Thorny Flannels @pricklypoet - Tumblr Blog

unusualrussia

Russian hockey player with the ridiculous penalty shootout

bnprime

a hero

wombat-annihilator-deactivated2

what in the hell

danthemedicman

Aesthetic

neurodivergent-crow

Is this legal??

theproblematicblogger

Who has that “mission status sick” jawn

draconym

Naturalists have got to be one of the groups of people most susceptible to being tricked by the fae. Travellers these days are much less likely to follow a mysterious light or the smell of roast beef into the forest. Meanwhile, find me a naturalist who would not completely lose themself in pursuit of:

An unidentifiable bird call

A butterfly that’s slightly off-color

An opossum with its head stuck in a yogurt tub

A really big woodpecker

gallusrostromegalus

The Fae better be fuckin ready to be tagged and fitted with a Radio Collar for Science then, I got new hiking boots and no other ideas for research grant money.

kelgrid

it’s called fashion, sweaty

gayfeatherfiend

As a naturalist I can vouch for this

creepish

would you collect rocks with me. be honest

hedgehog-moss

I was cutting brambles near my house today and the cats were having fun chasing after them when I dragged them to the pasture to throw them over the fence for the llamas (who were eagerly waiting for this snack). Pandolf had fun too for a while, chasing the cats who were chasing the brambles, but eventually he decided this was too frivolous for him, a guard dog with responsibilities, and he went away for a little patrol on his own, like he does sometimes.

Five minutes later I heard his Code Red Alert Bark and went looking for him, expecting to see something like a deer crossing the road and Pan yelling at him like a school crossing guard, but actually I found a bunch of cows setting up camp in my other pasture, on the other side of the road. Their owner was still there, holding the gate open and letting the last cows in, and when he saw me he claimed that he didn’t know this pasture belonged to someone. I am fairly sure that he just hoped I wouldn’t notice and his cows would get to eat for free for a while, but w/e, I told him this was my land and he rounded up his cows and left. The best thing was how these cow shenanigans clearly made Pandolf feel very useful—usually his alert barks alert me to the threatening presence of, say, a badger, and I’m like “thank you for warning me about this infraction but I will not be pursuing the matter further” and he is disappointed, but this time he could tell that the thing he had warned me about was important indeed and he sat there by the road watching the cows walk away with a look of deep satisfaction, like “That’s right. An actual threat. Thwarted by me, Pandolf.” He is only 6 months-old but he is so invested in his job and it’s really precious.

nightshadeis

I love Pandolf please give him scritches from me

fungusqueen

Me and @beautifultrees07 are plotting to do a secret guerilla pumpkin patch in a neglected waste patch by a local freeway. It’s gonna look cute!

fungusqueen

Update! We cleared this area of invasive (and abrasive!) weeds, hoed the rocky and barren soils, amended the earth (with a layer of straw for drainage and to hold moisture/encourage mycelium), created 18 pumpkin mounds of different varieties (Atlantic Giant, Jarrahdale, Lumina, Cinderella, Jack O’ Lantern, Musquee de Provence, and Red Warty Thing) in 96 degree weather so like, don’t even question our love for pumpkins and soil restoration! We added flowers for beautification and to attract pollinators. We moved discarded mattresses, furniture pieces, and removed bags of trash, glass, and dog poop. The pumpkin vines will reach maturity in October and we’re looking forward to the growth!

fungusqueen

Update! Remember her??? Be careful who you call ugly!! Our guerilla garden/secret pumpkin patch is really shaping up! Pumpkin vines are growing strong and healthy, cucumber plants are producing, and corn stalks are growing taller! This lot used to be filled with dog poop, mattresses, and discarded furniture! Hopefully we’ll have pumpkins soon. Me and my two sisters laid all the groundwork for this garden and it’s being maintained mostly by one of my sisters and other volunteers. We love to restore the soil, revive barren land, and coax pumpkins from the earth just in time for Hallow’s Eve ~

fungusqueen

Another update from August 5:

Foliage is thick and lush and baby pumpkins are forming! We’re excited for the turn of the season and to have a little pumpkin patch ready for Halloween

ed-longshanks

important psa

soundlessdragon

Awh, I always thought they were so pretty and had no idea they could be harmful

christianmarvel

Can someone transcribe this? The water is really loud.

