#western sycamore

[spacefinch]

Story time!

When I was in seventh grade... well, let's just say it was not the best time of my life. Whenever I was feeling overwhelmed or upset (which was often), I would go sit outside on the steps. It's probably worth mentioning that the building where I went to sixth and seventh grade was one of those very small quick-build school buildings with no indoor hallways.

Anyway: during my time outside, I got to know a pair of western kingbirds that lived in the schoolyard. Eventually, I decided to give them names: Cable and Sycamore, after their favorite perches. (The anchoring cable of the school ropes course and the big sycamore tree.) During a particularly rough school year, I looked forward to seeing these two birds. I got to know them as individuals.

And the reason I knew they were the same two kingbirds every time I saw them? Kingbirds (like most tyrant-flycatchers) are very territorial. Sometimes I would see just one, sometimes I would see both, so I naturally assumed they were mates. Of course, since male and female kingbirds look alike, I had no idea of telling who was who.

The building where I sat on the steps to watch the kingbirds has been torn down. The big sycamore tree is also no more. And I don't know what became of Cable and Sycamore. Western kingbirds have a fairly short lifespan (the oldest one on record was almost 7 years old), and I don't know how old these ones were when I first met them. It's been several years since I last saw them, so I'm almost certain Cable and Sycamore have passed away. However, I still see kingbirds in that part of town during the spring and summer. Perhaps some of them are the children or grandchildren of the two that I got to know all those years ago.

And yes, I got the idea to name the kingbirds from the way Martin names animals in Wild Kratts. I don't often give wild animals names, since I usually can't tell individuals apart, but if I am sure I've been seeing the same individual animal (or the same pair of birds, in this case) multiple times, then I give them a name.

Story time over. I was just thinking about my kingbird friends and I just had to tell you guys about them. I hope that wherever they are now-- be it on this earth or in the bird afterlife-- that there are plenty of bugs for them to catch.

#birdposting #finch rambles #western kingbird #wild kratts #story time #cable and sycamore #finch lore

[20th-century-railroading]

CGW station at Sycamore, IL manned by 5 personnel, a very important center for the CGW on June 23, 1962 by Marty Bernard Via Flickr: Roger Puta photograph

#cgw #chicago great western #1962 #trains #passenger train #freight train #history #sycamore #illinois

[emperornorton47]

Chromed sycamores

#Western sycamores #Chrome effect #Condominiums #photoshopped #portola hills #orange county #california #photo #digital #original photographers

[fatehbaz]

On Saturday, August 2, 2014, the water supply for the city of Toledo, Ohio, was poisoned. Officials issued an unequivocal order to the half million residents connected to the municipal intake: Don’t drink, cook, or brush your teeth with the water. [...] Stores ran out of bottled water, leaving residents to queue up at local fire stations [...]. The culprit was a bright green plume of Microcystis, a cyanobacterium that thrives in warm water [...]. In spring, rains wash a pulse of nutrients off the surrounding region’s fertilized farms and send it down the Maumee and Sandusky Rivers and into western Lake Erie. [...] Tests showed that the city’s water contained dangerous levels of microcystin, a liver toxin produced by the bloom.

The source of the problem stretches for thousands of square miles across northwestern Ohio and eastern Indiana. The rich earth [...] in the region produces hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of soybeans and corn, as well as wheat, vegetables, pork, and poultry. The landscape is a vast, flat expanse of tidy fields and modest farmhouses crisscrossed with county roads — but it wasn’t always this way.

Centuries ago, this part of the Midwest was a wild expanse of wet forest and marsh stretching across a million acres, and early settlers who slogged through the muck and mosquitoes called the place the Great Black Swamp. [...] On an 1808 map, the swamp, which covered most of northwestern Ohio, was designated as “land not worth a farthing.” 

But settlers came anyway, felling the giant sycamores and oaks to create roads, and digging miles of drainage trenches to slowly bleed the water away from the muck. [...]

