The Blue Jungle

This poem came out of the March 17, 2026 Bonus Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from dialecticdreamer. It also fills the "Thread" square in my 3-1-26 card for the National Crafting Month Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by fuzzyred. It belongs to the Mercedes thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.

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Today is sunny and mild.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches, plus a fox squirrel.

I put out water for the birds.

I set out some of the potted plants in flats.

4/26/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

4/26/26 -- I planted 4 petunias, 4 blue lobelia, and a 'Dusty Miller' artemesia in the blue chalk horse pot.

4/26/26 -- I planted two pots, each with 2 petunias, 4 white alyssum, and a 'Dusty Miller' artemesia. I put the last 'Dusty Miller' into the previous pot of yellow-and-white flowers.

When making a container garden of different flowers, it helps to create some unity by repeating elements. I do that with the fillers: 'Dusty Miller' artemesia, alyssum, and lobelia.

4/26/26 -- I potted up the three ice plants for the new picnic table garden. This concludes the batch of plants from DeBurh's.

4/26/26 -- We picked up dead weed stems from the edge of the south lot. We filled the wagon and only cleared about 3-4 feet by maybe 20 feet. :/

4/26/26 -- I got the groundcloth laid out; it's still flyaway and fragile, but at least on a calmer day I got it pinned down good enough for government work. I hauled out the solid-top pallet and sprayed the top side with waterseal.

4/26/26 -- I sprayed the underside of the solid-top pallet.

We rolled up the hose.

My partner Doug is going out to mow the little bit we got cleared.

4/26/26 -- I put the solid-top pallet back in the shed.

4/26/26 -- I did more work around the patio.





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This year during Three Weeks for Dreamwidth, I'm writing about reading as a way of becoming an expert in a given subject. Read Part 1: Introduction to Becoming an Expert.


Three Weeks for Dreamwidth Part 2: Architecture

Architecture is the art of designing and building structures, such as houses, offices, churches, or skyscrapers. It goes back only a little less far than humanity does. People have always needed shelters and event spaces, and started making their own rather early on. Here on Dreamwidth, check out farmhouseprints, flaneurs, photographic_i, and urban_photos.




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People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

What would be different if the 9/11 terrorist attack never occurred?


We would have a lot more freedom, privacy, and civil rights. I might still be willing to use airports.

The terrorists may have missed the White House, but they scored a direct hit on the American way of life. It's among the most effective terrorist attacks in recorded history, and it's still working.

Scientists just discovered Africa is closer to breaking apart than we thought

East Africa may be cracking open—and the same forces tearing it apart could be why we have such a vivid record of human origins.

Beneath East Africa’s Turkana Rift, scientists have found the crust is thinning to a critical point, suggesting the continent is gradually breaking apart. This “necking” process marks an advanced stage of rifting that could eventually lead to a new ocean forming millions of years from now. Surprisingly, the same geological forces that are splitting the land may also explain why the region holds such a rich fossil record. Instead of being the birthplace of humanity, Turkana may just be where the story was best preserved.


... or the rift could rip open suddenly and unexpectedly quite a bit sooner. Say, if some other part of the crust made a massive shift to release pressure. I wouldn't want to live or work near there. It's fascinating to watch from a safe distance though.