#spinning fields

[anipgarden]

Collecting Milkweed Seeds - All Facts, All Seeds, No Fluff

(OK but please also consider I'm not an ~expert~ I'm not a ~scholar~ I'm just a nerd on Tumblr who really likes milkweed and wanted to make a fun lil post about it)

[Image ID: a green, leafy common milkweed plant (Asclepias syriaca) with five large, ovalish and bumpy green seed pods. The seed pods are currently unopened.]

It’s fall, which means if you haven’t seen them already, now’s the time that milkweed plants will start producing seed pods! (Well, technically, they’re called follicles, but fuck it they’re seed pods).  Each pod has dozens of seeds inside, some species can even have up to 200 seeds, so even collecting just a few can be a good way to boost your pollinator gardening efforts big time! What you do with them then is up to you--adding life to your backyard garden, sharing with friends, making seed bombs--but first you’ve gotta collect them.

The first thing you want to do is identify your milkweed plants--in an ideal world, you’d be able to tell precisely what kind of milkweed you’re collecting from (so you can know precisely what growing conditions that species prefers.) But when they’re dying back, forming pods, and releasing their seeds, it can be hard to tell. It helps to visit sites early, to know what milkweeds are there, and while you’re there you might even find some forming pods. 

It can be helpful to band off the pods early! This will keep the seeds from escaping, so you can come back later and collect them! I would only do this for a couple of pods--each pod has a lot of seed in it, so only taking one or two from each plant should still net you plenty of rewards! When I’m doing this in my backyard, I tend to use rubber bands--the size of rubber band you’ll need varies depending on the species. I’ve also seen people use the lacy-looking jewelry bags to a similar effect--if the pod splits open, all the seeds get trapped in the bag!

[Image ID: the first image is of appears to be swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) with about fifteen long, green, smooth and pointed seed pods. Most of the pods have small black rubber bands wrapped around the midsections. The second image is of what appears to be common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) with two large, ovalish and bumpy green seed pods. A white fine mesh bag has been tied over the pods.]

For people who want to get seeds from unopened pods, you have to be very careful not to force open a pod that isn’t ready--otherwise, the seeds inside won’t fully develop. How do you tell if a pod is ripe? There’s a seam in each pod, and it should open fairly easily with minimal pressure if it’s basically ready. If you’re basically prying it open, you’re too early. The seeds inside should be a nice dark color, and be plump in the middle--if they’re creamy colored or light orange, you’re too early. There may be some undeveloped seeds in each pod (I am talking maybe 1 to 3 here), but if the majority of them are ready, you’re good to go!

[Image ID: a tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) seed pod that has been opened at the seam, revealing dark brown seeds and lots of creamy white floss. Four seeds are floating away from the pod on fluffy white comas. The pod is being held between a white person's fingers.]

I’ve also seen people who go late late late into the season, after most of the pods have already fully split off and released their seeds. Some of the seeds occasionally stay in the pod, so they’ll take the leftovers that didn’t get scattered after winter passes. That’s a fair strategy! I prefer to get mine way early on, so I can get a clear ID of what kind of milkweed it is (some will flower and produce pods at the same time), but if you already got an ID early in the season and then come back later this can also work! But…

[Image ID: several dried brown seed pods have opened fully, releasing a cloud of milkweed floss with seeds attached. Some seeds are still in the pods, but many are primed to float away.]

There is, however, one thing that tends to be a bit annoying about collecting milkweed seeds--and that’s the fluff. These fluffy white bits attached to the seed--called comas--function similarly to the iconic fluffy dandelion seed. A milkweed seed’s coma allows it to float through the air and on the water until it (hypothetically) reaches bare soil or an otherwise suitable start to settle down and germinate. If you’re collecting the seeds for later use, though, that same coma can mean your milkweed seeds are traveling through the air and away from where you’re collecting them, or all over your apartment once you get them home. Removing the comas by hand is an option, but tedious, and still leads to a nice pile of fluffy that will get airborne at the first gust of wind. At the end of the day, for many people trying to collect milkweed seeds, the coma is just an annoying part they dread.

Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to collect milkweed seeds without having to deal with the comas long-term!

[Image ID: A single brown milkweed seed floating on a comparatively huge mess of white fibers.]

Method 1

So this is my favorite method because it's honestly one of the simplest and easiest once you get used to it. You open the pod, grip the top part of the middle ‘pith’ section tight, and gently scrape off the seeds into a bowl or bag. This leaves you with almost no fluff in your collection bin, and you can then toss the middle fluffy part--or I’ve heard of people collecting milkweed fluff for spinning! Most of the videos I’ve seen on it use common milkweed or other large milkweed pods as an example--however, I’ve successfully done this with smaller milkweed pods like A. curassavica as well. 

