I've done lots of reading, but little posting, on DU lately. Some thoughts about the past few months
There is a strong element of "groundhog day" to our lives and politics, isn't there? From republican obstructionism, lies, voter suppression, racism, anti-science, gun fetishes and sad excuses from the perps (even at DU in certain areas - so sad), from media "both sides do it" efforts, and of course, the ground hog day impressions that COVID is levelling on the world for over a year now.
Joe Biden's election was a joy, but of course, not a panacea. Right after the election I hid some terms on DU, so no longer end up seeing anything with t*$*p's name in the headline. I read TPM, Slate, NYT, CNN and DU daily, so I am aware of what's going on.
What really comes to me in a big way is that the four years of disaster we all just barely survived didn't create all of our problems. We - as a species - human beings - create lots of our problems - our self destructive nature, our stubbornness, our tribalism, our vulnerability to propaganda - we certainly do have issues as a species. Diving down deeper, conservative thought - particularly the ronny raygun and beyond evolution of the republican party - and taking it back further, the weeds sown by the civil war that persist to this day - it is impossible to figure out what goes on in the minds of folks who think pretty much the opposite of us here.
So - as we enter gardening time, my focus is on my busy year ahead. I'll keep an eye on politics, but each of us have one shot at this thing called life. My wife and I somehow didn't let the last four years steal our joy. Biden's election really calmed the emotional waters. We couldn't have taken another four years of that monster, that's for sure.
Gentle rain falling outside, looking at a weeping cherry in full bloom across the road. Be safe and be well, DU friends!
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I am convinced that there is a large segment of Americans who are people I just wouldn't want to meet, have as friends, or family. In fact, some of my family are t*$*pers. I no longer communicate with them.
I am very happy to have moved to my new little house. Busy planting the courtyard and looking forward to hanging my hummingbird feeder the first of April. I'll consider it a win if I manage to attract any in this first season.
The courtyard is designed to feed my soul. In addition to the dwarf weeping cherry, I will have a dwarf Japanese maple, climbing roses, lilacs, camellias, star jasmine, blue juniper, hydrangeas, azaleas, roses, and viburnum as the "bones". We've already put in a shade hummingbird garden, and as the flowering perennials come in to the nursery, I'm planning on filling in with them. I will have Lantana in the summer and pansies in the winter in one spot. There are pots on the patio to be filled with annuals. The fountain is installed and working.
Enjoy the time in your garden. I intend to spend a lot of time in mine!
It is nice to see "daily life" returning to people, after the 4 year depressing nightmare. Not that we are out of the woods...but there is some light at last!
I’m actually very excited about this year, the weather is Seattle is crap right now, so I always wait until April for certain things. But I love this time of year! See things beginning their growth, is absolute joy, and this year, more meaningful to me, in a mindfulness kind of way
a lot of them germinated but then I made the mistake of having them too wet and covered in one of those Jiffy Greenhouses. So some of them got moldy. I just picked out a few seedlings and potted them in cactus soil (no perlite since these are tropical succulents and like more moisture than regular succulents). I'll see how far I get with the seedlings. I don't usually do seeds. I love cactus and succulents. That's all I have on my balcony and it gets very hot here with little rain. (SoCal)
GOALS:
