The Blue Jungle

Glowworms turn cave ceilings into underground starscapes

In places sunlight never reaches, life still finds ways to produce light. Inside caves, beneath forests and across humid, hidden landscapes, tiny organisms emit an otherworldly glow that seems almost impossible. These creatures are known as glowworms. But this simple name hides a surprising level of biological diversity.

The term “glowworm” does not refer to a single species. It is a common name applied to several unrelated organisms that independently evolved bioluminescence. What connects them is not their ancestry, but the visual effect they create. These scattered points of living light make dark spaces appear stunningly celestial.

National Pollinator Week is June 15-21. In most places, this is a poor time of year to plant a pollinator garden. However, many summer flowers are blooming, so it's a great time to visit pollinator gardens or other wildlife sites in your area to look for pollinators. You could also collect seeds that have set from spring-flowering plants, many of which will be ripe by now.


6 WAYS TO CELEBRATE NATIONAL POLLINATOR WEEK

7 Things You Can Do for Pollinators

Encourages Pollinator Protection Every Day

Pollinator Week

Today is partly cloudy and mild.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 6/15/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

The golden rain tree is blooming.

EDIT 6/15/26 -- I potted up 7 Jonagold sprouts in two pots. I have a lot of stratified sprouts that I need to pot up. :D

EDIT 6/15/26 -- I potted up 3 Granny Smith sprouts in one pot.

EDIT 6/15/26 -- I picked up branches along the south side of the driveway and put them in the firepit. I was unable to clear the whole length due to several huge branches and overall amount of cut brush. *sigh* But more is clear than it was.

We have decided to use the northeast corner of the parking lot as a staging area for chippable brush that is too green for the firepit.

EDIT 6/15/26 -- I potted up 7 Ambrosia apple sprouts in two pots.

EDIT 6/15/26 -- I potted up 30 Ginger Gold apple sprouts in six pots.

EDIT 6/15/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 6/15/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 6/15/26 -- I potted up 3 yellow pear sprouts in one pot.

EDIT 6/15/26 -- I hauled the cut brush from the white garden to the northeast corner of the parking lot.

I walked around the yard a bit. Hundreds of fireflies are coming out. Some are in the fields, but more are in the grass and bushes in my yard. :D I saw at least one bat flying overhead too.

EDIT 6/15/26 -- We went out skywatching. We spotted Venus and Jupiter, but not Mercury or the first crescent moon.

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

This poll covers the ideas proposed in the recent call for themes. Everyone is eligible to vote in this poll. I will keep it open until at least Wednesday morning. If there are clear answers then, I'll close it. Otherwise I may leave it open a little longer. If you don't have a Dreamwidth account, you can vote in an anonymous comment or email to me, but include some kind of handle to distinguish yourself.

For this poll, you can vote for as many themes as you find appealing. I recommend that you don't vote for all of them, since that makes it harder to whittle down the list. The themes are arranged in alphabetical order.

Here are your options ...

( Read more... )

These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Today's Cooking (strawberry banana bread)
Space Exploration
Today's Cooking (crockpot chicken & black-eyed peas)
Birdfeeding
Politics
Climate Change
Birdfeeding
Wildlife
Philosophical Questions: Change
Economics
Review: Taste of Home Grand Prize Winners
Today's Adventures
Wildlife
Space Exploration
Birdfeeding
Follow Friday 6-12-26: Mystery
Conservation
Recipe: "Chicken and Peas Stir-Fry"
Music
Space Exploration
Birdfeeding
Community Thursdays
Storm Damage
Upcycling
Birdfeeding
Wildlife
Cuddle Party

Food has 25 comments. Poem: "Walnut Park" has 46 comments. Early Humans has 22 comments. Safety has 86 comments.


"Let's Go on This Journey Together" belongs to Polychrome Heroics. It needs $151 to be complete. Linus struggles to deal with a broken arm.

"No Faster or Firmer Friendships" belongs to Polychrome Heroics and needs $35 to be complete. Josué reads a funny poem to Maria-Vera.


The weather has been variable here. It has rained several times and was cooler today. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a male and a female cardinal separately, and a fox squirrel. I've heard bobwhite quail but haven't seen any. Fireflies are swarming. Currently blooming: pansies, violas, sweet alyssum, marigolds, honeysuckle, snapdragons, lantana, million bells, blue lobelia, petunias, portulaca, nemesia, fan flowers, wild chives, firecracker plant, pineapple sage, yucca, Asiatic lilies, daylilies, snowball viburnum, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, spiderwort, narrow-leaved mountain mint, elderberries, golden rain tree. Green fruit: tomatoes, cucumbers. Pink fruit: blackberries. Ripe fruit: mulberries, black raspberries.

Tonight I'm making Very Banana-y Whole Wheat Banana Bread with dried strawberries. :D

Today I'm making a crockpot with:

1 Maggi cube
enough water to cover the cube
2 skinless boneless chicken thighs
a couple handfuls dried mixed mushrooms
1/2 onion diced
half a bag of black-eyed peas (presoaked)
2 teaspoons Bragg Organic Sprinkle 24 Herbs & Spices
1 bay leaf

Basically just dump everything in the crock, turn on High, and cook for several hours.  So far it smells good! 

EDIT 6/14/26 -- This turned out quite well.  We even have enough left over for tomorrow's supper. \o/

Today is cloudy, mild, and wet. It rained last night. Grass and trees still have water on them.

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

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 6/14/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I heard bobwhite quail calling but didn't see any.

EDIT 6/14/26 -- We did a lot of work outside.

I've seen several sparrows and house finches.

EDIT 6/14/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 6/14/26 -- I picked up branches around the yard and used them to shore up the core for the next bonfire. Usually I stack several logs crosswise to form a chimney. I hadn't done that earlier, so instead I had to work around the pile of clingweeds I dumped in the other day. That's okay, I know multiple methods. The benefit of building a chimney for the bonfire is that it promotes airflow, allowing the fire to draw in cool air at the bottom, pull it up the middle, and emit hot air from the top. That makes the fire burn better.

EDIT 6/14/26 -- I picked berries north of the driveway. I got a scant handful of mulberries and about half a bag of black raspberries. Some of the blackberries have pink fruit, others are still green.

In some of the strips, lots of flowers are coming up -- zinnias, sunflowers, cosmos, and such. Most of the rows have sprouted in the telephone pole garden. :D Some have lots of flowers, others just a few.

I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.

EDIT 6/14/26 -- We trimmed low branches from the Home Base mulberry tree by the driveway.

EDIT 6/14/26 -- I picked a scant handful of mulberries from the south lot.

EDIT 6/14/26 -- I tried to crack open some white nectarine pits so I could sprout the seeds, but none of them were any good. Some had only shriveled seeds, others wouldn't break open at all. :/

EDIT 6/14/26 -- I did some bushwhacking around the white garden.

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