Archaeology discussion and news

Today is sunny and warm.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 9/8/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 9/8/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 9/8/26 -- I watered the new picnic table garden.  I picked 4 yellow pear tomatoes, 3 red cherry tomatoes, and 2 tiny cucumbers.

EDIT 9/8/26 -- I watered the patio plants, purple-and-white garden, house yard, and old picnic table garden.

I've seen a female cardinal at the hopper feeder.

EDIT 9/8/26 -- I watered the telephone pole garden.

EDIT 9/8/26 -- I gathered seeds from the yellow branching sunflower that healed from a near-total break of the main stem.  Strong healing ability is good to having in sunflowers because of herbivores.  Also a friend said that some seeds I gave him had been tip-nibbled by rabbits, but then produced large single blooms (which single sunflowers cannot normally do).  If I can get the healing factor to set, I can do a separate 'Apollo' landrace.  :D

EDIT 9/8/26 -- I watered the telephone pole garden and the new picnic table again.

I did a bit of work around the patio.

Cicadas and crickets are singing.
 
As it is now dark, I am done for the night.

Climate action keeps stalling, and scientists think they know why

Climate action may be missing a crucial piece. Researchers say models often overlook how human behavior, politics and the climate continuously shape one another.

Slow progress on climate change is often blamed on technology that isn’t ready or political systems that resist action. But a team of scientists argues that the problem begins much earlier, with the way researchers and governments think about climate change in the first place.

They treat the climate and human society as two systems to be linked together, when the two behave as one. If they’re right, governments are planning with tools that treat people as background.


Ah, white people. They're dumb on that topic. They also think that the economy and the environment can be in conflict with each other, when in fact the economy is a subset of the environment. No environment, no economy. We're having a "Coyote and His Anus" problem here.

Conversely, tribal folks -- and anyone else living close to the land -- don't need to be told about climate change. We can feel it. We don't need some government man to pester us to do something about it. We're already doing whatever we can within our own reach, because the Earth told us to do it. Some of us are actually trying to do the job for which we were given thumbs and a big brain in the first place.

( Read more... )

Saxatile means "rock-loving" and describes plants that grow in crevices between stones.  This is one group of plants often grown in rock gardens.  Alpine (mountainous) and succulent (fleshy-leaved) plants are other main groups.

Could We Rebuild Civilisation From Over?

What would happen if humanity disappeared tomorrow? The cities would still stand. Cars would sit abandoned. Power grids would slowly fail. Nature would reclaim everything.

But here's the bigger question: If humans somehow started over from scratch, how long would it take to rebuild civilization? How long to rediscover farming? Build cities? Harness electricity? Create modern technology? And could a second civilization reach our level faster than the first one did?

In this video, we follow humanity's journey from the ruins of our world to the rebuilding of civilization — and the answer may be far more surprising than you think.


Since I love destroying civilization, this sounded fun to discuss.

( Read more... )

Today is partly sunny and warm.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 9/7/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 9/7/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 9/7/26 -- I watered the new picnic table garden.  I picked 10 red cherry tomatoes plus 1 yellow cherry tomato.  I found two big bunches that were ripening, and several more tomatoes are still growing in both.  Also several yellow pear tomatoes are close to ripe.  \o/

EDIT 9/7/26 -- I watered the telephone pole garden.

EDIT 9/7/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I watered the patio plants, house yard, old picnic table, and purple-and-white garden.  

I sprayed weeds in the south lot.

Cicadas and crickets are singing.

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

summerofthe69 is done for the year.  Find links to all the fun smut here.  

So far, two poems have been sponsored and posted.

"All About Removing the Barriers"

"Like Floating Down a Broadening River"


If you're still shopping, now's the time to make your selections. Still available:

"Not for Looks But for Books"
Marjane and friends mourn the passing of Dolly Parton, and plan a memorial library.
87 lines, Buy It Now = $44

"Food That Grows Itself"
After a Fall, a group of people discuss ways to improve their food security without attracting dragons.
209 lines, Buy It Now = $105

"The Single Biggest Boost"
Dhara Lavarnway is struggling to adapt to Mole Traits including blindness. Fortunately the jobs board in Thalassia has options including audio.
245 lines, Buy It Now = $123

"All That Matters Is What You Do"
When Shiv gets a panicky SplatChat message from Persia, he does what he can to help.
476 lines, Buy It Now = $238

Today is sunny and hot, but less so than yesterday -- 80sF instead of 90s.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 9/6/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 9/6/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 9/6/26 -- I trimmed two spaces where I will dig down to see if the sunchokes are setting tubers yet.  Some of them are still blooming, but others are already drying up.  I'm hoping to get tubers from 2 different plants to take to the permaculture club tomorrow.

EDIT 9/6/26 -- My first dig yielded three fleshy roots with growth nodules, but no tubers which must still be in development.  I kept the roots as they could likely be used to grow new plants.  I'll have to try again for tubers next month.

EDIT 9/6/26 -- I bagged the sunchoke roots in damp sand.  Then I cracked 4 yellow peach pits and got 3 good seeds, which I bagged and put in the fridge.

EDIT 9/6/26 -- I watered the new picnic table garden, old picnic table garden, patio plants, purple-and-white garden, and house yard plants.

EDIT 9/6/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I watered the telephone pole garden.  Moths are visiting the zinnias!  :D

Cicadas and crickets are singing.

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

Pete Seeger There was a young women who swallowed a lie with the lyrics

... well, this is timely.