Extinct Birds

Jul. 11th, 2025 11:52 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith posting in [community profile] birdfeeding
'The Lord of the Rings' director Peter Jackson is on a mission to revive the world’s tallest bird, 600 years after it went extinct

Inspired by their debut project, Jackson is now working with Colossal to bring the ancient moa back to life through subfossil sourcing and genetic engineering.

On July 8, Jackson and his partner donated $15 million to the project
.


The moa is an excellent choice for de-extinction, as it died out relatively recently and due to human misbehavior.

Read more... )

Birdfeeding

Jul. 11th, 2025 02:56 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith posting in [community profile] birdfeeding
Today is sunny and sweltering.

I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches plus a house wren.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 7/11/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I've seen a fox squirrel.

EDIT 7/11/25 -- Yesterday I collected 5 little pink crabapples while out and about. These are almost marble size, much more useful than the pea-sized ones. So I potted up those today to see if they'll sprout.

Friday July 11

Jul. 11th, 2025 11:39 am
ribirdnerd: perched bird (Default)
[personal profile] ribirdnerd posting in [community profile] birdfeeding
Back to sunny weather today after a lot of rain the past day and a half.  My rain gauge had 4 inches of water in it so far this week!

6 Blue Jays, some Mourning Dove, House Sparrows and a Downy Woodpecker were all around this morning.

July 11

Jul. 11th, 2025 11:24 am
ribirdnerd: perched bird (Default)
[personal profile] ribirdnerd
Back to sunny weather today after a lot of rain the past day and a half.  My rain gauge had 4 inches of water in it so far this week!

6 Blue Jays, some Mourning Dove, House Sparrows and a Downy Woodpecker were all around this morning.

Communities

Jul. 11th, 2025 04:11 am
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith posting in [community profile] newcomers
Here's a cool Dreamwidth tool: take the URL of any community and add /read to the end. It will show you posts by all the members. So for instance:

https://newcomers.dreamwidth.org/read

Birdfeeding

Jul. 10th, 2025 03:31 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith posting in [community profile] birdfeeding
Today is mostly sunny and hot.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a few sparrows and house finches at the feeders.  Blackbirds and catbirds are mobbing the mulberry tree in the house yard. 

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 7/10/25 -- I did some work around the patio.











.
 

Birdfeeding

Jul. 9th, 2025 02:40 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith posting in [community profile] birdfeeding
Today is mostly sunny, humid, and hot.  Yesterday it rained for half the day and into the night.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.  They've drained half the thistle feeder but I still need to refill that one.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 7/9/25 -- I filled the thistle feeder.

I've seen a male cardinal and a fox squirrel.

EDIT 7/9/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 7/9/25 -- I sprayed weedkiller on poison ivy around the yard.

EDIT 7/9/25 -- I potted up two apricot seeds.



Another hot one

Jul. 8th, 2025 02:55 pm
ribirdnerd: perched bird (Default)
[personal profile] ribirdnerd posting in [community profile] birdfeeding
Another scorcher in Rhode Island... a few early morning Blue Jays and Squirrels but not much else so far. 

Birdfeeding

Jul. 8th, 2025 12:55 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith posting in [community profile] birdfeeding
Today is mostly sunny and warm.

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

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 7/8/25 -- It rained for about half the day and into the night.

Birdfeeding

Jul. 7th, 2025 02:01 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith posting in [community profile] birdfeeding
Today is partly sunny and warm.  It rained yesterday and last night.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a male cardinal, and at least one mourning dove.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 7/7/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 7/7/25 -- I harvested a handful of peapods for supper.  :D
 
EDIT 7/7/25 -- I took some pictures around the yard.
 
EDIT 7/7/25 -- I trimmed brush in the prairie garden.
 
The first of the gladioli are blooming in the telephone pole garden and notch of the prairie garden.  A sunflower is blooming in the telephone pole garden too.
 
EDIT 7/7/25 -- I cut some of the brush into sticks for making bonfire cores.
 
I've seen at least 2 bats. I've seen several half-grown possums, one deceased, two alive.

Fireflies are coming out. Cicadas are singing.

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



Wild week

Jul. 7th, 2025 11:36 am
ribirdnerd: perched bird (Default)
[personal profile] ribirdnerd
It's been warm and we had quite a line of thunderstorms come though the night of July 2.  We had wind, rain, hail, lightning, with some local gusts up to 70 mph.

Multiple trees or large pieces of trees down near us.  I counted 7 in the nearby woods and pond trail.   Many power outages over the holiday.

Here is a large part of a tree that just missed our building at work!



Here is more in the woods by my driveway




Birdfeeding

Jul. 6th, 2025 02:07 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith posting in [community profile] birdfeeding
Today is mostly cloudy and sweltering. 

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

I put out water for the birds.  Bees are visiting the small metal birdbath again.

EDIT 7/6/25 -- It's raining, so I won't have to water anything today.  :D

Birdfeeding

Jul. 5th, 2025 03:14 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith posting in [community profile] birdfeeding
Today is partly sunny and hot.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, plus some brown birds that might be female blackbirds.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 4/5/25 -- I refilled the thistle feeder.

I picked up the concrete paver that we used for fireworks last night, along with scraps of paper and cardboard left behind.

Volunteer sunflowers are blooming under the fly-through feeder.

EDIT 4/5/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 4/5/25 -- I picked a handful of blackberries in the prairie garden.

