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cheynovak · 2 months

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A new addiction - Part 9

Jensen Ackles x F/reader (Y/N)

Warning: 18+, soft smut, age difference, Open relationship

Side note: English isn’t my first language.

Let's make it very clear I don't want to denigrate, break up or talk bad about Danneel, their relationship or family. I love them and wish both all the happiness.

This story is pure fiction. Have fun!

-- Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 – Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 --

Story recap:

Jensen and Danneel are going through a difficult time in their relationship. After being together for so long and married for 14 years the excitement and sexual tension is gone. After going to marriage counselling Danneel had the idea of trying a semi-open relationship.

Who will Jensen choose, Danneel or Y/N? Whose heart will he break?

As Jensen stirred from his slumber, feeling the bed beside him is empty but still warm. Remembering they shared the night in each others embrace, feeling safe, knowing this was where they belong without saying a word.

With a contented sigh, he rose from the bed as he made his way to the kitchen, where the aroma of breakfast greeted him like an old friend, mingling with the sound of sizzling bacon and the clinking of plates.

As Y/N moved in the kitchen with effortless grace, her hair still messy and a soft smile on her lips, Jensen felt a swell of affection welling up within him. He crossed the room, his arms wrapping her waist as he pressed a tender kiss to her shoulder.

"Good morning," he murmured, his lips a gentle caress against her skin. Y/N leaned back into his embrace, her body moulding against his. "Good morning, sleepyhead," she teased, her voice laced with affection.

As they stood there, wrapped in each other's arms, Jensen felt the weight of his heart pressing against his chest, the words he had longed to say bubbling up within him like a wellspring of emotion. With a steadying breath, he summoned the courage to voice the question that had lingered in the depths of his soul.

"Are you ready for this, Y/N?" Jensen asked, his voice soft yet filled with conviction. "Are you ready for us, an item, for real?" Y/N smiles turning in his arms. Her arms around his neck. “The question is, are you ready Mr. Ackles?” He smiled and kissed her lips. “I am.”

Y/N looked at Jensen with a glint of adventure sparkling in her eyes. "Hey, now that the kids aren't with you for a couple of weeks, why don't we go on a small vacation?"

Jensen's brows furrowed in surprise at Y/N's suggestion, the idea taking root in his mind like a seed planted in fertile soil. The thought of a spontaneous adventure with Y/N filled him with a sense of exhilaration, a welcome distraction from the weight of his own uncertainties.

"A vacation?" Jensen echoed, his voice tinged with excitement. "Where would we go?" Y/N's smile widened as she painted a vivid picture. "We could explore the countryside, visit cute little towns, maybe even camp under the stars," she suggested, her eyes alight with anticipation.

The miles unfurled beneath the wheels of their car, each passing moment filled adventure and discovery. With the wind in their hair and the open road stretching out before them, no car insight, they felt a sense of freedom wash over them.

As they drove, Jensen found himself swept up in the rhythm of the road with the music playing softly in the background, he began to sing along, his voice filling the car with a sense of joy.

Y/N's eyes dancing with delight as she captured the moment with her camera, each click of the shutter immortalizing their journey in vibrant snapshots him. Jensen glanced over at Y/N, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

He couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude wash over him, a deep appreciation for the beauty of the world and the preciousness of the moments they shared together.

Jensen's hand found their way to Y/N's bare legs, the warmth of her skin beneath his touch sending a shiver of electricity coursing through him. His fingers traced gentle patterns along her thigh, a silent declaration of his desire and affection.

Y/N's breath hitched at the sensation, her heart racing in tandem with the rhythm of the road. She turned to look at Jensen, her eyes meeting his with a mixture of anticipation and longing, the air between them heavy with unspoken desire.

Y/N's heart fluttered with excitement as she turned to Jensen, with a playful smile tugging at the corners of her lips, she mirrored his gesture, placing her hands on his legs and giving him a teasing squeeze.

Jensen's breath caught in his throat at the unexpected sensation, a rush of warmth flooding through him at the intimate contact. He met Y/N's gaze, eyes sparkling with amusement, she undid his belt her hand slipping in between his skin and pants.

Y/N's touch sent an electric jolt coursing through Jensen's veins, making it difficult for him to focus on anything else but the warmth of her hands. With each gentle squeeze and teasing caress, she ignited a fire within him, her playful touch stirring up a storm of desire that threatened to consume him whole.

His grip tightening on the steering wheel as he fought to keep his attention on the road ahead. "Y/N," Jensen managed to choke out, his voice strained with effort. "You're making it... hard to drive."

Y/N's laughter filled the air, a melodic sound that danced on the wind like a symphony of joy. "Sorry," she teased, her voice laced with amusement. "I can't help myself." Y/N moved closer “I need to feel you.” she whispered in his ear. Jensen parked the car, his hand moved to her shoulders, pulling her in.

“Na-ah. You’ll have to wait till we’re at the cabin.” She looked out the window “I think we should grab some groceries before we check in," Y/N suggested, kissing his cheek and hopping out the car.

Jensen's brows furrowed in confusion, a hint of frustration creeping into his voice. "Groceries?" he echoed, his mind already wandering to the comforts of their room and the intimacy they would share. "Can't it wait? I was hoping for some... alone time."

As they strolled through the aisles of the grocery store, Jensen couldn't resist the opportunity, with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, he sidled up to Y/N, his lips quirking into a sly grin. "So, what's on the menu for tonight?" Jensen teased, his hands caressing her back.

Her lips curving into a playful smile. "Oh, you know, just the usual," she replied, her tone tinged with amusement. "A little of this, a little of that...” she whispered against his lip before she bit his lips soft driving him insane.

As Jensen and Y/N stepped into the cozy cabin, the warmth of the hearth enveloping them like a comforting embrace, Jensen found himself unable to resist the magnetic pull of desire. “Where are you going?” Asked noticing Y/N walking straight ahead.

As Y/N's silhouette moved gracefully towards the private lake behind the porch, a seductive sway in her hips, losing her clothing. Jensen couldn't tear his gaze away. She moved with a sensuality that left him breathless, her every step a silent invitation to join her in the cool embrace of the water.

Unable to resist any longer, his movements slow and deliberate as he followed Y/N towards the water's edge. Without a word, they stepped into the water together, the cool liquid enveloping them in its embrace as they moved as one. Their bodies pressed together, skin against skin, as they lost themselves in the intoxicating rhythm of the night. Teasing him, seeing how long he can contain his needs.

Y/N wrapped her legs around him, feeling his excitement rubbing against her core. Their bodies moving together in a dance of desire that knew no bounds. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, trailing kisses along her jawline and down her throat as he lost himself in the intoxicating scent of her skin.

Unable to contain himself any longer, Jensen lifted her out of the water, his hands reaching out to trace the curve of Y/N's waist with a touch that was both tender and urgent as they walk back inside. His fingers tingled with a longing that bordered on desperation as he pulled her closer, his lips seeking hers with a hunger that consumed him whole.

With a soft sigh, Y/N melted into Jensen's embrace, her body moulding against his with a perfect fit as they sank into the cushions of the sofa. Their hands roamed freely, tracing the contours of each other's bodies.

As their bodies entwined in the throes of passion, Jensen's voice dropped to a husky whisper, his words laced with desire and longing. "I want you, Y/N," he murmured, his breath hot against her ear as he pressed his lips to the sensitive skin of her neck. "I want to feel every inch of you, to lose myself in the heat of your skin."

"I want to taste you," Jensen growled, his voice low and guttural with need. "To make you scream my name as I drive you to the edge and back again."

Y/N's breath caught in her throat when his lips moved over her body down to her heated core, her body quivering with anticipation as she surrendered to the intoxicating rhythm of Jensen tongue. With a soft whimper, she arched into his touch, her fingers tangling in his hair as she pulled him closer.

"I want you to make me yours in every way possible, Jensen.” she whispered, this seductive promise made him move back up claiming her lips in a searing kiss. "I need to hear you beg for more," he murmured, his voice a seductive rumble as he whispered sweet promises against her earlobe. "To feel your nails dig into my skin.’

"Jensen," she pleaded, her voice a soft, breathless whisper against his skin. "Please... I need you." "That’s it baby, tell me what you want." Jensen commanded, his voice a low, velvety growl that sent shivers down her spine. "Beg for it."

"Please, Jensen," she pleaded, her voice a soft, desperate whisper. "I need you... I need you to take me... take hard.” With a primal need driving him, Jensen's movements became more urgent, his thrusts growing harder and more insistent with each passing moment.

Y/N's gasps filled the air, each one a symphony of pleasure and ecstasy as Jensen's movements pushed her closer and closer to the edge. Her nails dug into his skin, leaving faint marks in their wake as she surrendered herself completely to the heady rush of sensation.

Jensen's movements grew more possessive, his hands gripping Y/N's wrists firmly as he held her arms above her head. His touch was both commanding and tender, a silent declaration of his desire to possess her completely.

Jensen's lips crashed against hers in a searing kiss. "Is this what you need, Y/N?" he asked, his voice a low, husky whisper that sent shivers down her spine. "Tell me, is this what you want?" They lock eyes. "Yes" she breathed, her voice barely above a whisper. "This is exactly what I need."

Jensen's movements became more frenzied, his need for release driving him to push Y/N higher and higher until she felt herself spiralling towards the edge. With each thrust, each exquisite moment of connection, they drew closer to the pinnacle of their pleasure.

Y/N's breath came in ragged gasps, her heart pounding in her chest as she felt herself hurtling towards the brink of ecstasy. With a fierce longing, she arched into Jensen's touch, her nails digging into his skin once more as she surrendered herself completely to the heady rush of sensation.

And then, in a moment of exquisite release, they tumbled over the edge together, their bodies wracked with pleasure as they soared to dizzying heights of ecstasy. In that moment, there was nothing else in the world but the two of them.

Y/N gently brushed a stray lock of hair from her forehead, her chest rising and falling with the rhythm of her heartbeat. She looked up at Jensen, her eyes reflecting the depth of her emotions.

