Wartime

This year I'm doing Community Thursdays. Some of my activity will involve maintaining communities I run, and my favorites. Some will involve checking my list of subscriptions and posting in lower-traffic ones. Today I have interacted with the following communities...


* Posted "News" to liberal.

* Posted "Books" to library_community.

* Commented on "A thought experiment" in linguaphiles.

* Posted "Linguistics" in linguaphiles.

Rescuing London’s Precious Building Materials Diverting Them from Dumps for Reuse

A salvage and reuse operation in London is ensuring that every charming bit of wood, brick, glass, porcelain, and steel that has made the city beautiful can continue to do so with a second life in the circular economy.

Started through an epiphany of “street logic” by a man frustrated by red tape, Yes Make is making things all over London out of what the city might otherwise throw out.

“We’re creating a regenerative supply chain for the city we love,” says Joel De Mowbray, founder of Yes Make, to the Guardian. “Turning things that would otherwise go to waste into objects that have cultural potential.”


This kind of salvage operation is replicable anywhere, since towns generally have a cycle of demolition, renovation, and construction that generates considerable materials typically thought of as "waste" which are still useful. If you're looking for a cheap startup business, and you're at least a little crafty, then upcycling is an excellent bet because its raw materials tend to be free or cheap. The more we can keep out of landfills, and the less new material we consume, the better.

Today is sunny, humid, and hot. A beautiful day to stay indoors and write! Yesterday it rained off and on during the afternoon. The patio was still wet this morning, so we likely got more last night too.

I fed the birds. I haven't seen much activity yet.

I put out water for the birds.

Morning glories are blooming. :D

EDIT 6/10/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 6/10/26 -- I took some pictures around the house and yard. I have a nice tall stand of milkweed blooming in the prairie garden, taller than me. :D

I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches at the hopper feeder.

EDIT 6/10/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 6/10/26 -- I started trimming grass around the Asiatic lily patch by the telephone pole.

The first of the recently sown seeds are already sprouting! :D Charleston Food Forest and 'State Fair' zinnias are up, though not the developing 'Shirley' landrace rows.

EDIT 6/10/26 -- I trimmed more grass around the Asiatic lily patch by the telephone pole.

EDIT 6/10/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 6/10/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I planted 5 'Yelloween' lilies in the telephone pole garden. That's the end of the hummingbird garden sack that I got from Costco.

EDIT 6/10/26 -- I spread potting soil and mulch over the newly planted lilies.

It's not even dark yet, but already swarms of fireflies are rising up from the grass. :D Fly, my pretties, fly!

EDIT 6/10/26 -- I watered the telephone pole garden including the new lilies.

Lots more fireflies are out now. The evening is very sparkly! I've seen at least one bat too.

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

2026 Sees the Most Right Whale Calves Born in One Season Since 2009


Decades of diligent conservation seem to have allowed the whales to really turn a corner in the last 36 months, with milestones like record numbers of sightings, strange vagrancies, and an increasing population being celebrated.

Now, 23 calves were born during the 2026 right whale calving season—the highest number since 2009. Of the 23 mom-calf pairs identified this season, 20 of these were returning moms. Since that year, the average has been around 15 animals, but some years there have been 7 or fewer.

13 of these returning moms last had calves in the 2021 or 2022 seasons, marking a shorter interval between births than the recent average of 7 to 10 years. This is closer to the normal or healthy interval of 3 to 4 years.


It's so good to see a population recovering from whaling. :D

Ward Walks

Here in Batavia, Illinois, our Local Conversation group helps to bridge the walkability perception gap by running what we call Ward Walks, wherein we take a walk around town to see just how easy it is to reach common destinations. And what is perhaps the most commonly desired destination than an ice cream shop?

Being able to take a walk to get ice cream on a whim is practically a quintessential American ideal, which makes it ironic that it’s so hard to do in so many of our towns and cities. It’s precisely this expectation that the Ward Walks highlight. As the name implies, each walk highlights a different ward (i.e., political district) around town, starting at a city park and traversing toward an ice cream spot before walking back.


This is something that anyone interested in community can do: walk (or roll, whatever) around your neighborhood. See what amenities you can or can't reach that way. Is there at least one place to eat, to shop for everyday needs, to touch grass? Is there a church, a school, a health care facility, some sort of recreation? And so on.  What you learn will be useful in any local activism for improving your hometown.

summerofthe69 is now open! You can see the 2026 theme calendar here and the comment prompt post. The initial theme is "First Time 69: Everyone has to start somewhere."

Welcome to Summer of the 69, an event focused on creative works about the sexual position, open to all fandoms and to original works. Participation is through two means: A comment meme and weekly themes, running from June 9th through September 6th.


Poke a bigot in the eye, make some sexy stuff!

Enjoy a hurdy-gurdy guitar.