Fendyeien Fenuntur Ferico Feril Fiire Filpion Firil Firtillimo Firtornaron Flowests Fragão Franya Gaeairenwe Galamar Ganme Ganne Garassor Gasta Gazolls Gazolly Gene Germa Giveira Giveril Glandréia Goddes Gome Grawen Grayircio Greyorian Gueryra Guim Hante Havest Heary Heca Heldo Helur Helurmerion Hena Henuurerda Heor Hind Houter Hyare Ilady Ilin Ilqingildil Ilvinwae Inderil Indil Indo Ingalimo Ingi Irion Jereldigna Jorase Joro Julio Junie Kalalin Kalauria Kalinwe Kindulonwe Koso Laisilver Laite Landadel Lanelurion Lanewen Larne Lary Laryainar Lauros Leniryehil Lenwen Lerata Lies Linoluma Logdradal Lonen Lorath Lories Loriverona Lornan Lovid Lovirwen Lucil Luire Lurangil Maginia Malho Mano Marola Matelekkion Matil Melike Mendaria Meno Meryenques Migues Minyon Miron Mith Molacelma Molayne Molirreira Morne Mounta Multuru Munil Munore Mônio Nama Namo Nandaril Narale Nemfarie Nenunenaria Niire Ninden Noldeira Norila Norona Notelely Nurada Nuranirfire Ohtar Ohtarias Oiomoko Olive Onda Oppres Ornath Orore Outerandur Palirnarril Pandreto Pathar Paulisse Pedralqa Pelle Pellilino Pelyme Penaldano Penicanil Pilkinóre Pinha Pirume Plurmion Pold Polinwe Pombarrel Pradil Pradoldor Prathar Priscimia Pómelin Quadriil Queromoko Quin Rambo Ramil Ranimundil Recia Region Reldir Rindarion Riven Romenarro Rulire Rulos Rume Runda Rávia Saksan Salmen Sand Sansano Sare Saretar Sauda Saural Saureldur Saurendwyan Saurlian Saurnan Shappy Silia Siliae Silith Silorimiwen Silvina Simpe Sinia Sinirye Sirdo Skyrimoisi Softpetar Solmo Sonlock Sortiril Stor Stormimn Storminwe Stormion Suel Sure Surie Taariel Taarion Talion Talusion Talwen Tand Tandar Tansão Tanto Tarian Taure Tela Telanwen Telisetel Telloe Telo Telorion Tenleytha Teodore Teodósi Terantel Terormo Thromarie Thundil Tildil Tilia Tilme Tilonwe Tindewen Tues Tuilion Tulis Tulkanendo Tuminora Twilion Táriondo Ulafary Ulce Undirwe Undwingil Ungwen Unwy Urdur Vairen Valdien Valentian Valiodor Valiza Valunte Vandana Vande Varnira Varufinwe Vast Vaster Vaulião Velys Vengues Veril Vicolcalano Vilawen Vilendil Vion Viroza Viveiraana Vora Wanwe Wartana Wear Ximirion Yandellinwe Yare Úmavo

#444 names #444names

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namelists · 4 years

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a list of names inspired by: plants

this list includes names relating to trees, shrubs, herbs, succulents and lesser-known/used flowers.

Abu: minor Sumerian god of plants

Alder: flowering plants in the birch family

Alfalfa: a perennial flowering plant in the legume family

Almond: a species of tree native to Iran

Aloe: a succulent native to the Old World tropics

Amaryllis: an autumn-flowering South African bulbous herb

Apple: the round fruit of a tree of the rose family

Aralia: trees and shrubs of the ginseng family

Artemis: Greek goddess of the hunt, wild animals, nature, wilderness

Ash: a tree with silver-gray bark and compound leaves

Aster: a plant of the daisy family with bright rayed flowers

Balsam: a herbaceous plant cultivated for its flowers

Basil: an aromatic annual herb of the mint family, native to tropical Asia

Bay: an evergreen Mediterranean shrub of the laurel family

Calla: South African plant widely cultivated for its showy pure white spathe and yellow spadix

Carraway: white-flowered aromatic Old World herb of the carrot family

Cayenne: a bush of moderately-hot, tapering, skinny, mostly red-colored peppers

Cedar: conifers which typically yield fragrant, durable timber

Chamomile: an aromatic European plant of the daisy family, with white and yellow flowers.