They [”the wetlands”] are considered a menace, a threat, a thing to be overcome. These attitudes are enshrined in state law, which makes impossible any action, including wetland restoration, that slows the flow of runoff through those miles of constructed drainage ditches [...].

[S]oldiers recorded the striking bounty of the Black Swamp and Lake Erie’s southwestern shore. On an April morning in 1813, two hungry soldiers stationed at Fort Meigs, near present-day Toledo, walked down to the Maumee River. The clear waters swarmed with perch, muskellunge, sturgeon, and catfish. Plunging spears into the water at random, they caught 67 fish in 30 minutes, often killing two or three with a single stroke. Every river mouth west of the Sandusky held dense beds of wild rice, where waterfowl settled to feed, then rose in flocks that darkened the sky. The rice stalks stood taller than a man’s head: to feed, ducks grabbed the stems with their feet and tugged the seed heads down to the water. [...]

In 1859, the Ohio General Assembly passed a law authorizing county commissioners to construct drainage ditches. Farmers benefiting from ditch construction shared the cost. The other Midwestern states also enacted laws authorizing drainage districts, enabling the construction of vast networks of ditches that drained great swathes of land — a mission that required investment and coordination, and could not have been accomplished by individual landowners.

Through the work of drainage districts, the Corn Belt states would lose more than 95 percent of their native wetlands. [...]

Some enterprising soul tested the abundant clay that lay a foot or two beneath the soil of the Black Swamp, and found that it made excellent tiles.

By 1880, more than 50 tile factories operated in northwest Ohio, and the Black Swamp was dismembered and used to feed an accelerating and diversifying cycle of human industry.

The great wetland trees — ash, elm, oak, sycamore — were felled and used to build houses, make furniture, and power the railroads that sprouted up across Ohio. In the 1860s, Ohio’s railways consumed one million cords of wood each year as fuel, and an unknown quantity for ties. The discovery of underdrainage created a growing demand for tile. All this drove an orgy of forest clearing and land draining which in the course of five decades, from 1870 to 1920, completely erased the Black Swamp. A wilderness went up in the smoke from railroad engines, and flowed in drainage ditches down to the Maumee and Sandusky, which began to run murky and lost their once-bountiful populations of fish.

Among the descendants of the settlers who conquered the Black Swamp, drainage is viewed as sacred, while wetland restoration borders on the profane. In terms of water quality, a prime place to create wetlands would be where they intercept the flow of polluted water in farm ditches. That could cause water to back up and flood the fields, however, and it is forbidden under Ohio’s ditch laws, which have changed little since 1859.

-------

All text, images, and captions published by: Sharon Levy. “Learning to Love the Great Black Swamp.” Undark. 31 March 2017. [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks added by me.]

[go-scottishgal14]

LET'S SAVE THIS 550 YEAR OLD TREE!!

'Darwin's oak' to be felled to make way for Shrewsbury bypass -- note: planners have no other place to run the roadway???

DAMIEN GAYLE Updated 1 November 2023 at 6:50 pm, Daily Mail

As an eight-year-old, Charles Darwin may have sat in the shade beneath its boughs and climbed its branches. Two hundred years later, “Darwin’s oak” has been handed a death sentence to make way for a new road to bypass Shrewsbury.

Along with eight other veteran trees, the 550-year-old, open-grown oak tree, which has a girth of 7 metres (23ft), stands in the path of the planned Shrewsbury North West Relief Road (NWRR), an £80m bypass linking the northern and western parts of the town.

Despite a long-running campaign to save the ancient tree and its fellows, its fate was sealed on Tuesday night when Shropshire county council’s 11-member planning committee narrowly approved the new road, by six votes to five.

“It all ties in with Darwin’s theory of evolution,” said Rob McBride, a tree campaigner. “There’s too many dinosaurs on that committee.”