"That... that was amazing," she murmured. Jensen's lips curled into a tender smile as he brushed a gentle kiss against her forehead, his touch tender and reassuring. "You liked it?" he asked softly, his voice filled with warmth. Y/N nodded, a soft blush spreading across her cheeks. "I more than liked it," she confessed. "It was... incredible."

“We should get ready for dinner. It's getting late." he said, kissing her soft. She nodded but let him wander off to the bathroom alone. He re-entered the room, his gaze fell upon the sight that awaited him on the porch. There stood Y/N, bathed in the soft glow of the moonlight, wearing nothing but his shirt and a pair of panties. Her silhouette was illuminated against the night sky. Leaving him breathless once more.

Y/N looked at his with a soft smile, Jensen's arms wrap around her from behind, she lets out a soft gasp, the unexpected touch sending a shiver of pleasure coursing through her body. She leaned back into his embrace, revelling in the warmth of his body pressed against hers.

Jensen held her close, his touch gentle yet possessive as he buried his face in the crook of her neck. His beard tickled her skin. “Let’s stay here.” she said. "we’ll order something to eat and make love under the stars?” "I want nothing more." he confessed softly.

As the night sky stretched out above them, dotted with countless stars, they made their way back to the porch, a blanket spread out beneath them. They lay side by side, their fingers intertwined as they gazed up at the heavens above.

As they lay together, basking in the afterglow. Jensen's heart swelled with a newfound sense of certainty and purpose. "Y/N," he began, his voice filled with sincerity. "I know this might be sudden, but... why don’t we move in together? Let’s find our happy place.”

“I’d love to” Y/N said kissing his lips. Their kisses grew more urgent, Y/N moaned softly against his lips, her fingers tangling in his hair as she pulled him closer, her body arching against his in a silent plea for more. With a growl of need to feel her closer, Jensen lifted Y/N into his arms.

Addicted to feel every inch of skin against skin. They were lost in each other, In the moonlight, their bodies moved as one, in a search for the waves of pleasure once more.

As they lay in each other's arms, their hearts pounding in unison, they knew that this was just the beginning of their journey together, a journey filled with passion, intimacy, and a love that would burn brighter with each passing day.

And as they drifted off to sleep, wrapped in the warmth of their embrace, they knew that they had found something special.

Something addicted.

What do we think. Are we happy with this ending?

Please feel free to like, share or comment. Make sure you check out my masterlist.

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@mayafatimakhan @anundyingfidelity

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atallephoculary · 2 months

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—- G o s p e l —

[ @extristitiavenit ]

Hope County was truly a beautiful place; the cascading mountains and rolling hills of fertile farmland seemed to stretch for miles and miles, disappearing into lines of thick spring pines that dotted the horizon. It seemed like it was such an idyllic place; Marion often found herself reminiscing about her childhood home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana whilst on her lunch breaks due to the overwhelming amount of very beautiful but very foreign scenery… A swampy transplant into an arid tundra, a fish out of water. Being sent all over the country was hard enough as it was, but never being able to stay in one place long enough to grow some roots was harder. It was always something- a new job, a boyfriend, loss of income— something- something- something… Deputy Fuller had hoped that a change of scenery into the God fearing farmlands would strike down whatever wandering roots that would grab soil. Maybe this could actually be the place she settled down and called it good. Maybe it was the place where she would live and die quietly after she finished with whatever dumb prospect this job was.

The station was quiet, though as usual there was a gentle chatter over the radio between squad cars and her co-workers idle conversations flowing through the air in a gentle hum while the air conditioning unit whirs quietly overhead. As nice as it was to have such down time, it did put a slight alarm through her. Could it be quiet here for longer than a day? Probably not- there was always something happening over the radio, with those Peggies meandering around the valley and mountains- the ‘Eden’s Gate’ project, or whatever.. She really didn’t care. It didn’t affect her life, (well- it did- it did so much she ended up in Hope County, Montana to fill in a position that was, in fact, permanently vacant); and the ways it did affect her were easily written off with a nice blunt and a cold drink at her small cabin after work. Quitting time was always on her mind- her hazy green hues darting over to the white bubble clock that hung over the dirty front door. 5:15 p.m.- another 15 minutes until she could clock out and head home… Outside, a caravan of white vehicles with that stupid cross painted on the sides of them head down the main thoroughfare- honking and blasting their music loud enough to be heard all the way inside the station offices- “Keep your rifle by our side!” The tune hangs high in the air like a flag, and soon the cacophony of tires and engines and guitars fade into the distance until there was nothing left but the gentle clicking of the clock and the hum of the air conditioner. Marion rolled her eyes, stretched her arms up above her head and let off a loud yawn; hands unceremoniously rubbing her face and pushing back her mess of black curly hair. What a boring day. Nothing but paperwork and emails, two phone calls from the F.A.N.G center and one from the Chief to keep an eye out for a package that may or may not show up. Again. What a thrilling job; (Junior) Deputy Sheriff and she may as well have been a fucking secretary.

Another shift, another day completed; clocking out with an actual time punch was always one of the best parts of the job, one of those ‘little things’ her therapist back in Los Angeles told her when she was in her early years of being on the force.. What a lifetime ago, freshly 18 and just wanting to do the right thing— a road to hell paved with the best of intentions.. The old machine reams the paper with a clunk and Marion is out the door with her bag and glasses in hand, headed out to the old Ford truck in the parking lot.. The sun was setting by now, the sky being painted in brilliant chunks of reds and oranges and pinks.. A nice view for the drive home too, tires whirring down the evenly paved road down into Holland Valley. Farm land, for miles and miles. At least, she thought, it didn’t stink like some parts of the country she had stayed in.. These people out here took good care of their livestock and it showed. When the engine of the trucks begun to rattle and almost scream with uncertainty, it made her flicker back to reality and ease off the road and onto the shoulder; smoke flooding from the hood of the car as the lever under her seat was pressed with trepidation and concern for how she was now going to get home.

Standing over the fried engine, lit cigarette between her lips and flashlight in her southpaw, she felt like a real tool standing out there in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere, nothing but trees and fields and cars that scooted by almost hurriedly as the night settled into the valley. Marion didn’t blame them- things tended to get sketchy at best when night came.

“Aaaah fuckin’… Ya’ piece of shit, perfect fuckin’ timing to die out on me huh. You juss’ loooooove causing me issues.” The bayou woman scoffed and slammed the hood down after settling on a diagnosis: Fried radiator and snapped belt, transmission broken. Absolute destruction. Leaning now with her back to the warmed metal of the hood, she idly flicks through her phone— no signal— no reach. There was nothing out here, and she wasn’t exactly able to take a radio from the station. That was priorly a write up. So with a scoff and a groan and a few more expletives, Marion cleared the cab of her belongings and shoved them unceremoniously into her leather backpack, turned off the lights and slammed the truck door closed with a thud. There was nothing now but the eerie silence and the air current moving through the trees- if she didn’t like the dark at home, she surely hated it when outside. There was a certain fear that comes with walking alone at night, but hopefully, hopefully, the 13 mile walk in almost pitch darkness wouldn’t be that bad.

#| Gospel of Baptism — John }#And we should. — Starters }#| @extristitiavenit }#(( || And awaaaaaayy we go! ))

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wardenofthecoast · 2 months

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If Stardew Valley had Desert and Wetland farms, I think those could be very interesting, though they would probably be for seasoned players. I'm putting this under a read more cause I had some thoughts (tho not that many). Keep in mind, these would be pretty outside the norm of Stardew Valley farms and not necessarily true to life (in the same way farming in the game isn't true to life). Other Ideas: Terracing, Food Forests, crop rotation, etc. Some of these can be done in Stardew (or other games) but they're often not the intended method, just rp or actively discouraged.

The Desert Farm would be inspired by seasonal Egyptian farming and traditional Omani irrigation systems. The main gimmick would be the change in seasons, limitation on water and reliance on flooding/canals. It would still be focused on farming, with maybe mining.

IRRIGATION: Instead of sprinklers/watering can, water comes from three sources: Rain, Aflaj and Floods. Aflaj is a system of gravity fed canals/tunnels that would provide consistent water source but would either be limited by having to release it at certain time or expand it through construction. The other source would be floods, after the flood season, crops may be planted and don't need to be watered for a time.

RAIN: Rain is overall rarer, but stronger, think if every rain had the effects of Green Rain. There would be a monsoon season of heavy storms, where part of the farm is cut off due to flooding. The day after it rains, the entire farm blooms. When the dry riverbed floods, any crops planted are destroyed.

CROPS: You would have access to desert crops/fish/immediately, and what crops you can grow will be affected by some seasonality changes I'll mention later. Winter crops could not be grown. I think they would be of higher quality to balance the reduced production (think the soil is more nutritious).

ANIMALS: Grass is much more sparse, but part of the farm is on a dry riverbed and so when it rains, the farm blooms with blue grass. Maybe having a system where less is more, or providing benefits to farming primarily goats and sheep?

SEASONS: Instead of the traditional four seasons, the farm is under three longer seasons - Monsoon/Flood (Summer/Fall) where there are storms and the river flood constantly, Post-Monsoon/Flood (Winter-Spring) where there is no rain but riverbed is fertile, and Pre-Monsoon/Flood (Spring-Summer), where it rains somewhat but the riverbed is dry again. This will affect what crops can and cannot be grown, and productivity of farming/animals. Along with random rain, this farm is extremely seasonal for its profits.

FISHING: I think there could either be a sinkhole or a bit of ocean for fishing, with desert fish and maybe beach or cave fish. It's available but probably not that useful.

MINING: Not necessarily present on the farm, though I think having some would give the player more to do.

COMBAT: Doesn't need it I'd say, or maybe just make it seasonal?

The Wetland Farm is inspired by Florida's wetlands and climate, as well as traditional agriculture and ecosystem management. The main gimmick would be that part of the farm had to be left fallow, but still managed; removing debris, picking up foraging, etc. This would result in quality fish and crops.

IRRIGATION: Crops can be planted adjacent to the shores of the wetland and be considered irrigated, otherwise sprinklers and watering can work as normal, EXCEPT the quality of crops increases only as the farm is properly managed (more on that).