Cherry: trees and shrubs of the rose family cultivated for their fruits or ornamental flowers

Chervil: a plant of the parsley family, with small white flowers and delicate fernlike leaves

Chicory: a blue-flowered Mediterranean plant of the daisy family, cultivated for its edible salad leaves

Chloris: Greek goddess of flowers

Chrysanthemum: a plant of the daisy family with brightly colored ornamental flowers

Cicely: an aromatic white-flowered plant of the parsley family, with fernlike leaves

Cinnamon: an aromatic spice made from the peeled, dried, and rolled bark of a Southeast Asian tree

Clementine: a tangerine of a deep orange-red North African variety

Coral Bell: a perennial alumroot cultivated for its feathery spikes of tiny red bell-shaped flowers

Coriander: an aromatic Mediterranean plant of the parsley family

Cotton: a soft white fibrous substance that surrounds the seeds of a tropical and subtropical plant

Demeter: Greek goddess of the harvest, crops, the fertility of the earth

Diana: Roman goddess of the hunt, wild animals, nature, wilderness

Dill: an aromatic herb of the parsley family, with fine blue-green leaves and yellow flowers

Durio: a small genus of tall Asiatic and Indian trees with tapering leaves and small green flowers

Echeveria: a succulent plant with rosettes of fleshy colorful leaves

Feronia: Roman goddess associated with wildlife, fertility, health and abundance

Filbert: a cultivated hazel tree that bears edible oval nuts.

Flora: Roman goddess of flowers and the spring

Freesia: a small southern African plant of the iris family, with fragrant, colorful, tubular flowers

Gaea: Greek goddess of the earth and its personification

Gardenia: a tree or shrub with large fragrant white or yellow flowers

Haricot: an edible bean of a variety with small white seeds

Hawthorn: a thorny tree of the rose family, with white, pink, or red blossoms

Hazel: a small tree with broad leaves bearing catkins in spring and edible nuts in autumn

Hemlock: a highly poisonous European plant, with a purple-spotted stem, fernlike leaves, and small white flowers

Hickory: a chiefly North American tree of the walnut family

Holly: a shrub, typically having prickly dark green leaves, small white flowers, and red berries

Hosta: an eastern Asian plant known for its shade-tolerant foliage and mauve or white flowers.

Huckleberry: a low-growing North American shrub of the heath family

Iris: a plant with sword-shaped leaves and showy flowers, typically purple, yellow, or white

Ivy: a woody evergreen climbing plant with shiny, dark green five-pointed leaves

Jade: a succulent plant with small pink or white flowers known as a “lucky plant” or “money tree”

Juniper: an evergreen shrub or small tree that bears aromatic berrylike cones

Kale: a cabbagelike cultivated plant of the mustard family, having curled or wrinkled leaves

Lavender: a small aromatic evergreen shrub of the mint family, with narrow leaves and bluish-purple flowers

Lilac: a shrub or small tree of the olive family, that has fragrant violet, pink, or white blossoms

Magnolia: a tree or shrub with large, typically creamy-pink, waxy flowers

Mahogany: the tropical American tree that produces mahogany timber used for high-quality furniture

Maple: a tree with lobed leaves, winged fruits, and colorful autumn foliage

Medeina: Lithuanian goddess of forests

Mint: an aromatic plant native to temperate regions of the Old World

Nectarine: a genetic variant of common peaches, domesticated in China over 4,000 years ago

Oak: a tree that bears acorns as fruit, and typically has lobed deciduous leaves

Okra: a plant with long ridged seedpods, native to the Old World tropics

Olive: widely cultivated evergreen tree, native to warm regions of the Old World

Orchid: a tropical forest plant with complex flowers that are often showy or bizarrely shaped

Ostrya: a genus of small deciduous trees in the birch family

Oxylus: Greek god of forests & mountains

Palm: an unbranched evergreen tree with a crown of long feathered or fan-shaped leaves

Parsley: an herbal plant with white flowers and aromatic leaves

Peach: a Chinese tree that bears the peach fruit

Pentandra: the ceiba pentandra is a massive tropical tree with deep ridges on its trunk

Peony: a herbaceous plant of north temperate regions, cultivated for its showy flowers

Pepper: a climbing vine with berries that are dried as black or white peppercorns

Persephone: Greek goddess of spring growth

Poinsettia: a small Mexican shrub with large showy scarlet bracts surrounding the small yellow flowers

Pomona: goddess of fruit trees, gardens and orchards

Ponderosa: a tall slender pine tree, the most widespread conifer of western North America

Poppy: a herbaceous plant with showy flowers, milky sap, and rounded seeds

Porvata: Polish god of the woods

Rosemary: an evergreen aromatic shrub of the mint family, native to southern Europe

Sage: an aromatic plant with grayish-green leaves that are used as a culinary herb

Sequoia: a redwood tree, especially the California redwood.

