Today is partly sunny and cool, a beautiful fall day.

I fed the birds.  I've seen several sparrows and house finches plus at least 3 goldfinches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 11/23/25 -- We spent an exasperating amount of time trying to set up for chipping the brush pile from the parking lot.

EDIT 11/23/25 -- We spent a bunch more time hassling around with the chipper.  We did get it going!  It produces quite small shreds.  They land right under the chipper.  We figure that putting a tarp underneath will be the best way to move the chips to an actual pile.  Hopefully tomorrow the weather will be clement enough to do actual chipping.

I am done for the night.

The five great forests that keep North America’s birds alive

Migratory birds that fill North American forests with spring songs depend on Central America’s Five Great Forests far more than most people realize. New research shows these tropical strongholds shelter enormous shares of species like Wood Thrushes, Cerulean Warblers, and Golden-winged Warblers—many of which are rapidly declining. Yet these forests are disappearing at an alarming pace due to illegal cattle ranching, placing both birds and local communities at risk.

Today we made a smoothie with:

1 cup Pom pomegranate-blueberry juice
1 cup Brown Cow vanilla yogurt
1 banana
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup ice

The result is bright red-violet and on the thin side.  It has a deeper fruit flavor from the pomegranate -- a nice fall smoothie. 

Today is cloudy, rainy, and cool.

I fed the birds. I haven't seen any activity today.

The birdbaths are already full from the rain.

EDIT 11/21/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I've seen several sparrows and house finches at the fly-through feeder, which is basically a little roof over a tray of seed. I can see why they'd prefer it today.

EDIT 11/21/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

I am done for the night.

Today's theme is Knitting.  You might also like my Hobbies: Knitting post with resources.

( Read more... )

This poem is spillover from the October 2025 crowdfunding Creative Jam. It was inspired by a prompt from readera. It also fills the "Do you trust me?" square in my 10-1-25 card for the Fall Festival Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by janetmiles. It belongs to the Frank the Crank arc in the Big One thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. It follows "The Clearest Signal" and "Set on Continuous Improvement," so read those first or this won't make as much sense.

( Read more... )

This poem is spillover from the October 2025 crowdfunding Creative Jam. It was inspired by a prompt from readera. It also fills the "Dark Side" square in my 10-1-25 card for the Fall Festival Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by janetmiles. It belongs to the Frank the Crank arc in the Big One thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. It follows "The Clearest Signal," so read that first or this won't make as much sense.

( Read more... )