The Blue Jungle

I have made bingo down the N column of my 5-1-25 card for the Colors Fest bingo. I also have 4 extra fills.

N1 (true colors) -- "Show My True Colors" (Polychrome Heroics: Farce)
N2 (all that glitters is not gold) -- "Liberosis" (A Poesy of Obscure Sorrows)
N3 (WILD CARD: deep blue sea) -- "Ruling from Beneath" (Polychrome Heroics: Kraken)
N4 (silver-tongued) -- "Heartspur" (A Poesy of Obscure Sorrows)
N5 (riot of color) -- "Cause a Riot of Color" (Polychrome Heroics: The Big One and Shiv)

B4 (the green stuff) -- Cookie Jar Terrarium Part 2: Planting

I5 (grey area) -- "A Lens of Ice" (Polychrome Heroics: Rutledge)

G3 (caught red-handed) -- "The Care and Feeding of Supervillains" (Polychrome Heroics: Dr. Infanta and Kraken)
G4 (pale imitation) -- "The More Bizarre It Gets" (Polychrome Heroics: Trichromatic Attachments)

Today is mostly sunny and mild with a nice breeze.

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

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 5/30/25 -- I trimmed grass along the west edge of the new picnic table.

EDIT 5/30/25 -- I started trimming weeds around the purple-and-white garden.

EDIT 5/30/25 -- I trimmed brush along the north side of the path to the ritual meadow.  That filled two trolleys.

EDIT 5/30/25 -- I trimmed more brush along the north side of the path to the ritual meadow.  That filled two trolleys.

EDIT 5/30/25 -- I finished trimming brush along the north side of the path to the ritual meadow.

EDIT 5/30/25 -- I trimmed weeds around the birdgift apple tree.

I've seen a catbird, a mourning dove, and a fox squirrel.

EDIT 5/30/25 -- I pulled weeds around the maple tree and the purple-and-white garden.

EDIT 5/30/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.








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This post discusses cozy speculative fiction and includes some recommended reading. 

Today we went up to Champaign-Urbana.

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Elongated Muskrat has left the White House in disgrace.  While smart people could tell instantly that he is a giant asshole with delusions of competence, it took Republicans nearly 5 months to figure it out.

This is an advance announcement for the Tuesday, June 3, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. This time the theme will be "Gentleness Is Strength." I'll be soliciting ideas for caregivers, first responders, clergy, outreach workers, philanthropists, an anonymous benefactor, activists, volunteers, teachers, parents, comares, strongmen, tough guys, superheroes, supervillains, other gentle and strong people, caregiving, feeding each other, babysitting, brushing or braiding hair, catching someone who's falling, lifting heavy things, volunteering, supporting people in hard times, offering crash space, helping someone move, creating intimacy, making friends, getting to know each other, cooking together, discovering things, improvising, adapting, cooperating, bartering, sharing, fixing what's broke, changing the world, accomplishing the impossible, Triton Teen Centers, the Peace Store, charities, homeless shelters, clothing banks, food pantries, soup kitchens, sobering centers, mentor circles, support groups, gyms, churches, sharehouses, intentional communities, other polyhomes, social justice departments in schools, clubs, quiet rooms, inclusive workplaces, Thalassia, the Maldives, community gardens, other helper hangouts, self-control, intentional neighboring, altruism, harm reduction, diversity, inclusivity, activist symbols, interfaith work, family dynamics, alternative family structures, partnerships not based on sex/romance, emotional closeness, first contact, rescue, interspecies relationships, trial and error, teamwork, found family, complementary strengths and weaknesses, personal growth, and poetic forms in particular.

Among my more relevant series for the main theme:

The Blueshift Troupers travel the galaxy helping colonies solve problems.

Clay of Life depends on the friendship between a blacksmith and a golem.

Daughters of the Apocalypse relies a lot on kindness for survival.

Frankenstein's Family has diverse subgroups interacting, of which the vampires in particular are gentle with others.

The Moon Door features a women's chronic pain support group, which is all about being gentle with each other.

One God's Story of Mid-Life Crisis is about Shaeth learnng how to take care of his new followers.

Path of the Paladins balances gentleness and strength.

Peculiar Obligations is about Quakers and pirates learning to help each other.

Polychrome Heroics is largely about people helping people. Threads particularly focused on this include Antimatter and Stalwart Stan, Aquariana, the Big One, Iron Horses, Officer Pink, Rutledge, and Trichromatic Attachments.

Quixotic Ideas is fantasy with a gentle angle.

Schrodinger's Heroes save the world from alternate dimensions, and they take care of each other.

Or you can ask for something new.

Linkbacks reveal a verse of any open linkback poem.

If you're interested, mark the date on your calendar, and please hold actual prompts until the "Poetry Fishbowl Open" post next week. (If you're not available that day, or you live in a time zone that makes it hard to reach me, you can leave advance prompts. I am now.) Meanwhile, if you want to help with promotion, please feel free to link back here or repost this on your blog.

( New to the fishbowl? Read all about it! )

This post talks about time and money.



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Today is mostly sunny and mild.

We walked around the south lot, then my partner Doug mowed that. 

EDIT 5/26/25 -- I fed the birds.  I've seen several sparrows and house finches, a male cardinal, and a young fox squirrel.  Robins are foraging the newly cut grass.  We found a toad in the south lot, and I moved him to the shadier garden under the maple tree.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 5/26/25 -- I sowed partial shade wildflower seed mix in a pot on the old picnic table.  I sowed cypress vine seeds in the septic garden and around the support wire of the telephone pole.

EDIT 5/26/25 -- I watered the septic garden, patio plants, and a few other things.

EDIT 5/26/25 -- I watered the telephone pole garden, hollies, and Colorado blue spruce.

My partner Doug plans to mow the savanna next.

I've seen two catbirds, a grackle, and a female cardinal.

EDIT 5/26/25 -- I started trimming around things in the house yard.

EDIT 5/26/25 -- I finished the first bit of trimming around things in the house yard.

EDIT 5/26/25 -- I started trimming in front of the log garden in the house yard.

EDIT 5/26/25 -- I finished trimming in front of the log garden in the house yard.

EDIT 5/26/25 -- I trimmed brush along the path from the driveway to the savanna.

EDIT 5/26/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 5/26/25 -- I trimmed brush along the east side of the house.

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

These are the character notes for "The Release of Human Potentialities" Part 1: Prudence & Monroe.

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