Silvanus: tutelary spirit or deity of woods and fields and protector of forests

Spruce: a widespread coniferous tree which has a distinctive conical shape and hanging cones

Stevia: a composite herb native to South America whose leaves are the source of a natural sweetener

Sugar: sugar cane is a perennial tropical grass with tall stout jointed stems from which sugar is extracted

Sycamore: a large Eurasian maple with winged fruits, native to central and southern Europe

Tamarack: a slender North American coniferous tree with bunches of deciduous bright green needles

Terra: Roman primeval goddess personifying the earth

Tilia: a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes

Tulip: a bulbous spring-flowering plant of the lily family, with boldly colored cup-shaped flowers

Tāne: Māori god of forests and of birds

Verbena: a chiefly American herbaceous plant which bears heads of bright showy flowers

Willow: a tree or shrub of temperate climates that typically has narrow leaves, bears catkins, and grows near water

Zelkova: an Asian tree of the elm family, cultivated for its timber, or as a bonsai tree

Zinfandel: a variety of wine grape grown in California

#rph #names #name help #baby names #character names #nature

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sustraiii · 5 years

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TEAM ZRCN ARC 2 - CHAPTER 1

We’re back with the first official chapter of arc 2!

NEELA

“Come on, just one more time?” Ravi fluttered his eyelids, looking at Neela pleadingly. “Please, Bluebell. For me?”

Neela met his gaze for a moment, feigning indecision, before finally gripping her weapon and hoisting it on her shoulder. A small smile tugged at Xanthos’s lips, and he hurried inside to fetch another melon for her to aim at. In the few minutes it took for him to return, Neela let her gaze drift over to Zelde and Cordovan, who were having a mock spar between themselves.

Xanthos soon returned clutching a melon under his arm and set it upon the tree stump where another melon had sat minutes before. Once in place, he took a step back, waiting quietly whilst Neela readied herself.

She took a breath, steadying her aim, before pressing the button on the shaft twice in rapid succession. There was a small click as the trident snapped together into a single spearhead, followed by another click as the spearhead detached itself and struck the melon opposite. Xanthos made a small cheer as it struck, and Neela smiled, taking a small bow as she did so. With another double click, the spearhead came loose from the melon and snapped back into its rightful place.

A clap from behind made them both turn around. Helia was propped against the doorframe, watching the four of them with keen interest. She had been out since the early morning, making the last of their travel arrangements, but had suggested getting some practice in while they still could.

“So that’s the new upgrade then?” Helia questioned Neela, who nodded in response. “I hadn’t seen it in action before, but it looks good! Well worth the money I’d say.”

“Thank you,” Neela said, quietly agreeing with Helia’s statement. It had been a bit of a spur of the moment purchase, one that Neela had regretted almost immediately, but as she had begun to have more practice with it, she had grown used to the new alterations.

“Do you four want to come inside? Mom put some food out, so if you’re hungry feel free to help yourself,” Helia offered with a slight tilt of the head to gesture inside. She didn’t wait for a response from any of them, before slipping back inside to the warmth of her house.

The team followed her inside shortly after, quickly helping themselves to the food Olive had left out. Ravi had already wolfed down half of his plate before Helia had even begun to talk about the arrangements she had made.

“Unfortunately, as I suspected, there weren’t any ferries heading to Shizukana any time soon, so I managed to get us passage on a cargo liner heading out in two days,” Helia explained, taking a sip of coffee. “It won’t be as comfortable a journey as it would’ve been, but it’ll get us there nevertheless.”

“How we get there does not matter to us,” Zelde was quick to say.

“Speak for yourself,” Xanthos mumbled quietly from the opposite side of the table.

