My elderly neighbor had amazing mandarin and grapefruit trees in her yard when I was young. I have a distinct memory of being up on her roof on a particularly cold and windy day, harvesting the mandarins, trying not to get poked by the massive 6-8cm spikes along the branches while we combed through each part of the tree. She was grateful to have our help and I really enjoyed time spent around her. Great memory that I didn’t think about until your post, so thank you!

Gloriously accurate.

Also, f Paxton, Abbott, Cruz, Roy, and whichever other cretin I didn’t call out that deserves it.

I’m even more hopeful than ever seeing locals showing up to vote for common sense policies and representatives. I’ve felt a distinct lack of interest in civic responsibility and political activism from most folks in Texas for years, although some groups are definitely making up for the broader public apathy in the way they show up. I’m unfairly comparing Texas to other politically active places like New York is in the way people are civically engaged, but this is good news to me overall. The tide continues to turn…

Oh, thank you for this! Any excuse to enjoy one more weekend preparing/resting rather than doing the hard labor. Especially if it means I’m helping out our friends!

I’m still trying to determine what kind of fruit trees are growing in the yard. Getting closer to identifying them as the days pass! Getting more confident about the plum and apple guesses.

It’s been fun to see the grapevines waking up; I made a few wreaths with the trimmed vines last week. I’ll keep picking at the mint that I found lounging around the stairs so it doesn’t get too out of hand.

Cut down some invasives and trimmed up the trees a few weeks ago and everything is filling out nicely. Once the leaves and branches are fully raked and removed, I’ll be able to see what’s up for the rest. It looks like most of the pollinators are awake and about now that it’s warm enough so I feel better about tidying up the leaves to send to the city compost.

I pressed some of the freshly fallen PJM rhododendron flowers between parchment paper and set them under some weight. Looking forward to seeing what they look like in a few weeks.

No Mow May is in full swing - dandelions abound!

For San Antonio being a purple to somewhat blue city, I’m surprised to hear there was no event there, especially given the proximity to Austin.

Hear hear. They’re fallible, make trash decisions, and bleed like the rest of us. It’s time we recognize them only as the scourge they are.

I’m discovering hyacinth (and gardening for that matter) for the first time this year! Yours has an incredible color! I’m on mobile using the Jerboa app so I’m not sure if the pic i added uploaded. We’ll see! Also our PJM Rhodie is in bloom.

We’re still trying to figure out what kind of fruit trees we have in the backyard but I’m assuming plum, and maybe apple or pear.

I’m very meh on the AWD as someone in the north. Not needed, but a/c is definitely helpful!

This is the way.

Awesome anecdote and wise words to live by. We all have a part to play, no matter how small we perceive it to be. Our friends, family, and neighbors all need to know that we don’t capitulate to the pressure of bullies.

Every single person I talk to just wants a normal life - to put food on the table, and to be able to have a decent existence in their short time on this planet.

We’re all struggling to understand this chaos we exist in now. Let’s all try to be as understanding as we can with each other… that is, all except for the N@zis at the Fed right now. They can most certainly get f’d.

This was a great synopsis of the tour and a focus on some of the key points.

On the matter of Dems that aren’t fighting for the people, there are indeed a few but they’ve been pushed out by big money campaigns, such as Jamààl Bowman. He is an authentic leader that is constantly making the rounds with folks on the ground, and ÀIPÀC ran a smear campaign against him that cost him his congressional seat.

What stings is that Dems don’t come to the defense of their own, and the few that are actually doing anything good just get forced out, lack press, or are outright silenced. There’s no unity within the party because they’re all bought by different interests, competing for the same kickbacks.

Smart approach to go to the union, didn’t think to do that. Thanks!

You’re at least making up for my inability to step away from it atm. I wouldn’t have bought into the environment had it not been for my partner, and work of course. I grew up on PS and PC gaming, just recently started using Xbox. Damn it.

I’d like to think I’m pretty decent at sticking to boycotts, but holy hell, my work platform is Microsoft and their products, and I run gaming servers for my friends online and play through game pass. This is going to be so hard for people to step back and not use their platforms and software if they’re in it like me. Not sure how to proceed.

We might not have them as you see them today, but there is building science that is centuries old that works with the environment to have architectural solutions that don’t even rely on electricity to retain heat or cool a space. There’s also the more modern passive house design. As someone born and raised in a hot climate like you mentioned, had we created a built environment like this instead of crippling ourselves to use fossil fuels and refrigerants with high global warming potential, we wouldn’t be where we are today. I agree that a/c changed the world. That change could have been a much more positive one had we taken a more practical approach!

Holy f. This piss poor administration is showing just how incompetent they truly are. Everyone will suffer for their actions. I had no idea just how much the US gained in having peaceful relations with traditional allies, and so many Americans have been blissfully unaware just how f’d that all has become in record time. Way to go, a holes.

Reading that Denmark lost just as many soldiers post-9/11 as the US did, I’m in shock as to how idiotic our education system is that it wasn’t highlighted how brave contributions allies have provided over the years has helped us, and of course not just in war time. As an American, I’m truly sorry to the rest of the world for not knowing the great extent of solidarity and kindness allies have shown over the years. Of course, I understand why that’s likely no longer going to be the case.

Okay, how many Wisconsinites can we mobilize? To the streets!

Admittedly I know little about journalism as a profession and practice, but I feel this is an absolute spot on take. So much of what’s happening is going to shake up pretty much everything. Here’s hoping it wakes enough people up to mobilize for radically good change that puts the working class first.