it's all just chaos

willow or tangle welcome to my spaghetti bowl of nonsense.

[thalassarche]

Sunbittern (Eurypyga helias) - photo by Wes Kalinowski

[cryptonature]

Sunday Seeds #1

This is my first effort at a weekly post! I plan to include three core segments: wonder, whimsy, and a writing prompt. Short and sweet. (Plus a bonus poem or bit of prose for supporters. Often, the bonus will be my quick response to the prompt I offer.)

Wonder

My publisher just sent me a preview of the illustrations for my new book about dandelions (coming spring 2027), so I have dandelions on the brain. Did you know that dandelions have no practical need for pollinators? The common dandelion reproduces asexually, so there’s no need to exchange pollen. And yet… they feed pollinators anyway. I think there is something wonderfully sweet about that, abundance and generosity eclipsing practicality.

Whimsy

Yesterday, I rescued a jumping spider from my kitchen sink and she just sat on the back of my hand and seemed uninterested in climbing off. So, I walked her around my backyard and explained all my current gardening projects to her. She was very patient and politely attentive. She eventually hopped off into the soft jungle of my asparagus patch. I assume she’ll tell the other invertebrates about my upcoming plans for the backyard.

Writing Prompt

Contemplate a time when you were perceived (seen, heard, felt) by a non-human lifeform. Did you make eye contact with a mourning dove? Did you watch an ant use her antennae to explore the fine hairs on your arm? Maybe you called back to a hooting owl? There’s a concept called “observer effect” that basically states that observing a phenomenon necessarily changes it. So… how were you changed by being observed?

PS (Dad Joke): I usually know if someone is a ghost as soon as they walk through the door.

[Bonus portion unlocked via my Substack or Patreon]

[novastar-creations]

TURTLESSSS

[ace-disgrace-on-the-case]

There’s something so uniquely terrifying about memory issues. I feel like my self is slipping away from me.

[ace-disgrace-on-the-case]

Here’s the thing I feel like a lot of folks don’t get: I’m not trying to forget what you said. Honestly, I really tried not to. I can’t control what I do and don’t remember—forgetting things just happens. It’s annoying for you, I know, but for me it’s distressing as hell and when you make a big deal out of it rather than just reminding me you make me feel ashamed. I’ll remember that, at least.

It costs you nothing to be kind to people with memory problems. Please. It’s scary enough without people treating memory lapses as a personal failing.

[ace-disgrace-on-the-case]

Hey, reblog this version instead, please!

[animalphotorefs]

Photos of the Day: an airborne Canadian lynx

Artists creating derivative or transformative works (without AI) have blanket permission to use this and all photos in the repository as references, including works that will/may be sold.

The Animal Photo Reference Repository is an independent, permanently open-access project and funded entirely by donations.

**Patreon** -- **Ko-Fi**

[animalphotorefs]

You spoke, and I listened: this post now has additional toebeans!

[dandelionfool]

kettricken and verity in the quarry

[dragon-in-a-fez]

under US law, it's illegal for anyone who's not a member of a recognised native tribe to own an eagle feather. the penalty is a $100,000 fine.

14 years ago when I had recently moved to Alaska, I went hiking with an Aleut friend, and she pointed to a feather lying on the ground and said "hey that's a bald eagle tail feather, you should grab it!" and I was like "uhh I'm very white and that's very illegal" and she went "they're fuckin everywhere up here man. I have 20." so she grabs it off the ground and hands it to me and says "there, now it's a ceremonial gift from an indigenous person."

and I'm like, okay, cool, I guess this is how we do things in Alaska. nice.

so I keep this bald eagle tail feather around for years. display it in my home among other cherished memorabilia from places I've lived and visited, etc.

on a whim, I have just now looked it up. there is no exemption to that law for a ceremonial gift from an indigenous person. the last 7 years I lived in the US, I was technically a bald eagle poacher.

probably a good thing I don't intend to move back there anytime soon. I wonder what the statute of limitations is on bird crimes.

[dragon-in-a-fez]

@freedomisscaryshit I'm fucking dying I think you forgot the word "feathers" in your tags?? or do you just wish you could grab whole ass eagles that land in your yard??

