#did a little backyard nature photo today. as a treat

[wekillitwithfire]

weeping cherry

[lemonjoonah]

The Garden Thief (M)

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader Word Count: 9.3K Genre: Hybrid AU, romance/drama/comedy, enemies to lovers Warnings: Unprotected sex, oral sex (fem. rec.), they get down and dirty outside but no one else is there to see them, cum play? (just a little), there’s also a bit of mud (sorry, but also not sorry, they’re outside what do you want from me?!?!), referenced hybrid neglect and oppression (hybrids are wrongfully deemed as pets by law and the majority of society).  

Summary: Your beloved vegetable patch has once again been victimized by a hungry thief in the night. The prime suspect? Jeon Jungkook, your neighbour's rabbit hybrid. But when you finally confront him, he pleads innocent, and proposes a plan to clear his name.

A/N: I wrote this fic’s premise and opening scene for the ‘A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words Game’ that I played oh so long ago and now I’ve finally finished the tale!

...

“Oh for fuck’s sake, not again!” You swear upon seeing the leafy green remains of several carrots lying in your garden, inches from where they used to be buried. This maddening mystery of the vanishing vegetables has been playing out all summer. You’ve set out deterrents for every possible garden pest, rolling out chicken wire and spraying natural remedies to repel anything from bugs to small rodents. Yet you still wake to find that your garden has been robbed in the night. The only possible suspect you haven’t been able to protect against resides just next door, in fact—

You squint up at the boarded fence, spotting a pair of long dark ears peeking out over the posts. “Jungkook, is that you?”

The ears immediately disappear, ducking down behind the barrier. The sound of his hurried footsteps trailing away are followed only by the slamming of a door.

You rush into and through your own house carrying the wilted carrot greens. Exiting out the front, and over to the house next to yours, where you repeatedly press the bell.

The entry whips open on the fourth ring to reveal Jungkook. His face is flushed, beads of sweat racing down his brow, and a shirt that one would normally use to cover their chest, is instead thrown over his shoulder. “Something wrong neighbour?” He asks with a carrot stick in hand. Bringing it to his mouth, he taunts you with a bite and crooked grin.

“Is-is your caretaker home?” You stutter trying your best to swallow your nerves. Concentrating hard on his face, you plead with your eyes not to wander down. That’s exactly what he wants, a reason to put you off your mission, to make you so flustered that you have to walk away. He’s always trying to use his allure against you, and you hate how often he succeeds doing just that...  

“No, he’s at work.”

“When will he be back?”

“Not sure, maybe a week, or two? He’s on a business trip.”

Your gaze falters in it’s determination for a brief second as a drop of sweat descends from his neck to his chest. Holding your breath you watch it’s path, tracing the valleys between his muscles. When Jungkook finally wipes it away your brain catches up and scolds you for your weakness. “And he left you here, alone?”  You ask, while trying to recollect your dignity, reminding yourself of how much grief he has put you through.

“Of course.” Jungkook’s smile grows. “I’m not just some common pet. I know how to behave myself.”

The statement makes your brow twitch, enraging you enough to overcome his tactics. “I know you haven’t been here long, but you should know, people typically don’t like it when someone steals from their yard.” You lecture him, waving the carrot tops in front of his face. “So stop treating my garden like your own personal snack bar!”

“Now why would I take from you? I have plenty of food here, even got another delivery this morning.”  The hybrid kicks at a box next him filled with a vibrant collection of fresh produce and grains.

“I don’t know why. I just know it was you.”

“Prove it.” He prods, while taking the last bite of the vegetable from his hand.

The loud crunching gnaws on your composure, stripping you of any patience you may have had for the hybrid. “This all started when you moved in, and I’ve ruled everything else out!” You shout, but as good as it might feel to finally vent your anger, you feel as though you’re somehow playing into his hand.

“That doesn’t seem like very good evidence. It’s circumstantial at best. If you want to find out who the real culprit is you should have a stake out.”

“A stake out?”

“Yeah, you know, watch over the garden for the night, catch the criminal in the act. I could even help if you’d like.”

You scoff at the ridiculous notion. “You really think I should invite you over to guard my crops?”

“I do, so I’ll come over tonight? Say around seven?” You open your mouth to object, but the rabbit hybrid jumps from one statement to the next casually inviting himself into your own home. “Perfect. See you then.”

“I didn’t-no wait, that was sar-” The door closes between you before you can finish. Leaving you baffled and alone on the doorstep. You ready to knock but stop just before your knuckles hit the wood. Trying again right now is a lost cause, it’ll just play into his game. So why waste your breath when you know it’ll just end the same way? Tonight then, as he suggested, that’s when you’ll be ready to hit him with some hard evidence that he won’t be able to refute.

Admitting defeat for now, you retreat back to your garden to pick the surviving vegetables and contemplate the encounter. You wish your could have just spoken to Jungkook’s caretaker—fuck what was his name again? You’ve only seen the man a couple times since they took the house, but at least he doesn't give you a nervous knot in your stomach, or leave you confused and speechless like his hybrid does.

It’s been three months since they moved in. You were excited at first, to have new neighbours in your almost vacant cul-de-sac. Buyers don’t seem to be interested in the old houses with large lots in your area. Too much work to maintain, and not enough good job prospects to go around. So when you saw the sold sign go up you were beyond thrilled. Greeting the new residents with a fruit basket and a smile.

The rabbit hybrid you now know as Jungkook appeared rather shy at first, you did your best to welcome him. Always greeting him when he was outside, trying to engage him in small chat, but the first time you caught him during his workout everything changed. Until that point you had not considered him as anything but a prospective friend. You were stunned to see him in such a confident state, throwing around his weights like they were nothing. In that moment, with you too nervous to admit that you found him attractive, you became the anxious and blubbering fool in his presence, and he, unfortunately, took note. The once quiet and cute rabbit, became a flirtatious and bratty bunny.

And since then, whenever you would work in your garden he’d be on the other side of the fence grunting and panting. Staying close to the gap in the divider, a missing panel you had yet to replace. On days like today you would often look up from your radishes and accidentally lock eyes with the hybrid, drenched in sweat and showing off his skills.

Out of respect and self preservation you tried your best to not to pay attention, to keep your nose buried in your garden, but as the weeks went by the vegetables under your care started to disappear. The ample crops you tended to in the evening, lessened by morning, with only the refuse remaining to indicate it’s former presence. You didn’t want to point fingers immediately, but today was the final straw, and tonight no matter how hard he tries to distract you, you will find him guilty.

After harvesting the choice crops for the day and watering the rest. You dust yourself off, settling inside and in front of your computer; opening the visitors page for your place of work, the city's greenhouse conservatory. To help promote the centre in the community the staff all take turns writing articles revolving around their own projects or home gardens, and you’re up next in the rotation. You stare at the blank document for several minutes trying your best to concentrate on the task, but you are unable to think of anything other than the mischievous hybrid next door.

Embracing the topic of your aggravation, you start the post off with a title sure to catch the eye of any reader, ‘Garden Thieves.’

‘We’ve all been there, finding a tomato just about to reach its peak ripeness. We give it another day to grow into perfection, only to find it missing later on. In your absence something else has taken it into its own clutches. I myself have been dealing with a vegetable thief for several weeks, so if you are struggling like I am, here are a few things that might help. ’

You proceed to outline several garden pests uploading photos of their damage, along with quick remedies to deter their presence. Netting to block the sparrows, raised beds and fences to keep out most rodents or mammals, and a caffeine solution to stave off slugs.

‘I hope this may help you all in your efforts to keep your plants safe, but I must add a disclaimer. Unfortunately nothing here is completely foolproof. Even if you do follow all of these steps you still might lose some of your crops to a crafty critter. But I wish you the best of luck on all of your backyard battles. I myself plan to face off with my own long-eared menace tonight.’

You finish your post with a smile. Sending it off to your coworker Namjoon to get his approval before you make it public.

He calls a few minutes later, his laughter carrying through the speaker. “That was easily the best article you’ve written all year. You should definitely post it.”

“Thanks.” You chuckle, hitting the submit button. At the very least feeling a bit relieved to have one less task weighing on your mind. “I really appreciate it.”

“No problem. I take it you’re still having trouble with that hybrid neighbour of yours?”

“Yeah,” you groan. You’ve complained to Namjoon about the issue several times in the past month. It must have been all too easy for him to read between the lines and see what set you off to create this specific entry.  “But he refuses to admit it was him. It’s like he’s trying to make me question my skills as a gardener and I hate it! I went over to talk to his caretaker but he’s away on business for a couple weeks.”

“He left him alone for that long? What about food?”

“He’s been getting deliveries. By the looks of it, he has a healthier diet than I do.”

Namjoon pauses on the line giving you only a simple, “Huh...” in a long break.

“What?”

“Well it’s just-” A loud buzzing sound erupts through the phone line cutting off his answer. A noise you know to indicate someone is at the back door. “That’s weird. I didn’t think we were supposed to get anything delivered today. No one else is here.... did you have anything scheduled to come in?”

“No.” You double check the calendar sitting on your desk. “I shouldn’t have anything until next Monday.”  

Namjoon puts you on hold while he checks on the reason for the interruption, returning only a minute later. “It’s a delivery all right, but are you sure these aren’t yours? I’m seeing a lot of tropical species on the invoice. Combretum rotundifolium, Heliconia angusta, Myrciaria dubia-”

You mouth a swear as Namjoon carries on with his list. It’s obvious they are indeed the specimens of your expected batch. You're in the process of redesigning one of the tropical habitats. The lead director was adamant that the conservatory host a butterfly exhibition in the next coming year, and in order to support the grandiose endeavour you are required to introduce a vast amount of new flowering species over the next few months. “How many in total?”

“About two dozen. Looking pretty rough from the journey too.”

You’re not surprised by their current state. This summer is already one of the hottest and driest on record, and all the stock you had received this season was excessively wilted and near death because of it. “Do we have any holding houses with humidifiers available?”

“Not at the moment,” There’s a clatter in the background as Namjoon sorts through what must be the slack of clipboards. “But I’ve got the inspection chart here and your last delivery did just finish it’s quarantine. No signs of pests or illness, so they’re clear to plant. That should free up some space for you.”

“That’ll have to do. Thanks for checking.” Standing up from your desk with a sorrowful sigh. You mourn the loss or your afternoon off as you start to dress for a day of hard labour. Throwing on your work-issued overalls over your t-shirt and shorts. Unfortunately you can’t just leave the new stock to sit out under the beating sun. With little humidity outside and no protection they’ll be burnt to a crisp if you delay too long. But the worst part is that your planting staff isn’t scheduled until later in the week, and that volume of work will put you well into the middle of the night before you complete it. “I’ll be in soon to deal with it.”

“That’s a lot of planting to do on your own. I can help if you-”

“I can’t take you away from your trees, isn’t there a bonsai exhibition next week you have to prepare them for?” He’s been agonizing over this showcase for so long you couldn’t possibly inconvenience him now with your own troubles. “It’s fine, really. I’ll call to see if anyone else is willing to come in today.” You hang up letting Namjoon return to his tasks, and work your way down the contacts for the gardening staff as you prepare yourself to leave. Though as expected, all of those who answer have prior commitments and won’t be able to assist.

Grabbing your badge and plans for the updates to the garden you slip back out into the noon-day sun, so strong it’s turned your car into an oven on wheels. You’re just about to pull it into reverse when you spot the blinds shift in your neighbour’s window. Prompting you to recall the plans he had made for tonight.

With all the work you have, it’s doubtful you’ll be back home for seven. You return to Jungkook’s door to give him the news. He has it open before you can even knock, his usual smirk crawling across his face as he greets you.  

“About tonight... something has come up at work and I really don’t know how late I’ll be.”

His ears perk up. “You’re going into the conservatory?”

“Yeah,” you respond, somewhat shocked that he remembered where you work. It’s been a couple months since you mentioned it while introducing yourself to him and his caretaker. “An order came in earlier than expected. I’ll likely be planting all day and night.”

“I can help,” he offers, already stepping out to join you, and locking the door behind him.

“You want to help?”

“Of course, isn’t that the neighbourly thing to do?”

“Yes, but I wouldn’t want it or expect it from someone who terrorizes my own garden.”

“Allegedly,” Jungkook corrects. “And wouldn’t you rather have me with you, under your supervision, than here, all alone with only a measly fence between me and your impressive bell pepper harvest?”

“Stay away from my peppers!” You scold, pointing your finger at him. “Even if I wanted to take you, what about your caretaker? Don’t you need his permission to leave and work?”

“He’s never paid attention to my whereabouts before, and it’s not work if you don’t pay me. I’ll just be a volunteer. You have people volunteer all the time right?”

“Yes but-”  

“I’ll be on my best behaviour.”

“Alright, fine.” You finally agree though with a heavy dose of reluctance. Namjoon often brings his own hybrid in so it shouldn’t be a problem. “But if I see you nibble on even a single leaf, you’re coming straight back here.”

“Deal.” He rushes past you straight to your passenger seat and buckles himself in. Practically bouncing with excitement beside you as you pull out and head towards the conservatory.

The minutes pass and you try your best to focus on the road but you’ve never been so close to Jungkook in such a small space. And with his built frame taking up most of the car, he’s hard for you to ignore. His ears folded against the roof and his shoulders so wide they brush repeatedly against yours.

“Ever been to the conservatory before?” You ask, trying to divert your mind from the battle which builds inside you. A wavering war between frustration and attraction, with the former trying it’s best to pin down the latter, a move which only arouses the latter more...

“No, I’ve wanted to go ever since you mentioned it but my caretaker hasn’t had the time.��

“Oh.” A sense of pity joins the ranks of your emotions, nudging at you as you pull into the lot. “Sorry, I didn’t-”

“Why are you sorry?” Jungkook asks in a low whisper, snapping back to his flirtatious behaviours. His mouth turns up at the corner as he leans into you, so close that his drooping ears graze the top of your head.  “Would you have taken me earlier if I had mentioned it?”

“N-no,” you choke out. Placing your hand on his solid chest, you push him back and away. As tempting as his advance might be to accept, you know his forwardness to be nothing more than an act to make a fool of you. Why else would he try to both seduce you, and steal from right under your nose?  “You’re only here today because I am in desperate need of help, and I can’t trust you to be alone.”

...

You lead him through the unoccupied greenhouses. The conservation is closed to the public today (as it is every Monday and Tuesday); which usually allows for some time off, but at least now it’ll give you a chance to work unimpeded by visitors. Your own curated section is located in the most humid of all the houses, set in such a way to mimic the tropical environment you are attempting to represent.

The first stop is the holding house where the carts of new stock wait just outside.  Grabbing an empty trolly you enter and start to load up those that are ready to plant. Jungkook following your actions does the same, easily lifting the heavy planters that you yourself struggle with. “Thanks,” you whisper as he relieves you of a particularly burdensome tree. To which he smiles in return.

After making the switch, by placing the recent delivery in the house for it’s quarantine, you lead him to the supply closet. Where you collect a couple shovels, trowels, and two pairs of gloves. As you continue to scan for anything else you might require, Jungkook pops in behind looking at the shelves with a sense of curiosity. He reaches up and over you to a spray bottle labeled ‘slug repellent.’

“We won’t need that, it’s for the outdoor gardens,” You explain. “It’s just a mixture of ca-”

“Caffeine and water?”

You snap your gaze to him. “How do you know that?”

He bites his lip as a snicker starts to escape. “Just a bit of morning reading. I found an interesting article with that particular tidbit. One which also happened to reference the exploits of a long-eared menace.”

“Y-you read the conservatory blog? You read my post? No one reads that, there can’t have been more than ten views!”

“Which is such a shame.” He goads you. “I’ve found your work to be both informative and comical. You really have me rooting for you in your quest to catch your thief.”

You groan in utter fury. “Why must you be so-so-”

“Handsome? Funny? Caring?”

“Antagonizing!”

“Because you seem to take more notice when I am.” Jungkook answers, with a turn of his heel, his tail poking out from under his shirt as he starts to walk away with the cart. “And I like seeing that perplexed look of yours. Your nose is cute when you scrunch it up like that.”

You remain in the shed, your traitorous heart beating erratically over the fact that he called a part of you cute. While your more sensible side grabs your nose and smooths out the wrinkles he referenced.

“Should we get to work?” He calls out after you. “The sooner we finish, the sooner we can go home and expose that bandit of yours.”

You roll your eyes and follow him out, before taking the lead to your tropical glasshouse. The air sticks to your skin the moment you enter. Jungkook lets out a long exhale behind you tugging on the collar of his shirt. “Is it always like this in here?”

“It’s a bit warmer today, but not by much. Are you already regretting your decision to help?” You tease him.

“Nope,” he answers, slinging a shovel over his shoulder. “Show me where to dig, and I’ll get to it.”

Pulling out your plans for the new exhibit arrangement, you select a couple species placing them on the empty plots of garden as directed, careful to allow for future growth. Jungkook follows behind digging out their new homes faster than at least three of your staff members combined.

You stare at him for a second, unable to believe the pace at which he’s going. “Something wrong?” He asks, pausing to lock eyes with you.

“No, I just didn’t think you’d be so quick at digging.”

