#justin tree service

[dr-spencer-reids-queen]

Fight Back

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~3.3k

Warnings: angst, talk of being physically abused by a parent, scarring and branding because of the abuse

Request by anon: Could you do where there reader is a part of the Bau and the unsub is kidnapping and killing girls who look like her and it turned out it is her abusive father and when the team finds him the reader and him a a full fight and she gets him back for all the abuse she had to go through

Summary: A case brings up a past you’d rather much forget but haven’t moved on from. A past so traumatic that you have no choice but to take matters into your own hands.

Square Filled: make it look like an accident for @badthingshappenbingo

Author’s Note: any and all comments are appreciated <3

x

You enjoy traveling to different parts of the country for cases because you enjoy indulging in different cultures and trying new foods. Though, nothing beats being at home. Virginia PD has a case they requested your help on, and you love you can drive home at the end of the day instead of staying in a hotel room.

Detective Banks is already at the scene of a cliff where the body of Justine Frank was located. She was found naked by some hikers who called it in as soon as they got cell service. You and Spencer were tasked to meet with the detective who shakes your hand upon arrival.

“Thank you for coming. I didn’t have anyone touch her until I knew you were done.”

“Good choice. Thank you.” Upon first glance and ignoring the fact that she’s naked, you think she could have landed here after a bad tumble off the cliff. “Detective, why call us out here? Surely your men can handle this one, no?”

“There are four more just like her. We thought it was an accident at first, but more than three is a pattern. We’re stumped.”

Spencer leans down to inspect the body closer with gloved hands. He touches the underside of her wrist and notices fresh wounds.

“Rope burns. She was bound.”

“Was she bound when she went off the cliff?”

We seem to think so,” Detective Banks answers, “but the ME will be able to determine that better than I can.”

“You say it’s a pattern. What makes you think it is?” you ask.

“When one woman shows up, another woman is reported missing. Based on that, it’s safe to assume he already has another victim.”

You’re about to leave when you notice something on Justine’s back. You grab a glove and kneel next to her body to get a closer look. You move her hair to the side and notice a mark on her shoulder blade.

“What is it?” Spencer asks.

“There’s a mark here. I’m not sure if it’s a mark sustained in the fall or if she had it before. I think the rocks and tree branches scratched it up a bit.”

Spencer runs his finger over the mark and frowns. “It’s raised. Like a brand.”

You take out your work phone and snap a picture of the mark so that you can analyze it later. Once done, you and Spencer head back to the police station to meet up with the rest of the team. Hotch and Emily just got back from the ME’s office at the same time you and Spencer got back.

“Did you find anything?” you ask as you walk into the conference room.

“All four victims had ligature marks around their wrists most likely caused by ropes, but the ME says the wounds are much older from when they were found.”

“They were probably bound when they were being thrown over the cliffs, right?”

“Could be or they were bound while being held.”

Spencer gathers the pictures of all five women and pins them to the bulletin board along with their names, a few crime scene photos, and other important details.

“Would you look at that? They look similar,” you point out. “Our unsub has a type.”

Derek dials Penelope and patches her through the phone on the desk so everyone can hear her.

“Hey dollface, ready to work some magic for me?” Derek grins.

“Challenge me, you beautiful behavioral analyst,” she giggles.

“We’re looking for a connection with the victims. Did they know each other? Run in the same circle? Go to the same grocery store? Anything you can see.”

“Even the hidden stuff. Uno momento.”

“If they went to the same kinds of stores, we could be looking at hundreds of employees and even more customers,” you say.

“Let’s hope they didn’t go to the same store, then,” Rossi chuckles.

“A connection they had. They all came from different circles and socioeconomic backgrounds, but they all have one thing in common. They all had different work done on their house with the same contracting company,” Penelope says.

“Where are they located?” Emily asks and grabs a pen and pad.

“Sorry, babe, they don’t have an office. Everything is done through a PO box. It’s more of a mom-and-pop contracting company than a big business. There is only a handful of employees who all live in different parts of the state, and I mean I can count them all on one hand. Addresses are already sent.”

“Thanks, Mama.” Derek hangs up the phone. “Looks like we’re splitting up.”

You and Spencer. Derek and JJ. Emily and Rossi. Banks and Hotch. Four different employees, four different groups. You and Spencer pull up to the house but you don’t get out just yet.

“Are you okay?”

“Something doesn’t feel right with this case. Something is eating at you, but I don’t know what it is.”

“Everyone has a case that gets to them. I know I have a lot.”

“It’s more than just getting to me. There was something familiar about the mark on Justine’s body. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just paranoid.”

You and Spencer get out of the car and walk up the porch steps to the front door. You knock twice, and a middle-aged balding man answers the door.

“Can I help you?”

“I’m Agent Y/N and this is Dr. Reid. We’re with the FBI. May we ask you a few questions?”

“What is this about?”

“We’re investigating a few murders, and one of the leads happens to take us to the contracting company you’re employed with.”

The man steps out and closes the door behind him. “Sorry, my wife and daughter are sleeping. They’re sick with the flu, and I don’t want to wake them. What do you need to know?”

“Where were you on the week of October 14th?”

“At home with my family. They can’t seem to shake his flu. We had our pediatrician come over to check on poor Lily.”

You take out the pictures of the victims and show them to him. “Do you know any of these women?”

“I know her.” He points to Destiny Ray, the second victim. “She called my company for a roof repair. I’m sorry, am I in trouble?”

“No, you’re not. We’re just trying to establish a timeline. Who gets the assignments?”

“My boss.”

“Who is your boss?”

“I don’t know,” he says shyly.

“You don’t know who you work for?” Spencer asks. “How did you get the job?”

“I saw an ad on Craigslist because I was desperate for work. I just got laid off from my other job and I’d have taken anything at that point. I was supposed to meet with my boss but after one text, he hired me. We did all the paperwork online, and he sent me money orders after every job. I go to the bank. They’re legit money orders. Whenever there is a job, he texts me or the other three employees.”

“May we see some of the messages from your boss?”

“Sure.”

He takes out his phone and pulls up the messages. Spencer gets Penelope on the phone and reads the phone number back to her, but no luck. It’s a burner phone. If you had to guess, his boss is the unsub. Your phone rings and you step off to the side to answer Hotch’s call.”

“Yeah, Hotch?”

“There’s been another body. You and Reid are closer.”

“We’re on it.” You hang up and turn to the man. “Thank you for your help. Please call us if you remember anything else.”

You hand the man your card before you leave with Spencer. Detective Banks is already on the scene when you get there. Like with Justine, this new victim was found at the bottom of a cliff. This cliff is much smaller than the last one, and she isn’t naked. Only her shirt is torn to pieces from falling over rocks and sharp branches.

“Her name is Kaylee Robinson. A mountain biker found her not that long ago.”

“That was quick. He didn’t even wait a day before killing another woman.”

You grab some gloves and kneel next to the body. You move the tattered shirt away from her shoulder blade to see if the mark on Justine is just a mark or if it’s on all of them. You don’t know why you do this. Something is telling you to. Because Kaylee’s clothes protected her body, the mark wasn’t ruined by nature.

You gasp in horror when you see the mark for what it truly is.

“What is it?”

“I need to see the other bodies.”

You don’t want to say anything just in case if you’re wrong about this. If you’re not, you have a much bigger problem on your hands. You and Spencer leave Detective Banks at the scene to go to the ME who still has the other four victims’ bodies.

“You’re freaking me out, Y/N. What did you see?”

“Hold on. I need to check something.” With Spencer’s help, you lift all four victims so you can examine the shoulder blades. Just as you feared, there is the same mark on each of them. “Oh, this is bad.”

“What is?”

“Every victim has a mark on their shoulder blade. It’s a brand as if it was caused by a hot poker or a branding machine. Justine’s mark was mangled from the fall, but it was there. I’ve seen it before.”

“Where?”

You turn away from Spencer in shame and pull down your shirt to expose your shoulder blade. Right there, on the top, is the same branding mark.

“On me.” You face Spencer but refuse to look in his eyes. “My father put it there. He’s the one who burned it into my skin, and I know he’s burned it into theirs.”

“Your father? I never knew that. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“How could I tell my boyfriend that my father used to abuse me? I was ashamed and I still am. I don’t want to be. I’ve put this behind me.”

“You know we have to tell the team, right?”

“Yeah,” you whisper.

You’d hope to keep this side of your past a secret from everyone but who knew your father would do such a thing like this? You’re quiet the rest of the ride back to the station and when you walk into the police station.

“I think we found our unsub,” Spencer blurts out.

“I noticed a mark on Justine’s shoulder blade. I thought it was nothing, at first, until Kaylee had one. The same mark. Spencer and I went to the ME’s office because I wanted to see if the others had the same mark on their shoulder blades. They did.”

“What mark?” Emily asks.

You turn and show them the mark on your shoulder. “This mark. My father put it there after a really bad night.” You turn back around. “My father used to beat me and took his anger out on me with cigarettes. Fortunately, those marks have healed but he didn’t like that. I got really good at hiding the marks he left on my body when he decided to brand me instead. A mark I couldn’t hide. He made me wear clothes that showed off my shoulders so that everyone knew I belonged to him. The mark is his initials.”

“What happened after that?” JJ asks. “I mean, how did you get away from him?”

“He went to jail on a count of theft. A convenience store. My mother had passed shortly after I was born. I was put into foster care, but I was almost eighteen so I didn’t stay there long. I didn’t know he got out.”

“What’s his name?” Hotch asks.

“Peter Kamps.”

Derek dials Penelope, and you sit down at the table in silence. You had to have seen this coming eventually. It was foolish of you to think you had escaped him forever. Spencer walks behind you and puts a hand on your shoulder for support.

“We have a name. What can you tell me about Peter Kamps with a K.”

“Oh, I can tell you a lot about him. For starters, he has an arrest record that’s a mile long. Save for rape, this guy has done it all. B&E, murder, kidnapping, assault and battery, and even drug charges. He owns a contracting company called Big Al’s Crew that only has four employees. He has one daughter… Oh…”

“It’s okay, Pen, they know,” you say.

“I am so sorry, Y/N.”

“Garcia, do you have an address?”

“I have two. One is a house that’s been in his name even after he went to prison. I guess he had someone looking after it.” All eyes turn to you. “Another is a farming property that he uses for his contracting company and other side businesses. That one is in his name but is behind on payments.”

“If you have his addresses, you’re already too late,” you say. “I bet he’s moved on by now.”

“Let’s go.” You get up but Hotch stops you from following them. “You have to stay here.”

“What?”

“You have a history with him. We can’t afford anything to go wrong.”

You’re left alone in the police station like a child, but maybe it’s for the best. You know they won’t find anything at both places. One, you’ve been taking care of your childhood home which is why he hasn’t lost it yet. Two, you’ve been to the farmhouse plenty of times on your own. They’re not going to find anything there.

But you know where you will find something.

This time, you’re going to do something you should have done a long time ago.

Fight back.

You grab your jacket and leave the station in hopes they left one of the cars behind. Luck is on your side because they did, and you find the keys in the center console. Hotch made it a rule to leave all keys inside the car when not in use because he’s had to deal with a few too many locked cars in the past.

You lied to Spencer.

You’re not over it. You’ve been waiting for this moment the first time he laid his hands on you. You drive out of town and to a desolate neighborhood. The only people who live here are runaways and drug lords. You park in front of a two-story house and get out nervously. You might be ready to finally fight back but you’re nervous as hell. The front door is ajar when you approach it, and you kick open the door slowly and carefully. The house is dark and silent, two things that terrify you.

The flashlight on your gun is the only thing that’s lighting your way as you make your way through the house. The stairs creak when you step on them. If he’s here, he knows you’re here now. Most of the bedrooms are empty without a hiding space big enough to fit someone like your father. The last place you check is the master bedroom which has few furniture pieces in it.

“I was wondering when you would find me.”

You freeze from hearing his voice from behind you. Stay strong, Y/N. He’s not going to win this time. You turn around and face the man responsible for destroying your youth and innocence.

“I did.”

He eyes the gun in your hands. “I’m assuming this isn’t a social call.”

“You sick son of a bitch. You killed all those women.”

“Call it substitution for the one I really wanted. You.”

“Yeah, well, I’m bigger now. You can’t break me down this time.”

“We’ll see,” he smirks.

You aim the gun at his head. “I could shoot you right now.”

“But you won’t.”

“You’re right. I won’t.” You lower the weapon and toss it onto the bed. “Guns were never your thing, and I want you to feel me kicking your ass.”

All the classes you took on self-defense amount up to this moment. You were picturing the instructor as your father. You were training for this exact moment. Your father rushes at you but you easily block his attempts to attack. You kick his legs and he crumbles to the ground, and you pounce on him before he can get back up. You wrap your hands around his neck and squeeze as tight as you can, but he’s always been more durable than you are.