Zelde ignored him and pressed on. “Honestly, Helia you’ve done so much for us already, I think we can spare some luxuries.”

Helia laughed for a moment before shrugging her shoulders.

“What about where we’re staying?” Neela inquired. “Has that been sorted out yet.”

“Shizukana is a small island, and since the mines closed, it doesn’t exactly get a lot of tourists anymore,” Helia explained. “There’s one inn on the island where I’ve sometimes stayed in the past, which is our safest bet. However, it doesn’t take pre-bookings, so it’s really a matter of luck of whether there’ll be rooms or not.”

“I thought you said your friend might be able to house us; a teammate of yours if I recall correctly?” Xanthos spoke up.

“Layla?” Helia said, speaking the woman’s name as if she intended to answer Xanthos’s question with another question. She shifted uncomfortably a little at the mention of the name, a gesture that did not go unnoticed by Neela, Xanthos, and Zelde. Cordovan was the only one unfazed by her reaction, which made sense upon reflection, as he was familiar with Helia’s team. “Well, she’s a possibility at least, but I can’t say for certain whether she’ll help us. We didn’t exactly part on the best of terms, so I doubt she’d appreciate me turning up out of the blue, with four unfamiliar teenagers in tow.” Helia paused, before adding, “No offence.”

“None taken.” Cordovan and Xanthos replied at the same time, which was followed by Xanthos making a finger gun gesture at Cordovan, and mouthing “Jinx!” at him, before chuckling at his own joke.

When his laughter had finally subsided, it was Helia’s turn to ask a question. “What about you four? You all ready to set out?”

“Cordovan needs to collect some ammo from the local shop, but other than that I think we’re all good,” Neela commented, taking a moment to think back on if she’d missed anything. “Other than me, none of our weapons needed any tweaking, and we bought some new clothing last week.”

“Amazingly, Ravi picked out an outfit, that is less revealing than his current one,” Zelde said, a hint of a smile on her lips. Xanthos shot her an offended glance.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Helia smiled. “Look, I’ve got some last minute things to talk about with my mom, but you should all finish up the food, or at least what you can.” She took a glance at what food remained on the table, before shaking her head, muttering something about how her mother always cooked too much. Helia slowly rose from her seat and wiped her mouth on her sleeve, offering a parting wave as she moved to leave the room.

When she had left, Neela was suddenly aware of Zelde looking at her. “I didn’t get to mention it earlier, but you’ve seemed perkier these last few days.” She mused. Neela arched a brow at her. “It’s not a bad thing of course, it’s just good to see you happy again.”

“Probably helped that Tilia spoke to her a few days ago,” Xanthos pointed out with a wink in Neela’s direction.

Cordovan blinked in surprise. “You never mentioned that.” And from the other side of her Zelde nodded in agreement, also surprised by this announcement. “How was she?”

“A little shaken up, as is understandable, but otherwise okay,” Neela informed them. She then shot them an apologetic glance. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell either of you beforehand. The only reason Ravi knows is because he walked in on me saying goodbye, and after that, I swore him to secrecy. We were so focused on preparing for this trip to Shizukana that I didn’t want to interrupt our planning.”

“Fair enough,” Zelde said with a slight shrug. “It’s good to know that Tilia and her team made it out alright. Obviously, the three of us don’t have as much connection to her or her team as you do, but I think I speak for all of us when I say we all shared in your worry.”

Cordovan and Xanthos bobbed their heads in agreement, and Neela could not help but smile warmly at each of her teammates. “Thank you, all of you. It means a lot to have your support.”

“Well, that’s what teammates are for!” Xanthos laughed. “When the world’s got you down, who else but us can share in your agony and help lift you up?”

Zelde groaned a little. “How inspiring of you, Ravi.”

He dipped his head, almost in a mock bow. “I try.”

“After the not so smooth couple of weeks we’ve had, it’s good to finally have some good news for a change,” Cordovan added thoughtfully. “Who knows, maybe it’s a sign that our dealings with Farron Hargrave and his men, will be over and done with rather quickly.”

Xanthos reached for his glass of water and held it in the air. “Well, let’s hope you didn’t just jinx us with that Cordovan.” He laughed, before making a toasting gesture with his glass. “Here’s to a hopefully swift victory and another successful mission.”