petit-bon-homme

“Hey everybody! Here we are in the southern Appalachian mountains. We have a pristine Montane stream ecosystem, as you can see all around us here. I thought I’d make an educational video this morning. It involves this practice right here [gestures to rock pile]. As our national parks and national forests fall victim to human pressure, more than ever, this is something we’re seeing more and more of. Hopefully we can make this video go viral. This stream, as you can see around us right here, is a breeding ground for North America’s largest salamander, the Eastern hellbender. They can get up to 2.5-3 feet long. It’s part of our natural heritage in the eastern United States. When people do this right here - what they consider to be art - they’re actually destroying the breeding ground for the Eastern hellbender salamander. The Eastern hellbender will use flat rocks such as these to make nesting sites in these streams. So here’s what I would like everybody to do. If you care about our Montane stream freshwater ecosystems like this one around us here, when you see something like this, this is what I recommend doing: [kicks down rock pile]. Take the rocks, throw them back into the stream. The Eastern hellbender utilizes rocks like this. It actually feels pretty good to do this! [walks to other pile] This is not actually art, okay? This is destruction of our freshwater ecosystems. So I would like to encourage everyone: when you see this [gestures to second rock pile], do this! [kicks pile] I’d like to return our streams to their natural state for the organisms that live here. Thanks, and have a good day.”

ofdirtandbones

Listen. You ARE nature. You’re an entire ecosystem. Your flesh sculpted from the dirt. Your blood brewed from rain water. Thousands of creatures living inside of you, on your skin, who wouldn’t be alive without you just like you wouldn’t be either without them. You are born from the forest and the sea. Be kind to yourself.

crazy-languages

I found this online and I love it.

nilim

Ok, so I was reading this news story:

So far so normal, right? But then:

Like what. And then:

Like, I think Alaska State Trooper Ken Marsh wants to be a romance novelist.

panicblanket

well would you look at that

hermionejacobs

Of Boromir and Aragorn

So, I had an interesting conversation about the role of Boromir in a group chat.

The other person I was talking to is totally team Boromir and, if I understood well, thinks that Aragorn didn’t deserve to be king of Gondor because he essentially ignored the city, knowing very well he was going to be king anyway because it’s in his blood.

Now, I totally agree on this vision and I wish Tolkien had written Aragorn a bit differently (I love him anyway as he is, of course). Maybe, if Aragorn had a different storyline Boromir could have lived.

Hear me out, because this is important. Other characters describe Boromir as very fond of Gondor and his people. He could’ve been a perfect king, as he was protective and kind and noble. BUT! He was very proud too. If Boromir had lived it would have come a time when he and Aragorn had to fight over who was to be king (because of course Boromir wasn’t going to give up his city easily, given that he had protected it for ages while Aragorn was out and about).

So, Tolkien wrote Aragorn in a certain way and we can’t change it, so in this universe it was impossible for Boromir to live, because he would have been Aragorn’s opponent when it came to reign on Gondor.

Boromir died a hero and two of the best friends in the Fellowship didn’t get to be foes in the end.

pricklypoet

Boromir could not have been king! He would have been steward like his father, had Aragorn not claimed the throne. No ties with elves or dwarves would have made the realm stronger, the white tree would never have been replanted, and Gondor would have been a lesser kingdom without its Dunedain king.

Aragorn has an array of traits that make him the best king for the fourth age. His childhood in Rivendell with his great(63 times) uncle Elrond means that he understands the war of the ring better than anyone, and he knows his destiny. His time with the other Dúnedain as a ranger was not pointless, and Gondor wasn’t ready for his return yet anyway (Elrond seemed to know this).

Boromir was far too prideful of Gondor. It was his fatal flaw. He couldn’t have made new ties with elves and dwarves. I do believe he would not have fought Aragorn had he come to claim his throne, the divinity he held Gondor had came from its history, even if it took 23 stewards to get back to it. The instance of hostility in the council of Elrond was highly related to the rings presence and the insistence that Gondor couldn’t just wield it.

hermionejacobs

This is a super valid addition, thank you! 🥰

By saying “king” referring to Boromir of course I meant “steward”, but I should have been more accurate I guess. Tolkien wrote Aragorn storyline in a way that perfectly fit the situation in Middle Earth, mine was just a pure rant on how Boromir as steward of Gondor couldn’t work in the universe Tolkien created.

Btw, I’m super glad to have this kind of conversations with you people here opn Tumblr 🤩

pricklypoet

You’re welcome! I love talking Tolkien 😁.

I think it should also be mentioned: Faramir did get a title and purpose after Aragorn took the throne, and Boromir undoubtedly would have had been offered the same had he lived. In creating the Princes of Ithilien Aragorn ended the line of stewards of Gondor honorably.