RAIN: Generally, more rain and more storms and more green rain.

CROPS: To make things interesting, crops would be split into two seasons, except winter crops which can't be grown. As the game doesn't have any real way to do salinity, that can't really be a factor sadly.

ANIMALS: Animals wouldn't be affected much, but as you have to manage the land, there probably is a limit to how many barn/coop animals you have, although you'd be able to let them out year round. Fish ponds would probably be the way to go here.

SEASONS: There would be two seasons, a strong wet season and long (relatively) dry season.

FISHING: Fishing would be a huge benefit for the farm, as there would be both river and ocean fish available, as well as fish from the swamp. As with crops, managing the farm means higher quality fish. Fishing out trash would also improve the quality of the farm, so its not horrible when you finish them out.

COMBAT: I think there would be monsters, but instead of wilderness golems its mainly insects (accurate for wetlands), and as the quality increases maybe the type of monsters or level of monsters increases/decreases.

anyway im sleepy

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unholycringebirther · 1 year

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HARPY!CLAUDE MERLE X VIOLINA [FANFICTION]

SUMMARY: While gathering berries, Vio gets lured deeper into the forest, meeting a distant, gruff stranger who is in desperate need for assistance, even if he won’t admit.

WARNING: mentions of blood/injuries, swearing, animal hunting, no beta we die like Ophelia. MINORS DNI

WORDS: 3.9k

A/N: I AM CRINGE BUT I AM FREE I AM CRINGE BUT—

Okay okay but all jokes aside it’s currently one am where I live and i’ve decided to reveal myself as a simp, I’ll probably regret it tomorrow but whatever, im a huge nerd for Greek mythology so the harpy idea really spoke to me (Sirens are still my favourite so maybe I’ll write for siren!Jules later) and after a few hours I made this monstrosity, enjoy ❤️

As the spring goddess rose from the underworld, the sun followed suit, melting away the harsh coldness of the winter until fresh flowers perked up in their bloom, animals awakening and trees sprouting fresh green leaves.

Demeters tears dried— her beloved daughter returning to her arms once again, ending the starvation of the crops and the fertility of the soil.

The forest surrounding me was relaxed, the nymphs and dryads settling into their trees as the sunset painted a soft golden light over their oaks, it was calm, a comfortable hum of silence.

It was a nice change of pace— the village has been getting rowdy, one of the many hunters had come barreling into the streets, claiming he’d almost caught an unheard of beast.

The man was always one for stories, but the passion in his voice hooked many of the other hunters into believing him, he told us of a beast as dark as the night sky, claws sharper than any werewolf he’d ever seen, piercing eyes as black as coal.

He didn’t catch it, but triumphantly held up a bloodied dagger, claiming he’d landed enough damage to cripple the thing, prompting everybody to start wild searches, wanting a sweet taste of the glory that catching a large, dangerous creature brought.

It was a load of bullshit, I’ll say, he’s always been one to boast despite various failed attempts at catching creatures even as feeble as a jackalope.

The forest was fruitful, in both the berries I was currently gathering and in mythical creatures of all kinds, but despite that I still doubted somebody like him discovered a supposed legend, a man covered in feathers and ash, with wings wider than the stretch of the trees.

For that exact reason, I was warned against coming here, the elders chastising me as I stepped out my front door, basket in hand, my parents following suit with jabs of their own.

But I desperately needed a break, as the sun melted down into the horizon, lanterns flickered on, and no doubt the town was plagued with cheers of celebration as corpses were wheeled in, taverns opening with hunters celebrating their latest bloodshed.

I didn’t want to return just yet, the tranquil nature of the forest drawing me in further, it was alive in a way not many others were, the trees and air shifting in ways human emotion would.

Part of me was a little ashamed, but I wasn’t perceived as a threat, hunters would often get shunned by the forest, roots and branches shifting until they were caught in a dark labyrinth, the nature surrounding me taking a more active role in protecting itself and the wildlife that inhabits it.

But to me, the bark opens itself up, beckoning me deeper instead of pushing me away, I wasn’t here to hunt— the forest had no need to defend itself, and a kindle of pride blossomed in my chest at the idea of having left a good impression on the energy curling around the space.

I glanced to the left, a shadow passing over the deeper part, trees becoming more narrow as the human affect ends where the wilted dirt path does.

The berry bush in-front of me is plucked empty, my basket only half full by the juicy dark beads inside, I didn’t want to leave just yet, the shouts of the villagers already making a headache build in my skull, and I could trust that the forest wouldn’t harm me.

I’ve been told countless times to not wander farther than the shabby dirt trail, but I already ignored the warnings of travelling even this far, and the forest wouldn’t let the feathery beast touch me, if it was even real.

The small rush of rebellion carried me forwards, into the thickened silence of the wild.

I could sense the shift around me as the human touch becomes sparser, the unbothered nature growling wildly, the trees curling above like claws tightening its grip.

Gods, I should’ve came here ages ago, I thought to myself in stunned awe, their was various kinds of bushes, different berries littering each one in plenty, fresh and ripe for picking, Thank you, lady Demeter.

I gathered various kinds until my basket was brimming, and I was surprised the sweet smell wafting around didn’t attract the nose of any critter, but glad nonetheless, this’ll do me and my parents well.

We were far from the richest in the village— we had enough to keep ourselves going, but we didn’t have anything left to tuck away in case of an emergency, and as the years pass and my folks grew older, the likely-hood grew like a thriving vine in the midst of spring.

If we can cut food costs with my foraging, well, a little extra savings never hurt anyone, meat of all kinds were plentiful and quite cheap, in abundance from the animals crawling around, but fruits and berries were spiking high in costs as the energy shifted towards hunting this elusive beast and supplies ran short.

My basket was full, colours mixing and merging together as I try to make room for more, but unfortunately, I’ve reached capacity.

The sun had set, shrouding the trees around me in darkness, there was a slight chill in the air that made me huddle more into myself to avoid the bite of the wind, it picked up surprisingly fast, unnaturally fast.

I wander forwards, I didn’t bother to keep track of where I was heading, the forest would shift me in the right direction, I just had to move and let the gentle caress of the branches lead me to safety.

The trees were a dark oak, the fresh leaves, sprouting to their full hue only days ago with the early spring, they were pushed together closely, concealing anything far from view.

Roots stuck wildly out of the ground, leaves and muddied grass from the morning sprinkle hiding them, and the only reason I didn’t trip over a root when the sound of a low grumble reached my ears was the tree flattening the root in-front of my foot.

I paused, straining my ears to listen out, it was silent, the loud ring in my ears supplying evidence that it was nothing more than a trick of the rushing wind.

A twig cracked, like a heavy weight strained it to snapping, and I knew it wasn’t the breeze playing a trick on me, I didn’t immediately panic, chances were it was a lost hunter, the forest playing a game of cat and mouse until they learned their lesson.

I swore I heard the grumble of a man— soothing most worries about a stray, potentially dangerous creature sniffing around, but I still kept my footsteps light as I followed the sound, peeking past the many trees in a hopeful attempt to remain somewhat hidden incase my suspicions proved wrong.

There was an opening, a small clearing where the tight tree lines swerved, a circular view of the clear night sky, it was beautiful, colourful flowers and moss spreading across the rocks and logs resting on the grass.

The moon reached its highest point, bathing the clearing in a almost mesmerising silver glow, carefully highlighting each petal, every mushroom and each crevices carved onto the fallen log.

And the man covered in coal feathers, laying limply in the centre.

He was laying on his back, propped up by a particularly large rock, his hair was long, dark purple not unlike the berries I carry in my basket, dark charcoal feathers cover his body like clothing with sharp wings cradled closely to his chest.

My eyes trailed up from his chest to his face, grey skin glistening with sweat, black stains on his cheeks alluding towards the feather sticking out of his hair, darker greys and blacks smudged over his eyes like makeup.

His chest was heaving, those surprisingly appealing features twisting in pain, he grunted again, clearly in pain but keeping quiet no the less, his left wing cradled close to him, almost protectively.

I could see the issue almost im immediately, those sharp, dark feathers couldn’t hide the unnatural twist of the shape, I didn’t know a lot about bird physiologically— but I could clearly see the carpal part of the wing bent.

My heart ached sympathetically, no doubt it’d been the work of a hunter, probably out searching for that god damn beast that man supposedly crippled.

I wanted to help, I really did, but I wasn’t exactly sure what I could do, and I’ve been warned time and time again to keep away from unknown beasts, especially injured ones, not only could they hold a bias from the human that’d harmed them in the first place, pain could cause instincts to make the creature go wild.

But no matter what, I couldn’t see that with him, despite his features scrunched up in pain, those coal eyes held intelligence, far past a simple creature, and even some of the meat-heads running around the village.

It drew me in, those dark eyes holding depths I don’t think I’ve ever seen, I was naturally quite curious, but this was different, I wondered, wondered what this man had seen, what caused the exhausted wiseness that plagued his handsome features.

He drew me in like a whirlpool, but I couldn’t give in, despite the stab of need to assist him, I couldn’t risk it.

Stepping back, I intent on slipping back into the forest until I was further hidden by the tall dark trees, the cast of moonlight drawn away from me until I blended in with the cool, black night.

The crack of a stick underneath my shoes booms throughout the silence, and I can see the tenseness that lines the muscles underneath his feathers at the noise, it feels like my heart stops before jumping into my throat.

I can almost hear the nymphs snickering from inside their tree-trunks, the assholes.

“Who’s there?!” He calls out, his voice is rough with pain, like worn black leather, but carries a deep smoothness like espresso, dark as a splatter of ink against parchment paper.

I don’t move a muscle, frozen as a marble statue, whilst I am covered in a blanket of darkness, I can still see him bathed and highlighted in lady Selene’s moonlight, his body is tense and those entrancing eyes darken in something akin to predatory anger.

“I already heard you.” He calls out again, sounding tired and much older than he appears to be, he’s clearly had a long night, not looking too different to my father coming home from an unsuccessful hunt, “Come out, now.”

With a deep inhale, I try to steel myself until I can smother the fear on my face, I’m not sure how well I’m doing but hopefully, it’s enough, running might only make things worse.