Shropshire county council describes the NWRR as the “next step in completing the ‘missing link’ in Shrewsbury’s road network”, completing a ring around the town of nearly 75,000 people. Proponents claim it will free up road space and take traffic out of the town centre, thereby improving air quality, reducing journey times and boosting the whole county’s economy.

“I absolutely accept that the NWRR divides opinions, but I’m confident that it will make a huge difference to people, not only within the town, but also in the surrounding villages,” said Dan Morris, Shropshire council’s cabinet member for highways, after the planning committee’s decision.

But critics say the planned new road “decimates” one of the last vestiges of countryside remaining in Shrewsbury. It will bisect the town’s “green wedge”, a green space that extends almost into the heart of the town, which McBride described as one of the few local areas not yet marred by development.

For five centuries, Darwin’s oak has stood as a landmark within that band of nature. It stands close to The Mount, the 1800 home of Robert Darwin, the father of Charles Darwin, and in countryside the naturalist explored extensively as a boy as he developed his love and curiosity for nature.

“It’s a majestic, impressive tree,” said McBride. “You can see it straight across the meadow as you come near the River Severn. There’s this low meadow and then it rises up into a hedgerow there. [It’s] just a brilliant landmark tree that many people, many residents use … to find solace and to connect with nature and to repair themselves, really.”

Shropshire’s decision came in the face of significant local opposition. About 5,000 objections to the new road were overruled by the planning committee when it passed the plan. Not only that, the Woodland Trust, the tree conservation charity, said the road’s approval rides roughshod over national planning rules that ought to protect ancient and veteran trees except in “wholly exceptional circumstances”.

Jack Taylor, the lead campaigner at the Woodland Trust, said: “Just weeks after the iconic Sycamore Gap tree was lost, we are now faced with the loss of another iconic tree. The narrow approval of the Shrewsbury North West Relief Road is a dark day for the environment and our natural heritage as it threatens the loss of this living legend, numerous other irreplaceable veteran trees, and will damage nearby ancient woodland. The UK needs better protection for these cathedrals of nature, before they are condemned to history.”

Local campaigners are still hopeful they can save the tree. A petition calling on the council to revisit its decision has reached 2,500 signatures. But if they fail, it means another living piece of Britain’s natural history will be lost for ever.

Shropshire Council has a facebook page where, hopefully, comments about this can be left; email to: [email protected]; write to: Feedback and Insight Team, Shropshire Council, Shirehall, Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY2 6ND. PLEASE WRITE THAT TAKING THIS TREE AND THE OTHERS DOWN IS JUST WRONG, THERE MUST BE ANOTHER WAY TO DO THIS ROADWAY WITHOUT TAKING DOWN THESE ANCIENT, MAJESTIC AND HISTORIC TREES!!

#DARWINSOAK #SHROPSHIECOUNCIL #550YEAROLDTREE

[attaboy-art]

smile for the camera baby

[image id: a mock vintage magazine cover layout with Desmond Sycamore in the center, smiling widely, with one hand on his hip and the other holding a shovel over his shoulder. he is on a bright orange background. the title of the magazine is in big off-white lettering and reads "archaeology." the magazine is dated may 1966. on the left and right sides are titles of fake articles featuring within, from top to bottom to left to right: "Desmond Sycamore: Discovery of a Lifetime", "Mended Bones: Love in Early Society", "Women and Children First: Through time", "Brother, where art thou? Bog bodies found in Western England", "What makes a weapon? Examples from around the world", "Fire Burials: Evidence (or lack thereof)", and "Names and their Legacy". /.end id.]