He bucks his hips and kicks you off him, and you scramble to get away from him. He will kill you if he gets his hands on you but you’re not going to let that happen. You barely get to your feet when your father grabs you and slams you into the wall. He wraps his arm around your neck in a chokehold and puts his dirty mouth next to your ear. 

“What are you going to do now, little girl?”

“This.”

You push off the wall and use your father as support to basically walk on the wall. When your feet get high above his head, you swing backwards and punch him to the ground. The door is closer than your gun so you don’t even think about turning and sprinting out of the room. 

“You ungrateful little bitch! I’ll kill ya!”

Your father gets to his feet and runs after you. You barely make it to the railing by the stairs when he grabs a fistful of your hair and yanks you back into him. He uses all of his strength and slams your head nose-first into the splintering wooden railing. You crumble to the ground in a moan of pain. You can already taste and smell metal as your mouth and nose fills with blood. Your father pants and stands in front of the railing, looking down at you menacingly. The only thing to light this place is the dim moonlight.

“Have any last words?” he sneers.

“Yeah. I’ll see you in Hell.”

You kick him where the sun doesn't shine, and he doubles over in pain. His face is right in your line of attack, and you kick his face as hard as you can. He stumbles back in pain and trips over an uneven board. He slams into the wooden railing and it cracks under his bulky weight. He shouts in shock as he falls through the railing and down to the first floor.

You jump to your feet and look over the railing to see him impaled on a broken two by four. You move your eyes up slightly and see the front door wide open and your entire team standing there with guns in their hands.

“It was an accident?” you say, unsure of yourself.

The ambulance is called as well as the police. The front door is wide open so you’re able to see right into the house where your father fell. The paramedic is assessing your injuries while you’re staring at your father’s body. The man who tormented you, beat you, branded you, is dead. You killed him and you don’t even care if they arrest you for murder. You’d happily go to jail if it means he’s dead for good.

“You lied to me,” you pull your eyes away from your dad to look at Hotch, “and you disobeyed me.”

“Am I fired?”

“I’m tempted to do it right now.”

“I’m sorry, Hotch, but I’m not sorry I did it. If you were ever abused by someone and then learned you had the power to fight back, you’d understand why I had to do this.”

“My office when we get back.” He turns to leave but pauses. “Are you okay?”

“More than okay.”

“I’ll ride with you,” Spencer says when he approaches you.

“Spencer, I’m fine.”

“You dislocated your nose at best. You’re going to the hospital,” the paramedic says.

“Fine,” you chuckle.

“Next time, tell me when you’re going to do something like this, okay?”

“Okay,” you nod and kiss him.

x

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[helslastangel]

Pisces in the Houses

Pisces Ascendant (1H)

Seems dreamy; intuitive abilities are obvious to others. Sensitive to emotion in general - theirs and others. Goes with the flow and follows their instincts. Non-judgmental and accepting of many ways of being. Looks or seems younger than their age for a long time. Will not tolerate any disruption of their home & privacy. Often found in charts of actors, musicians and artists.

Pisces Ascendant celebrities include Michael Jackson, Ryan Gosling, Whitney Houston, Kourtney Kardashian, Alicia Keys, Gwyneth Paltrow, Bruno Mars

Pisces in 2nd House

Seems grounded, but often lose belongings. Focused on manifesting and achieving their dreams. Can be good at monetizing their skills and hobbies. Self-reliant, or try their best to be. Might live on a shoestring budget. Good at earning money but struggle with saving it. Self-worth fluctuates with assets or bank balance. May have a laid-back approach to finances.

Celebs with 2H Pisces: Matt Damon, Naomi Campbell, Megan Fox, Barack Obama, Nicki Minaj, Prince Harry, Zendaya, Carl Jung, Al Capone, Kaley Cuoco

Pisces in 3rd House

Excellent storytellers. May often be called on to speak on behalf of others. Likely sent by siblings to ask parents for permission. Persuasive people; may be the family spokesperson. In tune with gut instincts. Communication plays a significant role in their lives. Could be writers, professionally or as a hobby. Struggle to ground themselves. Always trying to escape. Passionate daydreamers with strong intuitions. I don't know why, but this placement reminds me of Floki from Vikings.

Celebs with 3H Pisces: Princess Diana, Oprah Winfrey, Anne Hathaway, Paris Hilton, Elizabeth Taylor, Kylie Jenner, Christiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Mother Theresa.

Pisces in the 4th house

Places a high value on family history. Might feel obligated to preserve heirlooms and family legacy. May enjoy looking into ancestry and family trees. Knows everyone at family reunions and easily spots a stranger. Needs a stable home environment to feel safe.May put a lot of effort into cultivating their safe spaces. Can be delusional about the people in their family and struggle to accept them for who they are, rather than who they imagine them to be.

Celebs with 4H Pisces: Bruce Lee, Elvis Presley, Nelson Mandela, Friedrich Nietzsche, Eminem, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Lawrence, Taylor Swift, Brad Pitt, Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian, Björk, Bob Marley

Pisces in 5th House

Has a big soft spot for children. Can be childlike themselves in some cases. Wants to save everyone and be saved too. Motivated but indecisive energy. Extremely creative, but unfocused in their efforts. Can spend too much energy trying to figure out how best to spend energy. Enjoys many hobbies; may struggle to master any of them due to lack of focus. Does best with hobbies that allow for maximum creativity. Once they understand what they want out of life, their path will become clearer. Inner work is crucial to remove blocks.

Celebs with 5H Pisces: Frank Sinatra, Robin Williams, Katy Perry, Lana Del Rey, Harry Styles, Natalie Portman, Jim Carrey, Sigmund Freud, Charlie Chaplin, Halsey, Melanie Martinez, Stephen Hawking, Doja Cat

Pisces in 6th House

Often forgets to eat because they were too busy helping everyone else. Compassionate to the point of self-sacrifice. Often drawn to healing professions or spiritual service. Can have several undiagnosed health conditions and turn to alternative or holistic medicine. Struggles to maintain a routine unless it truly feels meaningful. Might turn their workspace into an emotional sanctuary with candles, crystals, plants, and special playlists. Needs reminders that they’re allowed to rest, too. Prone to overwork in chaotic environments.

Celebs with 6H Pisces: Princess Margaret, Audrey Hepburn, Steve Jobs, Zendaya, Billie Eilish, Tyra Banks, Heath Ledger, Frida Kahlo, Justin Timberlake, Alan Watts

Pisces in 7th House

Falls in love with potential. Romantic, idealistic, and can be delusions in relationships. Attracts partners who seem emotionally intense or need to saved. May not truly enjoy solitude and prefer being with someone. Others may feel lost in relationships and prefer to spare their identity. Deeply compassionate and can see through peoples' defenses into their souls. Must develop strong boundaries or they’ll become emotional sponges.

Celebs with 7H Pisces: Marilyn Monroe, Paul McCartney, Jada Pinkett Smith, Daniel Radcliffe, Blake Lively, Keanu Reeves, Nina Simone, Sarah Jessica Parker, Shakira

Pisces in 8th House

Reads everyone's emotions, motives, and secrets whether they want to or not. Always clued in to the energies in a room. Enjoys uncommon or taboo topics. Prefers deep emotional bonds with friends and partners that feel like mystical experiences. Otherworldly sex appeal, or for some, a hidden side they rarely show to others. Loss and grief can trigger emotional transformations. Can feel haunted but are not sure by what or why. Abandonment issues. May appear all-in but secretly fear betrayal and play some cards close to the chest.

Celebs with 8H Pisces: Rihanna, Angelina Jolie, Tupac Shakur, Edgar Allan Poe, Marina Abramović, Joaquin Phoenix, Maya Angelou

Pisces in 9th House

Wanders the world (physically or in their minds) seeking truth and meaning. Gives off the energy of a spiritual teacher without even trying. Idealistic when it comes to beliefs. May be interests in philosophy, religion, or cultural studies. Most likely to speak about finding God or peace in poetry, nature, other's journeys and so on. Travel feels cathartic. Has escapist tendencies. Lives entire other lives through books, films, dreams, or travelling to new areas. Can become the mentor they always wished they'd had.

Celebs with 9H Pisces: Carl Sagan, Lana Del Rey, James Dean, Florence Welch, Yoko Ono, Virgil Abloh, Greta Thunberg, Oscar Wilde, Aldous Huxley

Pisces in 10th House

Has a elusive public persona that others idealize or misunderstand. Might have other people project their one dreams, fantasies, and assumptions onto them a lot. Creative, sensitive, and often spiritual. Could enioy careers in film, music, healing, or any path that allows them to channel their emotions. Moves up the ladder at work in quiet or unusual ways. May struggle with being given authority or feeling too visible before they are ready.

Celebs with 10H Pisces: Kurt Cobain, Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Winona Ryder, Heath Ledger, Barbra Streisand, Aaliyah, Greta Garbo, Mac Miller

Pisces in 11th House

Social butterfly with a halo of mystery. Feels deeply connected to humanity but may feel like an outsider in friend groups. The dreamer who envisions a better future or comes up with their best ideas at 3 AM. Attracts friends from all walks of life. May feel closest to other creatives, rebels, and black sheep types. Can be a bit idealistic about community and become disappointed when reality doesn’t match the fantasy. May disappear and reappear months later like nothing happened. Everyone loves them, or pretends not to.

Celebs with 11H Pisces: Cher, Lady Gaga, Timothée Chalamet, Jane Fonda, Freddie Mercury, Nina Dobrev, Pablo Picasso.

Pisces in 12th House

Mystic. Hidden healer. Feels like they came to earth with a mission they can’t remember. Intuitive, but try to suppress this part of themselves. Needs plenty of alone time and lives in their dreams, subconscious, and things unseen. May have a highly creative side in secret, or spiritual talents that they express on in private. Carries ancestral burdens. Once they embrace their inner mystic, they become powerful guides who channel wisdom from other worlds.

Celebs with 12H Pisces: Albert Einstein, David Bowie, Prince, Amy Winehouse, Tim Burton, SZA, Salvador Dalí, Florence Nightingale

↤ go back to the masterlist

[mariacallous]

This month, Canadian dignitaries visiting King Charles III in London received an unusual present: a ceremonial sword gilded with the monarch’s insignia. It was a fitting symbol of Canadian sovereignty when it has never been more in doubt.

Canada needs a lot more than a sword to protect it from its bellicose southern neighbor. U.S. President Donald Trump has made threatening his closest ally into a kind of sport, launching a damaging trade war and threatening to use economic force to annex the country of more than 40 million people as the “51st state.”

Amid this crisis, a growing number of voices are asking why Charles—Canada’s official head of state—isn’t more vocal in defending the country. Even if his role is ceremonial, the king is a powerful example of what differentiates Canada from the United States. The monarchy is a unifying institution for many former British colonies, Canada included. Canada’s relationship with the crown dates back further than its long friendship with the United States.

Since the decline of the British Empire in the late 19th century, Canada has been among the leading advocates for the Commonwealth, a group of 56 countries that took its modern form in 1949. Charles remains the head of state of Canada and 14 other members—meaning that he holds a symbolic role as sovereign and stays above the fray of politics.

But as Ottawa’s ties to Washington fray, experts say that the monarchy could be increasingly valuable for Canadian foreign policy. It might provide the country the support it needs to survive U.S. hostility for the next four years—or longer.

“We have to rely on ourselves a lot more and rely on allies that we can really count on,” said Erin O’Toole, a former leader of Canada’s Conservative Party, “because—and I hate saying this as somebody who has served alongside Americans in uniform—it seems like they … won’t be that ally we can count on.”

Charles’s ceremonial sword gift was one of a few recent references to the king’s dominion over Canada. In just the last few weeks, he has donned Canadian medals on a high-profile military tour, planted a red maple tree on the grounds of Buckingham Palace, and held a private audience with then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss Canada’s “sovereignty and … independence.”

Royal observers say that such gestures are the strongest actions anyone should expect from the crown in defense of Canada. “The king is wearing two hats—or two crowns, to be precise,” said Craig Prescott, a lecturer in constitutional law at Royal Holloway, University of London, and author of Modern Monarchy.

One might say that Charles is actually wearing 15 crowns, one for each of the realms where he acts as head of state. In Canada’s spat with the United States, the king can only offer symbolic resistance because his actions in this case cannot affect the foreign policies of the other governments that officially regard him as head of state, including the United Kingdom.

That means that “both [the United Kingdom and Canada] are cautious about using the king, and putting him in opposition to Trump, because both countries have their own relationships to America to maintain,” Prescott said.

But there are other ways Canada might use the monarchy to its advantage. The Commonwealth was conceived to encourage mutual trade and benefit among countries. Among its members are mineral and petroleum exporters such as Australia, Canada, and Nigeria; manufacturing juggernauts such as India, Malaysia, and Pakistan; and powerful service hubs such as the United Kingdom, and Caribbean countries. The Commonwealth’s combined GDP may soon even rival that of Europe.