Boromir had a flaw and also had an honorable death. Nothing more canonically can be assumed, except by analysis of his temperament. Because Aragorn became king and Faramirs storyline ‘worked’.

The only argument I can think of that Boromir would not have ‘worked’ is that Gandalf smoothed things over with Faramir in a way he didn’t with Boromir, so Boromir would have responded differently to Aragorn claiming the throne.

Or I could have misunderstood the context, in which case: A steward and king can both exist within Gondorian court, the stewards began as counsellors to the kings. A steward wouldn’t ‘rule’ if the king were present, which could be what you’re getting at.

hermionejacobs

Of Boromir and Aragorn

So, I had an interesting conversation about the role of Boromir in a group chat.

The other person I was talking to is totally team Boromir and, if I understood well, thinks that Aragorn didn’t deserve to be king of Gondor because he essentially ignored the city, knowing very well he was going to be king anyway because it’s in his blood.

Now, I totally agree on this vision and I wish Tolkien had written Aragorn a bit differently (I love him anyway as he is, of course). Maybe, if Aragorn had a different storyline Boromir could have lived.

Hear me out, because this is important. Other characters describe Boromir as very fond of Gondor and his people. He could’ve been a perfect king, as he was protective and kind and noble. BUT! He was very proud too. If Boromir had lived it would have come a time when he and Aragorn had to fight over who was to be king (because of course Boromir wasn’t going to give up his city easily, given that he had protected it for ages while Aragorn was out and about).

So, Tolkien wrote Aragorn in a certain way and we can’t change it, so in this universe it was impossible for Boromir to live, because he would have been Aragorn’s opponent when it came to reign on Gondor.

Boromir died a hero and two of the best friends in the Fellowship didn’t get to be foes in the end.

pricklypoet

Boromir could not have been king! He would have been steward like his father, had Aragorn not claimed the throne. No ties with elves or dwarves would have made the realm stronger, the white tree would never have been replanted, and Gondor would have been a lesser kingdom without its Dunedain king.

Aragorn has an array of traits that make him the best king for the fourth age. His childhood in Rivendell with his great(63 times) uncle Elrond means that he understands the war of the ring better than anyone, and he knows his destiny. His time with the other Dúnedain as a ranger was not pointless, and Gondor wasn’t ready for his return yet anyway (Elrond seemed to know this).

Boromir was far too prideful of Gondor. It was his fatal flaw. He couldn’t have made new ties with elves and dwarves. I do believe he would not have fought Aragorn had he come to claim his throne, the divinity he held Gondor had came from its history, even if it took 23 stewards to get back to it. The instance of hostility in the council of Elrond was highly related to the rings presence and the insistence that Gondor couldn’t just wield it.

#lord of the rings #boromir #aragorn #dunedain #gondor

academicssay

albertonykus

Had a go at a classic song that was obviously written by a vertebrate.

bogleech

You know a lot of us who like biology always end up talking so much about how actually this animal or this plant is really pretty when you look at it this way and there’s this thing it does that’s really nice and it’s important to the ecosystem because of this and this and this but if we’re being REALLY real, some animals look like someone rolled a big ball of dirt in some wet hair and they don’t do anything but scream and shit and eat all the skin off of some other animal but that’s why you should love them. It is amazing to live in a world where big weird sacs of meat grow sharper harder meat so they can rip open another sac and put its meat inside of theirs. Nobody would find skunks nearly as entertaining and memorable if they didn’t defend themselves with a wet reeking eye-searing assblast from hell. Bloodsucking insects are fantastic mechanisms of evolutionary engineering whose obnoxiousness to us has nonetheless inspired so much art and culture and music. The bayou isn’t the bayou if there’s not a chance a gator will rip you in half. Even some of the things we deliberately bred to be cute, like teacup chihuahuas, are cute because they look like someone’s foggy memory of what they think a sewer rat probably looks like, and it’s also marvelous and special that sewer rats are real too, that there’s little squeaky scaly-tailed hairballs scurrying around in dark tunnels we built to contain the sheer amount of piss we make every day. That’s nuts! Things are majestic and precious and exciting because they aren’t clean and neat and perfect and harmless. Nothing alive has to be justified as beautiful or beneficial to anybody else and guess what that even goes for you too, surprise twist, you may have to justify how you treat other people but you never ever have to justify just existing and you don’t have to exist for a reason because nothing ever has or will c: