Those With Tales to Tell

Where do migratory birds have their home?

Below are just three screenshots from a series of 16 photos on the Instagram account of somadifusa (Laura Ortiz), of murals she and the tattoo artist Azul Luna (Instagram account azulunailustra) painted in Bogota, Colombia.

I'm captivated by these images both of traveling swallows, some bearing backpacks and baskets, some with shells on their back like hermit crabs, and of hearts that are also nests, or that morph into shells, or sprout flowers and eyes. "Home is where the heart is," or the heart makes the home.

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I found these three paintings at the Thrift'n'Sip Indoor Rummage Sale. There is a seascape, a forest, and a flower garden with a birdbath.

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I've seen a lot of vocabulary abuse recently.

Remigration is the voluntary return to country of origin. If it's not voluntary, it's not remigration. This term covers things like freed slaves moving from America to Africa, or Syrian refugees going back to Syria now that some of them deem it safe. We need this term for such purposes, which right now means defending it from people who use it wrongly.

Refoulement is the forcible movement of refugees from the place they fled to back to the dangerous place they fled from. This is what the American government has done many times, such as sending boats full of Jewish refugees back to Nazi-infested Europe during World War II or the current transfer of refugees back to their country of origin. Call it what it is and cite the historic comparisons, where we've got evidence of people dying because of it.

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These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Reverse Benchmarking
Recipe: "Pretzel Bread Grilled Cheese Sandwiches"
Worldbuilding
Today's Smoothie
Listen to "The Singing, Ringing Tree"
Poetry Fishbowl Themes for Late 2025
Read "Time Off"
Poem: "Fatherhood Is Support"
Poem: "Born and Found and Made"
Poem: "The Way a River Is Made"
Read "A Change in a New World"
Birdfeeding
Poem: "Strange Angels"
Poem: "Meant to Get Dirty"
Poem: "Where We All Meet"
Recipe: "Santorini Stir-Fry with Chicken and Patty Pan Squash"
Today's Adventures
Conservation
Birdfeeding
Creative Jam
Philosophical Questions: Avoidable
Today's Adventures
New Communities
Russian Losses
New Crowdfunding Project: "Take Us North"
Birdfeeding
Politics
Follow Friday 6-13-24: Hetalia
Insect Apocalypse
Sunshine Revival
Books
Birdfeeding
Hobbies: Ceramics
Photos: Dark Gardening
Birdfeeding
Moment of Silence: Brian Wilson
Insect Apocalypse
Hard Things

"Not a Destination, But a Process" has 139 comments. "The Democratic Armada of the Caribbean" has 89 comments.


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


"In the Heart of the Hidden Garden" belongs to the Antimatter and Stalwart Stan thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. It needs $86 to be fully funded. Lawrence shows Stan around the campus at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.


The weather has been warm and wet here. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, two mourning doves, a male cardinal, a catbird, a phoebe, a skunk, a fox squirrel, and at least 2 probably 3 bats. I've heard a red-bellied woodpecker but didn't see it. Privet, dogwood, and mock orange are done blooming. Privet and mock orange are winding down. Zucchini has flower buds. Currently blooming: dandelions, honeysuckle, pansies, violas, marigolds, petunias, red salvia, wild strawberries, verbena, lantana, sweet alyssum, zinnias, snapdragons, blue lobelia, perennial pinks, impatiens, oxalis, moss rose, yarrow, red coreopsis, anise hyssop, firecracker plant, tomatoes, tomatillos, Asiatic lilies, cucumber, astilbe, daylilies, snowball bush, yellow squash. 'Chocolate Sprinkles' tomatoes are starting to show color. Blackberries, and tomatoes have green fruit. Wild strawberries, mulberries, and black raspberries are ripe.

Today is partly cloudy and warm.

I haven't fed the birds yet, but I've seen a few sparrows and house finches. Despite not always seeing them in action, they continue to drain the hopper feeder daily.

EDIT 6/16/25 -- I fed the birds.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 6/16/25 -- I did some work around the patio.

The 'Ambrosia' melon is blooming. The tomatillo has a tiny green lantern fruit. :D

EDIT 6/16/25 -- I picked half a baggie of mulberries in the south lot and savanna.

Yellow pear tomato has green fruit. Daylilies are blooming.

EDIT 6/16/25 -- I picked half a baggie of black raspberries, mostly along the south edge of the prairie garden.

Pinks, coreopsis, and black-eyed Susans are blooming in the prairie garden.

EDIT 6/16/25 -- I trimmed overhanging brush in the ritual meadow.

EDIT 6/16/25 -- I picked half a baggie of mulberries along the road and in the savanna.

The first of the yucca flowers are open in the white garden. :D

In the wildflower garden, purple and yellow coneflowers are forming. Narrow-leaf mountain mint is blooming.

EDIT 6/16/25 --Out of 4 pots of switchgrass, 3 had several seedlings each. I planted those in the prairie garden. They kind of fell apart though. I have some more started. I may wait to plant those until I see roots at the bottom holes.



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This video describes an instance of reverse benchmarking in restaurants.  Instead of trying to mimic what other people do well, identify what they do badly and do that  well. 


I routinely use this in my writing.  I look for things that other people do badly or not at all, then I write those things.  Also I never have the patience to wait around for 20 years while other folks work through the whole identity literature process.  New trait?  Trait-having hero!  Done.  This is how I wind up with things like An Army of One (neurodiverse characters making their own culture), The Bear Tunnels (Native American time travelers), The Moon Door (women with disabilities who become werewolves), The Ocracies (everything but monarchy), The Origami Mage and Path of the Paladins (ace heras), P.I.E. (a hera who doesn't fall for a jerk), Polychrome Heroics (superpowers that involve more than crime and crimefighting), and The Steamsmith (a black, genderqueer, British, steampunk engineer).  

Go ahead, throw me prompts for things that nobody is doing well, or doing at all, in any relevant prompt call.  We can fill that gap together.