But the Commonwealth has rarely lived up to its full potential, in part because not all of its members are created equal. The organization includes unstable democracies such as Fiji and Bangladesh and tiny microstates such as St. Kitts and Nevis and Vanuatu. Its member states are home to more than 2.7 billion people—one-third of the world’s population—but more than 30 members are among the world’s smallest states. Just six Commonwealth countries are considered developed nations.

This disparity, combined with the Commonwealth’s commitment to granting an equal voice to all states regardless of size or wealth, has rendered the group into primarily a “support network,” Prescott said. Its agreements are often toothless commitments to vague principles, such as guidelines on election management.

That has not always been the case. In the 1980s, the Commonwealth was a key force in ending apartheid in South Africa, a founding member that withdrew from the organization in 1961. Members banded together to agree on a common position of ostracizing the country. The organization became an important forum for resolving conflicts between Queen Elizabeth II’s responsibilities as head of state in the United Kingdom—which opposed sanctions on South Africa—and the rest of her realms, Prescott said. (South Africa rejoined the Commonwealth in 1994 after its democratic transition.)

Today, one might easily imagine coordinated activity among Commonwealth nations to offer support to Canada in its trade war with the United States, such as economic coordination on trade to make up for the impact of U.S. tariffs. But the Commonwealth “moves very slowly, if at all,” Prescott said. “It’s very difficult to have any sort of overriding purpose, because it’s hard to get such disparate nations to agree.”

Canada might focus on fostering certain “relationships within the Commonwealth,” rather than with all 55 other members, Prescott said. Take CANZUK, a theorized alliance between Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The New Zealand historian William David McIntyre first proposed the idea in 1967, but interest grew after Brexit and Trump’s 2016 victory threatened to shake up the world order.

Such a bloc would present many of the benefits of the Commonwealth with few of the organization’s drawbacks. Together, the four countries have a GDP of $6.8 trillion and a near-monopoly on the world’s supply of key strategic minerals.

Unlike the Commonwealth as a whole, CANZUK nations are also closely aligned in their politics, social values, and legal institutions. Importantly, they also already collaborate on security, sharing intelligence in the Five Eyes alliance—from which Trump has threatened to withdraw the United States. Largely thanks to the United Kingdom’s military strength, Skinner said a CANZUK alliance could also create the world’s third-largest fighting force.

“It just makes sense for these countries to come together in this way,” said James Skinner, the founder and CEO of CANZUK International, an advocacy group for the alliance. For Skinner, a formal agreement would involve not only a military alliance and a free trade agreement, but also freedom of movement between countries, similar to that among European Union member states.

“It could be implemented quite easily,” O’Toole, the Conservative lawmaker, said. “We’re not creating something from scratch here. … When multilateralism is a bit of a bad word, we’re just trying to say that countries with shared interests and values should be doing more together.”

CANZUK advocates like O’Toole seem to have found a receptive audience in new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who spent his first week in office meeting with the king and signing military procurement deals with Australia. Carney has already spoken at length about the importance of Canada’s historic ties to the United Kingdom and France, with which it also has a colonial history.

The real question is how a new alliance might be received in Washington. “The Americans might be quite irked by that,” Skinner said. “They might say, ‘You aren’t respecting U.S. authority’—or supremacy, really.” He added: “I would hope they would see it as a complement to U.S. military operations. But it’s anyone’s guess these days.”

Until then, Canada may need to continue to rely on more symbolic forms of support from the monarchy. In the past, royal tours to Commonwealth realms have been one way to show strength in the face of foreign threats, Carolyn Harris, a Canadian royal historian, said.

The last time the United States doubted Canada’s sovereignty was during the Cold War, when the question of whether Canada had sovereignty over its Arctic waterways became a talking point in Washington. A U.S. oil tanker, the SS Manhattan, even transited Canada’s Northwest Passage in 1969 to bolster claims that the trading route should be treated as an international waterway. The next year, Canada’s government sent Queen Elizabeth II and her family to meet with Inuit communities to demonstrate that her dominion stretched to the Arctic Ocean.

In 1939, when Britain was under threat from Nazism, King George VI visited Washington—with Canadian officials in tow. It was a way of showing that the whole empire was still willing to answer the call to fight in defense of Britain in a time of U.S. isolationism.

Today, a royal tour to Canada might send a strong message that the monarchy and its allied realms won’t leave the country to be annexed by the United States. “If there is a royal tour of Canada in the next year, that may become the most significant in history,” Harris said.

But when Trump is the intended target of your message, it is anyone’s guess how he might react. O’Toole, who acted as Canada’s shadow minister for foreign affairs during Trump’s first term, confessed that the U.S. president’s talk of making Canada the 51st state surprised him. “We can’t ignore what’s happening,” O’Toole said. “We have to come up with ways to keep our citizens safe … and I think there’s strength in numbers.”

[newstfionline]

Wednesday, January 8, 2025

What’s next for Canada after Trudeau’s resignation (Washington Post) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation Monday, saying that it’s time for a “reset” and that he is not the best person to lead the country into new elections if he is also fighting “internal battles. Trudeau said Monday that the Liberal Party will hold a nationwide leadership contest to select his successor. In the meantime, Trudeau added, Gov. General Mary Simon—the representative in Canada of King Charles III, Canada’s head of state—granted his request to prorogue or suspend Parliament until March 24. The next leader will inherit a long list of challenges: the high price of goods, a housing shortage, a Canadian public that appears to have soured on the Liberals after nearly a decade in power and a new U.S. president who has promised steep tariffs.

Thousands flee as wildfires burn out of control in and around Los Angeles (AP) California firefighters battled wind-whipped wildfires that tore across the Los Angeles area, destroying homes, clogging roadways as tens of thousands fled and straining resources as officials prepared for the situation to worsen early Wednesday. The flames from a fire that broke out Tuesday evening near a nature preserve in the inland foothills northeast of LA spread so rapidly that staff at a senior living center had to push dozens of residents in wheelchairs and hospital beds down the street to a parking lot. The residents waited there in their bedclothes as embers fell around them until ambulances, buses and even construction vans arrived to take them to safety. Another blaze that started hours earlier ripped through the city’s Pacific Palisades neighborhood. In the frantic haste to get to safety, roadways became impassable when scores of people abandoned their vehicles and fled on foot, some toting suitcases.

The next round of bitter cold and snow will hit the southern US (AP) The next round of bitter cold was set to envelop the southern U.S. on Tuesday, after the first significant winter storm of the year blasted a huge swath of the country with ice, snow and wind. The immense storm system brought disruption even to areas of the country that usually escape winter’s wrath, downing trees in some Southern states, threatening a freeze in Florida and causing people in Dallas to dip deep into their wardrobes for hats and gloves. By early Tuesday, wind chill temperatures could dip into the teens to low-20’s (as low as minus 10.5 C) from Texas across the Gulf Coast, according to the National Weather Service. A low-pressure system is then expected to form as soon as Wednesday near south Texas, bringing the potential of snow to parts of the state that include Dallas, as well as to Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

Trump Raises the Possibility of Using Military or Economic Force to Take Greenland and the Panama Canal (NYT) President-elect Donald J. Trump refused to rule out on Tuesday the use of military or economic coercion to force Panama to give up control of the canal that America built more than a century ago, and to force Denmark to sell Greenland to the United States. In a rambling, hourlong news conference at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump also reiterated his threat that “all hell will break out in the Middle East” if the hostages being held by Hamas are not released by Inauguration Day, repeating the threat four times. “If they’re not back by the time I get into office, all hell will break out in the Middle East,” he told reporters. “And it will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone. All hell will break out. I don’t have to say anymore, but that’s what it is.” It was not clear how serious the president-elect was about some of his comments during the news conference. At one point, he suggested that his administration will rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.

Meta is ending fact-checking and removing restrictions on speech across Facebook and Instagram. (WSJ) CEO Mark Zuckerberg described the change as an attempt to restore free expression on the platforms. He said that starting in the U.S., Meta will have a system, similar to X’s, that lets users flag posts they think need more context. The company will continue to target illegal behavior. Facebook’s content-policing expanded in the wake of Donald Trump’s first presidential election; now Zuckerberg is looking to align himself and Meta with the incoming administration.

Mexico drops migrants in troubled resort as it disperses them far from US border (AP) About 100 migrants from various countries wandered directionless and disoriented through the streets of the troubled Pacific coast resort of Acapulco. After walking for a couple weeks through southern Mexico with hundreds of other migrants, they accepted an offer from immigration officials to come to Acapulco with the idea they could continue their journey north toward the U.S. border. Instead, they found themselves stuck on Monday. Two weeks ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s second inauguration, Mexico continues dissolving attention-grabbing migrant caravans and dispersing migrants throughout the country to keep them far from the U.S. border, while simultaneously limiting how many accumulate in any one place. Acapulco would seem to be a strange destination for migrants. Once a crown jewel of Mexico’s tourism industry, the city now suffers under the thumb of organized crime and is still struggling to climb back after taking a direct hit from devastating Hurricane Otis in 2023. “Immigration (officials) told us they were going to give us a permit to transit the country freely for 10, 15 days and it wasn’t like that,” said a 28-year-old Venezuelan, Ender Antonio Castañeda. “They left us dumped here without any way to get out. They won’t sell us (bus) tickets.”

Seventy really may be the new sixty for English baby boomers (Nature) A study examined trends in intrinsic capacity, a comprehensive measure of cognitive, locomotor, psychological and sensory capacities that was recently developed by the World Health Organization. The results indicate that older adults in England today seem to be experiencing far higher levels of physical and mental functioning than did previous generations at the same age.

Ukraine needs ‘realistic’ stance on territorial issues, Macron says (Reuters) French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that Ukraine needs to have a realistic position on territorial issues as part of efforts to bring about a negotiation with Russia. Speaking at an annual conference to French ambassadors to outline their strategy for the year, Macron’s comments were the first time he had suggested that Kyiv should consider a position beyond seeking to regain all territory seized by Russia. Macron reiterated that Ukraine’s allies needed to ensure that Kyiv has enough backing so that it can come enter any negotiations from a position of strength. “There will not be a quick and easy solution,” Macron said, referring to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to end the war quickly.

Emeralds for Sale: The Taliban Look Below Ground to Revive the Economy (NYT) In a chilly auditorium in Afghanistan, heaps of freshly mined green emeralds glowed under bright table lamps as bearded gemstone dealers inspected them for purity and quality. An auctioneer asked for bids on the first lot, which weighed 256 carats. With that, the Taliban’s weekly gemstone auction was underway. These sales, in the emerald-rich Panjshir Province of eastern Afghanistan, are part of an effort by the Taliban government to cash in on the country’s vast mineral and gemstone potential. Since seizing power in August 2021, the Taliban say they have signed deals with scores of investors to mine gemstones, gold, copper, iron and other valuable minerals, like chromite. These buried treasures offer a potentially lucrative lifeline for a feeble economy. China has led the way in investments under its Belt and Road Initiative, an aggressive effort to spread Chinese influence worldwide. Russian and Iranian investors have also signed mining licenses, filling the void left by the chaotic U.S. withdrawal in 2021.

Strong earthquake kills at least 126 people in western China near Mount Everest (AP) A strong earthquake killed at least 126 people in Tibet on Tuesday and left many others trapped as dozens of aftershocks shook the high-altitude region of western China and across the border in Nepal. Officials in the region said at a brief news conference that 130 others were injured, state broadcaster CCTV said. State media reported that about 1,000 houses were damaged and 130 people were injured in addition to the deaths, citing the Tibet earthquake relief headquarters.

U.S. Eases Some Restrictions on Humanitarian Aid to Syria (NYT) The Biden administration on Monday lifted some restrictions on humanitarian aid to Syria but kept sweeping sanctions in place just weeks after rebel forces toppled the Assad family’s 50-year authoritarian grip on the country. The decision by the Treasury, which lasts for six months, allows humanitarian groups to operate more freely without running afoul of U.S. sanctions, including by helping to provide basic services such as electricity, energy, water and sanitation.

West Bank Settlers Hope Trump Will Back Annexation Dreams (NYT) Eliana Passentin delights in her house, which sits nearly 3,000 feet above sea level in a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, with a view from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean coast. The dining room looks out over ancient Shiloh, the Israelites’ first capital in ancient times. But Ms. Passentin would feel even better if the area was annexed by Israel. Some of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s staffing choices have raised hopes among settlers that that could happen. Pete Hegseth, Mr. Trump’s contentious choice for defense secretary, went to ancient Shiloh for an episode of his “Battle in the Holy Land” series on Fox Nation. Mike Huckabee, Mr. Trump’s pick as the next ambassador to Jerusalem, has visited several times over the years and has argued that all of the West Bank belongs to Israel. Nearly half a million settlers and roughly 2.7 million Palestinians live in the West Bank. The Palestinians, and much of the world, have long envisioned the territory as part of a future independent Palestinian state, alongside Israel, and consider the Jewish settlements to be illegal. After the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel from Gaza, and with the prospect of a more sympathetic administration in Washington, settler leaders say they are confident that a Palestinian state is off the agenda. They also hope that Israel will extend its sovereignty over parts, or all, of the territory through annexation.

In Africa, Danger Slithers Through Fields (NYT) The snake struck 11-year-old Beatrice Ndanu Munyoki as she sat on a small stone, which lay atop a larger one, watching the family’s eight goats. She was idly running her fingers through the dirt when she saw a red head dart from between the stones and felt a sharp sting on her right index finger. She ran to her father, David Mutunga, who was building a fence. He cut the cloth belt on her dress into strips with a machete, tied her arm in three places and rushed her to a hospital 30 minutes away on a motorcycle taxi. As the day stretched on, her finger grew darker, but the hospital in Mwingi, a small town in Kenya, had no antidote for that kind of venom. Finally that evening in November 2023, she was taken by ambulance to another hospital and injected with antivenom. When the finger blistered, swelled and turned black despite a second dose the next day, “I understood that they will now remove that part,” Mr. Mutunga said with tears in his eyes. Beatrice’s finger was amputated. According to official estimates, about five million people are bitten by snakes each year. About 120,000 die, and some 400,000 lose limbs to amputation.

Antibiotic emergency ‘could claim 40 million lives in next 25 years’ (Guardian) Dame Sally Davies, a former chief medical officer for England, told the Observer that there is a real danger that routine procedures could become life-threatening thanks to the spread of bacteria that possess antimicrobial resistance. Antibiotics prescribed to chickens, cows, and sheep are a large part of the problem. “Winds blow over these patches of contaminated land or water and pick up bacteria and genes with resistance in them, then let them rain down in other places,” Davies explained. “About a million people die every year because of the spread of microbial resistance, and that figure will rise over the next 25 years,” she said. “It is really scary.” When she says “that figure will rise,” she means it—estimates put deaths at almost 40 million people over the next 25 years.

[essence-unlimited]

Prior warnings for anyone wishing to travel to Yufaria for any reason: —🔮

-Shayde City is a dangerous city, always have some form of company, but be careful with smaller Pokémon! If it's for the Gym Challenge, get to the Gym as soon as possible and Miles will escort you until you leave the city if you have no one else. —🔮

-Lake Blizzhorthe is FREEZING and despite the trees of Covendare Crescent and a cabin within, there isn't much to shelter you! Whatever you do, do NOT swim in the lake. Very few pokémon can safely swim in the water. One of our Elite Four members, Daniel, is usually training in the area, so be warned of any stray attacks, they are not towards you. Roethe City is also a VERY cold place but there is a lot of suitable shelter. —🔮

-Oliver's estate is private property, do NOT enter unless Oliver or one of his pokémon invite you in. —🔮

-Never bring up the Team Trident incident, especially to me or Miles. —🔮

-Whilst the toxin trio (our legendaries and mythical) are usually passive, Cierdene can easily turn aggressive. Be especially careful when near his territory. Offerings of scrap metal for him to break down helps to calm him. —🔮

-Do NOT pressure Justin into speaking. This will not be tolerated and Justin's team will deal with you accordingly. —🔮

-If you spot an individual by the name Micheline Gateaux, stay away from her at all costs. She is highly hostile and always armed. —🔮

-Cassidy's modelling schedule is busy, do not pester her if she's not in her Gym at the time you wish to fight her. —🔮

-If you have any trouble, please contact Professor Nettle or the most suitable emergency service. —🔮

[treeremovalpensacola]

Recommender: Experts share their favorite handheld blowers

There are a few things that are certain in Pensacola that you will have to deal with at some point - tree removal and tree trimming. Before you hire a company you should take into consideration before hiring a tree service company. Some of the things you should consider include: - The type of tree that needs to be removed - The size of the tree - The location of the tree - The condition of the tree If you are unsure about whether or not you need to hire a tree removal company, contact Tree Removal in Pensacola for a consultation. We will be able to assess your situation and give you our professional opinion. What handheld blower are you using, and why? Aaron Tipton Aaron Tipton Grounds Supervisor, Patriots Point Facility, College of Charleston Charleston, S.C. “We’re using Stihl battery-powered units. We’re at a college, and there are a lot of noise ordinances with the school — we can’t disrupt the classes. We’ve invested in several battery-powered blowers, and I’ve been impressed. They last a long time on a single charge, and they’re lightweight.” Kyle Narsavage Kyle Narsavage President and Owner, GreenSweep and Garden Gate Landscaping Silver Spring, Md. “We use Echo for gas. They’re durable, easily accessible through our dealer network, and parts are easy to find and order. For electric blowers, we use Husqvarna. Their customer service is extremely responsive, and I feel their design and power are top-notch. The battery runtime and power are comparable to gas. With D.C. and Baltimore banning gas blowers, more than half of our blowers are now electric.” K.C. Bell K.C. Bell Director of Grounds, Clemson Athletics Clemson, S.C. “I’ve recently made the change to Echo, and I’m excited to see how they perform. I made the change because I was disappointed in my previous brand. Blowers for our industry need to be durable because the guys are always banging them around.” Justin White Justin White CEO, K&D Landscaping Watsonville, Calif. “At K&D Landscaping, we’re on a mission to end noise pollution. We’re partnering with Kress Outdoor Power Solutions to have our crews all-electric, reducing noise and pollution. We just want to be human and work in a courteous manner. For example, what if we just didn’t use the blowers before 10 a.m.?” Mike McCarron Mike McCarron Owner, Image Works Landscaping Fairfax Station, Va. “We’re all Stihl. We use the small handheld version for our small properties, the medium for larger residential and the largest for commercial because they’re blowing off big areas, including parking lots. We’re loyal to Stihl because we have a fantastic dealer just 15 minutes away, Virginia Outdoor Power, in Merrifield, Va.” The post Recommender: Experts share their favorite handheld blowers first appeared on Landscape Management.

[museaumofnaturalhistory]

The Detectives Using Tree DNA to Stop Illegal Logging in Its Tracks - by Nick Davidson | Outside - Long Reads | 22nd/04/2025

In 2018, 3 loggers started a massive wildfire that destroyed 1,000's of acres of old-growth forest in Washington State. Then, they vanished. Fortunately, Forest Service detectives had a few tricks up their sleeves.

Deep in the night on August 4, 2018, a trio of timber cutters bushwhacked into a steep valley thick with brush, wearing headlamps & carrying a chainsaw, gas can, and a slew of felling tools. Their target, a trifurcated, mossy bigleaf maple, towered above Jefferson Creek, which gurgled down the narrow ravine floor that drains the Olympic National Forest’s Elk Lake. Justin Wilke, the band’s captain, had discovered the massive tree the day before and dubbed her “Bertha.”

Wilke had established three dispersed campsites in the Elk Lake vicinity, some 20 miles from the nearest town of Hoodsport, Washington, over the previous weeks. By day he scouted for the most prime bigleaf maples. He had illegally felled at least three in the area since April, but he considered Bertha the mother tree.

A carpenter by trade, Wilke, then 36, dabbled in odd jobs in construction, as a mechanic, on fishing boats, and in canneries, but like many across the peninsula’s scattered hamlets, he’d been a logger since his hands were sure enough to wield a chainsaw. A tattoo the length of his left arm read “West Coast Loggers,” his tribute to a heritage that began with his grandfather.

Honest work had grown scarce. Wilke and his girlfriend were camping on a friend’s property just outside the national forest to trim expenses and lived on his earnings from cutting illegal firewood and selling poached maple. The situation wasn’t tenable. He was hungry, and he needed a windfall.

Closing in on Bertha in the darkness alongside Wilke were Shawn “Thor” Williams and Lucas Chapman. Thor had just sprung from a stint in prison two weeks earlier. A 47-year-old union framer, Thor had also dabbled as an MMA fighter and debt collector and carried a litany of past convictions ranging from assault and burglary to unlawful imprisonment. He hoped the job would deliver him back to his daughter and sometimes-girlfriend in California. Chapman, 35, was Wilke’s gopher, hired primarily to watch the campsites during the operation. The three were high on methamphetamines.

Though the relative humidity that night hovered around 75 percent, the air a pleasant 60 degrees, rainfall had been unusually sparse that summer. Higher than average temperatures ushered the typically wet Olympic region into a moderate drought. Smoke from various wildfires in British Columbia had clouded the air throughout the summer.

Bertha held a bee’s nest in a hollow at the base of her trunk that made chainsaw work problematic. “I’m not going over there,” Thor, who was allergic to bees, protested. At their campsite two days earlier, he’d been stung on the hand and suffered mild anaphylaxis after he sipped a can of Four Loko with a bee in it. “I’ll take care of it,” Wilke said.

Accounts of who did what next vary, but someone pulled out a can of wasp killer and sprayed the hive to little effect, then doused it in gasoline and lit a match. The offended bees clouded the air. Flames sprouted up Bertha’s trunk and expanded in the underbrush at her roots.

For the next hour, Wilke, Thor, and Chapman beat the burgeoning fire with sticks, kicked dirt over it, and used Gatorade bottles to quench its tongues with creekwater. “Let’s go,” Wilke finally ordered. “It’s out.”

By the time the poachers left, cold and wet from splashing in the waist-deep river, all clear signs of flame had vanished. The first gauzy motes of dawn lightened the sky. In the leafy silence that followed the thwarted thieves’ retreat, beneath the duff at Bertha’s roots, still-hot embers smoldered and crept through the forest, invisible but surging with the breaking day.

Bigleaf Maple Trees in Olympic N.P Washington. (Photo: Getty Images)

Officer David Jacus was driving just south of the Quilcene ranger station on Highway 101 when he got a call from Puget Sound dispatch at 2 P.M. later that afternoon. A fire crew was requesting law enforcement at the Elk Lake Lower Trailhead, following reports of a smoke plume earlier that morning.

Jacus turned up the road snaking into the national forest as soon as he could and radioed Ben Dean, engine boss for Engine Crew 692, the first responders at the fire site. “It’s burning in a bigleaf maple near Jefferson Creek,” Dean told him. He said his crew had also found a gas can and a backpack full of cutting tools, which suggested a wood poaching operation gone awry. “We’re going to hike them out to the trailhead,” Dean added. Jacus said he was on his way.

Jacus, in his early forties, was the sole law enforcement officer assigned to the 628,000-acre Olympic National Forest. He patrolled campgrounds, addressed drug and traffic violations, and assisted with search and rescue. He also probed natural resource crimes and had worked on five felony timber theft cases and investigated well over 100. He’d been with the Forest Service for nearly a decade, after law enforcement stints with the National Park Service in Yellowstone, Glacier, and North Cascades.

“I grew up backpacking and camping,” Jacus told me. “I’ve spent a lot of time outdoors.” To him, investigating and stopping timber theft meant protecting the large, old-growth trees that he’d come to love. “Some of the trees harvested are really irreplaceable.” Now they were burning.

When Jacus arrived at the spur road descending to the head of Elk Lake Trail #805 at 3 P.M., a white Chevy Trailblazer climbing the slope blocked his path and turned up the forest road. He recognized the driver, who had reported the same vehicle stolen a month earlier, though Jacus had helped recover the vehicle a few days later. “I made a mental note of it and then proceeded down to meet the firefighters,” Jacus recalled.

Dean and his crew delivered the evidence to Jacus and mentioned two burnt cans of wasp killer still by the maple, which they referred to as the Origin Tree. The groundfire spanned an area 30 feet square and was spreading. Dean’s crew had been fighting the blaze using five-gallon bladders with hand pumps. Bee-stung to a person, they’d returned to the engine—a ton-and-a-half fire brush truck equipped with a 1,000 feet of hose and a 300-gallon water tank—to retrieve a portable pump they planned to set directly in Jefferson Creek to extinguish the Origin Tree.

A Map of the 3,312-Acre Maple Fire, Created Using the Gaia GPS Historic Wildfires Map Layer.

Meanwhile, Jacus drove up Forest Road 2401 and found the white Chevy next to a tent at a nearby campsite. “Forest Service law enforcement,” Jacus called from the road. “Anybody in the camp?” Justin Wilke and Lucas Chapman emerged from the tent.

Jacus said he was investigating a potential maple theft and a wildland fire. “What fire?” Wilke asked. Jacus indicated the smoke in the air. “What were you doing down near Elk Lake Trailhead?” Jacus asked. Wilke said he was only using the outhouse.

When Jacus asked if he’d been cutting in the area, Wilke denied even having a chainsaw. “You can look around,” he offered. Jacus told him they’d located tools by a burning maple. “I think you were down there cutting,” he said. “Will those tools connect back to you in any way?” Wilke said they wouldn’t. Chapman remained quiet through the encounter.

At the trailhead, Jacus rejoined Dean’s crew and side-sloped down a steep ravine to the fire to collect the cans of wasp spray they’d left behind. It was about 4:30 P.M. “As we were going down there, the winds definitely started to increase,” Jacus recalled. “The weather was changing. There was a lot of heavy smoke.”

