Perhaps the fungi network acts as the đź§ of the Green. The psychoactive effects of some mushrooms on animals is intriguing.
Everyone is excited about mushrooms this year. A friend says it’s because they thrive amidst decay and death, making new life under the rot. I’d never noticed before this summer that the forest is half rot, half life. All the fallen trees, twisting slowly into the ground, all the mushrooms growing on the downed trees, and speckling the trunks with their Turkey Tails and Chicken of the Woods and Shelf Mushrooms. I used to think of the woods as a slowly changing place, turned by seasons, but it’s constantly in motion. If I could get closer, closer, maybe I could hear the leaves sprouting and disintegrating, the fungus spreading underground, and bark cells multiplying.
Out at Echo Lake, I notice all the birches that take root in the rotting stumps, making their homes from decay. How strong those curved roots are, how cunning to find purchase here, in what might look useless. I notice trees perched on cliffs, clinging with curled roots to the dirt, and impossibly arched trunks that reach out over rivers or other trees. My favorite is the pine tree that tilts further and further toward the lake each year but is somehow still alive.
Watch this, say the trees and mushrooms and ferns. There’s still so much living to do here.
Watch how we hang on.
Awesome ! I have always self identified as Vulcan. Mr. Spock was my role model at puberty.
Do you believe that being asexual or aromantic makes someone inherently lgbt?
I think that the phrase “inherently LGBT” is fundamentally misleading.  It’s not a set thing that exists on its own, but rather an alliance of community, a coalition of people with similar (but not identical) experiences and social goals, resulting from an immutable part of their nature that pertains to gender or sexuality.  At various points in history, different groups that are now considered “inherently LGBT” have been excluded from this coalition.  No one who is well-informed and not pushing an agenda could reasonably claim that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals and communities all have the same needs or goals, but they can all benefit from an alliance that fights for their mutual gain. So can other groups, including (but not limited to) asexual and aromantic people.
I almost always advocate for a more inclusive model, with regard to gender and sexuality as well as in other contexts.  I believe that unity and inclusivity is the road toward strength and protection, the acquisition of rights and privileges denied, and a richer and healthier community.  I’ve discussed this a bit before (some examples: [X] [X] [X]), albeit in a more general sense.  Individuals who are inappropriately hateful and horribly mistreat others do not belong in community spaces, but that applies to any member of any group, and is not grounds for exclusion of the whole group.
In short, then, I believe that while no asexual or aromantic person should feel compelled to be a part of the community if they do not wish to be, I think that the LGBT+ community should welcome any aromantic or asexual person who wants to be included with open arms.
🎶And She was🎶
🎶Flying high above the Earth 🎶
and she gone
Jody Scott, the author, created my catch phrase, “Passing for Human”. Good book.
The fact that I Don’t Seem Autistic™ is mostly a sign that I’m spending way too much time and resources pretending I’m allistic so you don’t get uncomfortable. I’m not “high-functioning” or “well-adjusted”, I’m behaving. I had to go through years of abuse so you don’t get embarassed when I flap my hands in public.
Don’t use “You don’t look autistic to me.” as a compliment.
Looks more like one of the “Mushroom Elves” that mystics 🧙‍♀️ see when they drink the right potion.
Beautiful
Awesome 👏.
it begins….
Imagine Dragons, “Radioactive”.
Growth is admitting I too possess toxic qualities & carry unhealed traumas I need to work on
Thank you Mr. Gaiman, you’re writing has had a profound effect on my life.
Neil Gaiman by: Allan Amato