Method 2

This method is one I’ve used in the past. Take the seeds and fluff and put them into a bag (paper or plastic) and add a coin or two. Shake the bag around--a lot. The coin will dislodge the comas from the seeds. The seeds will then drop to the bottom of the container, and the fluff will float around on the top. I’ve also seen this with buckets and blocks, like in the video below!

Method 3

I’ve seen a handful of people discuss burning the floss of the seeds! Apparently the seeds themselves aren’t damaged badly by the fire, though honestly this is a method that I am simply too anxious to try myself.

Method 4

This was a method I found while I was looking for other methods people have done. Apparently, you can just roll the pod between your hands and it’ll work to dislodge the seeds? I may have to try it next time!

Hopefully this advice is helpful for you all! I know collecting seeds was a hassle for me before I learned my favorite method. If I had a nickel for every time I got yelled at for releasing milkweed fluff into the house...

If you've got a method that I haven't heard about yet, let me know!! I'm always down to learn more about milkweed, and it can also help someone else down the line!

#milkweed #asclepias #seed saving #seed collecting #pollinator garden #outdoor gardening #gardening #flowers #ani rambles #out of queue #i think this was my first time doing image descriptions??? if they suck ass let me know and I'll Make Adjustments As Recommended #i've seen people talk about spinning the milkweed floss??? but I saw online that it was too brittle to be spun???? #but either way if you wanna save the floss and do Stuff with it go for it #did you know. or actually this is me functioning from memory. #but if I recall correctly I believe in either the WWI era or the WWII era #people would pay kids to go around fields collecting milkweed seed pods and pay them by the pound #and then they'd take the floss and use it to fill life jackets for soldiers? #i think this was less of a 'extorted child labor sweat shop' deal and more of a like #'hey kids wanna earn some cash and also be a Patriotic Citizen? go find some seed pods and we'll give you money' #which i guess many people WOULD consider an Extorted Child Labor kinda deal but like #idk seems like a chill deal to me #anyways hope you guys like this post #Youtube

[upsidedog]

stranger thing’s biggest tragedy is that it takes place before dance dance revolution was made. every modern au should have the party lamenting over the fact max has the top score in “butterfly” expert mode. in general my favorite thing about modern aus is just thinking about stuff like mike writing crappy creepypasta and erica running a my little pony tumblr page. this is my kind of nostalgia bait

#stranger things #max mayfield #mike wheeler #erica sinclair #while i think old arcades are very aesthetic i think the party would have a field day in like a chuck e cheeses #lucas would practice basketball on the hoops game dustin would #know how many spins until big bass game pays out mike would think playing guitar hero is the equivalent of playing real guitar #will would destroy in racing games and el in claw machines max is a rhythm game master

[beautifulstorms]

Yuna Aoki, FS She • NHK Trophy 2023

#fskateedit #figure skating #nhk 2023 #yuna aoki #i keep coming back to this performance and crying my eyes out #it's like. yuna was kaori/marin cohort of juniors yk #something special about seeing a skater i loved as a junior but had entirely forgotten about make their grand prix debut ~6 seasons later #and go clean on home ice after going through injury and inconsistency and coaching changes. double standing ovations! like! #she's still got her specialties (the 3lz-3lo 2a-eu-3f bidirectional spinning the layback position) #but also a refinement and musicality and maturity that the rest of the field at NHK didn't have #but also that SHE didnt have last time i saw her skate! fuck!! #sorry guys the 'career trajectory' got me. man. #genuinely hope she does well at nats and gets sent to 4cc and has a resurgence a la sota yamamoto #i really have missed skating like this ;;; #also robbed deserved like 20 points higher etc etc but she was so happy in the k&c i can't even be mad

[meirimerens]

Pleiades

pathologic filipino AU commission for @salidummay 🌌

#IT WAS TRUE IT WAS SO TRUE!!!!!!! #thank you again for letting me... spinning in a circle dance in a field rn etc #my art #commissions #carabao beautiful beautiful creature... the world is full of animals it is #pathologic #patholgic au #artemy burakh

[jamiesfootball]

As I turn over the ideas raised in the previous reblog, specifically in regards to aro representation and how a lot of aros don’t want to read about a character being aro, they want to read a story where they don’t have to think about how they’re aro-

And what I think I’ve come up with is that we’re not looking for someone to represent our struggle and therefore normalize our experiences, because to us our experiences are already normalized. The struggle doesn’t come from feeling weird- it’s largely from feeling normal but then being told by others ‘hey, that’s weird.’

Which turns into this phenomenon of aro representation where the wish fulfillment is simply being allowed to keep your own perspective without the narrative hitting you with a steel chair micro aggression about ‘how the world actually works.’

#aro week #aromanticism #and bringing this around to ship fic for a second- I like ship fic. ship fic can be fun #but whats not fun is having to spin the wheel on whether the author is going to pull the #‘they were such IDIOTS for not realizing those were romantic gestures because ‘’ANYONE’’ could see-‘ #that’s the line that always kicks me right out of the narrative #just takes my own perspective of the world and punts me down the field #in fact here’s a fun way to incorporate a little aro perspective into your fics #have one person disagree or otherwise not recognize a gesture as inherently romantic #and then follow it up by *not* calling that character an idiot #this could be literally any side character! your mains can still hope and worry about whether they’re reading into their crush’s actions

[if-loki-was-a-fox]

Cleo standing in a field of dandelions with Scott and Gem saying "that's so hot" every time she does something hdsjkahfkjs I'm dying-

#secret life spoilers #'cus her task is to spin around in a field of multiple kinds of flowers #except that everyone *but* her knows what her task is and has to play “warmer colder” with her #secret life #zombiecleo #sombie cleo

[outismm]

OUTIS send help, Doctor Who is the gift that keeps on giving 😭😭😭 i thought the Toymaker would be the end of it but folks in my Toymaker server made a few jokes about Six. and i had -no idea- about what kind of character Six is. holy FUCK i am in LOVE with this pompous, arrogant asshole 😖💖💖💖💖 he's so cute!!!!! so abrasive!!!! so......PASSIONATE!!!!!! i didn't know he was such a freak!!!! yes yes yes please do rewatch his era because i'm doing it for the first time and having a blast 😂💖

yes,,,, YYYYEEESSSSS. This is perhaps the best development that could have happened. I need you to know how quickly I scrambled downstairs like some sort of Ghoul to try and find the old boxsets and AUGHE!!!!

I FORGOT WHAT AN ABSOLUTE CHARACTER HE IS!!!

He's got such an incredible amount of drama and charisma and wild-eyed charm inside of him, I can't believe how this man has slipped to the back of my mind for so long. Even outside of his borderline regeneration-induced-mania during his first storyline, he's just. such a delight. Colin Baker is having the time of his life delivering every line, and you can TELL

Look at him - what's not to love?

Also, this isn't directly related to our dear multicoloured man, but - thank you for giving me an excuse to Stare Affectionately at Classic Who! There are so many of those delightful quirks and silly set-pieces you can only really find in early 70s-80s sci-fi, sprinkled all throughout, I just,,, ah <3333 it has been so long

OKIE IM RAMBLING BUT >:) EHEHE I cannot wait to see you slip further and further into Doctor Who Fevers. Come yell with/at me anytime, I love seeing ppl experience Classic Who and all the wonderfully wild things it has to offer

#I FORGOT HOW SNIPPY AND SARCASTIC HE WAS POST-REGEN #I MEAN HE ALWAYS IS TO SOME DEGREE BUT ESPECIALLY SO RIGHT AFTER.... #“that's three 'I's in one breath - makes you sound a rather /egotistical/ young lady” SIXXXXXX <3333 #I do also love Peri being like '>:( god-DAMN you're ugly and old and mean' RIGHT OFF THE /BAT/ AMSDNASMND #AND HIM BEING LIKE 'clearly im having some sort of breakdown. I need to become. a hermit' #STAR I AM SPINNING AROUND W/ U IN A FIELD. HAPPY DAYS ALL AROUND. #I know 6's run is controversial bc he's a lot more arrogant but tbh. so far I'm having a lot of fun. Batting my lashes at him. #call him a showpony because I'm going to ride h- <- outis is forcefully dragged away #I think I only really watched 6 w/ my nan so the memories are more sparse than some of the other docs #a bit more familiar w/ 4th bc he was around for 17234823 billion years (affectionate) #but AUGH <3!!! SIX!!! HE IS SUCH A GOOD TIME!! I'M ENJOYING RE-DISCOVERING HIM SO VERY MUCH!! #also the background music is so good??? like the music in The Twin Dilemma is amazing?? that little musical sting?? #I can't remember if it's like that all throughout this season but AUGH <33 Classic Who you never let me down #I also love his little gestural quirks. whenever he fiddles behind his ear I feel my heart go <333333 MANSDMSAN #ANYWAYS ANYWAYS. outis rambles in the tags. an extremely expected development MNASDMAN #OKIES GOOBIE. STAR HAVE SO MUCH FUN. #doctor who #sixth doctor

[transingthoseformers]

Bayverse is kinda fucked up because the fight scenes being so messy actually makes sense considering how many moving parts they have.

Shit gets ripped off/out, sparks fly, machinery gets all fucked up, there's fire, everything around them is just Absolutely Destroyed

#transformers #transformers bayverse #it actually makes sense #don't get me wrong i also like how tfp depicts the damage and a lot of the fight scenes #and i super loved earthspark's fight scenes #but bayverse scenes have this grittiness the entire series has #... ykw sure it's a series idgaf #man i love the moving parts. nothing is still and they feel so alive #i am a firm believer in optimus's finials moving more #and plating flaring and wing positions and steam and optics spinning and hearing all the internal mechanisms #and feeling the fucking em fields! i bet a em field feels a lot like old school tv static that fluxes with emotion #a particularly upset mech might have an em field that feels borderline painful to be around like getting mildly electrocuted #don't ask how i know what that feels like

[shadamytrash777]

I love the interpretation that Amy's classic red dress has a bunch of fluffy white petticoats under it like Lolita style. It's so adorable

#to be in a lacy and fluffy petticoat spinning around or making flower crowns in a field!! #amy rose #sonic headcanons

[pinacoladamatata]

Everyone got these beautiful headcanons for Astarion and I'm sitting in the corner like a weirdo thinking about how after he was locked in a tomb for a year, "not moving for months" he would have had the Worst case of adhesive capsulitis. Ever. "Months of clawing at the door". This man's rotator cuffs are probably a Wreck.

#what he needs is actually a good RCR with probable capsular release and maybe some PRP #possibly mvasc and bmac too #actually i have decided that vampirism in forgotten realms works like prp / rejuv therapies #i have just decided this. #listen i dont want to get all medical on here....where i come to be stupid . but.... #i think that fae'run could havea fuckin field day with researching the affects of platelet rich plasma injections for vampires/undead #dont ask me specifics i think they probably spin it down via gravity magic

[msboutofcontext]

#magic school bus #out of context #ms frizzle #the end #or is it #the final field trip #spiders #praying mantis #Spins a Web

[gayteddy]

mood board for when u have two boyfriends and u love them both so much

#sorry i am frolicking through a field of flowers rn #doing a little spin and jump #while birds chirp and the wind blows softly

[meownotgood]

I love aki and I love everyone who loves aki, let's all love aki together!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#shower aki in more love!!!!! #if you love aki too then me and you are holding hands right now and we're spinning in a circle together #in a flower field and there's flowers everywhere it's like a big meadow #thanks everyone who helps me indulge in my hyperfixation on funny topknot man #you make me feel happy and comfortable with my autistic self

[theacewithmace]

it's still so funny to me that Popee canonically becomes a scientist. bitch seriously got a PhD in clownery first then a PhD in mechanical engineering second

#going w mechanical engineering cuz of Phaeton but he’s also drawn working w chemicals and dissecting(?) Kedamono so i’m just guessing #i’m dumb and know nothing about different scientific fields so if mechanical engineering makes no sense pretend i put something else lol #ptp #popee the performer #spin’s bitching

[alwaysoc]

#YES! GIVE ME THAT FANFIC ANGST! #IT'LL MAKE ME CRY BUT IT'S WORTH IT! #it's just so rare to see Katarina so self-depricating in the first place #but now she has good reason to be #if I was her I would be too! #Hamefura #honestly On The Verge of Doom is SO much better than I thought it would be! #like new plot #new struggles #Katarina's done a lot of horrid things but she's desperately trying to make up for them #hustle hustle hustle! #my poor baby doesn't have a big harem that she personally helped to rely on #like Alan and Keith (Keith especially) are such DIFFERENT people! #Alan Nicol and Sophia hardly appear #and only Geordo (and maybe Mary and Maria) seem to actually be lovestruck and that isn't until towards the end #this means that lots of the characters also act differently with each other! #Keith and Geordo don't have a rivalry and it's more of like a “Keep her safe will you?” #we get more insight into Maria being all insecure and don't see her mother at all #because even if Katarina still wanted to see how real fields looked #she wouldn't have any reason to go to Maria's hometown if she feels like she's made Maria suffer so heavily! #which makes sense #I adore that there's more focus on sword fighting too! #also Sienna is the sweetest baby ever! it's a shame that she doesn't appear at all in canon but it makes sense #anyway! yes! Verge of Doom is good! #I finished it all in one four-hour take! #I wouldn't mind getting maybe an anime spin-off based on Verge of Doom #goooosh! I love it! I'm going to go read some fluffy fanfic stuff now!

[trilobel]

@booshfest first Booshmas prompt! First kiss, exploration, school. Let's gooo

#the mighty boosh #fanart #booshlr art #howince #vince noir #howard moon #noelian #booshlr #art #noel fielding #julian barratt #first kiss #spin the bottle #is it just a game thought? #school au