“I’m part rabbit, what did you expect?” Jungkook boasts with a chuckle and a raised brow. “I share their strengths. Especially when it comes to burrowing and fu-”      

His words are cut short when a fresh breeze from the outside washes over the both of you, a  sure sign that someone must have entered the greenhouse. Your neighbour goes rigid, his nose lifts into the air and his ears fall back flat against his head. “Jungkook what’s-” Leaping up he closes the gap and grabs you. Tucking you into him with his chin resting on your head, where a  warm and earthy scent envelopes you.  His breaths are quick and deep, causing his chest to rapidly rise and fall against your back.

Namjoon’s voice calls out to you. “... are you in here?”

“Over here!” You yell out in reply, before turning back to the hybrid who still has you locked in his clutches. “What the hell Jungkook? Let me go! Now’s not the time for your games.” Sure it might feel nice to be wrapped in his arms, to get lost amidst his aroma. At any other time you might even consider taking a moment before chastising his boldness. But here? Now? And with Namjoon coming to greet you? No, this is too much.

You try to push him away like you have before, but this time it’s as if he’s set in stone, and not registering you at all. He focuses only on the direction your coworker's voice hailed from. “That scent, he smells like-”

“There you are.” Namjoon interrupts stepping around a flowering bush and into view, looking surprised by your guest. “Oh, hello there.”

The point of Jungkook's chin rubs against your head as he grips you even tighter. Embarrassed and confused by the hybrids embrace. “Jungkook, this is Namjoon.” You introduce your coworker while delivering an elbow to Jungkook’s gut. He finally snaps out of his trace and lets you go though he continues to hover behind. “He works with the bonsai of the conservatory.”

“You must be the neighbour I’ve heard so much about, it’s nice to finally meet you.” Namjoon extends his hand to the hybrid, but Jungkook ignores the gesture, choosing to glare instead, with his nostrils flared and his ears pinned back.

“Jungkook?” You whisper trying to chase him from his mood.

Namjoon gives him a nervous smile. “You probably smell my hybrid, on me don’t you?”

“A hybrid?” Jungkook confirms, his eyes narrowed at Namjoon.

“Yeah, sorry, I didn’t intend to scare you. I’m sure the scent of a predator, especially a tiger, is a bit of a shock. He’s harmless, I promise.”

“Is Taehyung here?” You ask, hoping to see his affectionate part-feline companion.  

“Nah, he’s with a friend today. I needed to get some work done and he’d be more of a distraction than a help... but it would seem that didn’t stop him from scenting my shirt before I left.” Namjoon explains, and then turns to your neighbour again. “Jungkook would you mind if I borrow her for a second? I need help with one of my tropical species.”

Jungkook gives a solemn nod. For the first time since you’ve known him, he looks frightened, and somewhat hesitant to release you over to your coworker.

Worried by his current disposition, you reassure him with a squeeze on his arm. “Just keep digging where I’ve placed those pots and I’ll be right back.”

Namjoon leads you into the adjacent greenhouse where you can continue to keep watch of Jungkook through the pains of glass. But the instant the doors close between you, Namjoon starts bombarding you with questions. “Why didn’t you tell me? How long has it been going on? ”

You take a step back having been caught off guard. “Tell you what?”

“About you and Jungkook! Is the feuding neighbours just a cover story?” Namjoon’s eyes are wide and hopeful as he carries on, not letting you fit a single word in. “Don’t worry, I won’t inform anyone you're together. I know it’s not easy having a human-hybrid relationship out in the open. But I think you should be careful about going out into public because he’s far too obvious about it.”

“We’re not- we’re not a couple. Why would you think such a thing?”

“Because the way held you, he looked like he was marking you with his own scent. That’s what rabbits do isn’t it? They rub their chins on what they want to claim as their own.”

“They do what?” You ask, stunned by the possibility, before the realism settles back in. It must just be Jungkook’s idea of a joke. “No, that’s not what he’s doing, our connection is nothing remotely like that. Don’t get me wrong he’s very attractive, and he knows it.” You mutter the last part under your breath. “But-”

“But you really are having trouble with him. It's not a cover?”

“You think I would keep something like that from you?” Namjoon over the years has come to be your closest confidant. A good friend and coworker, you would never dream of hiding something like that from him.

“I suppose not.”

“Is that why you brought me back here, to question my relationship status?”

“Not entirely.” Namjoon shakes his head with a small dimpled smile and changes the subject. “I do actually want to get your help with one of my new acquisitions.” He points out an unusual tree on his work bench, much too big for the pot it’s currently situated in. It’s extensive roots spill out over the top and threaten to swallow the pot whole. “A Ficus microcarpa, far from the most sought after species when it comes to reputable bonsai, but I couldn’t pass this one up. It has such good character.”

“What made it grow in such a way?” You examine the plant and it’s container with care, prying between the roots and taking note of cracks starting to form in the terracotta.

“The last owner neglected it for far too long. It sat hidden in the back of a commercial greenhouse, still under the watering and fertilizing system, but since it was confined to such a small space it tried to root it’s way out. If I were to guess, it probably hasn’t seen a new pot for at least five years.”

“It’s a miracle it survived.” You nod impressed by the tree’s determination. “What’s your plan for it?”

“Give it what it wants, let it leach out. I doubt I would be able to pry it out entirely without causing significant damage to the roots that are gripping the sides, so instead I want to put another bellow to catch it and give it the fresh soil and room it needs.” Namjoon lays the tree and pot down on the table, and asks you to hold and support the trunk, while he taps and pokes at the bottom of the vessel with a metal trowel.  Enlarging the cracks, but not breaking the pot fully. It’s a tedious process. The small chunks of clay are removed piece by piece, giving him access to see and free some of the tightly bound roots inside.

While your coworker continues his task, your eyes are free to wonder. You check on Jungkook through the glass, as he kneels in front of the garden bed digging even faster than before.

Namjoon appears to notice your distracted state. “How's he doing?”

“Fine I guess.” You whisper. “He’s acting stranger than usual today though. He stole from my garden again. Invited himself over to my house, then here, and you saw what he did back there.”

“Huh...” Namjoon mutters, trailing off the same way he did on the phone.

“What is this ‘huh’ you keep giving me? You know I don’t like games Namjoon. If you have something you want to say, say it.”

“It’s about what you said earlier, how his caretaker leaves for extended periods of time. Usually if an animal is alone for too long they look for ways to stimulate themselves and resort to their natural instincts, scavenging and such. But he’s a hybrid and therefore part human, so if you were isolated and restricted to your house what would you do?”

“Probably look for the closest person I could find. So he’s acting out in my garden and teasing me, because he’s lonely?”

“I think so.” Namjoon responds as he extracts another root, freeing it from its confines.

“But why?” You ask, worried for the answer to come. “Why wouldn’t he just say something?”

“There could be a number of reasons. He might not understand what he’s doing on a conscious level, or he might be afraid to show any sign of weakness to you or anyone else. Jungkook is part prey animal, and humans are all too often predators.”

“If that’s the case...” You curse yourself for not realizing it sooner. The fury you held for him slowly fades away as you replay every encounter in your mind. He was literally jumping at the chance to spend time with you, to help you with your work, and you were to blind to see it. Your anger over your missing vegetables is so trivial in comparison to what he must have been going through. The loneliness he must have felt, and the inability to admit it, you can’t imagine how he suffered through it alone. “What can I do to help him? I have no legal claim to him Namjoon. What can I do within such limitations?”

He looks down at his work in progress. “The way I see it  you and he, like this small tree, have three options. You could maintain the status quo, leave him be, but how long will he be able to survive like he is? Creeping over the edge but grasping on to nothingness?”

You shake your head vehemently rejecting the idea while Namjoon continues.

“You could report his caretaker for neglect, breaking the container entirely, but that too could be very damaging to him, tearing him away entirely could put him in a state of shock, and in a home that is no better for him, while the legal battle is decided. Or...” Namjoon grabs another container, slightly wider than the one in which the plant is seated. Filling it with substrate he takes the tree clinging to it’s partial pot and places it on top. Pressing the newly freed roots down into the soil.

“You could support him, give him a better home just outside of his own where he can be himself and access what he needs. I personally think it’s your safest option for now.” Namjoon leads over inspecting the bonsai and lowers his voice to an almost inaudible whisper. “Until the day, when it is possible to fully cast the pot aside.”

You nod, though now left to grapple with what you could possibly have to offer the hybrid.  “I’m not sure I would be the best person to care for him.”

“I think Jungkook would disagree. He was already trying to scent you. That to me, implies his desire for something more in the realm of an intimate relationship.” You choke on your breath as Namjoon comes to an additional conclusion. Upon seeing your distress he makes a suggestion. “Of course you could keep it strictly to friendship between the two of you and I’m sure that will improve his situation, but his other needs will need to be met for him to feel completely at home...”

“His other needs? You think he wants to be with me? Intimately?! No! Surely he would have acted differently if that was his intent! He’s done nothing but tease me when he catches me even remotely looking in his direction.”

“So you have been looking at him!” Namjoon taunts you with a massive grin. Apologizing a second later when you proceed to glare at him. “But to answer your question, no, not necessarily. You have to remember most of society deems him a lesser being. He could be feeling a lot of guilt and pressure not to engage with you in that way. Though he might not outright say it, I bet his instincts will continue to shine through. I’ll even prove it to you.” Namjoon takes off a glove and rubs your head. “I bet this rabbit of yours will take less than a minute before he tries to replace the smell of my hand with his own again... trust me.”

You shake your head in disbelief. “I should probably get back to him.” You are just about to step away when your thoughts return to the long neglected plant. “Where do you plan to house that when you’re finished? Ficuses naturally belong in a more tropical location don’t they?”

“They do, especially if I want to give it a better chance. It’s going to need a place far more humid than this space.”

“Was this all your calculated way of guilting me to store it in my greenhouse too?”

“The thought might have crossed my mind.” Namjoon gives you a sly grin.  “But my logic is still sound in regards to Jungkook. He needs someone, he needs a better home... and it would seem he’s chosen you.”

...

You wander back to your greenhouse, still full of doubt. Finding Jungkook to have finished most of the required digging.

“Sorry for leaving you.”

“You-you okay?” He asks, upon seeing the dazed look on your face and then scowling in the direction that Namjoon led you.

“Fine, he just needed help with one of his plants. Sorry about earlier, I didn’t think you’d be affected by the scent of his hybrid, Taehyung is rather sweet though, you’d like him.”

“You trust him then?” Jungkook grumbles as he pierces his shovel into the ground. “You trust Namjoon and his hybrid?”

“Of course, why shouldn’t I?”

“Because it wasn’t just a tiger that I smelled. He’s been around a lot of hybrids. Every scent on him told me to run, all of them put there by dangerous predators.”

“Oh,” you shoot back in surprise. “I’m sure it’s nothing. Taehyung is rather popular, he has a lot of friends and Namjoon often caters them at his place. You don’t need to worry, you're safe here.”

“It’s not myself I’m worried about.”

Jungkook inches closer as you crouch to place the plants in the holes he dug. His nose twitches as he takes a deep breath, his eyes watching while you bury the root ball in the warm soil, firmly securing the trunk of the young tree.

While you are leaning down, Jungkook reaches across to the other side of you. Grabbing the trowel to your right despite the fact that the same tool can be found on his left. The bottom of his chin grazes the top of your head and lingers for a spell. Your heart stops in that moment while questioning his motives. Though Namjoon said he’d do just this, you still can’t be entirely sure that it proves him correct; Jungkook might just not have seen the other option available to him, and he’s never bothered about invading your space. This could be nothing, though there’s a small growing part of you that wants it more and more to be something.

“He’s a good guy,” you promise, returning to the conversation so as to not dwell on his actions. “He even suggested that I should bring you along more often, if you’re interested in spending some of your days here.”

“He did?”

You nod.  A small white lie, but not entirely incorrect, and if it gets him to accept Namjoon easier you’ll all be better for it. “I wouldn’t expect you to work, but you're more than welcome to just hang around. The staff here could always use some company and I’m sure it would beat staying at home alone all day.”

“I would like that. I would like that a lot, but would you want me to keep you company too?”

“If that’s what you want to do.”

“No, I need to know if that’s what you want.” He looks over to you pinning you down in his line of sight.  

“I suppose I would....” You answer and turn your head, unable to bear the nerves that his gaze brings. The both of you fall quiet. Knowing what you know now, being free of your anger for him leaves you vulnerable, open to his persuasion, and now you are no longer certain of how to act. So you start to rely on what has made him comfortable in the past, and interject with a new condition to bring an end to the awkward silence. “As long as you treat this garden better than mine back home.”

Jungkook lets out a long laugh. “I have nothing but the highest respect for your garden.”

...

When planting is finished your clothes are entirely saturated in sweat and your muscles aching from use. It’s hard to believe how much you’ve both done in such a short amount of time. While carting up the supplies, Jungkook’s eyes catch on something behind you. You look around spotting the newly potted bonsai on a back table. Namjoon must have dropped it off while you both were busy.

Looking at it now you can’t help but notice how even the shape of its leaves remind you of the hybrid’s ears, long, pointed, and reaching up to the sky. You consider your friend's words one more time and while Jungkook leans over to inspect the tree. Reaching out to his back, your hand shakes with hesitation before setting down on a spot just below his shoulder. He softens under your touch, a low hum leaving his lips. His attention turns from the plant to you. With your hand still in place, your arm is now wrapped around him, leaving only an inch between the two of you. You stand there fixed and unmoving, but content in the knowledge, that you seem to have left him speechless this time. His eyes darting away from yours, to your lips, your neck, and finally the hand you place upon his chest.  

Only to have the moment broken when you can hear and feel the rumble from his stomach. His nervous laugh follows as he reaches up to scratch behind his ear.

“Hungry?”

He nods in response, his eyes wide as he remains unusually silent.

“Come on, I’ll buy you dinner.” You offer as you turn him around to head to the car.

...

You both settle on a take out spot, and return home to wash up and eat.

After finishing your meal and tearing off your overalls, you both settle down on the hammock in your yard. With Jungkook’s legs long enough to touch the ground, he slowly rocks the seat back and forth.  He’s been near silent since that close moment together. He’s never had a problem with banter and flirtation, but now you’ve come to notice that any attention which can’t be passed off as a joke causes him to flounder.

Laying back in the hammock, both full and content, your eyes threaten to close after the long day as Jungkook continues to sit beside you. The sound of crickets lulling you to sleep. “Keep an eye out for that thief of mine will you?” You may not like games but if it makes him comfortable, and keeps him talking, you’ll continue to play this ruse with him.

“You trust me to keep watch without your supervision?”

“Are you suggesting I shouldn’t?”

“No, it’s just a lot more credit than you usually give me.”

“I think you’ve earned it.” You whisper as you finally drift off.

It feels like only a few minutes of rest before the sun sets and the air turns cool. Jungkook’s chin comes to rest on the top of your head like it did back in the greenhouse. He shifts his weight, burrowing his arms around and behind to cover you as he takes deep breaths. You lean into him seeking the warmth of his chest. No longer restricted by your childish anger to enjoy his company is a welcome relief, you only wish you could relinquish him of any of his own troubles and doubts.  And then, you feel it, a drop of cold rain hitting your neck. The hammock moves again as he adjusts, the back of his fingers running across the damp spot. Another finds your cheek and he wipes that away too, your skin shivering in response.

But when a speck lands your mouth he stops. You wait, a second, then two. Your anticipation grows with face heating up and your chest tightening as you continue to crave his touch. You want him to wipe it away, to touch you, to act on whatever desires he might be keeping. You part your lips with the desperate hope that he will take the hint. Rejoicing when the warm pad of his thumb spreads the drop across the delicate skin.

He comes down on to you, his mouth catching any and all remains of the droplet as he encases your lips. Jungkook places a hand on your neck while the other grabs the ropes of the hammock, his legs straddle your hips. The scattered rain turns to a downpour as he remains fixed to your mouth, even his form isn’t enough to shield you from the current washing down from the sky.

As your hands reach up to his own damp and curling locks entwining your fingers in the strands he moans and nips. But as quickly as it started, so too does it end. When Jungkook snaps up as though jolted from a dream. His ears point back as an apology flows from him. “I-I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Jungkook,” you call out to him but he ignores you as he tries to detangle himself. When one foot hits the ground. You grab his waist and try again. “Jungkook, you don’t have to be sorry.” But instead of stopping he merely pulls you off and along with him, sending you both to the muddy ground, but this time with you on top of him.

“Are you okay?” He asks the loud pouring of the rain forcing him to raise the volume of his voice.

You chuckle at his concern considering he’s the one flat on his back. “I think I should be asking you that question instead.” You pause as he mirrors your grin. “Why did you stop? Did I do something wrong?”

“No.” He looks up at you, his brow furrowing. “You did nothing wrong. It was me. I was the one acting on my instincts. I shouldn’t have done that when I know how much you hate me.”

“I don’t hate you...” You explain, trying your best not to be drowned out by the water cascading down. “The things you did might have annoyed me, but I get it now. I’m just sorry it took me so long to notice.”

“Notice what?”

“How fucked up your situation is. For not realizing how alone you must have been. How caged you must have felt. I’ve been so focused on my own little world that I didn’t realize what was happening or why you were acting the way you were. I like you, a lot, but I was too wrapped up in my frustration to say how I felt...”

“It’s not your fault.”

You shake your head. “I am not innocent in this. I should have been paying more attention.”

“Then pay attention to me now.” He begs with his round eyes shining up at you.  

“But in what way? As a neighbour, as a friend, or maybe something more?" Your voice cracks in desperation, trying to find his needs while also hoping they are the same as yours. “Is that why you were always teasing me the way you did? You wanted something more?”

“You really want to know?” Jungkook’s tone is low as it grips on to his every word. “I did it because it was the only thing that could distract me from my incessant need for you. Seeing your reactions and having your attention kept me in check. I’m very different from you and I’m aware it could cause a problem. I wasn’t sure if you could ever fully want me because of that.” He reaches to rub around the base of his ears. “But every day that I looked over I wanted to hold you, to claim you, to take you right here on this very spot. So often I dreamed of jumping the fence and coming for you instead of...”

You smile down at him, noting his near admission. “Instead of?”

“Instead of watching from a distance.” He smirks, catching and narrowly fixing his statement. Pleading guilty only to his longing for you.

“Then do it.” You demand of him.

He groans from his position beneath you. “Don’t tease me like that.”

“I’m not. You weren’t the only one peeking through the fence Jungkook.” Reaching up to your collar you tug off your shirt. He follows your lead with his own to reveal his sculpted chest he’s taunted you with so many times. “I don’t care if we’re different from each other. I don’t care if it causes a problem.” You shift back on his body traveling from your seat near his stomach down to his hips, his clothed dick firm and pressing against you. A moan escapes his lips, confirming that you’ve made your point. “There’s no one else nearby, so if you want me so much that you’re willing to fuck me out here, in the rain and mud-”  

His hands come to grip your waist, and in one swift motion, he lifts you off, maneuvering out from underneath, to fall into place behind you. From there he pushes you down to your hands and knees, his body bent over yours. “You have no idea how much I want to.” He whispers with a kiss to your bare shoulder damp from the rain that continues to pour.

He takes off your bra before his face moves down your back, nose trailing against your skin and pausing at your shorts. Unfastening the button he pulls them down, freeing you of your underwear too before they are both cast aside. “I want to smell you, and taste you.” Jungkook takes in a deep breath, wrapping an arm around your legs, and barring your thighs. He buries his face between your legs, his tongue reaching out to deliver a long lick to your folds pausing after every lap.

Your palms dig into the ground, the cool mud coming to the surface to meet them. You buck against his tongue but the forearm holding you remains firm, sending your squirming downward to bury your elbows in the soggy grass too.

Jungkook chuckles as you inadvertently give him a better angle. From behind you can hear the zipper of his own shorts. Rubbing the head of his cock against your damp folds, he covers it with the slick of your slit, and with a long groan he eases it inside. He’s slow at first, letting you savor the girth and warmth of him. So you start to edge back and forward on his cock. Taking the time to enjoy every inch, along with the sounds that leave him. But when he returns to take control, the first thrust is so powerful, his thighs hit your ass with a loud clap, and every jolt of his hips after, drives you further down each time.

A stuttering groan escapes him as he fills you. Thinking he’s finished you lean forwards and until his cock pulls out, but in response he grabs your waist. Turning you over, back to the ground on top of the discarded clothes and facing him.

He lowers himself pressing his chest against yours. His fingers reach to grab your chin and take a kiss. His cock, despite having come only moments before, is hard once more and poised to enter once again.

“How are you-” You manage to squeeze a few words in the gaps between his kisses as he draws breath. “Ready for more-” Another pass of his tongue. “Already?”

“You have my hybrid traits to thank for that.” He moves to nibble on the side of your throat. “I have more to give you, if you want it.”

You nod unable to emit any noise other than a gasp as his mouth finds a sensitive spot on your neck. His dick forges in again, your slick and his cum dripping out of you as he fills you with himself instead.

You’ve avoided touching him with your own hands as they are patched with mud, but as his thrusts grow more powerful than even before, you’re forced to grab on his arms and chest. Leaving behind streaks of dirt which display the path of your grip. Jungkook doesn’t seem to mind though, in fact looks rather encouraged by your touch, and the marks you leave him.

“What a dirty woman you are, and getting me all messy too.” He scoffs while admiring your handiwork. “Can I return the favour?”

“Help me come first and you can do whatever the fuck you want.” You gasp on the brink of your climax.  

His ears perk up and a grin streaks across his face. “Close are you?” He grabs your calf and wraps your leg around his back, the other follows suit and his hand comes to rest on your lower back pushing you up and into him effectively grinding your mount against him.

You gasp and flinch with the sudden pressure, but he holds you firm as your back arches to meet him.

His hips beat on at a rapid pace, a small whimper escapes him as you reach the peak, tipping you over the edge. The chilling rain can in no way can douse the searing heat that spreads through you. You're still gasping when his jaw clamps down hard, his teeth poised upon your skin. The first pulse of his cock comes inside, but on the second he pulls out to splatter your chest and stomach with the rest. His hand comes to clutch his shaft, spilling more out and on to you with each stroke.

After every remaining drop has been cast on you he smiles, dragging his fingers across the rain drenched mess of mud and cum on your skin. “Never thought I’d ever see you so thoroughly soiled.”

You giggle at his remarks through your deep breaths. “And now that you do, what do you think?”

“I think it suits you, the dirt, the rain, and me...” He lowers himself down onto you, with his head now resting upon your shoulder. “It’s too bad though. Now I just want more, but we’re both far too filthy to carry on like this.”  

You turn to whisper at the base of his ear. “Who says we can’t continue in the shower...”

...

You wake early the next morning with the sun spilling into the room, lighting up your bed, and the hybrid sleeping next to you. His ears and nose twitching as he continues to rest. Slipping out from the covers, and into a set of clean gardening clothes, you exit the room with as little sound as possible.

On the tile floor of your hall, muddy footprints trail from your backdoor to your bathroom.  A smile pulls at your lips as you recall the events which brought them there. Jungkook had been so excited to keep going he picked you up and rushed you inside.

The feeling from the warm water and hands in contrast to the cool rain was enough to bring back the waves of pleasure. He was so thorough in washing you down, you might have to ask him to join you for another this morning and repay the favour.  

Outside in the garden you find all your harvest from the day before present and untouched. You’re pleased by this new development, but it’s not the fact that your crops are intact which makes you happy, it’s the comfort in knowing that Jungkook didn’t feel the need to take them.

A few minutes later the hybrid in question comes up behind you wrapping his arms around your waist pulling with him a blanket he took from the bed to cover the both of you. “Morning.” He mumbles, as his nose finds the crook of your neck where he exhales with a deep and relaxed sigh.

“Morning.” You respond, enjoying the tickle of his breath before you turn around to better see him. “It seems the thief didn’t strike last night. ”

“I guess they found a new garden to plunder and devour?” Jungkook suggests, giving you a sly grin, before he opens his mouth again. It’s easy to see that he’s getting ready to confess, his face shifts to a stern expression as he looks down at the ground, the guilt weighing heavily upon his brow. Placing your index to his lips you stop him. No longer needing to hear those words of admission, you offer a new proposal instead.

“Maybe, but that was just one night. The thief might still come back. So if it’s alright with you I would like you to stay here. Until we can be sure they won’t return.”

Jungkook lets out a satisfied chuckle, pushing aside your finger and pulling you tighter into his warm embrace. “You’re right, I suppose it would be safer if I stayed.” His lips plant a kiss on the top of your head where he then rests his chin. “A temptation as enticing as this, shouldn’t be left alone and unattended.”

...

[implexedactions]

My Little Ember - Enji Todoroki

Platonic!Yandere!Enji Todoroki

A/N: Okay, I’m late. I missed a lot of due dates. This isn’t even beta read. I’m sorry. I am so sorry. But here it is anyway!

This is Yandere content, and as such, one should be cautious of viewing this if you have certain triggers.

“Wake up, my little ember~ Did you have a good rest?”

 You blink your eyes open and look around. You are in “your” bedroom, a cruelly comforting place. A room in Enji’s giant mansion, covered in pastels and various kid-friendly entertainment. The nicest cage money could buy. 

 Enji’s hand rests on your shoulder. A warm presence on this otherwise cold day. Your eyes flicker up at the cyan ones looking compassionately down.

 “Uhh, yeah, it was fine, Enji…”

 Enji sighs and rubs his hand against your shoulder. 

 “I told you, kid, call me dad.”

 “But-”

 Enji raises a warm finger to your lips.

 “Come now, enough of that. I’ve let you sleep in long enough; it is already 7:30 am. I have been cooking breakfast in the kitchen for you.”

 You look away dejectedly.

 “I’m not hungry.” 

 “Hush, you need your breakfast if you want to grow big and strong like your old man!” 

 He promptly lifts you out of bed with just one arm, shoving you over his shoulder. You don’t fight back, instead just lying there, looking at the upside-down room. 

 Humming a tune, he carries you out of your bedroom, and into the empty mansion that you both share—pristine white walls and furniture, broken up with the odd child-proofed edge or photo-frame. 

 He abducted you four months ago and ever since seemed to be treating you as his child. Everyone who saw Endeavor knew he probably didn’t have a stellar home life, but this was absurd. 

 He walks down the stairs to the first floor, walking through a massive living room.

 “Enj-uhhh, dad?”

 Enji hummed with delight as he kept walking, you swaying up and down on his shoulder, getting slightly dizzy.

 “Yes, my little ember?”

 “Do you think I-uhh, we, could go outside today?”

 Enji stops in his tracks, his grip on you tightening and warming. Not noticeably, but enough. 

 “...Ember, I am not too sure if that is a wise decision.”

 Of course. It hadn’t worked the other 50 times you asked, why would it work now?! Why was it so hard for you to find ANY time away his watchful eye.

 “What a fucking surprise…”

 “Hey!”

 He pulls your now shaking form off his shoulder. One hand around your waist, one around your head as he brings you in front of him, hovering off the floor. His eyes are thin, a scowl on his face. You feel his hot breath coming from his nostrils. You have never been more scared in your life of this man.

 “Do not use that foul language, Y/N Todoroki. I will not tolerate it. Do not make me discipline you.”

 “I-uhhh, sorry…” you stammer out, avoiding his gaze. 

 His hand moves your head and forces your eyes to meet his disappointed ones.

 “I have raised you better than that, haven’t I? Apologise properly.”

 “Uhhh,,,Sorry, Father, that I, behaved inappropriately…” you say, staring into eyes that only villains are privy to.

 His face warms and he pulls you in for a hug. 

 “Apology accepted!”

 He places you down on the floor, but keeps your hand in a vice-like grip.

 “Now! We can’t leave those pancakes waiting, can we?”

 Enji  pulls you along, almost causing you to fall over a few times to keep up with his faster gait. He walks into the kitchen,and the smell of pancakes fill the air. He places you down on a seat, grabbing a plate and putting some pancakes on it, before serving it to you. You detectedly pick at the pancakes, staring out the window. It’s an overcast and cloudy day, might rain later. Enji seemingly notices this. 

 “Feeling melancholy, oh sorry, I meant, are you feeling sad??” He pries, softly bumping you with his elbow to get you to pay attention to him.

 “You kidna-” You got to interject, but get interrupted. 

 “I have something that might cheer you up! Look at this, my little ember!”

 Enji reaches over to grab the wet batter, he pours a bit into one of his cupped hands, and after putting down the container, presses his other hand over it. After a few seconds, he pulls apart his hand to reveal a potato-shaped pancake with imprints of his hands on it, perfectly cooked. 

 You fail to look impressed, to which Enji sighs. 

 “You will find it more interesting when you have your own quirk, I bet!”

 “...You realise I’m quirkless right?” You’ve been quirkless forever, you weren’t thrilled about it, but you made do, or you did, before this deranged hero kidnapped you.

 “Do not worry, my sweet little cinder. You are just a late bloomer. Your powers will come in soon, I guarantee it! You are a todoroki! It is in your very nature!”

 “But I-”

 “You might even get a fire quirk like your old man! Imagine how much I could impart to you! Are you not excited?!”

 “No, not rea-”

 “You will go to UA of course, but that might be putting the cart before the horse, champ. We should think about primary school before that...”

 Wait, what? Ignoring the fact that he’s trying to enrol you in primary school, this would mean you’d get out of the house, and presumably, to a teacher, who’d figure out you’re not a kid, and are in fact, being held against your will. 

 “I’d love to go to school Dad!” you cry enthuasatically, desperate to get out of the house.

 “Ha! You’re certainly eager!” He saddles up beside you and pulls you into his side, tussling your hair. 

 “Although...School seems a bit dangerous, looking at UA and what happened with sho- maybe instead, we could try a different approach, my little ember.”

 “But I’d really like to meet oth-” You need to force this issue, you can’t let him shut this issue down like this. This is your one chance to get outside the house.

 “Hmmm! How about instead, you use packet learning for general education, and well, we will cross the hero bridge when we get to it. Heh, maybe I could teach you about being a hero and intern you myself if you try to get your hero license! Would that not be fun, your old man teaching you how to be a hero?”

 He presses you into his side more, face pushed against his pecs, preventing you from speaking. It’s meant as a sort of hug, it mainly just hurts quite a bit. 

 “Just know I love you no matter what the outcome is, okay? Powers or no powers. Hero or no hero. You’ll always be my little ember!”

 Despite your flails and protests, Enji carries you to the couch, sitting you down next to the TV. The sun has risen fully, becoming mid-morning. 

 “Alright, kiddo. Want to watch some cartoons? How about that backyard science one? We could try to replicate, er, repeat,  the experiment later?”

 “Could I-er, we, watch that detective movie? I saw an ad for it, it looked interesting?” The issue is gone now, he will only deflect any questions, you’ve tried MANY times to get that to work. Might as well get SOME enjoyment out of this day. 

 “Hmpfh, you saw an advertisment for that movie? I need to monitor what you watch more often, that is much too dark for a young mind like you! Let me put on that science show…” 

 Enji goes to grab the remote, but you slap it out of his hand.

 “Stop this! Stop pretending that I’m your child! Stop trying to coddle me!“

 Enji goes to touch your shoulder, concern plastered over his face, hiding something sinister. 

 “Don’t fucking touch me you creep! Everyone knows you fucked up your first chance at a good family life, and this isn’t a fucking do over, you abusive, coddling, tormentor!” 

 Enji sighs.

 “And I was having such a nice morning too.” 

 Enji’s face grows dark as he stands up from the couch, before turning around and bending down to your level. Fast hands pinning your shoulders to your side, keeping you in place as an intimidating and vilanous look takes over his face. 

 “I will give you 5 seconds to apologise, and just maybe, I, your FATHER, can find it in my heart to lessen the SEVERE punishment you are getting, kid.”

 “1”

 “I’m sorry! Please! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it!” 

 Enji’s face contorts into a smug smirk as confusion takes over yours.

 “2”

 “W-What? But-I’m sorry! Please listen to me!”

 You thrash useleslly against the hands holding you in place, desperate to try and escape his gaze. Reduced to a whimpering and crying mess as you think of the ‘discipline’ your father will inflict.

 “3”

 “Please! I said I’m sorry! What more do you want from me?!”

 You’re on the edge of hyper ventilating as Enji stares you down. His hands are warming up, grip tightening, only causing your thrashing to become even stronger. Your attempts to break free don’t even budge him an inch.

 “4...Do not make me count to 5...”

 “Please! Enj-Father! I’m sorry! I’ll do whatever you want! I’ll eat those pancakes! I’ll play along! Please, don’t hurt me!”

 Enji’s smug smile and piercing eyes will haunt your dreams.

 “...5. I thought I had raised you better than that, my little cinder. Oh well, time to-”

 Lightning and thunder interrupts the countdown, an ear-splitting crack emanating from outside the sealed house. Enji jumps to cover you, as you yelp, the already anxiety inducing conversation ruining your nerves so much a lightning strike scares you. Immediately, Enji’s menacing demeanor melted away. 

 “Oh, I thought it was a villi- nevermind.”

 Enji looks down at you. Your form is shaking, tears spilling out of your eyes. Looking both catatonic and extremely wound up, as you fail to comprehend your surroundings, simply mumbling to yourself about punishment and forgiveness.

“S-Sorry. Forgive. Forgive m-me.I-I-”

 “Do you see, my little ember? The threat of punishment WAS the punishment.

 His hands pulled you into his broad chest, shushing you and rubbing warming hands up and down your back. You keep on crying, your turbulent emotions entirely out of control, not knowing how to react. You feel like your sanity is so fragile, anything will break it. You simply focus on a spot upon the wall, and nothing else. 

 “It is okay, ember. It is just thunder. I will protect you.”

 “...not scared of thunder...” you mumble. He chooses to cocoon you further with his massive body, noticeably warming himself up to protect you from the potential cold.

 “You do not need to lie, little one. I am not expecting you to be perfect, okay?”

 He pauses, mulling over his next words. 

 “I am only expecting perfection from me.”

[pizza-soup]

I'm not dead, just tired.

Today my bro and I took the kitten out to the desert for travel training. She was already use to the harness and leash, having let her walk around in it all over the house and eventually the backyard, it was a rocky start at first with the truck though, she was naturally scared of the engine starting and the bumps along the way, but with gentle petting and getting her to sit on the seat between us, she got a little more confident.

