quercus

Emma is joined by writer, activist and professor Naomi Klein about her new essay The rise of end times fascism. Naomi points out the new form that right wing authoritarianism has taken in finding ways to exit society and Earth itself.

Naomi co-wrote the essay with Astra Taylor, which you can read here in The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/apr/13/end-times-fascism-far-right-trump-musk

Started working on this area underneath a tree last spring. Common blue violet, eastern columbine and wild geranium make up the groundcover.

I planted Virginia spiderwort too, but the cottontails feasted on them 🐇

And an update on my violet post from last year. They're filling in this area nicely under the elderberry:

Jamie Peck and Sam Beard are joined by Zhandarka Kurti and Jarrod Shanahan to discuss their new book “Skyscraper Jails: The Abolitionist Fight Against Jail Expansion in New York City” from Haymarket Books. What happens when politically underdeveloped abolitionists team up with ladder-climbing non-profit directors and big money philanthropy? Nothing good, that’s what!

Join us as we discuss the heartbreaking, cautionary tale about how a fight to shut down Rikers Island prison was taken over, watered-down, and channeled into a movement to built four of the tallest prisons in the world.

Why does the prison industry develop in response to the failures of capitalism? How was the movement to shut down one prison turned into a movement to open a network of skyscraper jail facilities? Will Rikers Island ever close? Was “Defund the Police” actually just a betrayal of the George Floyd Rebellion? How can our movements win?

Extra credit reading from Jarrod & Zhana :) https://urbanomnibus.net/2017/12/jail-end-jails/
https://brooklynrail.org/2020/07/field-notes/Prelude-to-a-Hot-American-Summer/

Currently resisting the spring cleaning urge! The grass in the front yard is starting to grow, so it won't be too much longer.

The first on my list is thinning out the orange coneflower to make beds in the backyard. The second is grouping up the late boneset that sprouted in random places.

Is the Easter Bunny pagan? Probably not. It seems to have been invented by German-speaking Protestants sometime in the 1600s.

Bibliography:

Stephen Winick, "Ostara and the Hare: Not Ancient, but Not As Modern As Some Skeptics Think," Library of Congress Blogs, April 28, 2016.

Stephen Winick, On the Bunny Trail: In Search of the Easter Bunny, Library of Congress Blogs, March 22, 2016

Nonagenarian cook and great grandmother, Clara, recounts her childhood during the Great Depression as she prepares meals from the era. Learn how to make simple yet delicious dishes while listening to stories from the Great Depression.

Guidance for safe foraging

Brian d'Souza, also known as DJ Auntie Flo, has been experimenting with making music from plants and fungi for the past five years. He uses the plant biodata to trigger notes on his specially built modular synthesizer in a process called biosonification, with the intention of bridging the gap between the natural world and electronic music. He currently runs the A State Of Flo label and substack, focusing on the biological basis for music, new ecosystems and the creation of acoustic ecologies. As Auntie Flo, he recently released his fourth album 'In My Dreams (I'm A Bird And I'm Free)' with one of the singles of 2024 'Green City' - the follow up to the acclaimed 'Radio Highlife' released with Gilles Peterson's Brownswood. His nature based music has been featured on the BBC, 6Music, V&A, Discovery Channel, Tate, Glastonbury, National Trust and more.

'Plants Can Dance (and Mushrooms Sing)', Brian's new concept, debuts on MAJ, combining the realtime sounds of the plants in the MAJ studio with a choice selection of rare ambient, new age, electroacoustic and polyrhythmical vinyl. Records featured include music by Mort Garson, Midori Takada, Nuno Cannavaro, Suzanne Ciani, Flore Libertine and more.

Chrissa Carlson, the former Garden and Nutrition Educator at Baltimore's Hampstead Hill Academy, shows us the steps needed to start a school garden and explains the different components of her school garden that not only makes it an effective space for growing plants, but also an engaging classroom.

If you don't have a lawn of your own to convert, this could be a great project for your neighborhood! Retirement communities or houses of worship are some other possible options.

More about the Baltimore Curriculum Project's Food For Life Program can be found here.

This seems like a tasty, !zerowaste@slrpnk.net way to use an ingredient thought of as trash around these parts.

The recipe doesn't state this, but the bananas should be washed prior to cutting and should not be overripe (no to minimal brown spots).

I haven't tried making this yet, but I also found other recipes using banana peels in curries or in whole banana bread.

Imagine enjoying a starry and fragrant night in the garden of shadow and moonlight. As daylight pollinators are settling down to rest, night pollinators appear for a feeding fest. Night pollinators are drawn by the eerie charm of pale flowers blooming at night. Many people only think of gardens as something to enjoy during the daylight, but moon gardens can be enjoyed during the night and attract night pollinators such as nectar feeding bats and moths. Night pollinators are attracted to the lighter colored and heavily fragrant flowers of night blooming plants like evening primrose and cacti, such as the saguaro. Moon gardens can also attract insects that will invite insect feeding bats.

archive.org

A science class for middle school students at Panorama Middle School commonly involves a trek out to the prairie behind the school, a sketch of native seeds under the microscope or a homework assignment to track the progress of a backyard bluebird from its birdhouse.

Teacher Mark Dorhout created an outdoor education program at the middle school in Panora to “connect (students) to the natural world,” foster environmental stewardship, and give students a real-world application to the science they learn in the classroom.

Once upon a time, the land you tend was stewarded by others – or by nature itself. Learn how to assess your site and the plants that will grow best there.