love the everything.

"Man is surprised to find that things near are not less beautiful and wondrous than things remote. The near explains the far. The drop is a small ocean. A man is related to all nature." -emerson.

The press of my foot to the earth springs a hundred affections. -Whitman

"I have often noticed that even a few minutes of this self-forgetfulness is tremendously invigorating. I wonder if we do not waste most of our energy just by spending every waking minute saying hello to ourselves." I love Annie Dillard.

So I was just now standing on my chair and stretching. It's so bright outside and the sky is so blue. It feels so good. There are these tiny moments of complete bliss and comfort that come to me through throughout the day. Once I feel them, I realize them, and I try to achieve them again. But, they are never exactly as wonderful as that initial time. Lately I find myself trying to achieve these moments more often. Maybe it's because things have been so hectic that I find a need to consciously calm myself and remind myself to enjoy simple moments.

This reminds me of something I wrote last September..

"When I find something I really like... I want to have it as much as possible. I want to experience it as often as I can. But the thing about that is that having something so often makes you use to it. It could almost make you numb to it. So the way to go...is to have that thing you like so much as little as possible so that it can continue to feel new. It can continue to awe and amaze you. That's hard. That's life."

oh cheese and rice.

Also, clothing made out of animal placentas by Pinar Yolacan.


This artist is both inspiring and reassuring. Having my work called weird and noncommercial is kind of a complement, (I mean, I guess I always knew that...but was never directly told so.) but is also a little disheartening when thinking about having to make a living from it. But it's all gravy. OMG the best bearded guy EVER is riding his bike down my street!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He was wearing a golf hat and a blazer. Good day. That was magical. That's a moment that i want to happen again. right now.
Anyway. Placentas.

solving problems.

So there's this talk about biological pest control right. There's a company that harvests predators of pests and sells them to farmers and people with bug problems so that the predators can consume or use these pests as hosts. This gets rid of the pest problem without using chemicals.
Here, this is a ted talk about it. I also created some repeat patterns in cad based on this article. But that's not my point.
Here's an aphid after visited by a parasitic wasp.



There's also this other biological pest control using entomopathogenic fungi. This fungi is a parasite to insects and does all sorts of crazy things.

Here, is another ted talk that mentions this at some point.
This is an aphid after visited by an entomopathogenic fungi.


This is what an aphid is suppose to look like, by the way.


But a lot of people seem to think that this whole thing is creepy. Using bugs and fungi, natural enemies of other bugs, as a pest control rather than gross disgusting chemicals that can cause major health problems and damages the nutrients, health, and taste of the fruits and vegetables we consume and count on for survival, is creepy.

So, I've come up with a better, less creepy solution.

Farmers and people with pest problems SHOULD BUY AN ANTEATER.


I mean, look at this guy. Who wouldn't want one of these? He can consume up to 30,000 insects daily! That's a lot! Get a few of these on your farm to roam around and your golden! Plus, it's not like you have to keep buying a new anteater annually, this guy doesn't run out for at least a few years then they have babies! This is such a great idea.

He can also help sweep the kitchen.

AND this is an "aphid" after being visited by an anteater.


What a great return. That's going to make some rich soil for future crops.

yeahh

baleen

humpback whale.

baleen.

Has your mom sent you cacti lately?

Walking is better than riding your bike, and biking is better than driving. The experience is richer (is richer a word?) and it feels better in all ways. Just sayin.

Also, I had been expecting mail from my mom for a few days now. I walked into the room to find 2 packages sitting on my desk after I got back from class. (actually, right after class I walked to Gallery and got a chai latte and blackberry scone, walked through the park, and enjoyed the oral and podial orgasms. it was amaaazing)

But anyway. As I started opening the first package, dirt was falling everywhere. The package was sort of beat up so at first I figured some dirt just got into the package paper and box in transit.



But then I found this.

My mom is somethin else. I need to remember to do things like this for my kids if ever that happens.



She sent me a few Pauls! Paul is my brother, but also a cactus that my mom is growing. He's named after my brother.



You see I brought some Paul to Savannah from home a few months ago. He was in a pot with Douglas, my English Ivy.



But, Paul expired.



So my mom sent me more Pauls!



And pigs and an owl!

I love her.

today