An illustration of yellow and red flowers against a lush, green background.

Willa Magland

Gardens, Frogs, and Electric Fences

Posted Aug 28, 2023

Summer break is over, and it's time to get back to work. I think the wasps were jealous of my bee praise last week, because one decided it was the perfect time to go psycho on me during lunch. I'll be spending the rest of the day getting chills as the venom moves around. My finger may hurt, but it's kind of a cool feeling.

  1. Zach Klein outlines how he and his family constructed a Sidewalk Garden. He provides everything from tips and a FAQ, to lists of plants and design plan. Definitely worth checking out for the before-and-after.

  2. Suleika Jaouad writes about the struggles between rationality and living:

"Rather than what I can get out of this life or what I can seize from it, I’ve reoriented my gaze to what feels life-giving—both to my own sense of well-being and to the other humans and creatures around me."

  1. While up north I stopped by the older couple next door to my grandparents who helped raise my dad. Their house is filled with artifacts and oddities from all over the world, and the walls are absolutely filled with books. The older man, Bill, said something that stuck out to me: "Nobody chooses to get old, but it requires a whole lot of luck." I hope I'll have that kind of optimistic outlook when the years pass me by.

  2. m0xEE on librem shares his frog collection (scroll up).

  3. This week this newspaper correction turned 10.

  4. An oldie but a goodie, the electric fence experiment.

A short one for this week, but I'll be back the next. I hope everyone is having a minimally-stressful return to their studies, and if it's maximally-stressful, I hope you're managing it well.

Willa.

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