EDIT 4/5/25 -- I watered the telephone pole garden and some of the savanna seedlings.  A sunflower in the telephone pole garden is close to blooming.  :D

EDIT 4/5/25 -- I pulled some weeds from the septic garden.

Fireflies are out.  Cicadas are singing.

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

Birdfeeding

Jul. 4th, 2025 02:51 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith posting in [community profile] birdfeeding
Today is mostly sunny and hot.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches plus a mourning dove.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 7/4/25 -- I checked the south lot and put topsoil in a few low spots, prior to our fireworks show tonight.

EDIT 7/4/25 -- I picked up a trough pot that fell off the old picnic table, restored the curry plant and purple basil as best I could, then watered them and a few other things in the house yard.

EDIT 7/4/25 -- I sowed 6 pots with mulberry seeds.  Half are from a particularly pleasing mulberry sapling near the west end of the old fishpond, the other half from a mulberry that was left on the porch step as if a gift.

EDIT 7/4/25 -- I watered the telephone pole garden and a few seedlings in the savanna.

My partner Doug mowed the ritual meadow and prairie paths.

EDIT 7/4/25 -- I picked a handful of herbs to make a skillet scramble for supper.
 
EDIT 7/4/25 -- I picked a handful of blackberries in the prairie garden.  There are plenty left; I ran out of heat tolerance long before I ran out of berries.  :D
 
Cicadas are singing.

EDIT 7/4/25 -- I picked a handful of blackberries in the prairie garden.  Still more left, but I'll have to hunt those another day, because it is still hot and the sun is about to set.
 
EDIT 7/4/25 -- We did our home fireworks show.  :D  I'm sure it confused the bats and the fireflies.

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

July 3

Jul. 3rd, 2025 03:49 pm
ribirdnerd: perched bird (Default)
[personal profile] ribirdnerd posting in [community profile] birdfeeding
 Warm and sunny here too, 89 degrees this afternoon.

Blue Jay, Red bellied Woodpecker and Cardinals all around today.

Also saw a Deer in the woods nearby.

Birdfeeding

Jul. 3rd, 2025 02:48 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith posting in [community profile] birdfeeding
Today is partly sunny and hot.

I fed the birds.  I refilled the thistle feeder.  I've seen a large mixed flock of sparrows and house finches plus a male cardinal.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 7/3/25 -- I took a few more pictures around the yard, mostly flowers at the end of the driveway.

EDIT 7/3/25 -- I dug up three pots of wild senna and one of purple echinacea that had seeded themselves in the savanna, hopefully to transplant them elsewhere if they survive.

I've seen a pair of mourning doves and a gray catbird.  I also saw a very large bird, possibly a vulture or eagle, flying over the field to the west.

EDIT 7/3/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 7/3/25 -- We hooked up the new, flat water hose.  The "non-kinking" label is a complete lie; it is the most prone to kinking of any hose I've ever used.  Straightening it out enough to work is a bitch.  However, it is extremely lightweight and completely flexible, so those are pluses.  Also the multifunction water wand is by far the best nozzles I've ever used.  I favor with "shower" and "flat" functions the most.  The new picnic table garden and septic garden have been thoroughly watered.

The corn is tasseling.  The pollen hangs heavy on the wind with a sweet, dusty, buttery, golden smell.
 
Fireflies are coming out.
 
I saw a skunk in the house yard.  I've seen a squirrel at the hopper feeder.
 
As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.


Birdfeeding

Jul. 2nd, 2025 04:21 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith posting in [community profile] birdfeeding
Today is mostly sunny and warm.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.  Robins are foraging in the short grass that my partner Doug mowed yesterday in the house yard.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 7/2/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 7/2/25 -- I took some pictures around the yard.

EDIT 7/2/25 -- I watered the old picnic table, new picnic table, and telephone pole gardens.

Fireflies are out.  Cicadas are singing.

EDIT 7/2/25 -- I watered the septic garden.

I've seen a bat over the south lot, which also got mowed today.

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

Birdfeeding

Jul. 1st, 2025 01:25 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith posting in [community profile] birdfeeding
Today is mostly sunny and warm, nicer than it has been recently.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, plus a pair of cardinals that flew away when I went outside.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 7/1/25 -- I refilled the hopper feeder.

EDIT 7/1/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 7/1/25 -- I watered the old picnic table and the patio plants.  Despite recent rains, things were wilting. :/

EDIT 7/1/25 -- I watered the new picnic table and septic garden.

I've seen a grackle and a robin.

I picked a 'Chocolate Sprinkles' tomato.

EDIT 7/1/25 -- I watered the telephone pole garden and seedlings in the savanna.

Fireflies are coming out.

I am done for the night. 


Rebuilding journal search again

Jun. 30th, 2025 03:18 pm
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[personal profile] alierak posting in [site community profile] dw_maintenance
We're having to rebuild the search server again (previously, previously). It will take a few days to reindex all the content.

Meanwhile search services should be running, but probably returning no results or incomplete results for most queries.

Sunshine Revival

Jun. 30th, 2025 01:27 pm
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith posting in [community profile] newcomers
[community profile] sunshine_revival has posted a Friending Meme. The calendar of activities is here and the fest will open on July 1. Prompts will appear throughout July which you can fill with any creative activity. It's a great way to make new friends. Use the master post to navigate the event.
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