Wind lifted the now-three-acre fire into the tree canopy. Dry moss and lichen ignited, floated down the air, and kindled spotfires all around him. Jacus, wearing only his officer’s uniform, felt suddenly vulnerable without fire gear. He yelled ahead to Dean. “Ben, I’m going to hike back out toward the trail. I’ll radio you when I get back to the trailhead.”

The fire was below Jacus to the west and climbing north, and he didn’t think he could make it across Jefferson Creek. “I could clearly see fire up in the trees,” he remembered. “And at that point, I ran uphill to the trail.”

Dean ordered a helicopter and a 20-person hand crew that camped at the trailhead to continue fighting the fire.

Over the next three months, the inferno, christened the Maple Fire, charred 3,300 acres of the Olympic National Forest and cost the feds over $4.5 million to suppress. But Jacus thought he might already have his prime suspect by the first day’s close. He just needed to prove it. Before long, he would land on an innovative approach that, if his hunch bore out, could render the case against Wilke watertight.

(Photo: Peter Robbins via Unsplash)

For as long as the concept of a forest as a woodland parcel to be owned and managed against the ancient lifestyles of commoners has existed, so have all forms of poaching, from its wildlife to its timber. Tree theft has needled forest managers across the United States at least since the nation by that name formed on one coast and spread like fire to another.

One of the earliest documented cases in Washington state, dated September 27, 1904, decreed that a man named Arthur Egbert from Barron, Washington, “pay the sum of $19.50 for 5,500 feet B.M. of timber and 3 cords of shake bolts cut in trespass from timber on lands in the Wash. Forest Reserve.”

An Associated Press report from 2003—the most recent estimate—puts the annual worth of wood poached in North America at $1 billion. A similarly outdated but unimproved Forest Service study from the 1990s figures the yearly value of timber stolen from its lands at $100 million. Globally, illegal logging ranks as the most profitable natural resource crime, with an annual value up to $199 billion.

Yet the true amount of theft in American forests is hard to estimate, given inconsistent reporting, jurisdictional isolation, and the way data is collected. “There’s no category that you can check so that it goes into a system to give you a definitive report on what’s actually happening,” explains Anne Minden, a retired U.S. Forest Service special agent who has for decades trained other agents to investigate environmental crimes.

The opportunism of small-scale timber theft, too, demands backwoods secrecy and the cloak of night, yielding a mysterious percentage of felled trees never seen. “These are difficult things to police or disrupt,” Jacus, now a special agent, says.

Washington state’s Specialized Forest Products Act was updated in 2005 to include cedar, spruce, western red alder, and bigleaf maple among woods that require a specialized forest products permit to harvest and sell. In 2008, Minden helped rewrite the law to render falsifying such permits a Class C Felony. To obtain one for felling these species on state or private land is free at county sheriff’s offices. But permits for bigleaf maple are almost never issued for National Forest land, and maples are never included in commercial timber sales there. Aspiring maple cutters can do legitimate business through contracts with private landowners. Trees in the Olympic National Forest, where most prime specimens live, are off limits.

Targeted species vary across the country, but in the Pacific Northwest, high-dollar trees like western red cedar, Sitka spruce, and bigleaf maple comprise the prime marks for poachers. Among the region’s loggers, maple is generally considered a weed tree not worth cutting. Occasionally, though, the 100-foot coastal hardwoods with foliage the size of dinner plates proffer sizable payouts. Only a few bigleafs in hundreds bear the mesmeric figured patterns that luthiers covet for their instruments’ prized veneers, for which it’s sometimes called “music wood.” Grammy-winning musician Carlos Santana famously plays custom Paul Reed Smith guitars topped with figured maple, boosting the wood’s popularity in recent decades.

No one knows why one maple figures and another doesn’t. Figure can manifest in curling waves, quilted crosshatch, or tongues of flame. The best music-grade wood demands $400 per boardfoot—100 times the rate for unfigured maple—and a single well-endowed tree might fetch as much as $20,000.

Discerning observers unveil these patterns by peeling back strips of bark with a hatchet, termed “checking,” to reveal the psychedelic grains of the cambium layer beneath. Justin Wilke considered himself especially skilled at detecting maple figure, sometimes even sans hatchet. “If it’s got good enough figure, you’ll see it in the bark,” he told me. “And I usually do. I don’t want to take a tree down just for fun. That’s not cool to me.”

The day the Maple Fire ignited, engine boss Ben Dean had spotted big checking marks on the Origin Tree that indicated an intention to steal its wood. Four days later, Jacus went into the forest with a Washington State Department of Natural Resources investigator to determine the fire’s cause. Not far from the scorched Origin Tree, they discovered two felled, partially harvested maples. Whoever cut them had likely sold the wood and, Jacus suspected, set the Origin Tree ablaze.

The Maple Fire Burned More Than 3,300 Acres of Olympic National Forest. (Photo: US Forest Service)

In the weeks that followed, Jacus conducted a series of interviews that pointed circumstantially to Wilke nested at the center of a messy woodcutter’s web. Yet damning evidence remained elusive. Jacus scouted Whale Bay Woods, a mill in Quilcene, but found no pertinent names in their logbook that connected to the Maple Fire.

On the evening of August 23, three weeks into the fire, Jacus had a breakthrough when Alan Richert, a neighbor and friend of Wilke’s who taught him to cut maple, said he and Wilke had sold wood to a mill in Tumwater throughout the spring and summer on a fraudulent permit bearing Richert’s name. By then, Wilke had disappeared. Thor had fled to California, where he’d soon be booked for possessing a firearm as a felon. Chapman was speaking with law enforcement and would gradually cooperate.

A few days later, Jacus pulled into the Tumwater mill as owner Jason Roberts was getting into his van to pick up a load of walnut. “Do you know Justin Wilke?” Jacus inquired. Roberts said he did. He showed Jacus a ledger bearing 21 dates on which Wilke, sometimes with Richert, had sold him maple using Richert’s misleading permit and a second one issued to “C.B.,” totaling $13,990.

The wood supposedly came from private property, which on further inspection grew no maple trees. Wilke’s name hadn’t appeared on either permit. Two stacks of the wood cut into blocks sat in the shop behind Roberts’s house. Roberts primarily dealt such wood to guitar makers once it dried. “Don’t sell it,” Jacus instructed him, “and don’t let it leave the premises.”

“I felt that it was not coming from the private property, that in fact it was coming from the national forest lands,” Jacus told me. He wondered if he could match DNA from the wood blocks at the Tumwater mill to the poached trees, much in the same way human DNA might link a suspect to a murder. “That’s when I reached out to agent Phil Huff.” Two years earlier, Forest Service special agent Phil Huff had concluded an investigation that quietly managed to accomplish what Jacus was after. Jacus dialed Huff’s number and explained his situation. “How did you get the DNA for the case?” he asked him. Huff told him it was a complicated process. That didn’t bother Jacus. In fact, he wanted to know if they could do it one better.

The clearing known as the “Slaughterhouse” sat beyond a fence of hemlock and cedar near the Iron Creek Campground in the Cowlitz Valley, at Gifford Pinchot National Forest’s northwest corner, and it was aptly named. A dozen cruelly hewn old-growth maples, powdered in sawdust, lay scattered on the forest floor, their most valuable segments pilfered.

Agent Huff was assigned to investigate the case in early 2012. He ultimately pinpointed Harold Kupers, owner of J&L Tonewoods mill in Winlock, as the mastermind behind an elaborate ring of maple poachers methodically assailing the forest. Over two years, Kupers had trafficked more than $800,000 of figured wood, largely to PRS Guitars and North American Wood Products. At his peak, he sold PRS 300 bookmatched sets—which make the iconic mirrored woodgrain on the face of its guitars—each month, though the portion that was illegal maple is unclear.

During his investigation, Huff learned of Double Helix Tracking Technologies, a Singapore-based company that was using a cutting-edge technique to extract DNA from processed timber in order to determine the provenance of ancient shipwrecks. Huff enlisted Double Helix, which matched DNA from wood at Kupers’s mill to stumps in Gifford Pinchot. Kupers pleaded guilty. It was the first domestic enforcement of the Lacey Act, which bans illegal wildlife and timber trafficking.

After the call from Jacus about the Maple Fire case, Huff rang a U.S. Forest Service geneticist named Dr. Rich Cronn. Cronn had been interested in forensic applications of his work, which involved analyzing natural genetic variation in plant populations at the Pacific Northwest Research Station in Corvallis, Oregon. When Huff explained Jacus’s intentions, Cronn said he wanted in.

In the Cowlitz Valley case, attorneys had found Double Helix’s report too confusing and never introduced it to the court, according to Cronn. Since the company hadn’t released its findings, Cronn would have to start from scratch. But he’d already used a similar DNA extraction process for Douglas fir, Spanish cedar, and other species. He thought he could improve upon their methods and, if he raised a match, present them clearly enough to suit a federal criminal trial, where tree DNA had never been used to convict a poacher. Cronn first needed to create a genetic database for bigleaf maples in the eastern Olympic region. That required boots on the ground, a bonus. “When I get to spend time in the field, there is nothing better,” Cronn told me. “It’s just wonderful to be outside in these forests.”

Early in October 2018, Jacus escorted Cronn and three members of his team into the forest to collect maple leaves—like a human’s, a tree’s entire genome resides in all of its cells, from root to leaf—from 230 trees near the Maple Fire’s origin, up the Hamma Hamma River and adjacent drainages. Jacus and Huff had already collected samples from one stack of the blocks Wilke had sold to the Tumwater Mill, along with the stumps of the two felled maples near the origin site.

Using the leaves he’d collected, Cronn identified 117 genetic markers, known signposts on the bigleaf genome where high variability creates a sort of fingerprint for individual trees. (Human forensics uses only 20 such markers.) Once established, a “fingerprint” from the felled maples could be checked against samples from the wood Wilke sold.

The test proved more powerful than it needed to be. “If there were a trillion bigleaf maples on planet Earth—and there aren’t,” Cronn explained, “and if there were a trillion identical Earths—which I don’t think there are—the chance of finding a perfect match between any two trees is still less than one in a trillion.”

Cronn set up in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife forensic lab in Ashland, where Jacus had sent his bagged samples. There, they ground the wood to sawdust with a Dremel tool, extracted its DNA in a detergent wash, and sent the captured material to a genomics contractor called Neogen for analysis. They repeated the process in the fall of 2019 with the rest of the Tumwater blocks and a third felled maple of which Chapman had later informed Jacus. All told, 83 blocks of the 217 they evaluated from the mill came back with an exact match for the three poached trees.

At Wilke’s trial in July 2021, the jury found him guilty of six counts ranging from conspiracy to theft of government property and trafficking in unlawfully harvested timber. He was sentenced to 20 months in prison, one of the longest sentences for a tree thief at the time.

Still, the jury wasn’t convinced, as Jacus had been, that Wilke struck the match that started the Maple Fire. Testimony concerning the night Bertha sparked didn’t always square. Thor had taken a plea deal a year earlier for his role in the fire, though Chapman was never indicted, and both took the stand against Wilke with divergent tales.

Cronn’s science, though, told a clear enough story. It clenched the essential case against Wilke that Jacus’s dogged investigation made. “When the DNA evidence matches the hunch and the hard work from law enforcement officers, that is really gratifying,” Cronn said. But he knew that bigleaf maple was just the beginning of the tale he’d begun to reveal. Uncounted tree thefts were plaguing other forests across the country, and Cronn hoped to cut short the chapters still being carved in public timber.

A Section of Clear-Cut Stumps in Olympic National Forest. (Photo: Getty Images)

In October 2019, witnesses tipped off a law enforcement officer to an illegal timber harvest near Siloam Springs in Missouri’s Mark Twain National Forest. A Forest Service special agent named Scott (who requested that only his first name be used) found eight freshly cut black walnut stumps and began sleuthing at a nearby hardwood sawmill.

U.S. attorney’s offices had never expressed much interest in pursuing timber cases, which involved trees of low monetary value. But when Wilke was convicted in the Maple Fire trial, timber theft was suddenly getting press. Scott had found a log at the mill that jigsawed perfectly with a stump at the poaching site. “The prosecuting attorney asked me a simple question: Was there any way that we could do a DNA match on this stump and the piece of wood from the sawmill?”

Cronn, it turned out, was already in the midst of establishing a genetic database for black walnut, which fueled a lucrative illicit trade that spanned 32 states across the eastern U.S. “Black walnut is really black gold,” Cronn told me. “My gut-level impression is that eastern black walnut theft is where the real action is in terms of frequency and value lost.”

Working in tandem with the citizen-science organization Adventure Scientists & Mark Twain’s staff, Cronn found an identical match between the walnut stump & Scott’s log. Todd Patterson, the man who sold it, pleaded guilty to depredation of government property and was sentenced last April to 5 months of time served.