#so it turns out that the schedule i gave myself for my classes allowed for a three day weekend #sooooooo. ya boys back <3 #i still have a ton of work 2 do in terms of My Project (aka The Master Plan) but ive found that queueing stuff up is #a really good stress reliever #bc i used to just push myself to post even if i had a bajillion undone sketch pages #but now its like wow... i can take my time... i can post whatever #anyways #I cannot stop fucking thinking about des. #hope u gais like this :] #i got a new brush and it SAVED this piece #originally it was gonna be painted til i saw this rlly rlly neat procreate brush in my explore page #and i simply had to get it #anyways x2 #sighs. sobs. i wish azran legacy was better. i really do. but its still good enough to make me feel things for desmond #something something the burden an older brother carries with them throughout their life #anyways x3 #art #professor layton #desmond sycamore #azran legacy #pl #descole #fanart

[birdstudies]

July 4, 2022 - Violet-crowned Hummingbird (Leucolia violiceps)

Found in western Mexico and a small area of southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico in the United States, these hummingbirds live in canyons and other habitats near rivers and streams. They eat nectar, small insects, and spiders, capturing insects in the air or picking them from leaves while hovering. Males sing and perform aerial displays but do not participate in nesting. Females build nests near the ends of branches, often in sycamore trees, from plant down, spiderwebs, lichen, seeds, and leaves and lay clutches of two eggs.

#violet-crowned hummingbird #hummingbird #leucolia violiceps #bird #birds #illustration #art #water #birblr art

[alatismeni-theitsa]

Because the West has it's society foundation based on Ancient Greece, they think they are familiar with it and think they can make changes for anything related to it.

The reason they don't do it to other countries' mythologies is because it's something foreigner to them like Indian, Asian mythology. They view it as something new, they will study it, but will never feel like they know it.

That's why so many USians and Europeans still make projects, movies, series, books still about Greek mythology, because they are more used to it.

Yup, that's the deeper reason I detect as well. I would also argue they don't exactly based their societies on ancient Greece. I mean, 1800 yrs ago of course they took some important elements and I don't deny it was transformative to some degree at the time and its echoes exist even today. But I feel as if the amount of ownership they feel over our heritage is borderline (negative) nationalistic. They are not familiar with the whole of ancient Greece, they actually only know by default something like 1% of it, which one would expect to be much more if their countries were based on that heritage.

They just point out a few ancient systems and boom! "Ancient Greece belongs to all of us". Franz, dear, you can't even suspect what these people ate for breakfast. Chill. Besides, there's a very good chance your medieval compatriots had no idea about these things until Greek war immigrants came to your land with the ancient texts they preserved.

Next thing imma say "Britain belongs to us" because at the moment our political system is parliamentary democracy (A quite removed democracy system from the one of ancient Athens), because Shakespeare had a huge impact on our theatre, because their poets and philosophers have radically influenced many of our important figures. Or I could say "the US belongs to the Greeks", because we are slowly Americanized in all aspects of our lives. Oh, it doesn't go like that? Oh, we need more than basic systems and a few trends to claim a culture?? How interesting!

And notice how they never say "based on" things about Middle Easterners, who did CRAZY good progress on astronomy, poetry, literature, physics, mathematics (they defined the form of the numbers we use today, like 1,2,3...!!), philosophy (they expanded Aristotle's and Plato's philosophy and became the next very famous school of thought), fucking ALGORITHMS and medicine (they freaking discovered that the heart pumps blood to the body which is hella important in my humble opinion 😂) Sure, sometimes Europe and the Middle East-Balkans were isolated but you cannot tell me Westerners took NOTHING of these basic inventions that define our world today. The site we converse on is based on an Algorithm. But there they can afford to make the distinction between "I take elements" and "I base my culture on theirs".

>> Obviously #notallwesterners and if one is a Classics student we are not gonna hang them from the sycamore (πλατάνι) of our village, or directly assume they are disrespectful. These discussions and rants take place so biases are detected and the field becomes better.

#I went on a rant but it wasn't directed to you anon #i just wanted to vent #answered #classics

[kaiasky]

💤 how many people involved in the dream. any major landmarks?

A formless amount of people kinda. like, it felt like a lot of voices, but they weren't attached to People.

Not really any major landmarks, but the southern california riparian ecosystem. the california bay laurel. the western sycamore. frogs.

#thanks for the ask!

[oceandiagonale]

Wurmple anon hiii! I am so glad you know the Dies Irae omg 😂 my friends all think I’m a conspiracy theorist HAHA Tbh I wouldn’t be surprised if it was backwards! Its EVERYWHERE in Sweeny Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Its flipped, backwards, etc the composer really went ‘its all death’ in that musical😂 If you’re ever itching for more music theory vids try Sideways on Youtube. I was in choir myself and used to play piano so I like hearing bits of music theory sometimes lol

PSHHHHH it's not even a conspiracy, it's one of the foundational motifs of Western music! they should listen for it next time they go see a movie tbh, it’s even in cartoons and massive franchises and there are YouTube videos out there just compiling examples of it in media (that we watched in music history classes back in the day) 😂😂😂

FKJSHDKFJFISHF

prof. tulip at 3am, blasting 5 media dies irae compilations at the exact same time: IF PROFESSOR SYCAMORE CAN MAKE UP THE FAIRY TYPE I CAN HAVE THE SOUND TYPE IT’S THERE FOR THE TAKING IF THE LEAGUE WOULD JUST -- OH SURE THEY THINK GROUND AND ROCK ARE DIFFERENT BUT THEY IGNORE HOW LOUDRED CAN USE SOUND TO MAKE FIGHTING-TYPE MOVES LESS EFFECTIVE HOW IS THAT NOT ITS OWN TYPE --

echo:

#oceandi answers #anonymous #echo #others' ocs

[outofangband]

Flora, Fauna, and Environment of Neldoreth (Updated and Added To)

,Flora, fauna, environment/geography of Arda

I did Region here!

Originally requested by @actuallyfingolfin

I did try to organize these more into sections of the forest (openings and glades, margins and edges, moist or shaded soil, etc) and I don’t know if it will be of interest to anyone else but if anyone is interested in sending me a section of a habitat or location for me to elaborate on I will. Or a season!​

I put a lot of work into this!

Neldoreth is a forest of beech trees, part of Northern Doriath and contained within Melian’s Girdle. It was here that Lúthien was born and later imprisoned to prevent her from rescuing Beren. It was bordered by the River Esgalduin on the South towards the Northeast and and River Mindeb on the West, both tributaries to Sirion. The tallest beech tree in the forest was Hírilorn and it was here that Lúthien was imprisoned.

Doriath has three forests making up its kingdom; Neldoreth, Nivrim, a small forest of mostly oak trees West of Sirion and Region, in Southern Doriath, a forest of mostly holly where Menengroth was located.

I’ve been thinking a lot about potential biomes ecoregions for Beleriand and the other realms. Ecoregions are patterns of ecologically and geographically defined regions. A comparable biome are temperate broadleaf and mixed forests with English lowlands beech forests being a potential ecoregion.

I also have specific headcanons mentioned here about far Eastern Doriath closer to the river Celon which I will talk about when I do far Eastern Doriath and the lands North of Iant Iaur. These are closer to North Atlantic moist forests and even humid mixed forests. 

Neldoreth is a lush, deciduous forest with moderate to heavy rainfall depending on the season. Snowfall is rare.

There are a number of genuses directly referenced in canon in relation to Neldoreth; beech, chestnuts, oak, elm, hemlock, species of fern, grasses, the flower Niphredel which was a creation of Tolkien himself but inspired by snowdrops (though having more petals creating a star like flower) and the white field rose.

The beech trees were likely a combination of European, Chinese and Japanese blue beech and dwarf beech with other trees dotting the boundaries and occasionally mixing with the beeches in groves throughout Neldoreth. These include common ash, common hornbeam, sycamore, sessile oak, common oak, fluttering elm and horse chestnuts.

The forest floor is covered in ferns such as alpine lady fern, bracken, hay scented fern, hard fern, hart tongue fern and mountain wood fern as well as common aloe moss, bog groove moss, red bog moss and more  . There are also grassy groves and openings such as those mentioned in the Lay of Leithian. It is possible these were created through the magic of Melian. Woodland opening and transitional habitats are particularly interesting to me.  Woodreeds are one possible example. Spindle, nettle leaved bellflower, bitter vetch, grow on the Western edges of the forest South of Mindeb 

Bluebells,, wood anemone, primrose, dog’s mercury, yellow archangle, snow drops, yellow wood violet, wood sorrel, greater starwort, and enchanter’s nightshade are a small selection of flowering plants. 

As I said, send a section of the forest or a season and I can go into more detail! 

Large bitter cress, water aven,  flag lilies, purple marshlocks, common stinging nettles wild parsnip, wild thyme, marsh ragwort and brooklime (among many others, see below) grow in abundance by the banks of Esgalduin and smaller tributary streams. 

Barnacle and beard lichens, script lichen, beechwood sickener, earthstar, common bird’s nest fungus, inkcap, fly agaric, yellow brain and velvet shank are a selection of the fungi and lichens that can be found in Neldoreth. 

As a number of butterflies feed upon beeches and the other trees common to Neldoreth, Neldoreth is home to a variety of butterflies and moths. Large and light emeralds, winter moths, purple shot copper, cherry bark moth, mourning cloak, wood white, large tortoiseshell, wall brown  olive skipper, common blue as well as gothic, ghost, silver ground carpet, dot and poison hemlock moths

There are also a variety of beetles, bees, and praying mantis like insects. (Insect species are so numerous it’s hard to given even a small sample but I’m always happy to make specific posts about insects or any other category of a place)

Bumblebees including tree bumblebees, pollen beetles such as in the genus Meligethes, violet click beetles, oak and speckled bush crickets, rose chafer, hawthorn shieldbug, and  biolumenescent fungus gnats (I talked in my post about Western Beleriand about this but while biolumenescnese is more common elsewhere in Beleriand, there are a few biolumenescent species in Menengroth and the woods of Doriath. 

Lemon slugs and white lipped snail can also be found and I was talking with @tol-himling about the possibility of stranger species of gastropod being possibly brought over or arriving with Melian. 

Birds live by the banks of Esgalduin and throughout the woods itself. White throated dipper, garden and willow warblers, song thrush,  common nightingale, nuthatch, gray headed woodpecker, white backed woodpecker, black woodpecker, little bunting, indigo bunting, song sparrow, wood duck and shovelers being some examples.

I also headcanon that there are prehistoric (from today’s perspective) species of birds including small, brightly colored flightless birds that nest in the ferns and glades of the forest.

Palmate newts, great crested newts, agile frogs, moor frogs and small tree frogs are found in vernal streams branching from Esgalduin and Mindeb with agile frogs and dark gray and green toads living away from the water in undergrowth for much of the year. 

Neldoreth doesn’t have many larger mammals but there are Chital, water deer and barking deer  like species, stoats and lesser weasels, reed vole, water shrews, bush dogs, hedgehogs (mostly European but others too), and flying squirrels (among others)

Dormice especially hazel dormice and grass snake (obviously these are different kinds of animals but I grouped them together because of their habitat) on the margins and towards the river. 

I do think in other places of Doriath there are giant elk that do occasionally travel through Neldoreth. There are other species that do not exist today, I mentioned tapir like creatures as well as saber toothed cats (though these are found mostly to the wild and dangerous North of Neldoreth, North of Iant Iaur) and other stranger creatures (I’d be happy to share some headcanons on non existent species or more speculative ecology if anyone wants!)

Esgalduin, the river that runs through Doriath dividing Neldoreth from Region, North to South,  is an ecosystem and habitat in itself. If there’s interest I’d love to do a post specifically about it so I don’t over condense here? But there are a variety of aquatic plants, fish and other creatures there. 