We took her to a favorite mineral hunting spot and got down, leaving her in the truck with the door open without the harness this time. When training I always let my cats make the decision to get off the truck, I never force them, it let’s them know they have a choice and that they have a safe place to go back to. Basically they treat the truck as home base. She eventually got down to follow us, scared at first, but then started digging, testing out the dirt and rolled around in it. She played with a beetle. She chased a clump of grass being taken with the wind. She followed us on the trail, looking at the rocks we picked up, and eventually stole one and took off with it. XD

Eventually she got tired out and jumped back into the truck, we took this opportunity to do some target practice and set up a shooting gallery, closing all the truck doors for her safety. I thought this would scare her, but she was chilling out in the backseat with some food and water. Going back home she got sleepy and knocked out on my bro’s lap. She did great for her first outing, she’ll be taken out again a few more times, each trip a little longer and in different environments, like the forest and mountainside. I really want her to feel as confident as my other cats are out there.

I’ll post some photos in a bit, right now I'm doing some beadwork to relax and figuring out what I want to do tomorrow. Nothing’s open, since the state’s on lockdown, so we either go out to the wilderness again or do some thing at home. I guess we’ll see. I may just get back into weaving or do a little felting, and my bro’s been wanting to get out his bike.

[tomsfoma]

The Meanest Thing I’ve Ever Done

I still consider my first real girlfriend to be Beth Ann Mabee. We dated the summer of my freshman year, and she was the first girl I ever French kissed. Still though, my first long-term relationship – and the girl to whom I lost my virginity – was Sadie Conners. Sadie and I had a tumultuous relationship that was based primarily on teenage hormones. During the year we were together, I shifted identities from athletic hockey player with class clown tendencies to full-blown reckless stoner. When we first met, Sadie was playing goalie for the varsity soccer team and I was playing right wing for the JV hockey team. By the time we broke up, she was still playing goalie for the varsity soccer team, and I was skipping class to smoke weed and steal cigarettes. Like most teenagers in relationships, we broke up here or there for a day or two and then got back together, making up with characteristic teenage passion. The final time we broke up though, felt different. It had the weight of ineffable finality. I knew there would be no making up that time. The final time we broke up was because of one of the meanest things I’ve ever done to anyone.

The summer before my junior year, my family was taking a week-long vacation at my parents' cottage in Canada. My dad’s side of the family has these four cottages all next door to one another on Lake Erie. At the end of this row of cottages, there’s another summer cottage that belongs to a family consisting of a mom, a dad, and two daughters. One daughter is around mine and my brother’s age and the other is my younger sister’s age. My father grew up with their father, and in a way, they’re like honorary family members. They’re just family members that we only see in summer — at the cottage.

On this particular trip, my friend Mike joined us. Of all the years we were best friends, he only came to the cottage a few times, but this one was memorable for two reasons. One: it was his first trip, and two: it was the origin of the awful deed that caused the end of my relationship with Sadie and left a permanent scar on mine and my brother’s relationship.

One sunny afternoon during the trip, Mike, myself, my brother, my sister, and the two honorary daughters were hanging around talking and goofing off. It was a relaxing day and the wind from the lake kept us cool and comfortable. We were sitting on a picnic table in the backyard, not far from the tree swing that hung from a giant oak tree. The two daughters had brought a makeup kit with them. It was a small, square pink box with metal edges and a metal handle. The boys were talking trash and the girls were painting their nails. At some point, the girls had the idea to put makeup on my brother. We all chased, caught, and pinned him down. Mike and I held him to the ground while the girls painted his face with blush and glitter and lip gloss and deep purple eye shadow.  Mike took pictures with his digital camera. My brother fought back, but only a little. He had a crush on the older honorary daughter, and I think he enjoyed the interaction with her.

Several months later, the magic of summer was wearing off and the reality of school was setting in. My brother was transferred from a public middle school to the Catholic high school that Mike and I were attending. The day before school started, my brother was boasting about how cool he was at his current middle school, and how nobody could embarrass him at that – or any – school. Mike and I fought hard to be cool, and it didn’t come naturally to us. We didn’t have a lot of friends, and we didn’t run with the popular crowd. My brother’s arrogance was an assault on our efforts, and we took his challenge to heart. We were two years older than him, but we were still just boys.

Mike had a good reputation with parents and teachers. Behind the scenes though, he had devious ideas. He just didn’t have the guts to execute them. That’s where I came in. I had a terrible reputation with parents and teachers. I didn’t care what adults thought of me as long as my peers thought I was funny or entertaining or cool.

The devious plan Mike had this time was to use the photo of my brother that we had taken at the cottage several months earlier. We were going to create a gay personal ad for him and post it around the school. It said homophobic things like “my favorite color is obvi purple,” “my favorite activities include watching men’s volleyball,” and “I enjoy Rice-a-Roni, but I’m the REAL San Francisco treat.”

We printed off dozens of copies the night before the first day of school. We arrived early the next morning and hung them up on lockers in every hallway, plastering them throughout the school in a huge clockwise motion. By the time we arrived back at the hallway we started in, the first ones we had hung up were gone.

The teachers had started taking them down as soon as they saw them. Between that and students grabbing copies to show their friends, the posters didn’t stay up for long. 

But they stayed up long enough.

I didn’t see my brother that morning. He was so embarrassed by the posters that almost as soon as he arrived at his new high school – to the scene of strangers laughing at him -- he turned around and decided to walk the five miles back home in the rain.

He didn’t get far.  Early into his journey, a beige 1992 Park Avenue pulled over and rolled down the window. “Ryan, what’s wrong? Do you need a ride home?” Sadie asked. He wiped the tears away from his beet-red face and nodded. When Sadie arrived to school later, she had words with me.

My immaturity had always been a point of contention with her, and this stunt was the final straw. Unforgivable was the word she used. Her voice was devoid of any anger. She had only contempt for me now.

I spent the rest of the day feeling like I had a ball of lead sitting in the pit of my stomach. When I got home, I asked to see my brother, but my parents said he didn’t want to see me. I told them I wanted to apologize, but they told me to leave him alone. I desperately needed to get rid of the anxiety and shame that beleaguered me, and I knew the only way to do that was to tell him how sorry I was.

Later that evening I walked into his room to find him lying face down on his bed, on top of his Notre Dame comforter, shoes still on, backpack lying on the floor next to his bed. “I’m sorry,” I said, “I didn’t realize what I was doing. It was stupid.” He didn’t respond. “Dude, I’ll make it up to you, I promise. I already got 4 weeks detention and I think I’ve got more punishment coming from school and mom and dad on top of it.” He remained silent.

“What can I do to make it up to you?”

“Go away,” he mumbled into his pillow.

“I’m sorry,” I said again, “I mean it.”

“I don’t forgive you,” he replied. I walked out of the room and shut his door behind me.

Days passed before he started talking to me again, and when he did it was with more restraint. Over the coming weeks and months, we started talking more freely, but things were never the same. Maybe it was because he was adjusting to high school and growing up. Maybe it was because I was going through my own shit, breaking up with girlfriends, getting arrested, getting suspended, getting in fights. Maybe we were just two very different people who happened to be raised in the same home, and we were inevitably going to grow apart anyway. Maybe the friendship we had as children was destined to die. Or maybe my unforgivable mistake killed it.

Later on, in his high school journey, my brother became one of the bona fide cool kids. He ended up attending the University of Michigan before moving on to Notre Dame law school. After graduation, he got a job at a prestigious law firm in Chicago and eventually moved on to an even more prestigious law firm, where he’s currently working today. Last time I checked anyway.

We don’t talk much anymore. When I do see him at the occasional wedding or funeral, we’re polite, and we talk to one another, but it doesn’t feel like I’m talking to my brother. It feels like I’m trying to make small talk with an ex-classmate.

Every once in awhile I think about him and the friendship we had as kids. Sometimes I miss the person I was when we had that friendship. The person I was before I rotted away and shed my sweeter self.

Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever see him again. Or if he’ll ever forgive me.

[raptorsandpoultry]

How to Train Your Rooster

After my hen training video kind of blew up last week, I had someone ask me for tips on how to deal with a rooster showing “aggressive” behaviour. It’s not the first time I’ve been asked about something like this, and I know it’s something many pet chicken owners have come across. For example: http://www.yousuckatkijiji.com/2012/05/kijiji-suck-580-rooster-of-questionable.html

And these:

Let’s change this! For the benefit of roosters, and for their owners.

The first issue that needs to be addressed is labeling a rooster’s (or any animal’s) behaviour as “aggressive”. I’ll use quotation marks generously when describing an animal’s behaviour, because we are not capable of getting into an animal’s head and knowing exactly whether it is performing a certain behaviour because it is angry, happy, sad, scared, etc. Heck, as humans, we can’t even read each other’s behaviour and make these kinds of assumptions half the time! We still do, because it’s human nature, and it’s easy (e.g. X ignored me when I said “hello” to them today, they must be angry with me!). But, making snap judgments about and labeling behaviours (and the animals that perform them) like this can cause further behavioural “problems” down the road, because it causes you to ignore all their possible causes, and so nothing ends up getting fixed. In the example above, by assuming that X is angry with you, this can cause you to be angry at X is response, and/or ignore them, become confrontational with them, etc. - none of which solve the actual problem. You’re probably thinking, “Well, that’s dumb! That’s not how I would react at all. I’d try to think back and figure out why X ignored me.” If this is you, then that’s great! But you’d be surprised at how often people, yourself and myself included, knowingly and unknowingly fail to do this on a daily basis - while interacting with our human/non-human animal friends, family, and colleagues.

Let’s get back to our roosters. Lunging, flying at, kicking, chasing, and biting people. What’s wrong with labeling these behaviours as “aggressive”, and why are they happening? The answer to both of these questions lies in the fact that there are many types of aggressive behaviours - and not a single one of them have anything to do with an animal being inherently “mean” or “out to get you”. These include predatory, self-defensive, parental defensive, and social conflict aggressive behaviours, to name a few. If you want to be a caring pet owner and a good animal trainer, it is your responsibility to empathize with the animal, imagine how it perceives its environment, which includes you and your own behaviour, and use that to figure out what type of aggressive behaviour it is showing, and why.

I think that oftentimes, the aggressive behaviours that rooster owners complain about start off rooted in social conflict and dominance. In this case, it’s important to know that these are natural behaviours, and it’s actually healthy for each member of the flock to express them every now and then, under the right conditions, to maintain social hierarchies (pecking orders). You’ll notice that there’s usually some sort of kerfuffle (kicking, jumping, pecking) any time a new bird is introduced to the flock, or if someone falls out of line, but (again, under the right conditions) there should be no obvious sign of injury as a result. When a rooster begins to exhibit these behaviours towards a human, it’s likely in an effort to determine who’s dominant over who. The real problem starts when the human starts reacting to these behaviours, and all too often, it’s handled poorly, and the aggression is unknowingly reinforced. Running away from the rooster will probably reinforce further chasing. Yelling, clapping, or hitting the rooster (I dearly hope no one here has ever done that), will reinforce and escalate aggressive behaviours, or cause it to start performing them out of self-defense and/or fear instead. Any Caesar Milan nonsense of “showing him who’s boss” will only reinforce undesired behaviours initially, but for those cases when an animal’s fear of you is simply pushed beyond its limits to the point of submission, I’ve already outlined in this post the consequences of using punishment to train an animal.

So, how do you get the rooster to stop performing aggressive behaviour without using punishment? The simplest, and again the most ethical way is to simply not reinforce it. This means that you need to identify what the reinforcers are for those undesired behaviours. As I also said in last week’s post, reinforcers come in many forms, other than treats. In this case, any antagonistic or fearful behaviour that you exhibit to the rooster will be reinforcing. But, everyone understands that when a behaviour is performed, and there is no consequence for it, there will be no reason for that behaviour to keep occurring. This is called extinction. To extinguish the rooster’s aggressive behaviours, he needs to realize they are not having any effect on you. This does not mean that you have to stand there and take all of his hits (although, this is what I did with my adopted rooster for 10 days after I brought him home, and I ended up with some decently paintful bruises and scratches from his spurs. It’s up to you, but I’m not endorsing it!). However, you can try your best to calmly dodge his attacks. Apart from that, try and present yourself in the least threatening and confrontational way possible. Be as quiet as possible - if you want to talk to him, do so in a soothing manner. Don’t try and make yourself look bigger.

This is Induna. A good, round boy. He’s a White Leghorn rooster who I adopted from a very poor situation. He’d lived in a single-cage that gave him almost no room to perform any natural comfort behaviours (like preening and stretching), surrounded by hundreds of other screaming, stressed-out roosters who otherwise had no contact with each other through their cage bars. He’d never seen grass, sunlight, or hens before in his life until I brought him home. So, it was understandable that he spent his first day home almost certainly confused and scared. Knowing this, I took the first few days to build his trust, and reinforce calm behaviour as he began to explore more of the yard, find his place in the flock among my hens, and finally, get used to my presence. It only took him a few days to realize that I wasn’t a farm worker who was going to grab him by his legs and shove him into a cage. He stopped avoiding me, and eventually began eating out of my hand, because I’d also taken the time to figure out what his favourite treats were (berries of any kind, FYI). 

Then, I guess he got comfortable enough with me to the point where he wanted to know where this weird, featherless, treat-bearing chicken stood in relation to the rest of the flock, and in relation to him (this is anthropomorphizing him a bit, who knows what was actually going on in his head). He began running at and kicking me with his spurs, in typical rooster combat style. And for a couple of days, I just took it (again, I don’t endorse this - for your safety, just side-step out of the way whenever you can). It didn’t take long for him to realize that those behaviours weren’t getting him anywhere. And, because I would make a point of giving him rewards when he wasn’t doing them, he was also learning that being calm, approachable, and all-around not an “asshole”, he was more likely to get treats.

10 days after I brought him home, this happened.

Since it was his first time stepping up onto a human arm, I had to cheat a little and lure him on with a grape. But after he got on, and stayed on calmly, he got to stuff his face with all the grapes. Another week later, he was voluntarily stepping up for me whenever I asked with a vocal cue, just like all of my hens.

I wish I had more photos of him, and a video of us training. But, for some reason I never bothered to back up any of the stuff from my phone onto my computer for the rest of that summer, and the entire fall and winter, and I lost it all when I dropped my phone and it got run over by a car. Induna also passed away that winter. The only photos I have are what I was able to dig up from Snapchat memories and Facebook Messenger conversations (the photo above is a screenshot from Instagram, hence the poor quality).

A professional animal behaviour consultant, like the ones that work with rescue parrots, probably could have done a better job with him. I’m happy that I tried my best, and I’m fairly confident that I gave him a good life, and that he even trusted me. We got to a point where he’d do the shuffling courtship behaviour that roosters will apparently do for humans that they’re very comfortable with. And I miss that very much.

Please do your best to try and understand an animal and where it is coming from when you’re attempting to train it. Especially roosters. It saddens me to see all these Kijiji ads along the lines of “free rooster - too aggressive”. Because not all of them end up in good homes (if they get a home and not a cooking pot, that is). Properly trained roosters are a wonderful component of a backyard flock, if you can stand the 4AM crowing. They’re natural alarm and protection systems for the hens, and as someone who works with falcons and owls, I can still easily say that roosters are the most gorgeous and charismatic birds I’ve ever worked with. And that shuffle? Melts your heart.

Note: I am not a professional animal trainer/behaviour consultant. I am, however, a student veterinarian, an an animal behaviour/welfare/neuroscience researcher, someone who works with raptors for use in educational settings, a former zookeeping intern, and a happy chicken owner. I don’t know everything about animal behaviour - I am mostly just speaking from my personal experiences! Here are some blog posts about force-free training and aggression by Lara Joseph, a behaviour consultant from the Animal Behaviour Company, which I highly recommend checking out:

https://www.theanimalbehaviorcenter.com/concern-using-force-animal/

https://www.theanimalbehaviorcenter.com/working-with-behavior-issues-from-a-lunging-dive-bombing-amazon/

https://www.theanimalbehaviorcenter.com/a-bird-attacking-question/

[halcyonkrp]

WHO’S THAT TRAINER ?

coming from seoul, south korea and settling into the haeundae district here in busan as a model and pokemon researcher, he’s not participating in league! but don’t underestimate him, can you guess who he is?

                                                                          IT’S BAE DOHYUN !

ADDITIONAL POKEMON

empoleon, sceptile, blissey, tyranitar, dragonite, kadabra, umbreon, espeon, litten

POKEDEX ENTRY

tw: car accident, death.

april 1999. he stares up at his family’s portrait hung on the wall, a box in his hands as several people move behind him hauling heavier boxes with more objects. the box he holds just contains his growlithe’s necessities, which weren’t much since his bed had already been taken. the young boy can’t help but wonder what would become of his life now as he was forced to live with his aunt and uncle in favor of not living out in the country with his farming grandparents.

he doesn’t want to leave home.

he’s tempted to glue himself to his home so he’ll never have to leave.

why did his parents have to leave him?

it was not their choice, and if they were given one they would still be here, taking care of their little boy. fate was not their friend, however, as they had been caught in a four-car collision that had taken both of their lives. their son, however, was not given the details. he was just told that his parents would be gone for awhile. you’ll know more when you’re older, they tell him, it’s better for you that way.

oh how he wishes he was older now.

he feels something soft beside him as he continues staring at the photo, but he doesn’t need to see to know exactly who it is. the growlithe barks for his attention, but he doesn’t to take his eyes off of the portrait. he’s scared he’ll forget their faces.

“do you think they’ll come back?”

“what are you still doing here?” another voice asks him. it’s his aunt, a trained gym leader in seoul. her eyes travel to the large, painted portrait, a small smile on her face. “you were supposed to be in the car ten minutes ago.”