Cronn & Adventure Scientists have since added rangewide genetic databases for western redcedar, Alaskan yellow-cedar, Douglas fir, & white oak, poached for stave bolts to forge whiskey barrels. “This technology is sitting on the shelf, waiting for law enforcement to use,” Cronn said. On short notice, he can analyze evidence samples for thefts of those species anywhere in their range.

Further applications for these databases include breeding vulnerable tree species for resilience against our shifting climate, identifying threatened & endangered trees ahead of proposed logging projects, & solving other crimes. In 2022, geneticists at the Missouri Botanical Garden helped convict a man of killing his wife by extracting DNA from juniper needles stuck in the man’s muddy boots & matching them to trees at the burial site.

Jacus expects that the Forest Service will increasingly use tree DNA where thieves steal high-value trees from public lands. Scott finds it to be a sharp tool but noted that “it’s not going to stop all timber theft.”

Since his black walnut case against Patterson, Scott has taken it a step further in directing his team to estimate not just the market value of the felled walnuts’ timber, but their entire ecological worth to a complex web of forest life. “When these trees are cut,” Scott pointed out, “they’re high-graded. These are the biggest and best trees in the area, no longer producing walnuts or acorns. You lose their dominant genetic diversity.”

Using these greater ecological values, U.S. attorneys have begun to prosecute more timber theft cases. “This is a great development,” Cronn says, calling the approach innovative. Because any forest is worth more than its weight in lumber.

While engine boss Ben Dean was fighting the Maple Fire in 2018, he told the Kitsap Sun that “as far as resource benefits go, this is doing very well for the forest.” He found beauty in the flames’ advance across the landscape. In an age of megafires, this was a low-intensity burn. Bertha, the Origin Tree, still stands, charred but alive. Six years after the Maple Fire, one local hiker from Quilcene said Elk Lake Trail #805 was growing back nicely. “Bambi and his little forest friends are enjoying the new habitat created by the fire.” Life from death in the face of flame and saw.

In her book Tree Thieves, Lyndsie Bourgon writes that she has “begun to see the act of timber poaching as not simply a dramatic environmental crime, but something deeper—an act to reclaim one’s place in a rapidly changing world, a deed of necessity.”

Wilke, like so many tree thieves, was caught in a cycle tough to escape: out of work, bedeviled by drugs and poverty, a forgotten plank in a crooked social scaffolding. And yet, Wilke made a choice difficult to justify. For him, cutting maples morphed into an addiction, even a right.

“What transpired up there is not what the government led everyone to believe,” Wilke told me just before he went to prison. Though he never took the stand in his own defense, he now maintains that he wasn’t even present when Bertha caught fire and admits to cutting only one tree, both dubious claims.

“I don’t feel bad that I did the government wrong. I feel bad that I did the people wrong,” Wilke said. “I mean, the government can take down hundreds of acres up there of prime timber, and what do we get out of it? That’s our land up there. We should be able to…” He trailed off, suddenly careful of his words, but it was clear what Wilke meant. Those were his trees to cut.

As a scientist, Cronn prefers to let the wood speak above the voices in his own heart. Still, he has always loved the trees. “All citizens in the U.S. own those forests,” he said. “So when someone takes it in their own hands to claim this shared resource, they are taking it from the American people. They are taking it from all of us. And we should be outraged by it.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About the Author : Nick Davidson is a Santa Fe, New Mexico Based Free-Lance Journalist & Story-Teller.

[lisacameron99]

The One With Breaking The Code Part 1

Warnings: panic attacks, emotional manipulation, implied sexual trauma, rape aftermath, emotional breakdown, physical violence, jealousy, betrayal, guilt, found family, hurt/comfort, emotional fallout

Mona said it like it was gossip. Like it wasn’t her life unraveling at the seams. “I went to the cops. Told them about the shoplifting.” She smiled like she expected applause. “Community service. Big whoop. Then I found a note in my apple this morning—’You didn’t bite the first time, but you will. –A.’” Her laugh was thin, performative. Almost proud.

Caleb nodded slowly. “That’s… not okay, Mona.”

“Yeah,” Lily muttered, eyes narrowed. “Super chill of A to threaten you over a Granny Smith.”

Mona blinked, maybe catching the edge in her tone, but she just tossed her hair over her shoulder and said something about getting lunch before leaving. Except Lily knew she didn’t go far. She hovered, just out of sight. Like she always did.

As soon as the door clicked shut, Lily dropped her pencil. “I hate her.”

Caleb didn’t even hesitate. “I know.” His voice was quiet. Careful. His hand reached for hers without thinking, thumb brushing gently against her knuckles.

It was a small gesture. Soft. Steady. And it shattered her.

“Don’t,” she whispered.

He looked up, startled. “Lily, I—”

“I don’t like you like that,” she snapped, pulling her hand back like it burned. Her voice was too loud, too sharp. It cracked right down the center. “I’m sorry. I just—I can’t.”

“Lil—” Caleb started to stand, but she was already backing away, shaking her head.

“I’m sorry,” she repeated. “I didn’t mean to… I didn’t think you…” Her throat closed. “I can’t do this.”

She turned before he could say another word and bolted—hallways blurring, heart pounding, guilt rising like bile.

By the time she reached the courtyard, her lungs were heaving. She pressed her hands to her knees and tried to breathe, but the truth kept crashing down in waves.

Caleb was simple. Easy. Kind in a way that didn’t ask questions. In a way that made her feel seen and safe and… wanted.

And she hated him for it.

Because Noel was all jagged edges and broken trust. He was late-night panic attacks and whispered apologies. He was the first boy to ever really love her and the first one who ever made her bleed for it. He was loyalty and lies, and Lily would always choose him.

But for one second—for one second—she thought about how it would feel to fall for someone who didn’t come with a warning label. Someone who wasn’t wrapped in secrets and mistakes and promises made in the dark.

And that made her worse than Mona. Worse than Alison. Worse than A.

Because Hanna was her best friend. And Caleb wasn’t hers. He never was. He never could be.

But God, for one fleeting second… she wanted to know what it felt like to be chosen without the chaos.

And she hated herself for it.

____________________________________________________

Spencer had been pacing the Hastings living room since before Lily and Justin even pulled into the driveway. She didn’t sit when they walked in. Didn’t bother pretending this wasn’t going to wreck them. Her eyes landed on Lily like she already knew.

“I need to tell you something,” she said, voice tight. Too calm to be anything but terrified.

Justin crossed his arms, already tense. “Okay…?”

“It’s about Jason.” She paused. Swallowed. “He’s my half-brother. Peter’s his dad too.”

The silence was instant. Suffocating.

Lily blinked. Her brain short-circuited around the words.

“What?” she whispered.

Spencer flinched. “We just found out. He didn’t know either—”

“You’re related to him?” Her voice was cracking now. “You’re telling me he’s your family?”

Spencer hesitated, and that was all it took.

“No,” Lily said, louder now. “No, no, no—you don’t get to say that like it doesn’t matter. Like he’s just some sad mistake in a family tree. He—he touched me. More than once. I was high. I was drunk. But he still said yes when I couldn’t. And Ian—Ian raped me. And Jason watched.”

Justin’s entire body stiffened.

“He said he was too drunk to stop it,” Lily choked, a sob curling at the edge of her words. “But he wasn’t too drunk to unbuckle his pants when I couldn’t even stand. He let Ian touch me. Like I wasn’t even a person.”

Spencer’s voice was thin. “Lily…”

“Don’t,” she snapped. “Don’t say my name like it fixes anything. This—this changes everything.”

“It doesn’t,” Spencer said, stepping closer. “It doesn’t change how I feel about you. I know things have been weird since the cabin. Since we fought. I know I made it worse. But I need you to hear me: I’m not choosing Jason. I never would. This doesn’t erase what he did. It doesn’t erase you.”

Lily was shaking, eyes wild. “But it does. He’s your blood. And I’m just a burden. A mess you keep dragging behind you.”

“You’re not—”

“Then why does it feel like I’m disappearing? Like every time someone finds out the truth, they pick the person who hurt me instead of me?”

Justin finally spoke, voice hollow. “The money, Spence. Was that him too?”

Spencer looked between them, then nodded. “It wasn’t Jason. It was Mark. He gave Alison fifteen hundred dollars.”

Lily reeled. “Our dad?”

“She knew about Lily’s drinking. About you, Justin. The hospital. Everything. He paid her to shut up.”

Justin dropped his head into his hands. “Unbelievable.”

“And Peter’s been giving Jason money too,” Spencer added. “Monthly. Quiet. Under the table.”

Lily laughed. It was sharp and joyless, breaking off into something halfway between a scream and a sob.

“So everyone just pays each other off and pretends we’re not bleeding out in the hallway?” she spat. “Like we’re not the ones still living with it every day?”

No one answered. No one could.

Spencer reached out, but Lily stepped back. Her shoulders were trembling. Her eyes were glass.

“I can’t,” she whispered. “Not from you. Not right now.”

Then she turned and collapsed into Justin’s arms, burying her face in his chest like if she let go, she’d shatter.

He held her so tight she could barely breathe. And that was the only thing keeping her from falling apart.

____________________________________________________

Lily barely got the words out over the sound of her own breathing. “Hanna… we need to talk.”

That was all it took.

Ten minutes later, she was in Hanna’s room, pacing while Hanna sat still on the bed, watching her like she already knew something was wrong. Lily didn’t stop moving—couldn’t. Her fingers trembled at her sides like they were trying to crawl out of her skin.

“It was nothing, okay?” she said, too fast. “It didn’t mean anything. I didn’t let it mean anything.”

Hanna frowned. “Lil. Start from the beginning.”

Lily dragged a hand through her hair. “Mona came over during bio with me and Caleb. She told us about going to the cops about the shoplifting, then said she got this note from A—something about biting the apple. She left. I said I hated her. And then Caleb… grabbed my hand.”

Hanna’s brows rose slowly. “He what?”

Lily swallowed hard. “It wasn’t even that long, okay? He just—he looked at me like he got it. Like he was trying to say he understood. And I panicked. I told him I didn’t like him like that and I ran. Literally ran.” Her voice cracked. “Because I don’t like him like that, Hanna. I don’t. Not even a little. You have to believe me.”

Hanna stayed quiet. Still. Listening.

“I would never do that to you,” Lily said, her voice shrill now. “I couldn’t even wait, I had to tell you right away, because I knew if A saw it, if anyone else saw it—”

“You mean like this?” Hanna said gently, lifting her phone. Her thumb moved a few times, and then she held it up.

Lily froze. Her heart stopped cold.

It was the moment. Captured perfectly. Her and Caleb. His hand in hers. Her eyes turned down. His face soft. To anyone looking—anyone who didn’t know—it looked exactly like what she had tried to prevent.

“W-where did you get that?” Her voice splintered.

“A. Sent it.” Hanna didn’t soften the words.

Lily took one step back. Then another. Her knees gave slightly like they might give out entirely.

“She sent it to you? When?”

“This morning. Aria, Spencer, Em, and me.”

“And Noel?” she whispered. “Did—did Noel see it?”

Hanna didn’t answer.

Lily’s chest seized. Her breathing got shallow. Quick. Dangerous.

“Oh my God.” She clutched her stomach. “Oh my God. Oh my God, no. He thinks—he thinks I—I didn’t even do anything, Hanna—”

“I know you didn’t,” Hanna said quickly, rising from the bed. “Breathe, Lil. Hey—look at me.”

But Lily was spiraling. Fast. Her breaths turned to gasps, short and frantic, like her body forgot how to take in air. She stumbled into the wall and slid down it, fists clenched in her hair, nails digging into her scalp.

“I can’t—I can’t—I didn’t mean—he’s gonna think—he’s gonna leave—”

“He’s not,” Hanna said, kneeling in front of her.

“You don’t know that.” Her voice was raw, wrecked. “You don’t know what I’ve done. I’ve ruined everything. Everything’s falling apart and I can’t—I can’t breathe—”

Hanna didn’t speak. She didn’t argue. She pulled her phone back out with one hand, the other still rubbing circles on Lily’s back. Her fingers flew across the screen, quick and quiet.

To: noel khan (lily bean’s bean)

lily’s having a panic attack. she saw the picture. You need to get o my place, i can’t help her. now.

She didn’t tell Lily. Didn’t need to. Because right now, her best friend was curled on the floor, choking on guilt and panic, gasping like her lungs were collapsing from the inside out. And Hanna knew that if there was anyone who could break through the spiral—who could bring Lily back to herself—it was him.

____________________________________________________

Noel didn’t knock. He just opened the front door like he always had, like he knew she needed him more than manners. His hair was still damp from a shower, and he wore nothing but black athletic shorts and a faded Rosewood sweatshirt. His eyes were wild when they landed on Hanna—until he saw Lily.

She was on the floor, back pressed to the wall, legs curled into herself like she was trying to disappear. Her face was blotchy, eyes red and glassy, breath still uneven.

Noel was at her side in two strides.

“Lil,” he breathed, kneeling in front of her.

She didn’t speak. Couldn’t.

But the second he touched her—warm hands on her arms, grounding her—her body gave out. She collapsed into him like gravity had been holding her up and then let go. Noel caught her, pulling her into his lap without hesitation, wrapping his arms around her like armor.

“I saw the picture,” he whispered into her hair. “It doesn’t matter.”

She shook her head. Tried to speak. “I didn’t—”

“I know you didn’t,” he said, voice quiet but certain. “You don’t have to explain. Not to me.”

Her sob hit him square in the chest.

Hanna stepped back. Gave them space.

Noel just held her. Rocked her gently on the bedroom floor until her breathing slowed and the shaking faded to a soft tremble. Until she could sit up on her own.

Then, wordlessly, he helped her to her feet and led her out the door.

They didn’t say anything on the drive back to the cabin. He kept one hand on the wheel, the other holding hers across the console.

When they got inside, Lily stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, still in the jeans and long-sleeve from earlier. Like she didn’t know what to do with herself now.

“I want to talk,” she said hoarsely. “I need to—”

“Not now,” Noel interrupted gently, brushing her hair behind her ear. “You don’t have to be strong tonight. Just let me hold you.”

She didn’t argue.

He handed her an old, worn-in T-shirt and a clean pair of boxers. She changed in the bathroom, her fingers shaking as she peeled away the clothes that still smelled like shame.

When she came out, Noel was already under the covers, back propped against the headboard, waiting.

Lily climbed into bed beside him, and he pulled her into his chest immediately, wrapping his arms around her like he could keep the whole world out.

She cried again. Silent, gut-wrenching tears that soaked into his shirt.

And he just held her through it. Every second. Every tremor.

She fell asleep like that. Pressed against him, wearing his clothes, his heartbeat steady beneath her ear. He didn’t move. Didn’t let go.

____________________________________________________

Hanna didn’t wait. The second Lily left with Noel, she grabbed her keys and drove straight to Justin’s.

She didn’t knock, just marched through the door and into the living room, where Justin was half-asleep on the couch, hoodie up, earbuds in.

“You need to hear this from me,” she said, breathless.

Justin sat up fast. “What happened?”

“It’s about Lily. And Caleb.”

He stood immediately, tension shooting through his frame like lightning. “What about Caleb?”

“He—he held her hand. Today. While they were studying. She told me it didn’t mean anything, that she told him she didn’t like him and ran out, but A sent us a picture. Made it look worse. And she spiraled. Full-on panic attack.” Hanna’s voice was tight. “Noel had to come get her.”

Justin’s eyes narrowed, jaw clenched. “Where’s Caleb now?”

“He’s on his way. He was coming over to help decode the file from Melissa’s hard drive.”

But it was already too late.

The front door creaked open and in walked Caleb, backpack slung over one shoulder. “Hey, I brought the—”

He didn’t get to finish.

Justin stepped forward and punched him, square in the jaw.

Caleb stumbled back, dropping his bag with a loud thud.

“What the hell, man?” he shouted, clutching his face.

“You touched my sister?” Justin was already coming at him again.

Caleb blocked it, shoved him back, and then landed a hit of his own.

“Guys, stop!” Hanna cried, trying to wedge herself between them, but they weren’t listening.

They were all fists and fury—Justin fueled by protectiveness, Caleb by guilt. It was messy, brutal, and relentless. A punch to the ribs. A blow to the shoulder. Grunts and breathless swearing between swings.

The front door slammed again and this time it was Toby who burst in, grabbing Justin from behind and yanking him off Caleb with effort. “Enough!”

Everyone froze, panting.

Caleb was bleeding from his nose. Justin had a split lip.

“I know, okay?” Caleb spat, not at Justin, but at the room. At himself. “I know it was wrong. I knew it the second it happened. She told me no and I backed off. I didn’t do anything else.”

Justin was still heaving, fists clenched at his sides.

Caleb turned to Hanna, eyes bloodshot, desperate. “I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry, Hanna. I didn’t mean for it to get that far. I didn’t even realize what I was doing until it was over.”

She stared at him, arms crossed tightly over her chest. “Then why?”

Caleb swallowed, pulled out his phone, and opened his inbox. He turned the screen toward them—Justin, Toby, Hanna.

It was an email. From A.

Subject: Temptation

Body: Get Lily to cheat. Break them. Or I break you. That file isn’t the only thing I have, Caleb. You go to prison or she goes down with you. Your call. Tick tock. —A

Silence.

“I didn’t know what to do,” Caleb said hoarsely. “I thought—I thought I could pretend. Just long enough to get A off my back. But the second she looked at me like I was safe, I realized I wasn’t. I’m not.”

He turned to Hanna again, voice breaking. “I love you. I love you. And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I just—I didn’t want to lose you too.”

Hanna blinked, her lip trembling, but she didn’t say anything.

No one did.

____________________________________________________

The Pretties, 11:52 PM

Justin

a sent this to caleb

figured you should all see it

[photo attachment: A’s email — “Get Lily to cheat… or I break you.”]

Spencer

…This is sick.

Absolutely sick.

How long has he had this?

Toby

Since earlier, yesterday I think 

Didn’t say jack shit to anybody

Caleb

Didn’t know how

Didn’t want to make it worse

But A doesn’t just play games, they break the rules

And I’m so sorry

Emily

How’s Lily

Noel

asleep

she cried herself out

barely said anything on the way back

she’s wrecked

it’s like she folded in on herself

Emily

Noel you better make sure she comes to the brew tomorrow

She needs something to be normal

And the three of us together there will feel normal there

And she won’t be stuck in your bed all day

It needs to be something that doesn’t make her feel like the world is ending

Hanna

thanks em

really

Spencer

This whole thing is fucked.

Everything about it. The timing. The manipulation. Him.

Toby

What do you want to do spencer 

Write another speech?

Or run? You’re good at that part

Hanna

jesus toby

not now

Aria

can everyone shut the fuck up for two seconds

lily is the focus here, caleb too

not some petty spat between exes

Caleb

I never wanted her to get hurt

I panicked

I thought if I just played along, A would back off

Justin

you thought

you gambled with my sister

my sister’s feelings

you know what they did to her 

Spencer

You knew what she’s been through

And still let yourself entertain it

Caleb

I stopped

She said no

I backed off

I swear that’s all that happened

Emily

This is what a breakdown looks like

You know that right

It’s not just crying

It’s shaking and silence and her thinking she deserves this

Hanna

she kept saying she ruined everything

i’ve never heard her sound like that

Noel

i’ve never seen her like this

not even after ali

she’s curled up in my bed and still hasn’t let go of my shirt

like she’s afraid she’ll disappear if she does

Justin

she won’t

i’m not letting her

and the rest of you better get on board or get the fuck out

because i’m done letting this bitch use my sister as a play toy

Aria

then we all need to shut up and do better

because this is exactly what A wants

us at each other’s throats

while lily falls apart in the middle

Spencer

We keep talking about protecting her

But we’re always three steps too late

We never actually save her

Toby

We react

We don’t prevent

That’s the problem

Caleb

I’ll fix it

I’ll do whatever it takes

Just tell her I’m sorry

That I never meant to be another person who failed her

She’s literally the sister I’ve always wanted

Emily

She’s not ready to hear it

But when she is

It better come from you

Justin

she deserves better than this

better than all of us right now

but she’s still here

so we fight for her. no matter what.

[manversus]

Texas plane crash: At least one person killed after latest horror aircraft smash near airport

Emergency services have descended on Propwash Airport, which is in Justin, Texas, as a plane has crashed - after the pilot reportedly experienced an issue with the small aircraft

At least one person has died following yet another plane crash.

The latest aircraft horror has seen a jet plunge to the ground near Propwash Airport, which is in Justin, Texas, at around 7.15pm on Friday (1.15am Saturday UK time). Emergency services have descended on the scene of the smash, believed to have happened after the pilot suddenly experiencied an issue with the 2019 Sabrewing Lightsport aircraft.

"Multiple investigations into this incident are currently underway," a spokesperson for the City of Justin authority in Texas said. The plane involved is a small aircraft, although it is unclear at this stage exactly how many people were travelling in it.

The horror comes hours after at least three people died in a plane crash in Boca Ration, Florida. Footage taken by a witness there showed apocalyptic scenes, with thick grey smoke billowing into the sky and flames engulfing the a number of palm trees lining the freeway.

And six people, including a family of five, died when a sightseeing helicopter plunged into Hudson River in New York City on Thursday. Heartbreaking tributes to Siemens boss Agustín Escobar, his wife and three children, who were from Spain, have been made today following their deaths in the tragedy.

Authorities in Texas have confirmed at least one death in the latest aviation calamity. A witness told CBS News Texas he saw the plane experiencing a problem shortly after leaving Propwash Airport, a light aircraft base. The pilot attempted to return to the airport but crashed before reaching it, the shocked witness continued.

[westriverpeacegarden]

March 2025 News: Walk Audit Report-Back; Panel Discussion on Greenspaces; First Work-Day of 2025

Dear Friend of the Peace Garden,

I wanted to wish you a happy springtime and provide a few updates about the Peace Garden:

March 15 Walk Audit Report-Back -- A Great Success!

From previous newsletters you know that we are one of the advisory committee partners in the West River Memorial Park (WRMP) Renew Team, which is working on access and management issues for WRMP -- located directly across the street from the Peace Garden. The National Park Service is assisting the Renew Team in this work. As part of the advisory committee, we have been advocating for better connections and enhanced access between the Peace Garden and WRMP on the other side of Ella Grasso Boulevard. At our urging, the WRMP Renew Team carried out a "walk audit" on March 15 bringing together various community stakeholders to examine the pedestrian conditions and park access issues along the Ella Grasso Boulevard and Derby Avenue corridors. The walk audit was attended by Mayor Justin Elicker, three different city department heads, and representatives of the South Central Regional Council of Governments (SCRCOG). We are very grateful to the organizers of the walk audit and all the officials who attended.

As you know from our previous newsletter, we recently had new sidewalks installed at the Peace Garden, which is a tremendous improvement and a sign of the progress we have been making. But there is much more work to do. Another walk audit will be taking place later this year, details TBD.

Panel Discussion on New Haven Parks & Greenspaces, Thursday, March 27

We are participating in a panel discussion at the Institute Library (847 Chapel Street) this Thursday, March 27, alongside other parks advocates. We will be talking about how important our parks and greenspaces are in fostering community, solidarity and resiliency and how they play a critical role in maintaining the physical and mental health of our residents.

This program is free and open to the public. Hope you can join us!

Meeting With New Parks Department Director Max Webster -- Next Meeting April 2

On January 8 several members of Friends of the West River Peace Garden attended a meeting with the new Director of the Parks Department, Max Webster, who assumed his role last November. We raised with him the issue of ARPA funding that was promised for parks and greenspaces like ours, but never delivered. Thanks to Urban Resources Initiative for arranging this meeting.

The next meeting with Director Webster will be held on Wednesday, April 2 and you are invited to attend. (Please RSVP here.) Attached to this email are notes from the first meeting with Director Webster. Please note that we also recently met with the City's new landscape architect, Josh Price, to discuss future upgrades to the Peace Garden.

First Work-Day of 2025! Thursday, April 10 -- Friday Work-Days Resume April 18

Our first garden work-day of 2025 will take place on Thursday, April 10 at 9:30am. We will be cleaning out the garden and possibly doing some planting as well. In fact, we may be planting a new tree with Urban Resources Initiative in the central part of the garden, which we have been anticipating with great excitement since last fall!

Student volunteers from Albertus Magnus College will be joining us that day (April 10), but we need experienced volunteers to help supervise. The following week, April 18, we will resume our regular work-days on Friday mornings.

Hope you can join us for another season of working in the garden and making it even better!

________________________

Thanks for your ongoing support and I hope to see you soon.

Aaron G. Friends of the West River Peace Garden westriverpeacegarden.org

[sis-certifications]

GEG and its Property Hotels Recognized for Green Initiatives and Certifications

 Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG) has been recognized for its commitment to environmental protection and sustainable development. GEG has received various International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certifications from the British Standards Institution (BSI) for its facilities and environmental management. Banyan Tree Macau, Galaxy Hotel™, Hotel Okura Macau, and Galaxy International Convention Center (GICC), all properties of GEG, have also achieved EarthCheck Gold and Silver certifications for their environmental management performances.

 2024-05-21 Platform Studio

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Banyan Tree Macau achieved the EarthCheck Gold Certification for the fifth consecutive year, while Galaxy Hotel™ and Hotel Okura Macau have received the EarthCheck Silver Certification. The certifications were jointly received by representatives from the awarding hotels.

BSI’s representative (second from left) presented the ISO certifications to representatives of GEG’s related departments.

GEG recently held the “Sharing GEG Sustainability Journey” event at GICC. Apart from introducing its recent green initiatives and accomplishments with team members, GEG also invited sustainability industry professionals to share insights on current practices and future trends in sustainable development and management.

To promote green initiatives and increase awareness among its team members, GEG recently organized the “Sharing GEG Sustainability Journey” event. Industry professionals were invited to share insights on sustainable development and management practices.

The event was attended by GEG’s management team members, executives from its property hotels, and members of the Energy and Environmental Management Committee.

GEG’s commitment to environmental sustainability has been acknowledged through multiple ISO certifications awarded by BSI, including ISO 41001 Facilities Management System, ISO 50001 Energy Management System, ISO 14001 Environmental Management System, and ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System. Additionally, Banyan Tree Macau, Galaxy Hotel, Hotel Okura Macau, and GICC received EarthCheck Gold and Silver certifications for their outstanding environmental management performances.

Mr. Raymond Lui, Director of Enterprise Solution and Marketing of BSI, explained the values, benefits and certification standards of ISO certifications to hospitality enterprises.

Ms. Lucia Loposova, Executive Director of GREEN Hospitality, a sustainable development platform in Hong Kong, shared with team members the insights on the current status and future trends of the sustainable development in the Greater Bay Area and the global hospitality industry, in hopes of deepening team members’ understanding of green tourism.

Mr. Justin Li, Assistant Vice President of Sustainability and Technical Services of GEG, presented team members with the latest sustainability and environmental initiatives implemented by GEG.

During the event, GEG representatives highlighted the company’s latest sustainability and environmental initiatives. These include optimizing facility systems, introducing intelligent transportation robots to improve efficiency and reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, and replacing plastic amenities with sustainable alternatives like bamboo.

GEG has also taken significant steps to reduce plastic waste by replacing single-use bath products with refillable or large-capacity containers, resulting in the replacement of over 18 million plastic amenities annually.

BSI representatives provided insights into the value and benefits of ISO certifications, while representatives from GREEN Hospitality shared information on sustainable development trends in the Greater Bay Area and the global hospitality industry. The objective was to deepen team members’ understanding of green tourism and sustainability practices.

You Might Be Interested In

GEG Title Sponsors Vitality Walk 2024, Celebrating Double Anniversaries

National Gold Medalists at Macau Vitality Walk 2024 by Galaxy Entertainment

GEG Donates MOP700,000 to Tung Sin Tong for the 21st Consecutive Year

GEG’s efforts in environmental protection and sustainable development have been recognized through various awards.

Last year, GEG received the Gold Award for Climate Change Initiative in the Sustainability and Social Responsibility Category from the Pacific Asia Travel Association and the Sustainability Award at the International Gaming Awards. GEG’s flagship properties’ hotels have also received Green Hotel Awards organized by the Environmental Protection Bureau of the Macau SAR Government and the Macao Government Tourism Office.

GEG remains committed to its philosophy of using community resources for the benefit of the community. The company will continue to improve its environmental sustainability performance and contribute to the development of Macau as a livable green city and a premier tourism destination.

source - https://www.plataformamedia.com/en/2024/05/21/geg-and-its-property-hotels-recognized-for-green-initiatives-and-certifications/

[the-book-queen]

Hide your wallets, it’s that time again #TBQsBookDeals

Your hella loooooong Sunday recap thread is ready! #romancedeals FREE to $2.99. Happy shopping! 📚❤

And it's Double Kindle Points still!

~ * ~ * ~

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FREE ✦ His Christmas Wish by Kay Lyons

Opposites attract. Widowed single mom who is done with adrenaline junkies + rock climber who owns a hardware store.

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3 books, including:

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$0.99 ✦ A Match Made in Winter by Ellie St. Clair

A fun-loving prankster solicitor and a rule-following schoolteacher collide at a holiday house party.

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A desperate nobleman created a fake fiancee but must now present her to his grandfather or be disinherited. Luckily he comes across an overturned carriage and a woman with amnesia.

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$0.99 ✦ Culinary Confessions by Joanne Lambo

Friends to lovers. She wants to take over her aunt's bakery but must first bake a perfect wedding cake for a client. He has just returned from culinary school.

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$0.99 ✦ Sleepless in Scotland by May McGoldrick

Deputy Lieutenant who still hunts for his sister's murderer + his late sister's best friend, a Lady who is a committed reformer writing anonymous articles.

Historical Romance (MF) | https://amzn.to/4eZcilz 

$1.99 ✦ Always a Cowboy by Linda Lael Miller

He is in charge of the family ranch. She's been called in to research the wild stallions on his property.

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$1.99 ✦ Miss Lattimore's Letter by Suzanne Allain

A wallflower who never made a match of her own is suddenly making matches for everyone else. Including the one man she wishes would consider her for a bride…

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$1.99 ✦ The Marquess of Cake by Heather Hiestand

A Marquess falls for a pastry chef.

KU Title

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$1.99 ✦ A Holly Jolly Ever After by Julie Murphy

1st POV. Former good girl actress who has narcolepsy + perpetually single former boy-band member become costars on a sexy holiday romcom.

TBQ Rec

Contemporary Romance (MF) | https://amzn.to/414icPg 

$1.99 ✦ Ride with Me by Ruthie Knox

A grumpy reclusive bike mechanic gets paired with a sunshiny teacher as they bike across the TransAmerica Trail. Forced proximity.

TBQ Rec

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$2.99 ✦ Blind Date with the Spare Heir by Yahrah St. John

Enemies to lovers. She's a PR agent who wants to prove that his family swindled her father out of his share of the company. They end up fake dating.

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A struggling TV actress and an A-list movie star have a scorching Vegas hookup, oops they wake up married.

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Or you can find all of these deals, with their GR, BN, and Kobo links as well, up on the blog:

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Putting these lists together takes time. If you appreciate this content, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi. http://ko-fi.com/danielletbq

[whatsissue]

Trudeau Government to Send $250 Cheques to Most People, Slash GST on Some Goods

Trudeau Government to Send $250 Cheques to Most People, Slash GST on Some Goods Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a series of new measures on Thursday aimed at alleviating affordability pressures that Canadians have been facing in the post-COVID era. Key among these initiatives is a two-month GST holiday on certain goods and services, along with $250 cheques for eligible Canadians. Key Announcements The Liberal government will distribute $250 cheques to an estimated 18.7 million Canadians who worked in 2023 and earned $150,000 or less. These payments, referred to as the "Working Canadians Rebate," are expected to be distributed in "early spring 2025." The GST/HST holiday will commence on December 14 and run through February 15, 2025. During this period, a variety of goods will be exempt from the GST, including: - Prepared foods (vegetable trays, pre-made meals, salads, sandwiches) - Restaurant meals (dine-in, takeout, or delivery) - Snacks (chips, candy, granola bars) - Alcoholic beverages (beer, wine, cider, and pre-mixed drinks below 7% ABV) - Children’s clothing, footwear, car seats, and diapers - Children’s toys (board games, dolls, video game consoles) - Books, print newspapers, and puzzles - Christmas trees Trudeau stated, “For two months, Canadians are going to get a real break on everything they do,” adding that while the government can't control prices at the checkout, it can help put more money into people's pockets. Financial Implications Families spending approximately $2,000 on eligible goods during the GST holiday can expect to save around $100. In provinces with the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), such as Ontario and Nova Scotia, the savings could be even greater—estimated at $260 for the same purchase amount. These measures will come at a significant cost to the federal government, with the GST holiday projected to result in $1.6 billion in lost revenue and the cheque distribution costing about $4.68 billion. Political Context This announcement comes as the Liberal government faces declining popularity, with recent polls showing them trailing the Conservative Party by approximately 17 percentage points. The renewed focus on cost-of-living issues is seen as an attempt to regain support from Canadians who have been feeling the economic pinch. However, there are concerns that these measures could inadvertently fuel inflation, which has recently stabilized at the Bank of Canada's target rate of 2%. Economists have noted that previous government stimulus during the pandemic contributed to rising inflation levels as consumers spent more. Trudeau defended the initiative, asserting that it would not stimulate inflation. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland also downplayed inflation fears, citing the Bank of Canada's successful rate hikes as a stabilizing factor. Opposition Responses Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre criticized the temporary tax relief as a “trick,” arguing that it does not address the underlying issues of rising costs, particularly with a permanent carbon tax expected to increase in the spring. He claimed that housing costs and food bank reliance have soared under Trudeau's leadership. In contrast, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh expressed support for the affordability measures, stating his party would work to expedite their passage in Parliament. Singh highlighted the need for further action, advocating for the permanent elimination of GST on essential items such as groceries and home heating. Conclusion The Trudeau government's announcement of a GST holiday and targeted financial support reflects an effort to respond to the economic challenges facing Canadians. While the measures aim to provide immediate relief, their long-term effectiveness and impact on inflation remain to be seen. As the holiday season approaches, the political landscape will be closely monitored, with implications for future elections and government policies. Read the full article

[aaayards1]

AAA Yards & Property Services

AAA Yards & Property Services is a premier landscaper, renowned for elevating outdoor spaces throughout Heath, TX. With a comprehensive suite of lawn care services, our clients trust us to maintain their verdant expanses with precision and care. Our landscape design prowess allows us to craft bespoke gardens that reflect our clients’ personal styles and enhance the natural beauty of their properties. From regular garden maintenance to complex outdoor landscaping projects, our expertise ensures every blade of grass and petal blooms to its full potential.

Our seasoned team specializes in tree trimming and pruning, essential services that not only keep trees healthy but also safeguard your property from potential damage. As residential landscaping experts, we create serene oases where homeowners can relax and reconnect with nature. Simultaneously, our commercial landscaping solutions enhance business exteriors, thereby making them inviting to customers and employees alike.

Understanding the importance of water conservation and landscape health, we deliver top-notch irrigation installation and repair services. Our dedication extends to custom constructions like pergolas that serve as focal points in your garden while offering shade from the Texas sun. We also excel in hardscaping elements such as concrete work for patios and pathways, retaining walls for strategic erosion control, and french drains ensuring proper site drainage.

At AAA Yards & Property Services, we blend aesthetic appeal with functionality to create harmonious landscapes tailored to each client’s unique needs. Whether you envision an elegant pocket garden or seek extensive property transformations inclusive of detailed hardscape installations, our landscapers stand ready to bring your vision into reality with craftsmanship that stands the test of time. Contact us today for unmatched excellence in yard creation and maintenance designed specifically for you, because when it comes to perfecting landscapes in Heath, TX, no one knows your yard like we do.

Address: 517 Laurence Drive, Heath, TX, 75032 Website

Phone: (469) 772-9169 Company Email: justin@aaayards.com Company hours: Mon - Fri: 08:00 - 17:00

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[naturecoaster]

East Pasco Chamber Foundation Kicks off School Year by Giving Honors to 10 Student Citizens

The East Pasco Chamber Foundation in partnership with the Greater East Pasco Chamber of Commerce recognized ten students from local Zephyrhills schools. This ceremony marks 27 years of celebrating student citizenship in the Zephyrhills. The students were honored as the Greater East Pasco Student Citizen of the Month for September. The ceremony took place at Chick-fil-A in Zephyrhills on September 18 at 8:00 am. Students are chosen by the teachers and administration of their individual schools for exemplary effort,achievement and contribution to their school, family, and community. The students receiving honors were: Sarai Nieves (8th grade, Academy of Spectrum Diversity); Daralis Robles (1st grade, Children’s Educational Services Elementary Campus ); Jason Jarman (6th grade, Children’s Educational Services Secondary Campus); Jase Kitchen (5th grade, Chester W. Taylor Elementary School); Anna Gomez-Marzano (1st grade, Heritage Academy); Angel Cruz (6th grade, Raymond B. Stewart Middle School); Justin Telman (Pre-K, West Zephyrhills Elementary School); Cheyenne Oney (5th grade, Woodland Elementary); Tiana Williams (6th grade, Zephyrhills Christian Academy); and Xavier Rodgriguez (12 th grade, Zephyrhills High School). East Pasco Chamber Foundation Honors 10 Student Citizens in September Sponsors and supporters of this year’s program are as follows: Chick-fil-A Zephyrhills, AdventHealthZephyrhills, Bahr's Propane Gas & A/C, Inc., Benedictine Sisters of Florida, BGE, Central Florida Tree &Debris, City of Zephyrhills - Government, IR Staffing, Jarrett Ford Dade City, Pasco-Hernando StateCollege, San Antonio Citizens Federal Credit Union, South Branch Ranch, Spivey Karate Dade City, Statewide Insurance, Suncoast Credit Union, Sunrise Rotary of Dade City, Vitis Realty, Pasco EducationFoundation, Pin Chasers East Pasco, Kona Ice Of Zephyrhills, Campus Gear, Pioneer Florida Museum andVillage, Beef 'O' Brady's - Dade City, Beef 'O' Brady's - Zephyrhills, Culver's, Jim Driscoll, and S&S RanchWedding and Entertainment Venue. If you are an area business and would like to support this impactful program, please contact Vicki Wiggins at the East Pasco Chamber of Commerce at 813-782-1913. Read the full article