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Today's project was filling a set of trough pots and securing them to the benches of the new picnic table. (This is from Tuesday, but it's after midnight so the date reads Wednesday. See some "before" pictures.) There are 6 troughs total, although one already had wild strawberries in it from earlier. Each bench holds 3 troughs. I got these and a bunch of other pots when Big Lots went out of business.

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I took some pictures around the yard today.  These are from the house yard.

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The May 6, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl made its $200 goal, so you get a free epic. Everyone is eligible to vote in this poll. I will keep it open at least until Wednesday night. If there's a clear answer then, I'll close it. Otherwise I may leave it open a little longer.

Here are your options:

"The Delicate Balance of Mentoring"
Story Date: 1661
Summary: Quakers make good mentors.
77 lines

"Meeting in the Middle"
Kan Ying sees through the lies of the Parthians and makes his way to Rome.
76 lines

"Whoever Tries to Understand"
Summary: Yarro advances her studies.
123 lines

Several conferences relocate north of the border as Canadians refuse to travel to the U.S.

Travel to the U.S. from several countries has dropped recently, with Canada leading the pack: in April, the number of return trips among Canadians travelling to the U.S. plummeted by 19.9 per cent for air travel, and by a jarring 35.2 per cent for land travel.


I'm delighted to see this. I've been telling people for years that America isn't a safe place to visit, but it's much worse now than last year. In order to make improvements, there must be consequences for poor life choices. And while the people in power don't care who they hurt, they do care a lot about losing money.

Today is partly cloudy and mild. It rained yesterday.

I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches. I heard a woodpecker drumming, low and slow, so I suspect it's one of the bigger species.

I installed the four new tomato cages.

EDIT 5/13/25 -- I took some pictures around the yard.

I've seen a brown thrasher. I heard a blue jay screaming but didn't see it.

The first new iris is blooming under the maple tree. It's a lovely pale yellow. The scent is not quite as strong as some others, but with a definite sugary note like the purple-and-ivory ones in the wagonwheel garden. A bunch of poppies are blooming nearby too.

I put out the flats of plants and watered them.

EDIT 5/13/25 -- Today's project is the beige trough pots for the benches of the new picnic table. I have 6 total. One already has wild strawberries in it. I just filled a second with compost and potting soil, then put it on a bench. I also separated 24 of the S-hooks from their clips, so that I'll be able to make cords for anchoring them to the benches. I couldn't find suitable bungees premade, so DIY it is. Thank you, hippie parents and Depression Era grandparents for the gift of these DIY skills.

EDIT 5/13/25 -- I filled a second trough and put it on the new picnic table.

I've seen a catbird and a male cardinal.

EDIT 5/13/25 -- I moved several flats from the top of the picnic table to the ground, then some large pots from the benches to the top, making room for more troughs on the benches.

EDIT 5/13/25 -- I filled a third trough and put it on the new picnic table. I also did a bit more pot-shuffling. The south bench now has 2 troughs and an empty spot for the next.

EDIT 5/13/25 -- I filled the last two troughs and put them on the new picnic table. Each bench is now covered by 3 trough pots. \o/ After lunch I will need to make the anchor cords to keep them in place.

EDIT 5/13/25 -- My partner Doug came home with the 2 bags of potting soil, so we hauled those to the old picnic table. The lawn mower had died in the south lot and wouldn't restart, so we pushed that to the driveway so it can be picked up for repair.

EDIT 5/13/25 -- I made the first 2 anchor cords to secure the first trough pot on the north bench.

EDIT 5/13/25 -- I made 4 more anchor cords to secure 2 more troughs on the north bench. That leaves the 3 on the south side.

EDIT 5/13/25 -- I made the 6 anchor cords to secure the 3 trough pots on the south bench. It started spitting rain about halfway through, but not enough to interfere. So that part of the project is done, other than sowing the seeds in them. \o/

EDIT 5/13/25 -- I sowed 2 troughs of 'Avalanche' snow pea pods, 2 troughs of 'Sugar Ann' snap peas, and 1 trough of 'Thumbelina' baby ball carrots.

I watered the newly planted seeds. I watered the strawberry towers.

I took some pictures of the troughs and the sky at sunset. The sky was yellow-gray today, a version of yellow-blue, which is a color that most humans can't see. But I can see it, and it's beautiful, one of my favorite colors: liathbuí in Irish.

I brought in the flats of pots.

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

This year during Three Weeks for Dreamwidth, I'm writing about goal-setting frameworks for goals_on_dw. Read Part 1: Introduction to Goal-Setting Frameworks, Part 2: The 1-3-5 Rule, Part 3: The 12-week Year, Part 4: ABCS (Achievable, Believable, Committed, Specific), Part 5: Backward Goal, Part 6: BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goals), Part 7: BSQ (Think Big, Act Small, Move Quick), Part 8: CLEAR (Collaborative, Limited, Emotional, Appreciable, Refinable), Part 9: Goal Pyramid, Part 10: Golden Circle, Part 11: GROW (Goal, Reality, Options, Way Forward), Part 12: HARD (Heartfelt, Animated, Required, Difficult), Part 13: KPI (Key Performance Indicators, Part 14: MASTER (Measurable, Achievable, Specific, Transforming, Evolving, Relevant), Part 15: NCT (Narratives, Commitments, and Tasks), Part 16: OKR (Objectives, Key Results), Part 17: PACT (Purposeful, Aligned, Continuous, Tracked), Part 18: Tiered Goals, Part 19: Theme Word.


Part 19: Theme Word

A Theme Word involves selecting a key word (like "Hope") or phrase (like "Take Time") to guide your plans and choices. It can be permanent or temporary. Many people like to choose a theme word for each year, as part of or instead of New Year's resolutions.



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