“i just wanted to say goodbye.”

he doesn’t expect her to laugh, so he can’t help but pout when she does. he watches with curiosity as she reaches for the painting, before taking it off the wall and taking growlithe’s things before giving the painting to him with a smile.

“take them with you.”

may 2003. living in seoul is not too bad. he gets along with his cousins well and his aunt and uncle treat him like one of their own. he is loved and he is cared for, he is mostly smiling whenever he was playing in their home and loves spending time with the family.

today is not one of those days.

his uncle had come home not too long ago, a solemn look of his own as he approached the younger boy. he had led him back to his bedroom and sat him down, the same look he had given dohyun when he had to tell him that his parents were gone. the older man held out two pokéballs, a regular pokéball and an ultra ball.

“they’re all that’s left, they were your parents’ pokémon. please take care of them well.”

two pokémon? everyone knew they had more than two. they they both had five on them at all times. he couldn’t help but give him an incredulous look; his uncle knew he couldn’t ignore it. he told him everything about the crash, how his parents had passed away, how they were buried back in incheon and not seoul.

“your family’s survivors from the crash.”

he didn’t need to hear more.

he was scared to release the pokémon. he was familiar with his parents’ pokémon, but he didn’t know them well. what if they don’t like him? what if they want to leave? do they know what happened? the spheres shone in the sunlight, as if they were new— where had they been all this time?

he presses the buttons on both when he gets to the backyard.

his mother’s chansey.

his father’s aurorus.

they looked so happy to see him.

he couldn’t help but start crying again.

june 2005. “why are you crying?”

“i let him go.”

his aunt gave him a look— she didn’t understand. she only knew when he held out five pokéballs, a sixth pokéball ( the very different ultra ball ) missing from the group. they had travelled up north for a few days as a break from the city life that consumed them so much.

“aurorus is happier now, don’t you think?” he doesn’t answer, and continues crying. “your father would be proud of you.”

that’s when he looks up. tears stain his cheeks and his eyes are red, a frown in the place of a smile that was always so bright. his uncle told her he’d be inconsolable for awhile, but he seemed to be calming down at the thought his parents may just be happy with his decision. dohyun really loved aurorus— he was his father’s partner.

“you will see him again one day, i promise.”

the boy can’t help but think she’s lying— no one comes back for him.

march 2006. he’s been wandering in circles with his piplup for awhile. they were playing hide and seek with his friends and family, and they thought it’d be a good idea to hide deep in the park. what they didn’t account for was that since this was a national park, there’d be no fences or direction signs anywhere unless they were by a path— which they were absolutely not.

he regrets leaving his sick growlithe at home now; piplup is just as scared as he is. it’s getting dark and they’re unsure of what to do. dohyun is pretty certain that someone is following them too, but they disappear out of sight as soon as he turns around.

piplup is tired, and he knows this. they stop by a big tree, and he places the small pokémon in his backpack before he starts climbing the tree. “we’ll rest here for the night until someone finds us.” he pauses, settling the backpack in between his legs once he’s seated. “it’s safer up here than it is down there.”

they fall asleep a couple minutes later, but his rest doesn’t last very long before a high pitched chirping is sounding by his face. except, it’s not a bird, but a small onion-looking pokémon. it looks awfully happy, almost like it’s relieved.

before he could say anything, piplup is out of the bag and chirping louder, almost like he’s yelling. “time to sleep,” and he succumbs to slumber once again.

the next morning he’s awoken by a rock being thrown at his head. his cousins are below him and so is a crying piplup ( he happened to fall out of the tree ). he quickly climbs down himself, hugging his family and thanking them for finding him as he begins to cry.

what he doesn’t realize is that there’s a hitchhiker in his bag, who is sleeping soundly and quietly with no one noticing a thing.

september 2008. turns out the hitchhiker’s name was celebi, and while growlithe was by almost every moment of the day, the small pokémon was doing its best to do the same. the young pokémon remained a secret for awhile, but eventually he grew tired of carrying around celebi in his bag and naturally let it slip.

his family didn’t mind, but they told him to always be careful with it. it’s a mythical pokémon, they told him. looking at celebi now, he regarded it as one of his best friends.

surprisingly, celebi liked training with him and his other pokémon. he had his eyes set on the league since his cousin had finally taken over for his aunt as a gym leader and had been endlessly teasing him— not that he’d like to use celebi in the league at all, but it seemed to like learning about its power as well.

this definitely included unexpected time travelling at the worst times.

dohyun began researching about celebi, and found out there were probably dozens, hundreds of different celebi from different timelines. he managed to befriend one, and had gotten it in a luxury ball gifted to him by his uncle a couple days after celebi was revealed to his family. ( it doesn’t use its pokéball very often unless it’s scared— dohyun doesn’t watch horror movies anymore. )

“try again!” he cheers on both lairon and celebi, who were going at each other for awhile now. even if celebi can’t compete in the league with him, it’ll be with him during the entire journey.

december 2010. his birthday was a month away, but his excitement to compete in the league was out of this world. with the help of his aunt and his “ace trainer” cousins, he’s been working on his goal of challenging the league for months now and feels confident enough in both himself and his pokémon.

he really doesn’t feel nervous at all, trusting his team wholeheartedly. his cousins tell him it’s just wishful thinking, and for awhile he thought he was being too optimistic.

dohyun wanted to be a son, a champion, that his parents would be proud of. his father had dreamt of challenging the league when he was younger, and his mother did actually compete for a couple of years, just collecting all eight badges of each league. they told him stories when he was younger; he remembered them well.

he wants to continue their dreams.

this is no longer his and his pokémon’s challenge, it’s his parents’ too.

( his mother’s chansey, now a blissey, will make her proud for sure. )

july 2011. “congratulations to bae dohyun, south korea’s new national champion!”

it feels surreal. he doesn’t believe it even when he’s crowned the champion after the final pokémon battle. it’s even more unbelievable since he still had two pokémon still capable of battling in their pokéballs. his smile is so wide, happiness overflowing from not only him but his team as well.

is this real life?

he only begins crying out of proudness when he’s by himself, in his new home just a good thirty minutes away from his aunt and uncle. he made it not for himself, but for his parents too. the champion title would not be his had he not been finding the will to continue for them as well.

this was a win for his entire family.

the newfound attention is weird, and it’s something he isn’t very comfortable with in the beginning. he has to keep celebi a secret again ( scared for its safety now that there were more eyes on him ), and he had to watch everything he did. he had been offered different deals that would boost his popularity, which was all so overwhelming in the beginning.

he wasn’t cut out for it, but he’s willing to learn.

this is his new life now.

august 2014. he’s able to defend his title for the next two years, but a team change had to be made last minute due to an unforeseen injury that just couldn’t heal any quicker. it threw his entire team off balance, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have his head held high when someone knew was crowned.

he knew this moment was coming and had feared it for a while, but nearing last battle he felt more content knowing he had tried his best despite the circumstances.

he was still seoul’s elite.

it’s still a big deal, but he’s glad the cameras shift elsewhere. he could finish his last year of university without as many offers as before. he still sees his face on some posters and billboards, but people are less invasive— the public knows him well enough already.

he feels more content, more free even if it’s not by much.

it’s something new he’s excited for.

october 2016. “bae dohyun steps down from elite position ahead of the elite four battle!”

unsurprisingly, the title went to the person who has almost beaten him. it wasn’t his plan to leave the league in the middle of a big tournament, but it was better to do it now than announce his leave later when the league was over.

it wasn’t that he was unhappy; he loved being a public figure young kids could look up to. it was fun doing all these things that would make other people satisfied, but after a couple of years he’s just gotten a little tired. if given the chance, he knows he’d always compete again one day, but even he doesn’t believe it’ll happen. he is satisfied knowing he’s allowed to live freely, doing what he wants when he wants.

he’s always wished he could somehow make himself disappear.

and disappear is just what he did.

currently. he returned to south korea in november, and headed to busan for a new start. he got himself a nice penthouse that overlooked the water, a place where he can relax and do what he likes.

when his aunt asked what exactly he was doing now, they were surprised to find out he’s a pokémon researcher studying pokémon development in the wild ( in the past & present— thanks to celebi ), while also unsurprised that he had also been hired as a model once again, this time in the city of busan. his aunt always tells him that he should come back home and relax, not work for a couple more years.

what good would come out of staying home and doing nothing? would his parentswouldn’t be proud of that?

he is exactly where he wants to be.

[littlefrenchdog]

All About French Bulldogs

Typically, the Frenchie is one of the most vibrant dogs around. Their open playfulness and bat-shaped ears, combined with their loving relationship with people, make them great pets. They are very often sought after due to their compact size, allowing them to live in most dwelling environments and requiring little exercise. They are not overly fond of barking either so fit apartment-style living comfortably.

French Bulldog Pup

History

The history of the French Bulldog is one that includes three countries and not just its namesake, French. The other two countries of importance are England and America. England was the origin of the French Bulldog in its original incarnation.  Being bred from the old English Bulldog. Breeders in France breed these bulldogs into the small framed bulldogs that we know today. America comes into play in the dictated that a real French bulldog must have the distinctive "bat-shaped ears". The English Bulldog that they originated from does not look like the one we know today but one that was bred for the sport of bull-baiting over 200 years ago. Many English bulldog breeders began to change the breed around this time to a bigger, heavier dog with exaggerated features. Others crossbred them with terriers resulting in the bull-and-terrier breeds used for dogfighting, ratting, etc.

Frenchie Another group of breeders developed a smaller, lighter toy bulldog, around 12-25 lbs in weight, having either upright or rose ears, round foreheads and short underjaws—and perhaps a touch of terrier liveliness. These were quite popular with workers in the English midlands, in particular, the artisans in the lace-making industry around Nottingham. When the Industrial Revolution hit England, it impacted a lot of the craft shops. Many people moved to where they could find work. The lace-makers emigrated to North of France. With them, they brought their toy bulldogs. ⠀Soon the popularity of the toy bulldogs began to spread from across all France. There started an active trade between England and France exporting these little bulldogs. They were favourites of the ordinary person from Cafe owners, tradies and les belles de nuit. Most of the British wanted nothing to do with these French bulldogs, so the French were the guardians of the breed until later in the 19th century. The French developed a more standard breed from the dogs— a dog with a compact body, straight legs, except without the extreme underbite of the English bulldog. Many had erect "bat ears" while the other had "rosebud" ears. Americans travelling to France fell for these beautiful little dogs and started to bring them back with them to the United States.  Americans preferred dogs with upright ears. On the other hand, the French and British breeders preferred the rosebud ears. Some extra photos and history can be found in the following book: French Bulldog: The Frenchie

Size and Weight

Broadly speaking, the French Bulldog will be about 11 to 12 inches tall. Males weigh 20 to 28 pounds, females weigh 16 to 24 pounds.

Colour And Grooming

French Bulldog coat is short, soft, shiny and smooth. Its skin is baggy and wrinkled, particularly on the head and shoulders. Here are some of the colors.

French Bulldogs needs regular bathing and grooming. They can be washed as often as every week, up or on the other end every six weeks, obviously, it depends on their lifestyle. With such a smooth coated breed, frequent bathing is essential for the maintenance of skin health and coat. Start grooming your Frenchie at an early age and educate your puppy to stand on a table or ground to make this experience simpler for both of you.

Health and Lifespan

The average life expectancy of the French Bulldog will be between 9 and 12 years. Even though they are an adorable dog, they are sadly susceptible to a broad spectrum of health issues. Such issues not only affect Frenchie's lifespan, and also have a profound impact on their well-being. Potential Frenchie owners might consider the advantages and disadvantages of having a French Bulldog. Yet many French Bulldogs have a much shorter life expectancy. This study of more than 2,200 Frenchies revealed 98 fatalities in 2013, with a median age of just 3.6 years. Unfortunately, the French Bulldog is susceptible to several health issues, some of which may be life-threatening. Before contemplating this breed, we suggest doing your research.

Finnish Kennel club Do French Bulldogs Have Health Problems?(Opens in a new browser tab)

Birth and reproduction

French Bulldogs commonly necessitate artificial insemination and Caesarean section to give birth, with over 80 per cent of the litter delivered in this way. Many French Bulldog male dogs are incapable of natural reproduction. Because the French Bulldogs have skinny hips, rendering the male unable to mount the female to breed normally. Consequently, artificial insemination of female dogs must be conducted by the owners. French Bulldogs average about three pups per litter. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Bulldog

Children And Other Pets

The French Bulldog gets along exceptionally well with children, even if you have really young children, they should be perfectly fine. As with every dog, you should never leave them alone, unsupervised with Children. Frenchies show a tendency to get aggressive with other dogs, this can be easily overcome with correct training and socialization. These are incredibly imported steps with owning any dog. And the effort you put in the begging will pay off with a well-behaved dog.

Personality and Temperament

Please read the following article on French Bulldog Personality and Temperament.

Feeding

Please read the following article on What Food Is Good For French Bulldogs?(Opens in a new browser tab)

The Popularity of the French Bulldog

The prominence of the breed has seen incredible growth in recent times, with a 44 per cent increase from 2016 to 2017 alone and a stunning 2964 per cent increase over the last ten years (2008 to 2017). Throughout the United States, the Frenchies did not place among the overall 30 most popular dogs for years. As of 2019, the French Bulldog is number 4 in the USA. Throughout the UK, they placed 76th throughout 2005. They are now in 34th position. The rise of French bulldogs popularity precisely aligned with the advent of social media. Something about Frenchie is appealing to the internet, particularly Instagram. Several of Instagram's more famous French Bulldogs include Seattle's Sir Charles Barkley, with over 324,000 followers; Tokyo's Muu, with 582,000; and Chicago's skillfully promoted Manny, nicknamed the "most-followed" Frenchie, with 660,000 fans. The French Bulldog is also preferred by celebrities such as Beckhams, Lady Gaga and Hugh Jackman. The Kennel Club is worried that the drastic growth in the number of French Bulldogs is due to more people preferring the dog because of how it appears and because it is perceived to be a popular option, instead of because it is the most appropriate breed for their lifestyle. There is also worry because the French Bulldog isn't the right option for everyone, people who are buying without doing their homework will then have to turn the Frenchie over to the dog shelter once they know they can't take care of it.

French Bulldog Breeders

Very often, unsuspecting people purchase French Bulldog puppies from puppy farms or people carrying out backyard breeding without the necessary knowledge and skills in birthing puppies. It typically results in puppies having terrible health and behaviour issues that may not are noticed immediately. French Bulldogs that have genetic health issues due to poor breeding and acquires poor behavioural problems because of no early socialization could well cost a great deal to treat and in some instances can take many years to undo early damage, which, regrettably, tends to result in heartbreak, more for the owner. Responsible breeders will not sell their dogs to the first person who shows up with money in hand. It is strongly advised that you only purchase puppies through responsible breeders that use a health care scheme. The breeder should be willing to provide you with copies of the back & hip health rating documents and the Genetic tests for both parents. All French Bulldogs must be tested at the age of 12 months and before mating. The Frenchie also expected to be X-rayed and tested before purchase. Association website is an excellent source of information about all French Bulldog breeders. https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/french-bulldog/pictures/

Overview

French Bulldogs are companion dogs, and they flourish once they have human contact. They're not just a breed which can be left alone for lengthy periods or expected to live outdoors.Since they don't tend to be big barkers, French Bulldogs make outstanding apartment pets.French Bulldogs are companion dogs, and they flourish once they have human contact. They're not just a breed which can be left alone for lengthy periods or expected to live outdoors.Since they don't tend to be big barkers, French Bulldogs make outstanding apartment pets.They make excellent watchdogs, but they can be territorial. They really like being the focus of attention, that can lead to behavioural issues if the spoilt.If you like a clean house, a French Bulldog may not be your dog, as it is susceptible to drooling, flatulence and some shedding. They are also hard to house train.French Bulldogs don't need a lot of exercises but it a good idea that you take them for a daily walk, so they do not put on weight.French Bulldogs can also be very trainable, but they can also be stubborn. Be firm and patient in their training.Frenchies as with most Bulldog breeds are not good in hot weather. On hot days, keep an eye on them to make sure they do not overexert themselves.Since they don't tend to be big barkers, French Bulldogs make outstanding apartment pets. Read the full article

[duaneodavila]

In Honor of World Refugee Day, Let’s Admit America Is Breaking Conventions It Once Held Dear

(Getty Images)

“You just a big dog, yeah / I kenneled him in the backyard / No probably, ain’t life to a dog.” — Childish Gambino and Young Thug

Wednesday, June 20, was World Refugee Day, a day which pays homage to the 1951 Refugee Convention — “A United Nations multilateral treaty that defines who is a refugee and sets out the rights of individuals who are granted asylum and the responsibilities of nations that grant asylum,” according to Wikipedia.

On Monday, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein condemned Trump’s administration stating, “The thought that any state would seek to deter parents by inflicting such abuse on children is unconscionable.”

On Tuesday, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley proclaimed that the United States is withdrawing from the United Nations Human Rights Council.

On Wednesday, World Refugee Day, Council of Europe Secretary General, and one of the five members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Thorbjorn Jagland warned: “This is just one more example which shows that [Trump] does not want to be part of international treaties or international cooperation-based organizations.”

In light of World Refugee day, let’s remember the fact that this year’s staggeringly low refugee quota, 45,000, is the lowest in thirty years, and will likely not be met — due to drastic, draconian measures. Let’s also take some time to reflect on the greater state of our international affairs.