#team zrcn fic #team ZRCN #Zelde Sewick #Xanthos Ravindra #Cordovan Radcliff #Neela Oxford #helia vines

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thepokeduck · 5 years

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Tilia’s Slow Cooker Keto Chili

This is a rough outline of my chili recipe. I never make the same chili twice, if only because I don’t measure my spices, so it’s a little different every time. There are also variations you can use such as adding coffee, dark chocolate(only at the end), or jalapeños. (“Dark chocolate, in chili? Tilia what are you on?” Don’t worry! It doesn’t taste chocolatey. It just makes the whole thing richer.) Ingredients

28 oz canned tomatoes (two small cans or one large can) 1 lb mushrooms, sliced 5 cloves of garlic, minced 2 onions, diced 1/2 lb bacon or bacon ends 1 lb Ground Beef 1 lb Pork (you can also use turkey, or lamb, or more beef)* 3 dried ancho peppers, corsely chopped Salt, Pepper, Paprika, Cumin, Chili Powder to taste

Instructions 1. There’s no order to any of these steps. I might start the tomatoes in the slow cooker right at the beginning, or wait to add the meat and then add the tomatoes. You can set the slow cooker on high at the beginning, because it will take a while to warm up.

2. Cook the bacon in a large cast iron stove on medium heat. I like to flip the bacon several times to keep it from burning on one side. Set aside when done, and then collect the bacon fat. If you pour it through a coffee strainer, you can use the bacon fat to fry up the rest of the ingredients, and still have plenty left over. Once the bacon is cool and crispy, you can chop it into bits and throw it in.

3. Brown the beef and the pork*. If you’ve got a huge pan, you can do this all at once, otherwise, do it incrementally. You can look up instructions on “browning meat” so I don’t have to type it out. Add both to the pot.

4. Cook your onions till they are at least translucent, but better yet, caramelize them! Sautée the garlic as well. Throw all that into the slow cooker’s pot.

5. Sautée your mushrooms till they are no longer swimming in mushroom water, or till you get impatient and throw the whole thing into the pot. You’re going to add a bit of water anyways so the chili doesn’t burn as you cook it, so I’m not sure why it matters.

6. This week was the first time I ever used ancho peppers. I cut them into pieces around the size of sun-dried tomatoes because I really wanted to notice the flavor. You can also add ancho powder. Throw them in the pot. Or leave it out. You do you.

7. Add salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, and chili powder till it tastes really good. If it tastes a bit weak, try adding more salt. If it tastes a bit bland, more paprika/cumin. If you like it spicier, add more chili powder. I’m not a huge fan of cumin, so I only add a little, just till it tastes more like “chili” than like tomato soup.

8. Turn the slow cooker to Low, add a bit of water if it looks dry, and then leave it for at least an hour. I like to leave mine for 8+ hours or over night, but you can eat it any time.

9. Serve on its own, or with sour cream, green onions, yellow cheese, black olives, or avocados. Serves: Many, but I haven’t counted since I usually make a big batch and eat it myself over the course of a week

#tilia original content #tilia recipes #chili #keto chili #recipe

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bloodypocketatlas-blog · 5 years

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Preparation

tTime: 5:00 pm

Location: Les maison des danseurs de brume

Status: open to all

“Lys,” Gilgamesh said, raising her hand towards Atlas, a worried expression on his face, her dark brows furrowing together. “You have to--” “I know Gilly,” He said, a snarl climbing on his lips, his bare and bandaged torso tingling with the cold air of the airconditioning filling the room. The night would make the air freezing, maybe even form mist on the grounds, but it kept Malia’s flaming throat cool for the night. Her fire dancing was exceptionally beautiful but absolutely deadly. “If I didn’t have the capacity to walk I wouldn’t be sitting in a wheelchair. Also, everyone wouldn’t have heard me screaming my head off last night. I have dealt with much worse.” “How could anyone fall asleep?” She chuckled as he rubbed her eyes, dark bags printed on her skin from last night. “You made Tilia cry last night.” He motioned her hand to the girl with the sapphire blue hair and pale skin doing vocal warm-ups with Persephone, An actual Siren, sitting in her own wicker-made wheelchair, her fishtail covered by a quilt and a container of water melded onto the back of her seat. She laughed and Atlas lifted his head from his hunched over posture, a sequenced dress in his hands, made for Gilgamesh for her finale scene, laced with gold. Atlas ran his hand down the seams and knicked at fibers.

