suncaida

[suncaida]

Tiny Flower Bouquet #6

Packed with tiny first-bloom zinnias, the first snapdragon blossoms, dianthus, dill, wild basil, and bright blue balloon flowers.

[suncaida]

Case in point, that ants are having a hay day too :)

A family friend's kid was sharing with me what seeds they'd gotten from their library the other day. and she said "marigold, moon flower... butterfly weed, which is just a weed..."

To which I was like hold on, stop right there. *just* a weed ? I then attempted to explain that butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) isn't *just* anything and is rather important - that "weed" has more to with how it seeds and spreads easily and was at some point undesirable in yards that the plant became coined a weed. That this plant supports butterflies and is their home for a portion of their life - we wouldn't call our homes just a building.

(Frankly, nothing is just a weed, but that felt like a story for another day)

[suncaida]

A family friend's kid was sharing with me what seeds they'd gotten from their library the other day. and she said "marigold, moon flower... butterfly weed, which is just a weed..."

To which I was like hold on, stop right there. *just* a weed ? I then attempted to explain that butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) isn't *just* anything and is rather important - that "weed" has more to with how it seeds and spreads easily and was at some point undesirable in yards that the plant became coined a weed. That this plant supports butterflies and is their home for a portion of their life - we wouldn't call our homes just a building.

(Frankly, nothing is just a weed, but that felt like a story for another day)

[suncaida]

Monotropa Uniflora, or ghost plant, or ghost pipe;

Perhaps my favorite flower.

I've never seen them in such great density as this season near the Slippery Rock Creek around Hell's Hollow. They were everywhere this morning.

[suncaida]

my love language is to always support u

[suncaida]

Check out my ongoing comic Crow Time. It has crows, and also neat pantheons of epic beasties.

[suncaida]

TIP:

This holiday season, if you know someone who likes house plants,

DON'T

get them a houseplant. DO NOT.

instead, get them a NICE, MEDIUM-LARGE, AESTHETIC, BOTTOM-DRAINING, INDOOR

POT.

that is what they want. that is what they dream of. ok? thats what will be most useful and appreciated. in fact, if you can, get them a CUTE MATCHING SET. OF POTS!!!! NOT PLANTS, POTS!!!!!!!!

they may be more excited initially about the plant. that is true. but a pot is a gift that they will go home and use to upsize one of their already beloved houseplants, and every time they look at it they will remember how much they appreciate you.

HOUSEPLANT:

- they already have so many

- needs to be watered

- takes up window space

- comes in a pot thats already too small, needs to be upsized, costing money

- can die

AESTHETIC POT

- lets them care for an existing plant they own

- they will be grateful every time they see it in their home

- does not take up window space not already occupied by a plant

- can be wrapped without dying or spilling dirt everywhere

[suncaida]

"these researchers published a paper on something that literally any of us could have told you 🙄" ok well my supervisors wont let me write something in my thesis unless I can back it up with a citation so maybe it's a good thing that they're amplifying your voice to the scientific community in a way that prevents people from writing off your experiences as annecdotal evidence

[suncaida]

never thought of it, but I think it's a pretty cool way to think about video essays

its crazy that a lot of what we call 'video essays' these days are basically low budget documentaries on increasingly weird and niche topics. no network approval no tv budget just one guy with maybe a hired editor/writer and a couple of friends willing to read voice lines. and then they put it on youtube like its no big deal. insane.

[suncaida]

Plus there's always goats

what if we kept lawns but got rid of lawnmowers. that could be so funny

[suncaida]

A blooming Norway spruce/gran. Värmland, Sweden (May 14, 2019).

[suncaida]

YOO adorable!!

This reminds me. Apparently left a praying mantis egg case in my work vehicle over winter (??), because one day a bunch of these little guys manifested in the cab:

I was very confused and did what every pray mantis mother does best - left them to the wild and for the best.

Itty bitty praying mantis was eating aphids

[suncaida]

Today years old when I found out this plant existed.

A quick scan of ~Wikipedia~ informed me it's in the asparagus family and the scilla subfamily (so related to hyacinthoides and scilla). But also that a study on the interaction of pollinators and this plant were done (article linked below). It's via leaf cutters specifically and apparently is the first recorded/known observation of petals acting like the stigma.

which then the only plant with anything similar to that process is called Lacandonia. Another plant I did not know existed until today. And it's mycoheterotrophic aka doesn't photosynthesize and has this mutual relationship with fungi (??)

(the one other plant I know that is like this is Ghost pipes or Monotropa uniflora)

All in all very cool. :)

Albuca spiralis

[suncaida]

Lepidotarphius perornatella on some Sweet Flag, Acorus sp. (Not sure what species)

[suncaida]

Hollyhock

Edit: they're called "peaches 'n' cream"

[suncaida]

milkweed and a bee :)

[suncaida]

Gentle Hermione

Gertrude Jekyll

The Dame Deborah James Rose

All three of my roses are out and each one of them is gorgeous