[emotional-support-husband]

As an Indigenous person, it continues to astound me that there are such strict laws (written by White people) in our name, laws against...picking up things just found on the ground. Like, stop pretending this is "for" us. We don't want this.

[dragon-in-a-fez]

so, for clarity, that's not what this is. the law against possessing feathers is an anti-poaching measure, derived from a North American treaty protecting certain migratory bird species from hunting. that treaty has an exemption for indigenous people to allow tribes that use eagle feathers in ceremonial or religious practices to continue doing so.

[chekhovs-raygun]

i used to collect feathers (illegally) as a teenager and the thing is that it's incredibly important for feathers from wild birds to be illegal to possess because it ensures that they never become fashionable to wear. the reason we passed the migratory bird act was because the american and european fashion industry was driving species to extinction in a timespan of years. not just decades. the ecological devastation of exporting birds for hats was absolutely insane and people were watching wetlands and forests and meadows just empty out in realtime. look at the wikipedia article for the plume trade.

the law against 'picking feathers up off the ground' means that you can't go shoot an eagle then sell the feathers on etsy by saying you 'just found them'. you can't own them no matter where they came from, which makes sure that they're not going to come from any birds killed and then secretly disposed of.

these laws, as harsh and ridiculous as they seem, saved flamingos, spoonbills, egrets, and all kinds of hawks and eagles from extinction. the minute these laws weaken and people can make money off killing them again, they're fucked.

[kedreeva]

I want to also add that this extends to the birds themselves, their eggs, AND their nests.

As far as I know, Indigenous folks also do have to apply for a permit still on an individual level. A random person can't roll up, claim to be from whatever tribe (even if it's true), and keep feathers and stuff from the birds protected by the treaty with no proof or permits.

This is also true of exceptions made for breeding, hunting/depopulation, falconry, and scientific/educational purposes! Educational facilities can apply for permits to keep parts or whole animals (alive and taxidermy). While I was in grade school, my mom found a great horned owl on the side of the road that had clearly been a victim of car-strike. She was able to call around and get permission to take it to a taxidermist, to be mounted for my elementary school. That owl is still on display there! My college had a taxidermy class, and I've transported several window- or car-strike birds I've found to them to be used for classes/archiving the pelts.

Falconry is, at least in my state, a 2+ year apprenticeship before they are allowed to have their first bird. They can keep a certain number of certain kinds of feathers for the purposes of imping (wing/tail repair), but are not allowed to keep "keepsake" feathers once the bird is no longer in their care. It's really strict and kind of hard to get into.

And for falconry, some of the birds are bred, and some are wild caught. So there are exceptions there for breeding for this, and presumably for zoos and other conservation/education facilities that do breeding.

Some species, like the Canada goose and some other water fowl, ARE protected, BUT also have a hunting season and regulated take. This requires a hunting license to do. Taxidermists who work on legally taken MBTA-protected species I believe also have to have a permit to do so. Some places, like airports, have permits to clear hazardous birds from the runways/airways; most places are not allowed to mess with, for example, a nesting Canada goose. Shutting down air traffic for a month over a Canada goose nest would be extremely disruptive to many many many people. Getting a Canada goose or several Canada geese sucked into a jet engine is probably not ideal. So, they have permits to chase off or even sometimes depopulate birds causing issues at the airport.

If you're interested (or worried), you can read the MBTA here!

[madeleinefjall]

Fitz and Nighteyes ❤️

[stjesters]

cottagecore fitzloved when they had like, two weeks of peace THAT ONE SINGULAR TIME in their lives

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

Every time I see some joke about Star Trek-style teleporter technology I'm like "I should write a story about the potential of this technology re: the whole 'killing and copying people' thing and the ramifications of being able to essentially print people" and then I remember I already wrote it. Every single time.

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

#*two hours later* hey derin? what the fuck was that

Expected result of teleportation technology I think

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

#I WAS TRYING TO GO TO BED 😭😭😭#just reached the end of part 1 i can't stop send help#fiction

Read the rest in bed! Problem solved!

[duarzish]

#Holy fuck, this story changed me.

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

Good, that's what stories are supposed to do!

[antique-scarecrow]

Oh wow. Wow wow wow wow geez. Go read this

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

[annawry]

I say this with all the love in the world. What the fuck.

(Also, hey, go read this. You'll think you know what you're getting. You won't.)

[defat1]

No, that's about what I expected from a Derin short story. Those things stick with you forever!

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

If I'm going to go to the effort of typing it up it had better fuck people up or I might as well go play computer games instead

[autumnmercy]

Whelp, that just entered my category of “stories that aren’t technically horror, but really feel like it.”

That’s a good thing of course, the story was brilliantly written, and I’ll be thinking about it for a long time.

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

That category is most scifi

[inprisonforsparkling]

Just read this. What the fuck Derin

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

Stori

[dawnsiren]

Derin, what the fuck was that???? Cursed implications

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

Stori!

[tinycrowthings]

Derin, what the fuck.

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

I keep telling you guys! Stori!

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

#my grandpa liked your story#he says you have a marvelous imagination and developed a very unique story#and said the ending was poignant#I agree with him#great story

You guys heard it here first, mysterious-corpse's grandpa liked my story.

[omnilily]

I thought I had thought of all the fucked up implications. I had not. Not even close.

Derin, what the fuck?

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

There are way more fucked up implications that didn't fit this story, I'm considering returning to the topic with a new one at some point.

[ocean-again]

Derin, what the FUCK?

[presumablyprocrastinating]

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK WAS THAT

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

Stori...

[whenfatecollides]

Xena Warrior Princess 3.05 Gabrielle's hope

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

She dodged a bullet

[cair--paravel]

Fairy costume for a 1954 production of Oberon at the Opéra National de Paris, designed by Jean-Denis Malclès (via).

[dragoncarrion]

????

[dragoncarrion]

They're taking over.

[aplpaca]

big fan of when animals creche. Love to see so many fucking babies in one place

[aplpaca]

So a creche in ecology is a group of animals that take care of their offspring as a group. Grouping together like this can help with protection against predators, finding food, enduring the weather, and gives the parents time to "rest", as sometimes the parents will alternate who's being the primary watchers while others get to hunt by themselves for a bit, like a baby animal daycare.

But ye lions do this once cubs each a certain age. A decent amount of birds do it (for example: flamingos and a lot of penguin, duck, and goose species). Gharials (a type of South Asian crocodilian) form creches with hundreds of babies from multiple nests (they lay under 100 eggs each and sometimes as few as 20). Feral hogs tend to form groups of mothers and young like this, and I saw 3 sows and like 15+ tiny babies the other day and they were so cute

But ye that's how you get pictures like these

[tumorhead]

Rattlesnakes will creche!! In some species mature adult females will hang out together (they're friends!) in shared dens and even birth their clutches together. Then one will babysit while the others go get food. Adult females have been seeing caring for their young like shooing young back into the den when a predator approaches. You can watch LIVE rattlesnake den mothers and all their babies on Project Rattlecam!!!!

[395nm]

@tanglebrain

[willabee]

glasses be upon ye

[quei]

[dogpuppy]

[great-and-small]

I am constantly thinking about this

[great-and-small]

This mild Wikipedia sentence is like the understatement of all time

Here are some crazy grasshopper mouse facts for those who are not familiar with the most badass mouse species on the planet

- They are primarily carnivorous, and their diet is made up of not only bugs but also snakes, lizards and other mice.

- They hunt like true predators, slowly stalking and creeping up on their prey before ambushing them. They will sometimes let out a screech as they attack.

- Like wolves, they howl to establish territory and have a specially developed throat to produce louder vocalizations. They will stand up on their hind legs and throw their head back to howl- a sound that can be heard from 100 meters away!

- Grasshopper mouse behavior is linked to lunar cycles and they are more active during a full moon.

- These mice have been hunting bark scorpions and evolving alongside them for so long that they’ve evolved a mutation where scorpion venom that is lethal to other animals is converted into a painkiller in the grasshopper mouse’s body.