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Ivy is invasive to my area and it's EVERYWHERE! It can be difficult and expensive to remove but it's a good thing to do and can even be a matter of safety. Sometimes ivy will basically choke a tree to death, which'll then potentially become a hazard to buildings and people nearby.
I can't recommend a reliable website to find your local invasive species right now, because the gov websites are dropping like flies. Sorry 😔💔
That said, if you can, make some time to research your local area's invasive species, native and keystone species!
It's really rewarding to learn about and act on! It makes you feel more grounded, doing a good thing with a tangible result. Especially with your hands and plants!
Feb 8, 2025
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For the Californians I can offer https://calscape.org/. If you just look up "[location] native plant society" that should lead you in the right direction. I just love learning about the land I'm on and having a neat list of plants adapted to and thriving in the area, maybe you do too.
Nov 22, 2023
feel more knowledgeable about your surroundings in this easy step! I learnt this one here and now I spot it all the time and get to make people touch it and smell their hands (peanut butter, surprisingly!)
2d ago
This is some highkey nerd shit that I honestly don’t talk about much 🙈 But getting into botany has changed my life and this summer especially I‘ve seen some really incredible plants/habitats. I visited an “extreme rich fen” ecosystem here in CO last month that is home to 14 rare plant species - and I got to see most of them! 🥲 Pictured below is Primula egaliksensis which only grows in two places in the contiguous U.S.
Anyways highly rec wandering around outside in remote, beautiful places to look for plants. It has given me a whole other level of awareness and appreciation for the land I call home 💞
Aug 22, 2024
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Mar 12, 2025
Feb 8, 2025
Lately I've been spending too much time scouring every corner of eBay I can for the cheapest and most delightful soviet era porcelain figurines available
I didn't even realize it until diving head first into this rabbit hole, but I have had soviet era porcelain figurines my whole life (a bunny and a bull for those curious), so I guess I was always destined to develop a fondness for the form, and eventually dig a little deeper into it.
There is something so incredibly charming and also incredibly interesting about these porcelain pieces! These little guys!
There's a lot of history to dig into that I've barely scratched the surface of AT ALL, but I'm fascinated by how porcelain reflected the common sentiments* of the times, the economic conditions, the artistic movements and ideas of the day, and also the ability (or lack thereof) of people to stay in one place and hold onto something so "useless" and easily broken.
I have very, very few things from any of my ancestors. Figurines like these make me think about the way history and art are passed down to us, forgotten, broken, left behind, sold in thrift stores and online, if they survive at all.
Figurine collections are kind of a barometer of safety and stability, or at least how dedicated to the illusion of it you might be.
They also make me think about how useful "useless" things can be. How even art that is purely decorative can be thought-provoking (by for example valorizing "folks"), or just make you happy (via being very cute! Or expert use of color and form!).
Grannies collect this shit for many good reasons and I'm starting to catch on.
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* Notably the $$$ collectors type ones are the ethnographic figurines, something I NEED to read an academic paper about.
Especially, because Ive noticed some of these figurines depicting "ethnic types" are inaccurate copies of earlier prints, which themselves should be placed under immense scrutiny! This is all extra interesting in the context of the porcelain industry transitioning from imperial rule to the soviet era. The ways of talking about ethnicity changed, (in addition obviously to y'know, everything!) but the products produced largely remained the same. Lots to think about!!!
Jan 31, 2025