Last year, I covered a haunting picture of Aylan Kurdi, a 3-year-old Syrian refugee who drowned searching for freedom. Perhaps because his lifeless body didn’t find refuge on a U.S. beach, our leadership remains unmoved by the Syrian crisis. 

After all, it wasn’t too long ago that Trump called for a “total and complete shutdown” of Muslim refugees from very specific countries. In fact, he still hopes to implement this plan, albeit in a modified form.

His attitude towards and animus of those he perceives as “others” knows no bounds. Not since 1981, since Reagan, has an administration been so homogenous in terms of age, race, and sex. For people of color, the maxim “if you aren’t at the table, you are on the menu” has never felt more harrowing.

You may have already seen the viral photo of a little girl screaming for her mother, who was separated from her by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. She will end up in a detention facility, or a “tender age” shelter, somewhere here in Texas.

The escalating nativist rhetoric of the most recent presidential campaigns has led us to where we are today. Words matter. Pictures matter. Intentions and aims that were once directed at anchor babies have now shifted to those seeking legal asylum and the many others who have already been naturalized.

This isn’t a slippery slope argument, this is a “this is happening” contention. You may be feeling fatigued from this endless news cycle, but it’s critical to stay alert to the disturbing facts. We shouldn’t sleep on our country’s blatant violations of the most fundamental of human rights.

Although seeking asylum is legal, we have now begun to treat this process as criminal. We have not only violated international treaties (Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees) for those fleeing persecution and seeking safe harbor — but we have ripped away people’s kids from them with suspect plans for reunification. Not even in the Japanese internment camps did we separate innocent actors from their children. One father has already committed suicide because of our government’s heinous actions.

As Texas Monthly Executive Editor Katy Vine has noted, under the new “zero-tolerance” policy, the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol are blocking bridges, legal entry points, and forcing migrants and refugees seeking asylum to cross by other means. When they do cross and request asylum, the Border Patrol is charging them for a criminal offense and taking away their children. This isn’t how the asylum process is supposed to function.

In her Texas Monthly article “What’s Really Happening When Asylum-Seeking Families Are Separated?” Vine further highlighted the absurdity of this protocol:

Then [the Border Patrol and U.S. Marshals] say if you have religious persecution or political persecution or persecution on something that our asylum definition recognizes, you can fight that case behind bars at an immigration detention center.

And those cases take two, three, four, five, six months. And what happens to your child isn’t really our concern. That is, you have made the choice to bring your child over illegally. And this is what’s going to happen.

Many migrants and refugees have died in their search for safe harbor and asylum. Other refugees haven’t viewed America as a beacon of hope for quite some time, and for good reason. But now — in a stark departure from past practices as well as all international norms and customs — we are blocking migrants from entering legal entry points. And we are criminalizing those who are legally seeking asylum. Interment camps by any other names are still prisons. It is hard to accept the reality of these “tender age” shelters on our soil. In our own backyard, we are now housing innocent children in cages.

It is hard to ignore the government-sanctioned child abuse and violations of multilateral treaties that are currently happening within our borders. We may be keeping the lights on 24/7 in the warehouses that we are detaining these innocent migrant children, but make no mistake — this is a dark chapter in our country’s history.

The United Nations has strongly condemned the Trump administration’s current practice of separating immigrant children from their parents, just as it has our current criminal justice system. In return, the administration has withdrawn our country from the United Nations Human Rights Council.

On Wednesday, Trump issued an Executive Order to stop his administration’s own initiated policy of separating families. Trump’s “start a fire to partially extinguish a fire” or “stick a knife in your back nine inches and pull it out six inches” strategy still ignores the basic fact that we are violating Article 31 of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees: Non-penalization, Detention and Protection, which states:

Detention of asylum seekers which is applied for [illegitimate] purposes, for example, as part of a policy to deter future asylum seekers, or to dissuade those who have commenced their claims from pursuing them, is contrary to the norms of refugee law.

It should not be used as a punitive or disciplinary measure for illegal entry or presence in the country. Detention should also be avoided for failure to comply with the administrative requirements or other institutional restrictions related residency at reception centers, or refugee camps.

We are directly violating Article 31 of the Refugee Convention. Instead of addressing this issue, the Trump administration is aiming to amplify its wanton and reckless ignorance of historical precedent. The Department of Justice now plans to send Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG) Officers to our southern border to prosecute migrants. Maybe this administration should do better to understand the rule of law before it deploys JAG Officers, who specialize in military justice and military law, to interpret and enforce immigration laws.

The vaunted wall that the Trump administration so desperately plots to build is already being constructed brick by brick. Even if we refuse to admit it to ourselves. A separation of families’ strategy was executed on our borders, while the separation of society continues to happen within them.

Our country’s withdrawal from the United Nations Human Rights Council isn’t a bug, it’s a feature of the current administration. I’ve spoken to so many others who also feel within and without. When did we get here… while America slept?

History has shown us time and time again, walls don’t last — people do. And when this chapter of our country finally gets written, let it reveal that those who succeeded in their journeys around the world didn’t do so because of the Trump administration, they succeeded in spite of this administration. Nativism may be winning these short-term battles, but no country has ever succeeded by shutting itself in and closing itself off from the rest of the world.

It’s time to wake up. This is America. And one day, we — including the President of the United States — will have to admit that immigrants, too, are America.

Renwei Chung is the Diversity Columnist at Above the Law. You can contact Renwei by email at projectrenwei@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter (@renweichung), or connect with him on LinkedIn. 

In Honor of World Refugee Day, Let’s Admit America Is Breaking Conventions It Once Held Dear republished via Above the Law

[phgq]

Basilan’s ‘Children of War’ join in love, peace festival

#PHnews: Basilan’s ‘Children of War’ join in love, peace festival

MOHAMMAD AJUL, BASILAN – More than 500 children in this coastal community were treated to a memorable, fun-filled day, which to them was a welcome respite from living in an area that has been wracked by armed conflict for decades.

And for the first time, the children did not run away and seek refuge in their homes when they saw several Huey helicopters hovering over their town.

Over the years, this town has been the site of major clashes between government forces and non-state armed groups, including followers of extremist organizations that have been responsible for some of the most violent attacks in Mindanao.

“The armed conflict here was so intense that children, as well as the adults, [are afraid upon hearing] the sound of [a] helicopter,” recalled Dr. Arlyn Jawad Jumao-as, president of Save the Children of War (Basilan) Association, Inc., which led the Festival of Love and Peace.

Over the years, the Basilan-based non-government organization has been providing social healing interventions to child victims of war in the island-province.

“It literally rained with assorted candies and stuffed toys. Now, children will no longer fear the sound of a helicopter,” Jumao-as said, as she watched the children scramble to catch the goodies.

The veteran development worker said the Save the Children of War Association’s interventions are designed to help the children recover from a dark chapter in their town’s history, and give them back the childhood they lost during the war.

“And all they need is a little childhood, a little help, and a little encouragement,” Jumao-as said.

For this year’s social intervention, she invited Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito G. Galvez Jr. to share his experiences and inspire the children of this battle-scarred community.

Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito G. Galvez Jr. (2nd from left) with participants of the "Festival of Love and Peace" in Mohammad Ajul, Basilan. (Photo courtesy of OPAPP)

“The event today is also a reminder for us elders to create a safe and positive environment for children affected by armed conflict. The welfare of our children should never be ignored particularly during times of crisis and war,” Galvez said, adding the “best interests of our children should be our primary concern.”

“It is not only the physical needs of our children that we need to provide for such as food, clothing, and shelter; more importantly, we need to attend to the development of their mental, emotional and spiritual health as well,” Galvez told the participants of the festival, who included local government officials and various sectoral representatives.

Mohammad Ajul Mayor Ibrahim Ballaho noted the event “is a symbol that our town is gradually achieving peace.”

“The fate of our country lies in the hands of our children,” Ballaho said.

Themed “Nurturing the Missing Piece of Peace,” the day-long peace festival was organized by the Save the Children of War (Basilan) Association, Inc. in partnership with the Municipal Government of Hadji Mohammad Ajul, 4th Special Forces Battalion, and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.

The activity is the culmination of the healing process for 547 psychologically pre-assessed children of war coming from the different barangays of Hadji Mohammad Adjul.

The participants are children of Moro National Liberation Front, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and former Abu Sayyaf combatants who underwent the Program Against Violent Extremism (PAVE.)

Jumao-as said the long-term goal of the program is to ensure that the youth, particularly those who lost their parents during armed conflicts, will not be susceptible to radicalization and violent extremism.

“In its 5th year, the festival aims to boost the morale of the (ASG) surrenderees, and encourage current members of the ASG to also return to the folds of the law,” she said.

During the event, several children “surrendered” their toy guns to officials of the province. In exchange, they were given tokens such as school supplies and bikes.

The bikes, Galvez said, will provide the children the "experience of early adventures and freedom to explore their limits and endurance."

"Bicycle may also represent 'early freedom' to travel distance freely away from their own backyard," he noted.

Among the highlights of the activity was a dance number performed by former members of the Abu Sayyaf and their families. The performance was a testament to their transformation into peaceful members of society.

“The welfare and protection of our children are assured,” Basilan Governor Jim Hataman-Saliman said, as he thanked everyone who contributed in making his town a safer and happier place to live in.

The governor also thanked the different private organizations and government agencies that continue to help in the healing and reconciliation process in Basilan.

He said the provincial government has been implementing several programs to help former rebels and members of the Abu Sayyaf to transform their lives. These programs are being replicated in areas that have a similar problem with violent extremism, particularly in Lanao del Sur.

Brig. Gen. Peter Suchianco, who helped look for donors for the school supplies for the children here, urged the residents to collectively work for peace in their area.

"Peace is only brought about by those who want it, who worked for it, and I am very happy to see that all of you have worked for it," he said.

He also encouraged the people here to take advantage of their natural resources as a way to help develop their areas and provide the needed economic opportunities for the residents.

"If we have maintained the peace and order here, I'm very sure people from Luzon will definitely visit your place and this will bolster the development of your town," he said in mixed English and Filipino.

This coastal town boasts several kilometers of white and powdery sand beaches, rich with aquatic products.

"Your place is very beautiful for tourism. We have to take advantage of what God-given treasures that you have, which is the environment and the people that you have. These are the resources that you can further develop for progress," he said. (OPAPP PR)

   ***

References:

* Philippine News Agency. "Basilan’s ‘Children of War’ join in love, peace festival." Philippine News Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1082365 (accessed October 05, 2019 at 09:23PM UTC+14).

* Philippine News Agency. "Basilan’s ‘Children of War’ join in love, peace festival." Archive Today. https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1082365 (archived).

[victoriousyoungtriads]

My contributions to the cart during this evening’s trip to Wegmans included a canister of Cafe Bustelo, a box of Turbinado sugar, a quart container of organic half and half, a giant box of Grape Nuts (the original pea gravel kind, not the flakes), and a gallon jug of organic milk. I passed on the Eggo waffles I craved and the carton of ice cream Kelly suggested. She made some comment about how disciplined I am, and I snort laughed and assured her, put an open box of anything I have a weakness for in front of me, and it will be gone before anyone knows it.

At home during my ongoing YouTube binge of the PathLessPedaled channel, she treated herself to decaffinated herbal tea and I treated myself to some coffee. With lots of sugar. At 8:30pm.

And I’m fucking wide awake.

So I’ve been trying to lull myself to sleep with fantasies of getting up early, drinking more coffee—literally, the ritual of making and drinking it has been absent from my morning routine for going on five years now, at least—eating aforementioned Grape Nuts, doing something productive during the day tomorrow with the pair of 25lb kettlebells, the weighted jump rope, the medicine ball, the exercise band, the pull-up bar, that have been sitting unused in my office for over a year, going for a bike ride after work (up Hamburg?... lol), or maybe hitting that heavy bag that’s hung in the backyard for even longer. I finally tracked down the website to that boxing gym up the street, only to find that a membership with “open gym access” would cost $125 monthly. And I’ve been “donating” $50ish a month to the Y with nothing to show for it for how long?

Of course there’s always that weekly Tuesday morning kettlebell class that I was committed to for a hot minute there, the same one I’m petrified to show my face in thanks to just how far I’ve let myself go since then.

Lib’s group rides this Tuesday evening at 5:30. How difficult will it be for me to keep up with their “casual” pace?

In the past two weeks or so a thought realization has circulated and recirculated—over the last few years and, in particular in the last year, in my work life, my personal life, my home life, things are generally falling into place really nicely.

Professionally speaking, sure I’d love for my raise last year to have been a little higher. Sure I would’ve loved for my promotion to have been more meaningful and come with a more significant—and realistic—title change. I’d love to be better at what I do and would relish opportunities at training and professional development that I have probably already let pass me by many times over. God knows I’d love not to be as stressed out as I have been in the past few weeks with my daily+plus+bonus+rebranding workload that is the hallmark of this fall. Maybe I’m too quick to look to comfort and stability over ambition and professional growth. I’m a Taurus, that’s my thing. I’ve already accepted the fact that the nature of the work I’m doing, the flexibility in my time, and its proximity to home make leaving there a really fucking hard sell, one I’m not much interested in anyway. Not now.

Personally speaking, things with Kelly are humming along so smoothly, it’s still kind of taken me by surprise. We complement each other so well, and living with her is almost effortless. She’s the best sleeping partner I’ve ever had, tonight’s caffeinated insomnia notwithstanding. She puts things back where they actually belong, which, all on its own, is shocking in the best way possible. This is a mature relationship, one in which both parties are squarely on the same page, about stuff both big and small. And it’s pretty awesome.

I’m thrilled to be sharing this new and improved home with her, and, all in all, I’m thrilled with how the house has turned out. Sure, there are details here and there that have given me some pause—

Sure do wish they hadn’t gotten drywall compound all over the exposed brick in the master bedroom and on the chimney downstairs

Could the electric plug have not been installed more securely in the drywall outside the bathroom?

One of these days I am going to yank those bits of T-shirt fabric out from under the washing machine

The removal of the drywall in the guest bedroom and the kitchen looks a bit hackjob-esque here and there, though not unforgivably so

I probably would have been instantly happier with that sleeker, more minimalist and modern staircase setup, but what’s there is growing on me

Seriously, what exactly is powered by that one switch?!

—and maybe I will always crave a modern, industrial, wrought iron staircase. That isn’t in the cards right now and won’t be for some time, if ever. Maybe new kitchen countertops, at some point. DIY, if we’re feeling brave. Exterior windows first, though. And how about I get my head around paying for the goddamned thing first (thanks, Mom and Dad!).

Oh, and I like cooking. And I do a decent job of it. True, all I’m doing is following recipes with pre-measured and pre-provided ingredients, and I’m not thrilled by every recipe we’re given. It still counts. I’m enjoying it. And it all tastes pretty damned good.

So, really—and my therapist agrees—stuff is going, like, really well. Night and day compared to two years ago, to say the least.

The only piece that’s not there—really, at all at this point, by my own standards—is my physical health fitness.

A lot of it is missing how strong and physically able/adept I was, or thought I was. Once upon a time a mere five years ago, I did successfully do one unassisted pull up, and around that same time the goal I’d set so many years before of doing a few at a time actually seemed within reach, in the big picture.

But fuck it, I am a vain creature, and I miss how lean-ish I looked in photos from 2012, at least compared to today. Admittedly I was depressed as fuck and living through the painful dissolution of my marriage and longest relationship, so maybe that’s not a look I should be striving for, but I don’t care.

When we moved back into the house post remodel, I got ride of a shit ton of clothes, most of which fit me reasonably well as recently as two years ago and very much don’t fit me anymore. Honestly I’m not really fitting all that well into any of my clothes, specifically those I’ve elected to hang onto... except the (music) performance wear—billowy black pants with elastic waistbands and clearly plus-sized aesthetic black blouses with dreaded three-quarter length sleeves, all in sizes I once would have been swimming in—my mother has insisted on buying for me in the last year, despite my repeated requests that she not do so, since she’s not a fan of how I look in what I already own (...thanks, Mom).

I decided to hang onto some other stuff I’ve convinced myself it would be worth it to work towards fitting into again. Standing beside Kelly this evening in Kohl’s as she unenthusiastically browsed shelves of rhinestones embroidered into the ass jeans, stretchy jeans deliberately marketed as Mom jeans (don’t you idiots watch SNL?!), and jeans with threadbare fronts and bullshit for pockets—seriously, fuck women’s fashion and fuck women’s pants—I reaffirmed my determination not to buy any new clothes until they’re necessary to replace what’s become too big for me, not too small.

It’s all doable, I hope. I’m stubborn enough, still, to want very badly to be able to get to that point by succeeding on my own, by virtue of my own motivation to exercise and eat better. My faith in that reality has wavered enough to spend $250 on all three phases of Jay Maryniak’s Functional Method workout protocols, the proverbial spine of which I have yet to crack open. And I messaged Nik... a little while ago. He sent me links to visit, including the PayPal one where I send him money for him to help me realize these dreams. Haven’t gotten around to that yet, either. This week, maybe? Cause now I have coffee and Grape Nuts, and boxing gloves gathering dust and a heavy bag hanging in the backyard whose chains are probably already collecting rust.

And all the while I am sitting here thumb typing out these thoughts, I am realizing that this fitness I so desperately want to reclaim—the fulfillment of these goals—is eluding me in the same way that sleep does some nights, tonight included.

I’ve never had complete awareness of the crossover between wakefulness and sleep (does anybody?)—when it happens, whatever my mind was doing in the moments before it finally succumbs to sleep is erased from my memory by the time I wake again. Some nights my conscious, alert mind will catch myself starting to drift, to dream. Once I do, it’s gone... I’m back to being awake and thinking, which is the opposite of what I need to do to sleep, to let go. It just has to happen.

Maybe getting this all back—the routine, the rhythm, the habit of regular, beneficial physical exertion—has to happen, and it hasn’t because of how much I’ve been thinking about it.

So, okay. Can I stop questioning when, and how, it’s going to happen long enough for it to actually happen?

[mykatesingh-blog]

As you can see from this photo, the moving boxes went to good use in the end despite our not moving. The boys built shantytowns, cities, camps with the boxes for days until I tired of my yard looking like an encampment area and took them all to the recycling bin at Bali’s work.

We have settled back into this house and are looking at staying another few years. Our neighbors are still nervous and encouraged us to get the “for sale” sign out of the front yard quickly and then when Bali brought home his friends large moving truck to move out all the old fridges, washers and stoves that he will no longer be selling to used appliance shops a neighbor called anxiously wondering “who is moving???”

It will take them some time to recover from our attempt to move out and onward to the mountains. It feels good to be wanted and appreciated in your neighborhood and I will focus on that.

I have changed my attitude and mind about many things these days. I was watching Bruce Lipton the other day while cleaning my ceiling fans and he was talking about a constant state of prayer.  The idea being that prayer does work wonders but not if only done now and then or when in need. The energy fades and we go back to suffering. If we can internalize this lovely state of inner communion with our Creator and the Universe we will live a life that feels full of goodness and light. We will find that comfort and peace when challenges arise and have more happiness from within despite the lack of our surrounding circumstances.

We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world. ~ Buddha

Our world…our reality begins in our mind. I learned this many moons ago but have failed to take it as seriously as my life depends on it. After going through a short-lived depression or dark period I have realized that this should be my main focus. Being in a state of infinite loving prayer and communion with my Father, calling in Christ energy to fill me up, guide me in my words and actions every moment, and living in deeply rooted faith…now that is true wealth.

How does this look and feel in one’s everyday life? How does a housewife live in this Zen-like state when not polishing floors in a monastery and floating about quiet gardens in a simple robe? How do we have peace when not living high up in the mountains with like-minded souls?

We create it to the best of our abilities right where we are.

I put up a reed fence in my front yard to create the illusion of some private sanctuary.

This doesn’t block out everything or make me invisible to people on the street but it feels cozy and blocks some of that energy just coming into my yard. I don’t feel so out on the street while gardening. I’ve been weeding and harvesting, planning new Fall gardens and recreating that space since and enjoy being out there more.

I then spent days out in the backyard cleaning, rearranging plants and outdoor furnishings, sweeping the patio and cleaning up my work table in the garden. I’ve planted seedlings, a strawberry patch, artichokes, and two banana trees, and will put in all my winter greens in the next few days.

Planning my next planting and cleaning up my outdoor spaces has helped me to reconnect to my home and settle in again. I feel good to make things pretty and productive around me.

I wash my floors and hang my laundry while practicing silence. I sleep in each morning and enjoy the delicious feeling of a soft bed and hearing my boys chatter and cook with their father on weekend mornings. I enjoy a big sweet, creamy mug of coffee while reading over two of my favorite books right now; The Everyday Bible with Comments by Joyce Meyers and The Complete Writings by Florence Scovel Shinn. Another book I’ve enjoyed in the past is Autobiography Of A Yogi with Paramahansa Yogananda. 

These books help me understand the world, seen and unseen. It builds my faith through an understanding of the Universe and God’s ways. It expands my small world around me.

I practice giving thanks to all the things that I am blessed with.

I adore this little dachshund that was given to us by the neighbors who found her to be too much work. We find her to be a delight and enjoy how small and fun with all her young little puppy ways of taking joy in everything all day long. She explores the garden as I plant my seeds and patiently allows the boys to carry her around like a baby. She learns quickly and barks at me when I ignore her. We search together for that squeaky chicken toy and I love kissing her soft blond, freckled nose that is so long and silly looking.

I give thanks for this charming home that hasn’t leaked in the winter or given us any trouble whatsoever. I give thanks that the neighborhood is quiet these days, even on the back street. I give thanks for a husband that works whatever job he needs to work to pay our bills without complaint or needing something big with a fancy title. Not many are humble enough to work a job that pays little and the work is less than satisfying without moaning about it. I give thanks that my children are healthy and smart…not only that but also wise and compassionate.

The more I appreciate all I have and my surroundings from the cast iron pan that used to be my mothers to the sound of the train across the river in the mornings, the birds that fill my yard and the old and sweet downtown we can walk to…the less I desire. I am feeling more full each day. More satisfied. I begin to wonder what it is that I need or want more than what I’m already graced with?

When I think about my writing I asked myself what can I write that would be fun for me, not what would make me more money. When I think about us moving elsewhere I asked what we truly need and the answer is just a bigger back yard for more space for the dogs and boys and gardens but as for the house, we have more than enough space with this 1000 sq ft home.

Abraham Hicks talks about this all the time with Law of Attraction seminars. People think they want more money, fame, success in careers, bigger houses, shiny and new cars. But what they truly want is to be happy, at peace, loved, surrounded by good friends and family.  We think that the money and success will bring all that but often it doesn’t at all. It brings a new and strange sort of trouble and loneliness.

All the people searching out there to manifest this and that…I say turn within and find joy in your life right now where you live, not when you move to a better town (as I thought). Love who you are as you are not thinner, more educated, better dressed, after that facelift or body sculpting or next diet that will bring a miraculous transformation with the weight. Love the person you’re with just as they are or let them go so someone else can do this for them. Appreciate your children as they are and let go of getting them to “act right” or be more quiet, smart, and so on.

I’m not crazy about my hair but I’m sure grateful I have some. I’m not wild about this body but it works well and all the limbs are in working order as well. I wish I could play the piano and speak several languages. I cannot but I can write and that is a very fun outlet.

I appreciate other homes and gardens of the perfectionist out there but I enjoy my shabby chic style and funky garden filled with bugs and the common stray cat.

My life is designed just for me with all my quirks and moods. I find that as I learn more about myself that I have things just right for me and all of my family.

When I do things now it’s done with the energy of fun and creativity. I learn things that inspire me, watch movies that delight me, read books that either heal, motivate, or just immerse me in a world of make-believe. When we eat food it is for nourishment and pleasure. Fresh foods, meals from scratch are pleasing and sometimes an already made dish from the freezer section is just as pleasing (wink, wink).

There is no judgment of what I do anymore. I mind my business with the neighbors and keep my nose in my yard and I find that the more kindness and understanding I have toward others human nature, the more I’m able to forgive and love myself. It is creating a softer and more feminine woman.

Letting go of control is the most freeing of all the acts I’ve been practicing. I put everything in God’s hands and then my helpmate. I let everyone figure out their stuff and I go curl up on the couch and watch my new lazy treat; a Spanish soap on Netflix. The more I just enjoy and give to myself without my old militant ways of driving myself like a brutal master, the more I enjoy and give to my family. There is no guilt in being and finding the luxuries in life. I am not spending money we don’t have or letting the house go to pot, or the stove go cold. As a matter of fact, I’m more productive but in a very well-paced, slower, more enjoyable way.

My tasks are done with a bit of ceremony and ritual. This week I felt that there was too much to get done, I would never finish and the more I did the more needed to be done. It felt endless, yet I slowed down and took one task at a time, being in the moment with each chore and counting my small riches and blessings as I worked. Within a few days my home and yards, gardens and garage where all in order, clean and tidy. I celebrated with junk food, nonalcoholic beer and two Godzilla movies with my boys last night. We cuddled with only candlelight so we could create the theater-like atmosphere and ate too many Doritos. It was so fun! Today I’m writing and will do some reading, shopping, gardening, but all in fun and play.

I can feel my mind relax. It isn’t forcing itself back to that default space of self-inflicted suffering that it’s so used to. It takes time, sometimes years to retrain your mind to go toward the light and not back to that dark place it is so used to where it finds all its broken toys and sad stories, worldly worries and past guilts. It takes work to lead it to green fields filled with flowers and sunshine. But in the end, it’s so worth it. The peace and inner smile that take up residence inside are worth the work.

  A housewife’s quest for enlightenment. As you can see from this photo, the moving boxes went to good use in the end despite our not moving.

[canada-deals-blog]

Toronto Journey

After a chilling first day in Toronto, we woke up to a beautiful sunny and considerably warmer weather. We headed directly to the Entertainment District with one goal in mind: take advantage of the gorgeous blue sky to go up the CN Tower and get some great pictures.

Here’s what we did in this second day with Our Private Tour operator Guided Toronto : 

Pretty easy arriving there by subway and walking to the park where you can find several other attractions. As the CN Tower was at the top of our list, that’s where we started. We arrived at around 9:30 and there was almost no one in line. I had read about a new experience they offer, the Edge Walk (exactly what the name says, you walk outside the tower) and was pretty excited about it, but quickly learned this is something one must plan in advance. The option is not even presented when you’re at the counter to buy the ticket. The reason? It must be booked in advance and it costs more than CAD 200. The salesperson even offered to check the exact time the next group would start and see if there were extra spaces, but as we had not originally added the cost to our budget we decided saving the money for other treats. So we ended up doing like everybody else and going to the main observation level – at 346m (1,136 feet) – , where you have the LookOut and the glass floor. For some extras you can also go 100m (330 feet) higher until the SkyPod, but we were pretty happy with the experience we already had with the general admission ticket offered by Tourism Toronto as explained in the previous text. 

The view is truly amazing. To see the complete 360 degrees of Toronto you must go inside the restaurant, but as it was still breakfast time for most tourists, the place was partly closed and empty, so we simply walked through. I imagine you can’t do that during lunch or dinner hours though. After you’re done admiring the view and taking pictures, you can go down one level, where you can walk on the glass floor. Today it seems pretty common to find glass floors in several towers, but this is where the idea was born several years ago. And it remains pretty scary. The floor is five times stronger than the required weight bearing standard for commercial floors and the scuff plates are replaced annually. The info should make you feel a little bit more comfortable, but, well, it doesn’t… It’s crazy to look down and see the ground way below your feet. On the same level there’s also an outdoor terrace, where you can get a breeze to recover from the experience! 😉

When you step outside the CN Tower building you are at a square where there are plenty of other options to explore. The Rogers Arena is located right in front. They offer guided tours, but I’d rather go to the stadium for a match (I love sports) or maybe for a concert. We decided visiting Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada instead. I know, when you think of an aquarium you think of children, and we had no kids with us… But I had seen some amazing photos online and was quite excited to check out this place. It paid off. The time you spend inside is enough to transport you to a different reality, where marine life is in control. It’s really amazing to see so many different species – from sharks to stingrays and colorful fish – totally in harmony. Kids of course go crazy. But I found it a pretty fun experience for adults too. And if you are lucky you can even match your visit with some live music, as the Friday Night Jazz happens on the second Friday of every month.

A few steps away you can find the Steam Whistle Brewing. I’m not a big fan of beer, but my husband for sure is. None of us knew exactly what to expect, as Steam Whistle was a new brand for us. We not only learned about the company and the owners but also realized that this would be a great beer to be sold at the Whole Foods Market! They only use 4 ingredients in the formula – all natural: water, malted barley, hops and yeast. I’ve been to other breweries where they also do a great job explaining the production process and the company’s history, but I never felt so compelled (in the good sense) to drink. Normally the establishments offer the trial in the end or close to the end, while here you start tasting the beer for free even while you wait for the tour. My husband had a blast!

Next to Steam Whistle you also find the Toronto Railway Museum, but before you make plans pay attention to the open days & hours. Outside the building you can already see for free some railroad cars and engines. Admission to the museum itself is CAD 5. The museum is run by volunteers who also restore the antiques. We didn’t have the time to check it out (so unfortunately can’t say much more), as after so much beer we needed a quick break for lunch. We simply crossed the street and ate at the good old Boston Pizza.

Heading North towards Midtown Toronto

We started the afternoon going North with the intention of exploring different neighborhoods. Chinatown (the main one), Little Italy and Little Portugal are relatively close, but there was nothing really catching my attention. We then went straight to the Bloor-Yorkville area, a region which was home to the elite in the 1800s and to the hippies in the 60s. Today it is considered one of the trendiest areas in town, with designer boutiques, fashionable restaurants and a lot to see. However there was a major renovation during our visit and we missed some of this experience…

Back to the subway and a couple of stops away we arrived at Casa Loma, Toronto’s castle! This was originally a residence for financier Sir Henry Pellatt and today is a museum. The house has an extremely gorgeous backyard and I made the mistake of spending a lot of time outside taking pictures without paying attention to the open hours. Actually, it never occurred to me they could close at 5 pm. When I knocked at the door at 4:45 pm, the staff was so courteous that they even let me go in, but although I walked through the entire house there was not enough time to fully experience the free guided tour they offer. Certainly something I’ll fix next time! The front yard also offers an amazing view to the buildings downtown, and I’d certainly have enjoyed having a snack at the patio.

The next morning we already left Toronto. Unfortunately as we were so tired, that night we just went for dinner at a chain restaurant nearby in North York, without experiencing the famous and lively Toronto nightlife. If you ask me if 2 days are enough to spend in the city I’d say definitely not, but we tried to make the most out of the time we had. At least for next trip we know exactly where to restart.

[josephkitchen0]

What is the Best Mulch to Prevent Weeds?

All Photos By Shelley Dedauw

The best mulch to prevent weeds depends on where the mulch lies, what else you need it to do…and, of course, cost.

What is the most important factor for a successful garden? I asked my friend, Kathy, a master gardener through the local university in Reno around the time I planned my first Nevada garden. I’d grown food under my mother’s tutelage before I turned 18, but this was the first time I depended on the soil to feed my own children.

Her answer was one simple, strong word: “Mulch.”

She didn’t tell me to wait until last frost or to avoid beefsteak tomatoes within our erratic growing seasons. Nor did she tell me to amend my soil yearly, adding copious amounts of organic material. These are also crucial factors. But her knowledge gleaned through the Cooperative Extension and her own experience, told me to cover my dirt.

Mulching is the simple act of covering soil with a protective layer. Materials can be organic or manmade, compostable or semi-permanent. Whether it’s applied to avoid drought, discourage weeds, or keep bulbs warm, the focus is on what lies beneath.

If you need more convincing, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service says mulching is one of the easiest and most beneficial things you can do for your soil, and the Arbor Day Foundation says mulching is a newly planted tree’s “best friend.”

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Mulching Lessons Learned

Even after Kathy’s admonition, it didn’t immediately sink in. I never learned how to lay mulch in Mom’s garden. We pulled weeds both morning and early evening, and then rested when midday sweltered. Perhaps that was Mom’s way of keeping three teenagers busy during summer vacation. Mulching could have reduced that weeding tenfold. And mom didn’t worry about watering; we had a well, weren’t in a drought, and she had trained her kids how to efficiently move a sprinkler.

That year I grew jack-o-lantern pumpkins. Did I mention this was my first year cultivating in Nevada? Jack-o-lanterns are fun to grow, but they don’t have much culinary value. And I can purchase three jack-o-lanterns at the supermarket for how much I paid the water authority to grow a single plant.

Pumpkin leaves spread out full and green within June, fed by an intermittent sprinkler beneath the vines. But July was cruel. Plump and smooth in the morning, the leaves shriveled by midday.

I’m not proud of what I did. I watered more. That’s not the right answer when you garden in a desert. Sure, it plumps those leaves back up super-fast. But then you receive the water bill.

Kathy’s single word returned to me during the second week of wilting-and-watering. Dipping deep into the mower bin, I retrieved grass clippings and laid them on a tarp overnight. In the morning, I packed them tight around the stems. Leaves didn’t shrivel that afternoon and I didn’t turn the hose on until the next day. I could go two to three days between watering sessions instead of running out in panic to feed my failing pumpkins.

Why We Mulch the Way We Do

Moisture retention keeps plants alive, allows you to work elsewhere instead of answering to your garden’s every need, and promotes healthy fruit.

Did you know two factors for tasty heirloom tomatoes are variety and water control? The first is simple: some tomato varieties just taste better than others. But a second and newly discovered factor is how much water the plant receives when fruit forms. Well-irrigated tomato plants result in watery fruit. That’s why hydroponically grown produce is so tasteless. The secret is to give the tomato only the water it needs and not a drop more. But if you’re unsure of the amount, or have a busy lifestyle, “just enough” can easily become “holy cow, my plants are dying!” And compensating by overwatering after a dry stretch causes cracking.

“Just enough” water is made simpler by using drip lines and mulch. Run the drip line along the soil with emitters near each plant. Cover soil and hose with mulch. Then watch your plants for a few days to see how they fare. If they wilt in the heat, it’s more effective to add more mulch than increase water flow.

Summer heat upsets crops like carrots, which like warm tops and cool roots. Winter frost kills bulbs or pushes them out of the ground. A thick layer of organic material regulates soil temperature.

Weed suppression is a third reason to mulch, especially in gardens that get enough moisture. More water means more weeds. And the reason mulching suppresses them follows the basics of photosynthesis: plants need sunlight for growth. Vegetables above the mulch already stretch tall in the light but recently germinated seeds have to fight their way through. The best mulch to prevent weeds is whatever keeps back the light. If the layer is thick enough, weeds don’t stand a chance.

Clockwise: A mulched raspberry bush, mulched garlic, and mulched carrots.

The Cheapest Methods

It’s not necessary to purchase expensive mulch unless you have aesthetic requirements. Homeowner associations may require you surround perennials with attractive bark or rocks. Vegetable gardening is different, especially if you’re growing food to save money.

The best mulch to prevent weeds is also the cheapest. Free materials that also benefit soil include compost, leaves, sawdust or wood chips, straw or grass clippings. Search online classifieds or get to know local farmers, offering to buy hay bales that have gotten wet. Collect leaves in the fall and store in plastic garbage bags to use in the next year’s garden. Contact tree care companies about receiving the chipped results of their labors.

Never use herbicide-treated grass clippings. A good friend accepted lawn trimmings from her church and used them as garden mulch. When her vegetables died, she realized the church had applied a weeding/feeding solution to the lawn but had failed to tell her. Though she disposed of the clippings, some remained in her soil. Those herbicides mean she can only plant bladed grasses, such as corn, within those spots for a couple years.

If you’re using straw, look for bales that don’t have seed heads still attached…unless you want to grow wheat. I didn’t mind so much when grains sprouted beside my garlic. I let them ripen then pulled them for the chickens. But the next year’s bales had even more seeds and wheatgrass became the first crop of spring. Also, find organic bales if possible, because some wheat is sprayed with glyphosate herbicide right before harvest so spikelets mature at the same rate. Glyphosate will kill your broadleaf crops.

Those Manmade Mulches

Weed cloth, tomato plastic, and rubber mulch promise weed suppression or increased growth, but do they really work?

I’ve used weed cloth once and was not happy with the results. If I’d spread it beneath perennials, out of walkways, I’d have been happier. But the black fabric heated up my soil in the summer and tore beneath my gardening shoes. I only used it once. But a tear-resistant weed cloth can help northern gardens with shorter growing seasons.

The same with paper weed layers. Advertising claims were promising: it would warm the soil to increase growth and could be tilled in after harvest. But it crackled and tore. Soon the soil heated up too much. Tilling was more of a hassle than just ripping the paper up and throwing it away. I didn’t purchase it again.

Layers made from recycled tires or plastics must be removed at the end of the season, or they can pollute the ground. To some gardeners, this is worth the work. Others would rather be organic with material that can eventually become more soil.

The only plastic mulch I’ve ever used is that red tomato film, which promises increased yield because it reflects the right kind of light onto the plants. And though I’ve used it for five years, I can’t testify whether it truly increases yields. More important factors came into play each year such as soil amendment and blossom drop due to high temperatures. Whether or not it actually works, I do like it for two reasons: It’s easy to unfold, pin into place, and plant the seedlings into holes cut within the film. And it suppresses weeds everywhere except where light shines through the holes. If you do use plastic mulch, poke holes in it so water can pass through.

The Good, the Ugly and the Just Plain Bad

Every mulch material has its flaws. Straw can harbor insects that crawl into the little tubes. Grass clippings may mold and compact. Peat moss may be unsustainable and wood chips may turn sour or attract termites.

Some gardeners use old carpet, leaving it in the garden year after year instead of removing it as it drops fibers. Carpet can disintegrate with frequent watering. Recycled paper may be used as a weed barrier but it’s necessary to use newsprint with soy-based black ink. Decomposing paper can raise soil acidity as well.

A highly debated form of mulch is cocoa shells. This may be the best mulch to prevent weeds if you don’t have pets…but avoid it if you do. Cocoa shells retain a little theobromine, the ingredient in chocolate that’s toxic to pets. Some companies treat their cocoa shells, removing the fat that carries the theobromine, which also diminishes the sweet smell. If you use cocoa mulch, be sure it’s treated so it’s nontoxic.

And though some gardeners will tell you to never use hay because it contains weed seeds, others prefer it because it adds more nutrients to the soil when it decomposes.

In my experience, the best mulch to prevent weeds is whatever improves soil after harvest. This includes compost, straw, and leaves. The worst are those that must be removed because it can be difficult to get every piece. Removing mulch after harvest adds unnecessary labor if compostable material can be used instead.

What you use for mulch depends on where you’re using it, your budget, if you intend to remove it or till it in, and whether you want organic or manmade products. Research the pros and cons to each type before choosing the right one for your garden.

Lazy Desert Mulching

After reading article after article and trying product after product, I learned to keep it simple. I work hard on my garden to attain maximum yield, but I don’t have time to waste. I don’t need to create more work.

Seeds sown into bare ground grow a couple inches before they meet the mulch. Grass clippings land around tiny carrots while leaves pack against tall, slender onion greens. Transplants sink into the soil and, within minutes, straw packs against the stems. Potatoes grow six inches, are hilled up and grow again. When I cannot hill any more, I apply straw to reduce watering and allow even more growth. And deep mulch gardening doesn’t end there. When summer heat reaches triple digits, soaker hoses point downward and more straw lays atop to keep every precious drop where it belongs.

By harvest, I’m exhausted. I’ve spent hours each day cultivating, weeding, watering and preserving the vegetables. With sagging shoulders, I scan the tired and frost-damaged plot while chickens pace behind me, eager to reach fallen tomatoes. Autumn cleanup is simple: Remove the plants chickens can’t eat. And open the gate. Poultry claws dig deep into that organic layer, separating it so my hens can find pests hoping to overwinter.

Then cold weather hits. I’m not worried. I used to be embarrassed by my lazy cleanup techniques until I read an article about how keeping a cover is crucial for soil health. The entire land gets a rest.

And in the spring, the shovel digs deep, mixing chicken droppings with decomposed leaves, straw and grass. It all rests beneath the surface to feed beneficial microbes and create nitrogen for the next round of crops.

What have you found to be the best mulch to prevent weeds? Let us know in the comments section.

Originally published in Countryside July/August 2016 and regularly vetted for accuracy.

What is the Best Mulch to Prevent Weeds? was originally posted by All About Chickens

[tlcrescuepa]

New Post has been published on To Love a Canine Rescue

New Post has been published on https://tlcrescuepa.com/week-end-update-youre-hot-then-youre-not/

Week-End Update: You're hot then you're not . . .

As disappointed as we are at the bone-chilling cold & rain today, we are glad that Mother Nature had her act together long enough to make yesterday a beautiful day for Woofstock 2. We can’t thank Osteria and Anthony Costello enough for putting this event together for us! We’re hoping Mother Nature gets her act together to provide us with equally nice weather this Thursday as we head to Terra Culture Gifts for Malvern Strolls.

In the meantime we’ll bask in the glory from a week full of adoptions, including the beautiful Bit Bit, Blossom, Celine, Ellie, Felix, Footie, Gillingan, Gynger, Jim B, Juliette (now Bella), McDoodle, Mrs. Howell, Polly, Possum, Rose, Thurston, Violet & Waldo!

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Blossom

Celine

Ellie

Felix

Footie now Ryder

Gilligan

Gynger

Jim B

Juliette now Bella

Mcdoodle

Mrs Howell

Polly

Possum now Benji

Thurston

Bit Bit

  Of course, we also have some updates to share with you too:

Shemma FKA Bonnie

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“We just wanted to send a quick update as it’s Shemma’s (FKA Bonnie) 2nd birthday today! She enjoyed a long walk around the neighborhood, an extra treat (or two), and a new squeaky toy to celebrate her big day! Since our last update over a year ago, Shemma gained twin (human) sisters last July and she’s the best big sister ever! She loves the girls and showers them with puppy kisses and is incredibly patient with them—even now that they’re crawling and try to steal her toys! Our family just wouldn’t be complete without her and we continue to be incredibly thankful for To Love a Canine rescue for saving her and allowing us to welcome her into our home. She is the best pup and the most perfect fit in our family. “

  Keira FKA Ivanka

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“I know it’s only been 2 months with Keira now, but she just completed basic obedience class tonight, and is heading into teens 2. I dropped her off at day training and the professional trainers kept telling me how great of a dog she is, and how quickly she learns things, they even started teaching her a few new things because she catches on so quickly. Every person who meets Keira just keeps saying how lucky we are to have found her: she is super well behaved, follows most commands and is super loving. She still has her puppy/teen issues like chewing some things she shouldn’t but she is such a great addition to our little family! 

She has already been hiking with us, to rugby games, breweries, family events and she adapts to her surroundings very well. She has so much more potential with us continuing her training as well!”

  Zeus

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“Zeus is doing great!   We sent a few pics to Jen Catrambone a while ago but I attached a few more.  Zeus and his sister Gabby absolutely love each other.  They literally are inseparable and play outside constantly!   Zeus is an amazing dog.  He’s loves to play and is everyone’s friend.   

We couldn’t be happier with him!!!”

  Luna FKA Nyrobi

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“We did change her name to Luna and she is doing great!  We could not have found a better puppy for our home.

She does a vet appointment at 12 today and we may be looking into doing some training with Jeri, just to make sure we are on the right track.

I have attached 2 pictures to show how well she is adjusting.  :)”

  Remi FKA Athena

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“Remi is doing great!  I have attached 2 pictures.” 

  Mack FKA Skipper (Gilligan’s Island litter)

Mack FKA Skipper

““Skipper “ now Mack is doing awesome!  He actually slept from 10-5 last night which was an unexpected bonus.  He is mild mannered and wearing himself out playing with Lucy.  (she seems too distracted to lick the way she was doing before)

Working on house training.  He’s so darn cute and curious.

We have a vet appointment this afternoon.  To get him checked out.  

Thank you for a wonderful adoption experience 😁”

  Murphy FKA Terk

Murphy FKA Terk

“Murphy (fka Terk) enjoy the warm weather! We’ve had him 3 months! He starts training classes this week. He’s already 6 months! He’s shaping up to be a great dog. He’s very smart, crate trained and housebroken ”

      Max

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Max is doing amazing! He is getting along really well with our other dog Blue and he has learned to ignore my guinea pigs. We had the backyard fenced in so Max and Blue can run and play. We will be taking them on some camping trips soon too. Max had a great time taking an obedience class and a tricks class with Peppers Paws dog training. He is an amazing, loving dog and we are so happy to give him a forever home!”

  Wiley FKA Joseph

Wiley FKA Joseph

“Wiley and I are doing great!  He is such a little love.  He is coming along really well in all his training classes and is in a walking club on the weekends.  And, he loves day camp at Wagsworth.  He is such a wonderful furbaby.  Here is a picture of him from this year’s Christmas card.”

      Calvin FKA Sam

“Calvin (formally known as Sam) is doing great! We just moved to a new house in the city and he’s transitioning very well, only peed on the floor twice. We plan to transition him out of the crate during the day and hope to put a baby gate up to keep in the kitchen for now at least becUse he climbs furniture and tables and chews things when he’s alone. but he can jump over and climb every gate we’ve tried. Do you have any ideas on that??”

Editor’s note: we’ve referred Calvin’s mom to our trainers

Dixie

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“My husband and I were just saying the other night that we feel like we have had Dixie longer than 6 months!  She is just such a big part of our family now, and she loves everyone she meets. She goes to my son’s college baseball games and plays or at least is social with the other dogs there (she has her favorite!). She had already rid our yard of one mouse and one mole, the CAT(ahoula) in her name should have been a sign!!  We just started daycare to get rid of some of that energy, still a little nervous but I am sure as the weather gets warmer and the dogs get to go outside she will feel at home. She loves the snow…we could leave her outside for hours and she would not get bored…but we get cold so she has to come in!  

We are so happy to have rescued her, can’t imagine my life without here. “

  Chloe FKA Dixie

Chloe FKA Dixie

“Chloe fka Dixie is great! She has settled in wonderfully & is the greatest little girl 

Loves walks, sticks, and is particularly fond of her favorite stuffed animal squirrel! 

 She is still a little submissive but becoming bolder all the time & is great w everyone she meets 

Here she is all ready for bed”

    Sasha

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“I wanted to pass along an update about Sasha, who we adopted in September!

Sasha has made a wonderful addition to our family. She is definitely a ‘daddy’s girl’, and I don’t know what my husband would do with out her at this point! 

As you can see by the pictures, she loves naps on the couch, and if she sees a squirrel through the window or on a walk it definitely gets her attention! She has been great with all of our nieces and nephews, as well as the other dogs in our extended families. She is a gentle goofball, and has mastered every trick we have taught her. Thank you all again for what you do, and for bringing Sasha into our lives!”

  Harley

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“I am keeping her name the same.  I do have a vet appointment on Friday with Dr. Hanning.  I have kept in touch with Beth, her foster mother and overall she is adjusting well.  I have attached some photos of her from her first day until today.”

  Susie Q

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“Hello! Thank you for checking in! I did get a call a few weeks back also. Susie Q is doing wonderful!! She is the perfect addition to our family and we love her so much! 

She enjoys snuggles with the kids and walks with her house mate Baxter. She all around just the sweetest dog! She is also a mommy’s girl and stays by my side but loves a good head rub from her daddy too! She is funny and has such a great disposition! We love her to pieces! Thanks again! 😊” 

Vincent

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“Hi! Thanks for checking in! Vincent is adorable! Our Doberman Kavi likes having him around too! They can’t wait for warmer weather and getting back to the park to run!! I’m attaching a recent pic of them.”

  Zoey FKA Juno

“Hello TLC family!! 

We wanted to share a video of our Zoey’s first birthday!

On March 17th we took her for a day trip to the John Heinz Wildlife Refuge. Zoey experienced her first bridge, goose poop, kayaker and more. She is a beautiful dog full of  much happiness and love for the world around her. 

Fred and I will always be grateful to TLC for bringing her into our lives!”

[darwinbigelow]

Charlie’s DNA Test Results!

The time has finally come to find out more about Charlie. Here are her recent Wisdom Panel test results, and what it was like to do a dog DNA test!

Full disclosure: I was going to talk more about my plans for the guest bedroom today. But Charlie had an injury over the weekend*, and she’s been farting up a stinky storm today, so she’s more than a little on my mind. So, just for the heck of it, I decided to move this post up and share the results of her DNA testing.

*The Charlie Injury Story: Charlie hates her nails being trimmed. As in, FLIPS OUT if they are touched and therefore has a red flag on her file so vets/groomers won’t touch her. So, to help keep her nails in check, I have to use alternative natural ways, such as her nightly walks on asphalt in the neighborhood, letting her dig, and running around on a hard surface at doggie day camp. Unfortunately, Charlie still gets herself into trouble every now and then (like trying to climb my backyard fence) and split one of her nails on Saturday. Poor baby. It’s been treated and she’s on antibiotics and she’s back to her old self, so don’t worry! I’ve got a watchful eye on her until it’s fully healed.

Why Charlie Was Tested

It all started last fall, when I swabbed her gums using a kit one night. I was sorting through stuff to donate to Goodwill after the guest bedroom clean-out, and K brought the kit down in one of the boxes. In truth, I’d never really planned on getting her tested. At least, not with my own money; I thought it was kind of a waste. As long as she’s happy and healthy, why bother, right?

Note: contains affiliate links.

She is such a unique-looking animal that people seemed to love guessing at her breed. And since the actual truth made no difference to any of those things, I never considered it important.

But, a few Christmases ago, my sister Emily (the owner of 3 mutts herself) decided my reasoning was stupid and bought me (Charlie? us?) a DNA testing kit by Wisdom Panel.

I forgot about it for a few years, which is how it popped back up on my radar as I was sorting through things from guest bedroom storage. So, basically, I finally buckled. I swabbed her cheek and gums (much to her reluctance, but it was a simple-step process to complete) and sent off the kit. A few weeks ago, I got back her results.

Charlie’s DNA Results

Charlie is…

drumroll please…

a…

MUTT!

I know… you’re shocked, right? 

via: giphy.com

Here’s the actual breakdown of Charlie’s ancestry chart, which I honestly DID find interesting:

Overall Thoughts on Her Results

I always suspected she might be a Boxer mix, especially because she’s so solid/muscular, loves to “box” people (gets on her hind legs and sort of paws/punches at you, right about crotch level), and “kidney beans” (shakes her tail from side to side that causes her whole body to twist like a kidney bean), all characteristics I’ve seen in other Boxer mixes in the past.

Related: Charlie in the snow

The White Swiss Shepherd and Cattle Dog makes sense with her crazy ears. It also explains her high energy level (even though K’s dog, Stella, is around the same age, Charlie seems way more like a puppy in comparison). And the Chow part explains her tongue’s black splotches! As for the rest? Even the DNA company was like “shit if we know… your guess is as good as ours!” Roughly 37% of her test results came back inconclusive enough that there’s no one breed it points to.

Related: Charlie’s first trip to the beach

So, there you have it! My precious girl has a little more known about her. Of course, I still think it really doesn’t make any difference, especially since I enjoy letting people speculate (and those of you who have emailed me photos of your own pups thinking they are the same breed or similar, I still welcome you to do so; I never get tired of puppy pics!). Mom and Em were happy to know the results, too. Were her results what you thought it would be??? Have you ever had your pup tested? What did you think?

P.S. Just so there’s no confusion, this was not sponsored.

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