🚨COOL CATERPILLAR ALERT🚨

The other adorable millies who arrived last week: Spirostreptida sp. ‘Gorontalo’. A little larger than the Centrobolus, but still one of the mid-sized species.

“why do i believe this” and “who benefits from me believing it” are the first steps to decolonization and we should all be doing this more

Decided to do Avian August five days late!

monarch

Kate Donachie, Clouds Are Pushing in Grey Reluctance, 2009, Oil on canvas

As your Goth Auntie is apparently in the grips of Goth Nostalgia ...

Three books that were good examples of the mood of 90s goth:

Actually written in the 90s: Lost Souls by Poppy Z. Brite. Content warning: if you're someone who is uncomfortable with taboo themes in fiction, give this a pass.

Not written in the 90s, but set then and captures the mood: In the Blood by Miranda Luna. It certainly has writing flaws, but definitely hits the Goth Nostalgia button for me.

Also not written in the 90s, but damn, all of us wanted the goth club in this book to exist. Gothique by Kyle Marffin. The writing is clunky in places (and has one plotline too many, IMO), but it's still a nostalgia rush.

All three of them are, yes, vampire novels, and I would put content warnings on all three for people who want to avoid taboo themes or unhealthy relationships. (If you are one of those folks, I suggest avoiding vampire fiction altogether, but that's a different discussion.)

Some more ripe berry varieties.

Jostaberry, yellow raspberry, black raspberry, Japanese wineberry, polarberry, white currant, red gooseberry and balloonberry.

Amazingly fun and unusual commission for @solidagold of a goldenrod plant, also known as solidago.