Due to a Surfeit of Squirrels, I put netting over a couple limbs on one of our Apple Trees. The last few years we haven't gotten any apples. If a late frost didn't get them, the rodents did.
Finally, this year, we had some blossoms, and then small fruit. The fruit outside the bag was all long gone. Some time later, when they had just (finally) figured out how to get through the bag, but hadn't (yet) gotten inside it, we (today) took the bag off and... Reaped our Harvest! Keep in mind this is one limb from a mature tree.
Yes, there are some spots... this isn't supermarket quality. It's better! The fruit is smaller, and since it's organic there's insect damage, but the flavor is superior.
If I can get adequately motivated, maybe I can post a pie!
Yesterday was my birthday, and so I opened the present that my wife and I purchased last week when shopping. We’d gone to look at pens and see what I like, but ran into this Nahvalur limited edition, “It Gets Better” pen of which there were only two, one fine and one medium.
I bought fine, number 628 over 386, which I don’t understand the numbering but there you go.
I have been working recently on propagation. I always take a cutting from new plants (Purchased plants) because you never know. More than once I’ve had only the propagated plant after its donor plant perished.
I have theories about this, but here are pictures of my latest successes.
Years ago I created this account, and later I posted a few pictures of flowers from my garden. Still later I decided to flesh out my profile, the picture (which is old) and description, interests, and so on.
Anyway, once I had a real profile I got a few likes and some reposts!
So despite still not knowing what I’m doing I plan to post occasionally. I bought a badge, took some pictures, thought about what I’d say, what I could talk about.
Phew. This one took, uh… a bit longer than expected due to other projects both irl and art-wise, but it’s finally here. The long-awaited domestic animal infographic! Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough space to cover every single domestic animal (I’m so sorry, reindeer and koi, my beloveds) but I tried to include as many of the “major ones” as possible.
I made this chart in response to a lot of the misunderstandings I hear concerning domestic animals, so I hope it’s helpful!
Further information I didn’t have any room to add or expand on:
🐈 “Breed” and “species” are not synonyms! Breeds are specific to domesticated animals. A Bengal Tiger is a species of tiger. A Siamese is a breed of domestic cat.
🐀 Different colors are also not what makes a breed. A breed is determined by having genetics that are unique to that breed. So a “bluenose pitbull” is not a different breed from a “rednose pitbull”, but an American Pitbull Terrier is a different breed from an American Bully! Animals that have been domesticated for longer tend to have more seperate breeds as these differing genetics have had time to develop.
🐕 It takes hundreds of generations for an animal to become domesticated. While the “domesticated fox experiment” had interesting results, there were not enough generations involved for the foxes to become truly domesticated and their differences from wild foxes were more due to epigenetics (heritable traits that do not change the DNA sequence but rather activate or deactivate parts of it; owed to the specific circumstances of its parents’ behavior and environment.)
🐎 Wild animals that are raised in human care are not domesticated, but they can be considered “tamed.” This means that they still have all their wild instincts, but are less inclined to attack or be frightened of humans. A wild animal that lives in the wild but near human settlements and is less afraid of humans is considered “habituated.” Tamed and habituated animals are not any less dangerous than wild animals, and should still be treated with the same respect. Foxes, otters, raccoons, servals, caracals, bush babies, opossums, owls, monkeys, alligators, and other wild animals can be tamed or habituated, but they have not undergone hundreds of generations of domestication, so they are not domesticated animals.
🐄 Also, as seen above, these animals have all been domesticated for a reason, be it food, transport, pest control, or otherwise, at a time when less practical options existed. There is no benefit to domesticating other species in the modern day, so if you’ve got a hankering for keeping a wild animal as a pet, instead try to find the domestic equivalent of that wild animal! There are several dog breeds that look and behave like wolves or foxes, pigeons and chickens can make great pet birds and have hundreds of colorful fancy breeds, rats can be just as intelligent and social as a small monkey (and less expensive and dangerous to boot,) and ferrets are pretty darn close to minks and otters! There’s no need to keep a wolf in a house when our ancestors have already spent 20,000+ years to make them house-compatible.
🐖 This was stated in the infographic, but I feel like I must again reiterate that domestic animals do not belong in the wild, and often become invasive when feral. Their genetics have been specifically altered in such a way that they depend on humans for optimal health. We are their habitat. This is why you only really see feral pigeons in cities, and feral cats around settlements. They are specifically adapted to live with humans, so they stay even when unwanted. However, this does not mean they should live in a way that doesn’t put their health and comfort as a top priority! If we are their world, it is our duty to make it as good as possible. Please research any pet you get before bringing them home!
Missing FreeRealms and thinking about how the mass vanishment of younger-audience MMOs (and other kid-oriented spaces online) is probably permanent in a late-capitalism era where companies have realized that kids can't easily spend money like adults can.
My childhood can no longer be visited and kids growing up now don't have anywhere just for them to hang out, except for minecraft, maybe.
Featured here is a 1935 illustration by Johnny Gruelle of Raggedy Ann offering some keen advice on the value of a mother’s wisdom: “The truths received at a mother’s knee endure throughout Eternity.”
You can see this document and much more by visiting NARA’s online catalog: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/23902328.
Want to learn more about Raggedy Ann and the records we hold? Check out one of our previous posts celebrating the 100th anniversary of Raggedy Ann here: http://phillyarchives.tumblr.com/post/128557567264/happy-100th-anniversary-raggedy-ann-john-b
Want to learn more about our holdings? You can check out our online catalog (www.catalog.archives.gov) and make an appointment to view our holdings at the National Archives at Philadelphia by calling (215) 305-2044 or emailing [email protected].
This post was written by Megan Kelly, Research and Writing Intern with the National Archives at Philadelphia.
God gave me Grapes. Every one a gift. Small but powerful each leads us to savor grace. Which comes with seeds. And there's a reason they call it, " must"
theartofmadeline
tangentwithtanner
snowghoul