Stepping into the clearing, hesitantly, I let the moon brighten my features until he can fully take me in, I’m careful to keep my body open and unthreatening, this doesn’t have to end in a fight, but it might if I trigger any feral survivor instincts.

His eyes scammed up my body, similar in the way I did to him only moments ago, and I have to shove down an inappropriate feeling of warmth that lingers where his eyes trail, definitely isn’t the time for that.

The tense line of his body seems to slacken slightly, the darkness of somebody ready to shed blood fading until he just looks tired, and perhaps even slightly relieved albeit still defensive.

I’m glad he doesn’t want to kill me anymore, but part of me is kind of offended.

“Er, hey there.” I wince slightly as it slips from my mouth, his eyes are unblinking as they stare at me, it feels like he could predict my every move before I’ve even figured them out for myself, “D-Do you, uh, want some help there?”

“No.” His answer is short and curt, and I consider making a break for it, realising he doesn’t seem likely to chase me down and rip my throat out with those sharp claws, but when I linger for a moment, I can vaguely make out the signs of dried blood.

This guy clearly needed help, even if he didn’t want nor think he needed it, and I can’t just leave him here because he chose to wake up stubborn.

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” I slowly reach out a hand, approaching slowly, making sure he can see every movement, but it wasn’t enough to stop the way he tensed, those sharp fangs barring slightly.

“I don’t want you fucking help.” he snapped at me, hostility evident in the way his wings tried to spread out, before fluttering and wrapping back around himself, a hiss of pain escaping his lips at the movement, “leave me alone!”

Both concern and irritation rose in me, I scratched the flight instinct, I could leave this man alone despite his insistence, he needed assistance and I didn’t want to even think about what could happen if I chose to leave.

“Listen, guy— what’s your name?” I started, and the blank stare of annoyance he gave me told me he wasn’t planning on telling me anytime soon, and my own ire flares in response.

Fine, we’ll play it like that. I thought to myself as I took a deep, calming breath of the wind, I can be just as stubborn as you are, believe me.

“You can’t fly, your wing is broken and I can see a large cut on the inner base, yes, right there.” I start, slowly inching closer when he doesn’t lunge for me, which is always a good sign, my hand outstretches again, “You’re grounded right now, and you need some help to get back in the air, trust me, the hunters are rowdier than normal currently.”

He raises a thick eyebrow at that, and strangely I find myself liking the curiosity that leaks into those irises.

“So, you can either let me help you, and save yourself a hell of pain,” I pause right in-front of him and gaze deep into his eyes, I’ll allow him a choice, I can’t force my help onto anybody, “or you can sit here and get your bloodied corpse dragged back to my village because you wanted to be tough.”

He grits his teeth, and I can see him chewing the option over in his mind, I can read the exact moment he steels himself and makes his decision, turning his head away from mine in a huff, “..fine.”

With an internal cheer of success, I finally crouch down to survey the damage, with the moon shifting towards the horizon it means I have to be fast before my light source completely dissipates.

I was correct, there is a large cut on the bony base of his wing, blood has dried and crusted around it, stemming the worst of the bleeding, but if I don’t clean it now there is a large chance that it’ll get infected later.

Biting my lip, I try to think of something I could use to clean it, I have nothing on my me but the basket discarded on the ground.

“There’s a stream nearby, I can hear it.” He pipes up, and I’m not quite sure if his tone is actually bored, or if that’s how he sounds, a constant note of monotone, “if we go there— I can clean off in the water.”

I couldn’t hear anything, but I didn’t doubt he could, it wasn’t uncommon for the creatures of this forest possessing qualities humans didn’t such as enhanced senses, and I briefly wonder how he didn’t hear me before the loud snap.

“Then that’s where we’ll go.” I rise to my feet, and wince apologetically at him, “sorry, you’ll have to come with me, I don’t have a bucket or anything to carry the water back.”

“It’s fine.” His tone is still curt, all business, and without a second thought I reach out my hand to help him up, but he waves it away with a low grumble, swiftly turning into a huff of exertion as he shakily rises to his own feet.

He clearly had something against accepting help, im surprised I convinced him to even let me clean his wounds.

Despite his less-than expressive face, I could see the discomfort in the stiff way he moves, he was clearly in pain, but refused my attempts to assist him walk better by outstretching an arm.

Its a short walk to the small stream, its almost as tightly clenched as the trees surrounding us, but the man doesn’t hesitate to crumble in-front of it, finally resting his sore body, and reaching for the moving water.

“Hey!” I call out before quickly sliding up next to him, dropping to my knees despite the stain of grass on my white dress, he looks at me, his gaze tempered with annoyance and confusion, “Let me do it for you, I’ll be able to reach better.”

I can tell he wants to protest, to decline me like he did before, but the sting of his wound chips away at his resolve, and when he turns his head away from me and bares the large cut, I know I’ve worn him down.

With a hum of approval, I reach down, ripping a line off the red fabric layered onto my dress, draping it into the water until it collects enough moisture.

It wasn’t a massive deal, my mother was a seamstress, we had an abundance of linen and cotton materials, and she took it upon herself to teach me how to hand-sew almost anything when I was still very small.

I try to be as gentle as possible, but he gasps and jerks when I make contact with the raw parts of the cut, trying desperately to clean up the build of dirt and blood, justifying it to myself that an infection would hurt much much more.

“So,” conversation might he a good means of distraction, there was still a lot to go and I didn’t necessarily want to sit in this tense silence, “will you tell me your name now?”

I could practically hear him gritting his teeth, he stayed silent, surprisingly not making much noise for how much pain I know for a fact he’s in, even before, he’s been awfully silent about his discomfort.

With a sigh, I realise I’m going to be the one doing most of the talking in this one-sided conversation, “well, my name’s Violina, yes, like the instrument.”

I despised my name— I didn’t even know how to play the damn instrument, and I refused to learn out of pure irony, I used to be jealous of the other girls in my village, their parents gifting them gorgeous titles.

He still doesn’t speak a word, so I continue on as I finally push through the worst of the grime, “I don’t know why I was named after a stringed instrument, I don’t even know if either of my parents play the damn thing,”

The dark red and browns clinging to his feathers wash off to leave behind a raw pink line, reaching down, I rip off a larger piece of fabric and wrap if tightly around the line until it was covered,

“…That’s a nice name.” It rumbles out of him, and im taken aback, not just by his sudden vocalisation, but by the compliment itself, and I can feel a flush rise in my cheeks.

“A-Ah, thanks.” I cough, trying to force it back down, standing up, I try to offer him another hand, and this time, he takes it, those sharp claws wrapping around my skin, but somehow, I don’t feel a prick of fear, “Stay off that wing, alright?”

He seemed a tad more relaxed, tension still radiated from his large figure, but most of it seemed to come from the displeasure of jostling his injures and not him perceiving me as a threat.

“I’ll have to clean and wrap it again tomorrow,” I explain, I was no medic but I knew enough to at least be somewhat confident in what I was talking about, “Come back here, same place and time.”

He snarled slightly at the idea, and I raised a confused eyebrow of my own, failing to see how what I said could’ve caused him to raise his hackles, “No.”

“What, why?” I question him immediately, and he stares down at me mistrustfully, his nose scrunched up in obvious displeasure, it seemed to be one of his base emotions next to irritation, “If you want to get better, I need to keep up with the treatment, guy.”

“No.” “You sure have a wide vocabulary, don’t you?”

I was tired, the moon was waning from the sky and I’d been running around almost all night, I couldn’t handle anymore of this, so I didn’t try to stop him when he turned away from me.

His wings curled more comfortably against his back, almost sheathing themselves, they were wide enough to almost completely conceal him from the back, but I could see a hint of his face when he turned back slightly.

“..Thank you, Violina.” he almost choked it out, it was clearly a foreign sentence on his tongue, and judging by the note of loathing I could hear in his voice, he didn’t like it one bit.

That brings a small, lopsided smirk to my face, and I call back in a much brighter, louder voice than his small little mumble of a grumble, “No problem.”

He took off, and I couldn’t help but stand there and watch as the darkness of the wild swallowed him up, the forest bending in his path.

I rub my temples, a headache building from not only the lack of sleep, but the loud shouts of almost everybody in the village, question and demanding to know where I’ve been all night.

It was a relief to finally be let off the hook, after hours of chastising from my parents alone, basking in sweet silence is a luxury I’ll never take for granted.

My eyes close, and I take in a deep breath, my thoughts wandering back to the man I saw in the forest, those dark feathers, those wings, the dark way his eyes drank me in.

Even during my painful lecture, my thoughts seemed to drift to him often, and in the back of my mind, I wondered if he was thinking about me as well.

I heard a rush of wind from outside, loud enough to make me jump out of my skin, knocking me from my thoughts about the purple haired man, and I quickly smooth out my dress before making way to the front door.

I open it, to be greeted by nothing except a empty doorway, I glance around for a stunned moment before a sweet smell wafts up to my nose, and I look down.

Its my basket, still holding all those delicious berries I’d gathered, and accompanying the fresh beads were an abundance of fruit, fresh in a way that implies it had only reached peak ripeness merely hours before, and the white parchment note placed on-top stands out against the bright colours.

You left your basket behind, mon oiseau oublieux.

-Claude Merle

I know my art isn’t amazing— it’s far from it but I just wanted to see my favourite little hoe in some Ancient Greek drip ok sue me, plus a little bonus of Claude about to murder my self-inserts ass for looking (respectfully of course) at his lovebird.

This post is a mess istg

#my dear hatchet man #mdhm #mdhm au #my dear hatchet man au #mdhm claude #claude merle #mdhm game #mdhm fanart #mdhm fanfiction #alan orion #mdhm alan #claude x vio #viviook #mdhm claude x reader #mdhm claude fanart #harpy claude

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balkanradfem · 1 year

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Since I've been gone and computer-free for a while, it's only right that I make a life and plant update! I've been having the worst start with this year's plants, and I've been neglecting them for a while because it was making me a bit sour to see them all doing so bad; let's get into what happened.

So, since it's my fourth year of gardening, I felt super confident that I have leveled up so much that my plants will now grow however I please and that there will be no troubles whatsoever, which is just, a great mindset to start making mistakes in. So, I figured I'd wait until it's not freezing outside, and then, I would put all of the plants on my balcony, and they would have a lot of sun there, and that would make it easier for me to care for them. Before that, I've been keeping them in the kitchen during the night and morning, balcony in the afternoon. It's less work for me if they're on the balcony.

Well, it turns out, tiny baby plants do not do well on the balcony, even if it's not freezing outside! The temperatures were from 2-5 celsius during the night (that's 36 fahrenheit), and even if my plants didn't die, they started shriveling up, the backs of their leaves turning purple and dark. Seeing them turn dark and purple made me feel they were nitrogen deficient, because that has happened before, so I fertilized them all, thinking it would fix the issue - only it made the issue worse. Tiny plants cannot handle a lot of fertilization, they need to grow a bit before they're ready to be properly fed. So the result of this was that my most tiny and vulnerable plants burned out and died, most of just-transplanted tomatoes wilted, and basil died almost completely.

So, I finally realized that they actually disliked the cold of being outside, and brought them back in, and left them in the kitchen, where they had less light, but very warm, stable temperature. And, they all got better. It was almost like a weird mocking game from nature - if I had left them all in the kitchen, without ever taking them outside, they would have been growing consistently, and gotten twice the size already. I have been fooled by my arrogance. So why did all of the plants got sick and purple on my balcony?

Because the temperature of the soil affects what nutrients they're able to draw out. If it's too hot, or too cold, they won't be able to pull nitrogen out of the soil, even if there is plenty of nitrogen in! Same works with calcium, they need proper temperature and moisture in order to feed on it. Tiny plants do not take well to quick changes in temperature, they need to be bigger, and introduced gradually to colder nights. A month old plant can easily survive what a week old plant cannot. Only plants that are twice as big as their pot can easily bear thru cold nights outside without getting sick.

So, after this happened, I had a few happy accidents that I didn't count on, that cheered me up. There are 2 balcony windows that don't get a lot of light, but they're very warm (radiator underneath). I have left a few houseplants there, few lemons, and one cabbage, and forgot them completely. I didn't water them except maybe once every week. And somehow, without me noticing, tomatoes have started growing out of the pots with lemons, because apparently there were some seeds left in the soil there, and they quickly out-grew all of my carefully cared for tomato plants. Also that cabbage I forgot? It was the biggest most successful plant I had. I was in disbelief when I saw that, because, excuse me, I thought, you guys needed light to grow. Apparently, they cared more for the heat, and were happy to just get 2 hours of direct sunlight to grow. This went against everything I knew, but maybe I just needed to learn a new thing: sometimes warmth matters more. Next time I can just neglect bunch of plants on those windows and get successful plants with zero effort.

Encouraged by this, I was very careful this time to introduce my now bigger plants to the cold and bright balcony light, and this time I was listening to the rules carefully: First day only 1 hour in the direct sun, next day 3 hours, third day 5. Then they can stay overnight, and I only do it with plants that are big enough to survive minor damage. And it worked out perfectly. All plants held up well, and the last week of April, I've already started transplanting my tomatoes in the garden.

Another fun bit about me not being able to access laptop or my data, was that I could not check my own garden plan, that I made for this year. Planting the garden, I just had to figure out a whole new garden plan on the fly, which was absolutely hilarious. Me frantically typing on my phone 'can beans and strawberries grow together' while already holding a bag of beans in my hand, trying to decide where to dig the holes. Turns out, beans and strawberries DO grow well together, and since I have 3,5 garden beds of strawberries, I decided to plant beans in every one of them, just to see what happens. I have also stabbed large sticks in those gardens, and to an unknowing individual, who does not know about the beans, it might look as if I'm expecting my strawberries to climb up, which would be charming, and something to work towards in the future.

The strawberries are in full bloom and I want to spend hours just lying on the grass and looking at bees fertilize them. I felt so much yearning for the garden, so much of just wanting to be there all day and just watch life develop and grow.

After planting beans, I had a nagging feeling that I was supposed to plant something else and was forgetting about it, while I was ignoring all the plants due to feeling sulky, and I went to my box of seeds and took everything out to see what was not yet planted - to be immediately hit with a wall of shame: I had forgot to plant cucumbers and cantaloupes completely. And my poor mystery squash was also still in seed form. Now, these plants can grow very fast, and I started them right away and by now they're already developing their first leaves, so nothing is lost! This will depend on the climate. If we have a crazy hot summer with heat waves, my cantaloupes will not fare well, and I will have fewer cucumbers. If, by some chance, we have a bit more rain, some milder weather, maybe a storm every few weeks, then I might be looking at a good harvest anyway.

I had to starts all of my plants and plant my garden early, I planted everything about a month earlier than everyone else, because I know I will not be able to water my garden, and I'm counting on plants getting big and strong before the heat waves hit, and by then, they'll be mulched, covered, casting shade one over another in order to survive the heat. Last two years this worked brilliantly, and my garden was big and strong. I'm having high hopes this year as well, even as I started on rocky grounds, everything recovered so nicely, I even have a few basil plants looking good, brought back from the brink of death.

I've definitely spent more time outside, more time reading, writing, cooking, foraging and processing food, without access to computer. I've gathered so much bear's garlic, and found it's excellent in a pasta salad. I've eaten a full bowl of wood sorrel and came out just fine. I've tried to cook a soup with wild carrots - I would advise against using the roots, makes it taste very wrong. Almost got poisoned again because I confused young 'forget-me-not' plants with spinach and ate them in a sandwich; luckily I was fine. Laughed at myself a lot for that one. I saw lots of lizards, a frog, several deer, ducks, and a lot of birds in the forest, some very cool bugs as well. I sometimes run into other women in the forest and I feel like we're exactly where we're supposed to be, and we're ruling this land by protecting what's ours.

#plant update #gardening #transplants #growing food #self grown food #self sufficient #i will post pictures of the plants later #if i find the before and afters #i don't think i even took pictures of the sickly plants #i felt so bad lol #i have learned so much!!!!#and my garden will be beautiful #so many beans have been planted #hehehehehehe #i love beans so much

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anipgarden · 8 months

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Fun notes from Hellstrip Gardening by Evelyn J. Hadden

I’d mentioned in my liveblogging notes that I’d share the cool stuff I learned/found interesting but my notes quickly got Very Long so they’re now their own post. Seeing as this is what I personally found noteworthy, I definitely encourage people read the book for themselves—you might find value in a place I looked over!

Working with Poor Soil

- Use plants that thrive in less than ideal soil

- Grow herbs 👀 many common perennial herbs like thyme, sage, and oregano prefer nutrient-poor soil and dry conditions make them more flavorful. BUT get your soil tested first. Nitrogen fixers will improve poor soils and manage fine on their own, like false indigo. Flax, penstemons, and salvias are plants that are well adapted to lean growing conditions. I found this interesting because whenever I plant salvias in my garden I give them Scoops of Compost but I guess its not needed lol.

- Deep rooted prairie grasses and flowers can withstand the extremes of clay soil flipping between too wet and too dry. Some sturdy taprooted plants can break through compacted soil.

- If your soil is BAD bad then grow in containers and/or raised beds! It’ll be less costly than trying to improve a huge swath of shitty soil on your own. They’ll also provide textural interest to the landscape.

- Use a fork or pitchfork to improve compacted soil, or a broad-fork. Near tree roots, try pushing a stick/stake/rigid object into the ground and then remove it to make holes where water and organic matter can enter.

- To boost fertility quickly, add dehydrated manure, leaf mold, mushroom compost, alfalfa pellets, or garden compost. I had no idea what an alfalfa pellet was before this.

- Grow annuals for a year, cut them off at the ground level in fall, and leave the roots to decay in place. Plants with big taproots will also help break up soil. Letting roots rot in place create channels of organic matter to aerate soil, hold water, and hold nutrients.

- Sheet mulch

- When it comes to contaminated soils, you can remove the top layer of soil and replace it with good soil, or add the fresh soil on top in raised beds or mounded into berms. If you aren’t in a hurry, certain plants and fungi can be used to phytoremediate or mycoremediate the soil. They remove contaminants and store them in their tissues—you have to remove and dispose of them after though.

- Sunflowers remove lead from soil and store it in their tissues. Increasing their potassium levels increases their effectiveness for this. Cut plants after the growing season and dispose as hazardous waste. Good news! According to this book, the lead and other toxins don’t really accumulate in the seeds, so its safe for seed-eating birds. And since its stored in tissues idk if it’d affect pollinators either?

- Cover bare soil under the phytoremediating plants with a thick mulch or dense ground-covers. For easy living mulch, the book suggests Dutch white clover, annual sweet alyssum, or johnny jump-ups.

- Phytoremediation and mycoremediation require a lot more patience than just removing and replacing soil. It can take a decade or longer, depending on the situation. Definitely test the soil before you use it for other purposes, even if you’ve been phytoremediating.

Working with Laws and Covenants

- Know what the regulations are. This can include what trees are and aren’t allowed to be planted on roadsides, if trees are allowed in strips of certain widths, plant height at intersections, etc. However its also possible that the city will plant a tree for you if its on their list and you qualify, saving you money.

- When confronting a restrictive regulation (esp if written decades ago) whether its from an HOA or a city ordinance, don’t assume it can’t be revised, varied, or taken out entirely after some prompting. Have a civil conversation about it, draw up a plan or describe your garden plan, maybe be ready to make a formal presentation.

- You’ll have more luck if you come to the bargaining table prepared to and willing to compromise, take feedback, address concerns with facts and examples. Offer to meet again after the landscape is in place. Honestly I find this point interesting because the mindset of a lot of people frequently is ‘ask forgiveness not permission don’t ask and fight them if they get pissed’ but also in some situations asking cordially can get the results you want more painlessly. (That being said if lawn lovers dig in their heels maybe then its time to rally the forces and protest it but yknow cross that bridge when you get there I guess)

- Know the applicable laws. Some states (the book lists Colorado, Texas, California, Nevada, and Florida) hqve laws preventing HOAs from prohibiting xeriscaping.

- When proposing/fighting for your garden, focus on practical benefits that are easier to quantify and communicate than emotions and personal values. An HOA might not necessarily care about pollinator habitat, but they might be more understanding of ‘reducing water runoff, erosion control, lower energy use, less water needs, and no noisy mowers and blowers to bother neighbors with and spend money maintaining.’ Assigning dollar values to the garden will help communicate other positives—even if its not your main focus. Speak to them in their language, not necessarily your own.

- Show pictures of examples! If there’s a similar garden elsewhere in town, tell them where they can find it to see for themselves that it Works and Looks Great. Show them that others are doing this kind of stuff and it’ll adjust their view on ‘normal’ and ‘acceptable’ landscaping choices.

- Consider adding barriers to your beds and paths to help neighbors see that it’s ‘managed’ and actively cared for/enjoyed. Including a path and maybe a bench or some chairs will help it read as more Orderly. Wider paths will also alleviate fears about ticks, snakes, etc.

- If your neighbors aren’t crazy about a meadow garden, a no-mow lawn or groundcovers can give the look and feel of a lawn without being lawn if compromising is needed.

- Get a garden club or other local group to back you up. If there isn’t one already 👀 make one.

Living with Vehicles

- Sometimes if you garden close to the road cars might accidentally drive over parts of it, especially if parking. Put plants that are more easily replaceable on the forefront, and don’t forget to aerate the compacted soil afterwards.

- You could also put in a low fence/wall, a row of rocks, prickly plants or shrubs, or brightly colored taller plants to make the garden More Obvious and Less Drive-On-Able. If it keeps happening maybe request a cautionary sign or speed bump be added, or that a visibility barrier be removed.

- If there’s part of the garden you wanna save for occasional driving/parking, use plants that can be mowed when needed, or install permeable pavement/gravel/driving strips through a low ground cover planting. You can add a barrier that can either be mowed down or moved when that area’s not being used.

- If you have a Hellstrip hellstrip (which this book ends up talking a lot about Total Lawn Transformations but there’s still a lot of hellstrip advice too) then the combo of asphalt on one side and sidewalk on the other is gonna make a heat island. Find plants that like the heat! Use that strip to extend your growing season for warmth loving annuals or even for edible plants like tomatoes, peppers, squash, and melons! BUT get your soil tested before you do that.

- Alternatively you could plant trees to help shade the area and cool it down

- MULCH

- You can plant things to help muffle the sounds smells and other effects of traffic, winds, and passerby. You’ll want a four season barrier for this—plant a variety of things that’ll either stay green and leafed up in Winter or at least add visual interest.

Living with Wildlife

- So apparently geese like to eat the blades of grass lawns??? I thought they were eating bugs IN the grass, not the grass itself. Anyways they especially love eating fresh grass in view of a shoreline so you could add a 20 foot wide buffer of tall plants between the lawn and the shore if you don’t wanna deal with Goose Poop

- Mosquitoes lay eggs in standing water but apparently can also lay eggs in really wet dirt which I DID NOT know so even a leaky faucet onto some dirt can cause issues with mosquitoes.

- According to the book, humans don’t tend to notice damage to leaves until it surpasses ~10%, and don’t notice a particular kind of insect until its population surpasses a certain number of individuals. So instead of trying to eliminate all leaf-eating bugs, aim to control their populations so the damage isn’t noticeable to you and the insect predators will remain in the landscape and continue controlling said population. However, I took note because hey if you plant host plants and either have so many of them or manage to sneak them into so many different places that the leaf damage becomes Barely Noticeable…. Idk that just feels like a good thing to take note of for Sneaky Pollinator Gardening purposes.

- In areas prone to ticks, make your paths wide enough to pass through without touching foliage. Also having other animals around can minimize exposure—pheasants, chickens, and guinea fowl actively seek and eat ticks while possums and raccoons attract them and kill them while grooming. HOWEVER. Mice and deer can be sources of tick reproduction.

- Diverse plantings can limit damage from both insect herbivores as well as larger herbivores like rabbits, deer, and birds. These animals are generalists but may focus on specific favorites, so a mixed variety might get nibbled a little but mostly left alone.

- As a general rule, herbivores are attracted to nitrogen content in foliage, plants kept well watered, and new growth. Pampered plants are more appealing.

- Planting favorites like clover or alfalfa in specific areas may keep herbivores from finding (or at least encourage them to ignore) other areas like a veggie garden. A mulberry tree may make birds ignore your other fruits. A well placed shrub can host a rabbit nest instead of the underside of a deck. Piling ripe seed heads of grasses and flowers alongside an alley or generally away from your house can lure mice away from said house (and possibly expose them to more predators along the way)

- Vertical gardens, cold frames, hoop houses, and green houses can protect edible plants from herbivores

- Maintaining an excessively tidy lawn is a high effort way to avoid contact with particular local species (ticks, snakes, black widows, scorpions, etc.) Gaining more knowledge might help find easier ways to avoid the animal and give more peace of mind. Slight modifications could keep the animal out of your immediate environment. Its possible they aren’t even interested. (This feels fantastic but I feel like the last time I tried to read up on ‘how to keep snakes away from house/out of garden’ the results were basically Dont Have A Garden And Dont Go Outside so)

- I now want a garden toad friend time to find a broken pot to put upside down in the garden

- Early spring bulbs like low iris, species tulips, hyacinths, and crocus will supply nectar at a highly valuable time of year, attracting pollinators to the garden.

- Cleaning up fallen leaves destroys butterflies overwintering under plants.

- Birds will be lured in by the sound of moving water.

- Include prickly shrubs and thorned trees to help give birds a hiding space from predators like hawks or urban cats. Just keep thorny branches out of pathways.

Living with Road Maintenance and Utilities

- If you live in a place where roads are sanded or salted in winter, try to find salt-tolerant plants for your area. To protect curbsides from water logging and salt buildup, slope the ground towards the road/path. Direct salt-laden runoff into a seasonal stream or rain garden planted with salt-resistant species. A berm and/or row of salt-tolerant plants can protect sensitive plants from said salts. Frequent shallow waterings create a buildup of salts in the top layer of soil—deep watering helps flush salts out of the soil.

- Plants can be damaged by piling snow, and soil can be compacted underneath. Make sure the garden includes an area for piling snow, possibly a rain garde or bioswale to shovel into/let meltwater flow to.

- call the local utility company before you make bigass changes to your lawn PLEASE don’t hit a utility line. Also don’t plant tough, deep-rooted masses of roots over shallowly buried utility lines. Consider paths of loose gravel/mulch/stepping stones, shallow-rooted ground covers, and/or annuals and other easily replaced plants.

- Vines can be grown on individual wires, metal fencing, latticework, or wooden poles. Match the vine’s growth habit to the structure you want it to climb. HOWEVER regulations may prohibit stuff like this, and you’ll have to be ready to move/remove any added trellising and plants when maintenance time comes around.

- Shrubs can conceal metal boxes and other equipment, or you can use perennials. When using foliage to hide electrical boxes and other utility containers, keep clear access to any doors and allow their complete range of motion.

- If you can’t/don’t want to mask an object, try shielding it from view in certain vantage points. Or incorporate the colors of the equipment into the garden by mimicking the color scheme.

Living with the Public

- Especially if you’ve got a sidewalk running through the front yard, you have to consider EVERYBODY who’s going through there. Strangers, neighbors, vehicles, animals. Pedestrian traffic is an important consideration—wheelchair users, strollers, children, dogs, and depending on where you are even horses are something to keep in mind.

- Elements that can encourage traffic include mat forming ground covers, level places, and paved/graveled/mulched open areas. Elements that discourage traffic include protective fencing, uneven or sloping surfaces, and plants that are tall or look uncomfortable to touch.

- To minimize damage from foot traffic, enlist self-repairing plants whose stems are capable of rerooting when they’re broken and come into contact with soil. Self sowing plants can seed to fill in bare spots, and running plants can spread to fill gaps.

- Protect your nonwalkable plants with edges, hedges, and other hardscape choices. Berming or hollowing planting areas while keeping paths level can be a more effective strategy. Or you can densely plant s low, prickling, spreading shrub to bar passage.

- If visitors will be parking on the street, make sure they can exit their cars safely, and provide a clear path to your door. Said path can be straight and wide, or meandering. Guests on wheels need to be considered though.

- Plants with high moisture content should be planted closer to the curb where fire is a concern. Idling cars can emit occasional sparks and you don’t want long dry grass catching a spark. Instead consider succulents or a rock/stepping stone border along the edge, and keep dry leaves/pine needles from accumulating near parking.

- Fruit or nut trees can yield a notable surplus. Check for gleaning organizations in the community that may pick your extra edibles for personal use or charitable distribution. Or leave them for neighbors to enjoy.

- When clearing paths consider people’s feet and their faces. Keep prickly branches out of the way, take note of sharp leaves or pollen-laden plants that can make a walkway into an obstacle course hazard. If your area is prone to ticks, keep vegetation far enough from the public walk that it won’t brush against people.

- Some people don’t fucking respect gardens, or don’t have manners. Don’t put super mega rarities or plants you can’t afford to lose where the public can access them easily. Or like. You can. But be warned I’ve seen at least 5 stories of people’s front gardens getting defoliated for ‘bouquets’.

- Frequent presence in a garden (or signs of it) can deter littering, vandalism, and other mischief. A garden that looks well kept can discourage negative attention.

- Consider the garden from several points of view. If you’ve got a lot of neighborhood kids and dogs running around, keep poisonous plants near the back. A mulching of large rocks can lead to trouble with rambunctious gremlins. Etc etc.

- The curbside garden can be a great way to build community. You can even encourage communal use. Include a bench for chilling near the sidewalk, fresh food free for all to pick, a sunflower house or bed of pine cones for kids to play, a bowl of water for passing dogs, etc.

- if you want more curbside gardens in your area, consider sharing extra plants, forming a neighborhood garden club, make a list of Good Neighborhood Plants, establish a local contest, give tours of your yard, persuade a local agency or organization to offer grants, and/or lobby to change restrictive regulations.

#ani rambles #out of queue #liveblogging books #outdoor gardening #hellstrip gardening

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magz · 6 months

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hello i was wondering if you had any information or thoughts about unification for DR & Haiti / “unified kiskeya”? I’ve seen this idea(?maybe it was hypothetical?) in relation to Cyprus and to a lesser extent Palestine. Though that of course confused me as these are all 3 regions with different legacies from imperialism, but maybe i could see some connecting lines.

Some context:

There was a time when Haiti n Dominican Republic were unified for like. 22 years. In 1820s-1840s. But you'll likely find it called "Haitian occupation"

N then D.R. revolted and seperated from Haiti ("dia de independencia dominicana" - february 27, 1844),

D.R. made anti-black anti-Haitian propaganda,

and D.R. was at risk of re-conquested n re-enslaved by Spain, because of seperating from Haiti, so Haiti had to still help them right afterward too...

Both Haiti and Dominican Republic were colonized by France and Spain respectively,

but Dominican Republic is more "proud" about being colonized n Spanish "heritage"... despite all the death, suffering, and such.

A lot of Haiti's fertile land was intentionally destroyed by the French. France put Haiti in enormous debt + pushed Haiti to be excluded from other countries, for even daring to liberate themselves from enslavement.

while Dominican Republic retained the fertility of soil and benefit from Haitian labor while discriminating against Haitians n those of Haitian descent (Haitian-Dominican).

The anti-Haitian sentiment was at its peak when dictator Trujillo was in charge, resulting in several anti-Haitian massacres like the Parsley massacre in october 1937 - that killed Haitian, dark-skinned black people, anyone who pronounced "perejil" in a Haitian way. With Trujillo wanting Haitian n dark skinned black people to be wiped out and whitened from population.

Currently, there often tightening of Haitian-Dominican border. Still people hiring Haitians for domestic work (maids, caretakers, food distribute) n hard labor (construction, waste), but paying them much lower, while make immigration difficult. N of course police n medical discrimination. Xenophobia.

Am Dominican of supposedly Haitian descent on biological father but was never claimed on birth certificate anyways (born out of wedlock), but am less discriminated against than Haitian-Dominicans with documented heritage.

But at same time - Haiti is negatively affect by, occupied by, wrecked by, bigger countries n organizations even more "effectively". Haiti not have stable government n infrastructure, they have no chance to. Though Haitians are resilient people.

United States, U.N., whatever other countries want to. Will mess with n extract value from Haiti (like charity scams ala Bush Foundation, like mining, like other country military popping into Haiti, n much more)

So at moment, unification of quiskeya n Hayti not the priority on activist mind quite as much as getting those influence out n end exploitation.

A proper Unified Hayti / Quiskeya would be nice if it worked out tho.

#anonymous #ask post #o post #response #antiblack racism #xenophobia #haiti #sij #colonialism #dominican republic

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alyjojo · 7 months

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November 😶‍🌫️ 2023 Monthly - Cancer

Whole of your energy: Knight of Pentacles

For some of you, you’ve put a lot of work into something, weeks, months, years even being the slowest Knight. This whole reading is one of being stuck in a rut. Your meditation was thousands of crabs, heading into the door with me, there was a small creek with a huge boat in it, blocking the crabs’ home, some huge body of water, right in front of this boat. Half the crabs just went around it and into the water. The other half, and you I presume, went on the boat, expecting it to go somewhere. But…that big thing wasn’t going anywhere, it couldn’t, and these crabs are just burning up in the sun, waiting for nothing. They *could* hop right off, into the water, and some do, but not all. It’s like you’ve found a nice shady spot on a boat to nowhere, or that’s at least how you’re *feeling*, your feelings here match it.

You’re reliable, dependable, you work hard and you know it, you have an eye for details and do every job to the best of your ability, you don’t half ass or leave things unfinished. But you feel restless, bored, apathetic, same shit different day, nothing gets better or changes at all. Some of you could have a literal injury, 9 Wands is here and this Knight is in a wheelchair, it doesn’t have to be that serious but in the case you’ve been kept from working because of an injury, that’s being reflected here too. Wanting to do something, but unable to, and losing your marbles from boredom & monotony, however that applies to you.

What’s going on in November:

Ace of Swords:

You’re aware of your situation, and could be waking up to just how long you’ve worked towards something, how much effort you’ve put in, all of the stacks you feel are against you. Competition, conflict, a saturated market, depending on what you do, others are direct competitors or they’re generally a problem with whatever you’re doing. It can simply be people don’t know how to communicate and you’re left wondering what’s going on, what should you do next? If you work on a team, it’s not a very effective one, everyone is against everyone and there’s a lot of drama that’s a burden on you, you don’t want it.

Temperance:

You’re calm, patient, and have been. You take your time, in fact you’ve pulled every single card here that indicates a long time. Patience. You’re really stressed out by your situation, the other people around you, there are a lot of fears and worries surrounding them and what’s going on there. The High Priestess can show you fearing secrets, maybe that others know things you don’t, others are talking about you behind your back, conspiring against you or something. Some level of paranoia. Is it paranoia or is it intuition? That’s always a fine line sensitive people walk, especially the water signs 💯 You try to calm your own fears, on the outside people probably have no idea, but this is always on your mind.

7 Pentacles:

You’ve put in a lot of time and effort into something, probably a job, a project, something that’s taken a lot of energy or investment from you and you’re not keen to just throw it away or have people fk it up for you. This card is having done all of the work and planted your seeds, will they bear fruit or is this fruitless and you have to pick up and start over someone else, with more fertile soil? The Hermit follows showing you’re willing to go it alone, if you have to, or maybe even you’re already going at it alone, just to be safe. People stress you out, or these specific people around you do anyway. You don’t want their drama, you just want to be left alone.

9 Wands:

You’ve been hurt, or could be & be very careful yeah? If you’ve already had an injury, it could be affecting how you do your job, whether you’re able to continue in the same way you always have. You could be needing to take it slower or like, if you’re a carpenter, you’re needing to take on tasks less physically demanding. It’s possible you’re hurt AT work. Please follow all safety precautions 💯 I don’t like this energy, but it’s not for everyone.

For some, your job could be implementing changes that affect how you do things, or what you do entirely. If so, you don’t seem thrilled about that. You could simply be feeling guarded on future changes based on past ones or current ones that irritate you. You’ve definitely been through it where work is concerned.

The Chariot:

Transportation could become an issue, or that could be some aspect of what’s being changed or implemented with your job. Example, everyone has to park five miles away and take a shuttle, so get here an hour early - without extra pay. Or forced travel, but not a convenient or exciting kind. Five days in meetings, somewhere boring, with not much food around. Gas station sandwiches yum 😣 Something stupid that makes you just…if you hadn’t already put in the amount of time you have up to this point… But you have. And you feel like you don’t have a choice any other way. For those of you out of work or with injury/illness (I’m getting more like chronic pain for “illness”, not contagious), your own ambition and boredom could fuel your desire to seek whatever you can find, anything different. Something nearby, that you can do. I do get things are slow moving and your options are limited, you can only do what you can. Sending you all of the positive & healing vibes Cancer, hang in there 🙏

Signs you may be dealing with:

Cancer, Sagittarius, Virgo & Gemini

Oracles: ✨

13 Abundance 💰

Abundance takes on many forms: material possessions, friendships, excellent health, emotional stability, unique experiences…

When you lock yourself into a narrow view on what defines abundance, you lose out on the whole picture of what it *could* mean. Open yourself up to as many forms of wealth and abundance that are possible and watch your blessings multiply. Always remember that focusing on what you do not have is a sure-fire way to feed the energy and make that your truth. Every day watch for signs of abundance from the universe - acknowledge and be thankful, thus encouraging the continued flow of energy. Remember the universe will always provide you with what you need.

We enter into November as:

Pistachio 🎩

“I’ve got all I could ever need, right here.”

Excuses. Excuses. Excuses. They can begin to snowball. Pistachio wants you to live the life that he can’t seem to participate in. He is saying “Stop waiting for the right time to live your life!” This isn’t the dress rehearsal, it’s the real thing. You could be on the verge of something big, and if you don’t participate, you’re going to watch it pass you by. Don’t let anything prevent you from taking a chance. It is important to do what you love to do, but are you letting new experiences in? Or are you in a comfort zone that’s leading nowhere? Doing the same thing and expecting something different is not likely. The time is now to take a risk, talk to people, show up for life! Live now! Don’t wait another day.

What is to be learned in November:

Blue November 🕊

“ A window is opened as a door gently closes.”

The passing of things in our lives is inevitable. Jobs, people, friendships, or relationships. This card is a message that whatever is going on requires a release on your part. There is no healthy escape from your own feelings. This card is a reminder that what is taken away is replaced with something else, in some form, eventually. You may not even be aware of the loss, but others around you are feeling it, in some cases. This could represent some unexpected news. You must be grateful for what you have. A coming celebration will pull you through whatever is coming. Do not be afraid that you are avoiding your feelings by celebrating. Your feelings will surface, and resurface, when they’re supposed to. Whatever is pending that you must face will not be as frightening as it is in your mind.

Blue may be a lucky color 💙

#cancer #monthly tarot reading #November 2023 #astrology #tarot #tarot blog #tarotblr

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wuxiaphoenix · 11 months

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Colors of Another Sky: Mending a Nation Follow-up

Some neat comments on that last bit! There were so many good questions I thought I’d put together a lengthy reply here, because it’s all connected and things get complicated.

First, let me give you the framework I’m building all of these plans off of. And that’s Jason Finn, retired historian (ahem encouraged to quit), 58, of Irish, Scots-Irish, and general American mutt extraction, who is an expert in Tokugawa-era Japan and a hobbyist in the Little Ice Age. None of this makes him any kind of expert on Joseon-era Korea.

(Which is just as well, because they’ve had a few centuries of oddly divergent history anyway.)

Jason does have a lot of patchy info on this time in Korea as it intersected with Japan (a major trading partner) and as the whole area was affected by the Little Ice Age (floods, frosts, baking heatwaves, droughts, dragons, locusts, horrible crop failures all over the place).

Outside of that, before he took this little trip, he tried to get down a basic vocabulary of modern Korean, plus all the hangul characters. And because he is from Florida he made sure he learned the word for shark, hoping he’d never have to use it. Oops.

Sure, he brought plenty of books... on an e-reader. Physical books are heavy. The e-reader may or may not be recoverable. Until he knows that he’s got maybe two physical books on Korea besides the dictionary, and they will be of limited use. He also has an (ahem, almost) fourteen-year-old fan of k-dramas.

...I can hear you facepalming from here. Go ahead and laugh. Even Jason thinks it’s kind of funny.

So. A bunch of points, in no particular order.

First, cotton is at this point in time already a major crop and fabric through the entire peninsula. Almost everybody wears cotton; even some yangban, in the summer. Though they tend to wear more ramie and linen.

So my best guess is that anything that made growing and harvesting cotton easier (not just the gin, there’s getting better seed germination, killing pests, keeping the soil fertile - a host of things!) would result in not more effort thrown into cotton, but more into growing silk. Everyone wants silk.

Silk-raising takes a lot of skill and care, to the point it pretty much requires workers get decent food, clothing, and rest. Or your whole crop of silkworms is ruined. Add that to, a large part of the thing about yangban owning nobi was not how much work they could get out of them, but the status of owning that many nobi. They have no need to work people into the ground, if they can make more profit setting nobi to other tasks.

...Speaking of silk, once Jason has a grip on where and when he is (and gets over the panic), he’s going to come up with a plan to rescue a particular town of silk workers in China. Famines are on schedule to wipe them out, and the few that in our timeline survived to flee to other regions couldn’t take their large and heavy looms. An entire style was lost.

While we’re on the subject of weaving.... powered looms and spinning machines were some of the first serious impetus for industrialization, often starting with water power. A steam engine can be put in a wider variety of places to be useful, but it requires fuel. Fuel is in short supply! Most of that available on the Korean Peninsula is wood, or charcoal. I’ll need to do research into nearby regions, but I can assure you Jason would have absolutely no clue where to look for fossil fuels outside of “I know Japan mines them, and that’s a bit far to ship....”

The existence of magic and how it works does allow for the possibility of steam engines. But it’ll take some creativity. And maybe a few booms.

About mass armies taking over versus small elite armies... I hate to break it to whoever didn’t know this, but Northeast Asia has had mass armies going at it since well before 600 A.D. The Imjin War involved lots and lots of gunfire!

Low interest loans to farmers would help. Interest could go up to something like 50% in this time and place, and bankruptcy doesn’t exist. Hence people ending up having to sell themselves to cover debts.

...And this circles back around to part of why I made Jason Irish. He has a personal historical connection to bad agriculture, bad leadership, bad debts, the horrible consequences of the Little Ice Age on food production (the potato blight was one), and people having to flee a system that would not let them pick themselves up and try again. He’s planning to make things better.

And yes, that’s going to include translating various concepts. The ones in the Declaration of Independence are going to be shocking....

As far as a reading list goes, I started from Everyday life in Joseon-Era Korea (ed. Michael D. Shin), worked my way through the Wikipedia bits on nobi, and started searching outward across the internet by way of people blogging on sageuks (historical k-dramas) and open access articles on JSTOR about Joseon, the Imjin War, and nobi. (thetalkingcupboard.com has a lot of good stuff on Joseon history and cultural setting.)

#creative writing #worldbuilding #colors of another sky

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iloveminecraftandvideogames · 11 months

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DEFORESTATION IMPACTS

Globally, 13 hectares of forest are cut down every 30 seconds. That’s about 32 football fields. Deforestation is the process of cutting down more trees than are being replanted. Those forests are cut down mainly for shelter and fuel. In the past, most people would only be able to cut down one or maybe two big trees on a good day. However, modern-day machinery allows clear-cutting, which is essentially the removal of most or all trees in an area, in a much shorter time. Forests are a renewable resource if they are left alone to regrow after they are cut down. New trees can be planted and harvested in 20-50 years. However, not all forests are renewable. For example, old-growth forests take 100s of years to grow. This does not stop people from harvesting these trees. Some reasons forests are cut down are to clear land, farming, mining, create roads, and building human settlements. This destroys habitats, exposes soil to erosion, and natural waterways are also destroyed or permanently altered. Deforestation has impacts on both our environment and daily lives, which is dangerous for the future of humanity. In other words, humanity is sailing too close to the wind.

If a tree falls in the forest, does anybody hear? It’s a commonly used idiom, but it’s time to take it literally. Many trees are “falling” in the forest due to deforestation. It affects soil health, which affects our food health, leading to malnutrition and food poisoning. It also affected places of historical significance, including some ancient settlements in Sweden. While trees were being cut down in Sweden, some historic sites were uncovered. Deforestation also has caused the Penan people of Sarawak, Malaysia many problems. For example, they depend on it for food, shelter and medicine. However, this is quickly changing because deforestation is ruining the ecosystem. Also, the sago palm, which is a traditional food source for the Penan, is now endangered due to deforestation. In other words, many problems have arisen because of deforestation.

Deforestation also has many environmental impacts, which are mostly negative. To list a few, it causes soil erosion, flooding, and contributes to climate change, and results in the loss of habitats and plants. To go into further detail, it causes the degradation of soil, which then leads to flooding and other impacts. Tree roots anchor the soil to the ground. Without trees to hold the soil in place, it is more likely to be eroded by wind and water. This removes the topsoil, making the land infertile. Trees also naturally absorb water and release it slowly back into natural waterways. Without trees, all the water goes directly into waterways. Heavy rains can cause flooding because rivers would fill up far too quickly. This would then also wash away more soil. In extreme cases, landslides can also occur, which would cause more damage to the environment.

Another impact of deforestation is the increased speed of global warming and climate change. This is because when there is no fertile soil, there are no plants, and we are already cutting down the trees. This essentially means there is less or no more forest. Forests are natural absorbers of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. When forests absorb carbon dioxide, they also reduce the speed, and impact of global warming. For example, a tree in the temperate regions can absorb up to 13 kg of carbon dioxide from the air, while trees in the tropical region can absorb up to 40 kg of carbon dioxide per year. It is estimated that forests absorb up to 40% of the carbon dioxide released by human activity. However, when trees are cut down, they release the carbon dioxide that is currently in them, meaning that there is more carbon in the air.

In addition, deforestation also upsets the balance of plants and animals, similar to how removing sharks from seas upsets the balance of life in the oceans. Tropical forests are home to millions of species living in a balanced ecosystem. This means that when trees are removed, habitats are lost. This also means that animals die, and others attempt to move to different habitats and occasionally enter human settlements. This results in conflicts between humans and animals, and why bears are snooping around your backyard. Many plants and animals have become endangered because of deforestation. Some have even become extinct, like the Tasmanian tiger. One example of an endangered species is the Sumatran tiger in Indonesia, it is the last species of tiger in the area with less than 400 left in the wild.

Deforestation doesn’t only affect the environment, it also affects us homo sapiens (humans). Some stakeholders are people who live around forest areas and depend on them for forest resources, and indigenous people, like the Penan people of Malaysia. It also affects historical sites, like those in Sweden. Even though deforestation generates billions of dollars and provides jobs for many people in rural communities, it also has negative impacts. For example, many people lose access to forest resources such as fuel and food. It also speeds up global warming, which causes many problems to human society, and poses an imminent threat to the future of humanity.

Moreover, deforestation also leads to land degradation, as the tree roots are no longer holding the soil together, allowing erosion to occur. Due to climate change, farmers are already forced to use soil that is not as fertile and rich in nutrients as it once was. Farmers also overuse the soil, which also causes soil degradation. This means that the soil becomes less productive, and can’t produce as much food, which also results in poorer food quality. In extreme cases, the land may no longer be able to produce enough, which forces farmers to relocate. In other words, land degradation causes food production to be reduced and water sources to dry up, which in turn forces populations to move to more farmable or livable conditions. Land degradation has accelerated in the 20th and 21st centuries for many reasons, including the increase in deforestation. As there is less food, and food of poorer quality, threats of malnutrition from reduced water and food supplies, more water and food-borne diseases due to a lack of hygiene and a lack of clean water, and respiratory diseases caused by dust from wind erosion and other air pollutants is higher than ever. The spread of diseases is also sped up when populations migrate due to land degradation.

There are many actions we can take to slow the process of deforestation. Many local, national, and international organizations are working to protect forests around the world. Many individuals are also working to protect forests near them. For example, the Forest Stewardship Council (F.S.C.) is working to protect forests around the world. It is very similar to the Marine Stewardship Council, but for forests rather than the oceans. To support the F.S.C.’s movement, you should try to only buy F.S.C.-certified products. The F.S.C. certify the wood and paper that match its standards. They also ensure that trees are properly harvested and replanted, and also ask that the forestry processes respect the rights of the indigenous people. Therefore, buying F.S.C.-certified products encourages forestry companies to manage forests sustainably.

On top of that, the Global Forest Watch also aims to protect forests for future generations. The Global Forest Watch uses satellite imaging and other technologies to monitor the world’s forests. This information is compiled into a geographic information system (G.I.S.). The data from the G.I.S. is used to help governments manage forests sustainably. This allows governments to detect illegal and harmful activities quickly. One example of individual/community action was when people saw that the trees were being cut down while negotiations were being made, all the women from a village hugged trees so that the logging companies could not cut down trees. This created the Chipko (chip-co) movement. It demonstrated the importance of forests in some lives.

There are also many individual actions that you can take, such as planting trees and following “the three Rs”, which are reduce, reuse, and recycle. We can also look for labels that show they contain recycled content, go paperless, refuse delivery of flyers and catalogues, read newspapers online, and use reusable gift bags instead of paper gift wrapping. In conclusion, deforestation is having a variety of drastic effects, both on our environment and our daily lives. Therefore, we need to take action to protect our future and to stop deforestation.

#deforestation #science

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