He huffed at her before, gently placing the delicate dress down with the other costumes taking the loose shirt he left unchecked over a chair and placed it over his head. “Are the lights checked?”

“Yes.” “The performers?” “Nervous...and excited.” “And you?” He asked, tone flat. He shifted his shoulders slowly, rolling them forward and back, the tingling sensation running up and down his spine like

She lowered her hand to her stomach, then lifted her chin to Atlas. “I am severely hungry.”

Atlas chuckled and took her hand, his fingertips shaking as he felt the coolness of her olive skin against his own pale white flesh. He felt like a Desdemona, no foresight other than the world a few centimeters from his person, his vision was clear like something had scrubbed his eyes clean with turpentine. It was a weird feeling. He felt the weight of Gilgamesh on his arm but to his perception she, and nobody else was there. It was like a fog, he was walking on glass and his footsteps echoed into the world further. He wanted to touch his back, rub the butt of his palm across his shoulder blades, he felt something to folding beneath his muscles, bulking them up. It made him feel more unnatural than he already was. The bandage wrapped around his chest didn’t help him. It lifted weight in weird places and made him feel, breathless. As a human would say it, he didn’t need too much air. He carried himself weighted in confidence, like stones. “Boss,” Cerberus ducked under the door arch and his three heads gave him a dog smile. Ludden, Orcos, and Henry nodded and shoved their hands into their pockets, their black slacks covering his human legs like a glove. “You’re up,” Henry said, his ears twitching as sounds clicked their attention. “You shouldn’t be up, Boss, you should be asleep.. .or something low maintenance,” Ludden said, his head bowing low.

“Why haven’t you three split up yet?” Atlas let Gilgamesh’s hand slip from his elbow. “You’ll scare the humans away. I don’t want to have sales back down.” Ludden perked his head immediately, his brown irises turning into a mesh of gold and amber, Orcos growled, barring his pearly white fangs. His breath smelled like mint and Henry just barked. He jerked back and held their right hand over his mouth, surprised by himself. They looked at each other, golden eyes meeting black and sterling ones. The Cerberus triplets removed their overcoat and unbuttoned their cuffs.

Then, the floor beneath them erupted into blue pentagram, designed with symbols. It was beautiful, yet it beckoned more than anything, power from hell.

Skin gave away to muscle as a flurry of blue, maroon and green smoke trailed across their body. The skin between their heads ripped, cleaving away as if cut by a blade. They snarled, snapping their jaws and foaming at the mouth as their dog features melted away. Then they split, missing appendages forming in place of missing ones. It was ugly, to say the least. Their inner workings were bare. A heart once shared cut itself in, it’s parts still beating. “Does it hurt?” Gilgamesh asked.

“Not exactly,” Ludden said, a half-formed smile stretching across his muscle wrapped skull.

“It’s like split hair,” Henry explained, shaking his head and folding his hands behind him.

“Makes us cranky.” Orcos winced as his ear reformed, brown skin already starting to layer across his bare chest.

As the brother’s reformed, smoke erupted from their feet, circling them like a column. They all tilted their heads up.

Atlas closed his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He heaved a sigh as the light, the smoke, and the colorful loss themselves to the air. Fully clad in a fashionable style, the Cerberus brothers smiled at Atlas, fangs tipping at their cheeks.

“How do we look?” Henry asked, fixing his striped shirt and suit coat. “I think we perfectly look human.”

“I think we look chipper,” Ludden said as he twirled a lock of his braided hair.

“Hmph,” Orcos said and walked away. “I don’t prefer this. I don’t prefer this at all.”

Atlas straightened, looking back to Gilgamesh. He pursed his lip. “Keep preparations for tonight. I want everything to be better than fine.”

“Yes, sir.” The remaining triplets saluted then went in separate directions.

“I understand.”

As he watched Gilgamesh leave, he couldn’t help but think about the tiny heartbeats that pattered against his ears. Turning around, he felt like he was walking in circles around the place, checking every little thing that perked his sense of spatial reasoning. He sighed again, flaring his nostrils as motivation dripped from his orifesces like water.

#tcevent #TC:atlas diem #tc:location #tcstarter #starter #off another chapter starter #preparations

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