As always, requests and asks are open and welcome!

#Doriath #musing and meta #the silmarillion #beleriand

[healing-fire--rewrite]

Thunder Sect Culture

Values--

Strength, Justice, Virtue, Honour, Courage

Thunder Sect places a huge emphasis not just on being loud, but strength and prowess. Cats with remarkable willpower and those who don't flinch in the face of danger are admired as true warriors of the Sect. Battle scars are seen as trophies, and apprentices will often show off their first scars to whoever will look.

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

Religious & Political Beliefs--

This Sect is known as the friendliest, and is often teased about it by the other Sects. They often invite wanderers and loners into their camp, and let them stay a while if they are injured or traveling. Despite this, they're actually tied as the second most likely to take a non-Sect cat in as a permanent Sect member (the other second-placer being the Glittering River Sect).

From an outsider's view, Thunder Sect cats are vain, nosy, and prideful. Thunder Sect, on the other paw, see themselves as courageous and fierce. They believe it's their job to help, no matter whether or not they've been asked to. They often refer to it as their "holy duty", much to the chagrin of literally everyone else around them.

While they’re not the strictest about the warrior code (that honour belongs to the Wind Sect), they are pretty firm in which rules are most important.

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

Physical Traits--

Thunder Sect cats tend to be very fluffy, but rather small compared to the other Sect cats. They're muscular (although not as muscular as the River Sect), and their pelts tend to come in shades of browns, yellows, reds, and oranges. Most have small paws and large ears, and these features (combined with large eyes) are seen as very attractive within the Sect.

Bright yellow and dark grey cats are seen as the most beautiful cats within the Roaring Thunder Sect, as they're said to look like living storms. Fluffy fur, small paws, and large eyes and ears are also attractive.

True to their name, Thunder Sect cats are… loud. A quiet, contemplative cat is seen as an oddity, and is often the subject of wild rumors. The only time a Thunder Sect cat is truly quiet is when they're hunting. In their minds, loud equals powerful.

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

Territory & Landmarks--

A lush woods with lots of undergrowth and brambles.

Deadpines - Rows upon rows of twisted, dead pines claw at the sky on the Western border. The ground there has no undergrowth and deep gullies filled with muddy water. No prey or predators live here, and though it’s technically within Thunder Sect territory, no one really goes anywhere near it.

The Great Sycamore - One of the largest trees in the forest with strong and thick branches. This is where apprentices are often taught to climb, and the trunk is scored with claw marks from many generations.

The Owl Tree - A massive oak tree that serves home to a tawny owl. Apprentices often dare each other to climb its trunk.

Sunningrocks - Rocks that absorb the sunshine and are a place of relaxation. Moons ago, it used to be an island belonging only to the River Sect, but when the river changed the current, the Thunder Sect wanted this territory, too.

Snakerocks - Home to venomous adders. The caves beneath the rocks can serve as dens to other dangerous creatures, as well.

The Sandy Hollow - A sheltered hollow with soft red sand. Used as a training ground so apprentices don't harm themselves.

Wrenfeather's Garden - A small garden filled with herbs and flowers.

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

Camp--

A ravine hidden by brambles that was once a river, but is now dried up. A constructed gorse tunnel marks the entrance, and woven briars shield the camp.

The nursery is the most guarded part of camp, and is made up of blackberry brambles and yellow flowers.

The apprentice’s den and warrior’s den sit next to the entrance, and are woven from thorn bushes, ferns, and orange and red flowers.

The elder’s den sits next to the nursery, made of several logs propped up against a stone and held in place with clay and mud. The logs are decorated with violet flowers.

The leader sleeps below two large rocks propped up against each other with woven lichen and various brightly-covered flowers hanging over the entrance.

The healer’s and advisor's den is hidden behind a fern tunnel with mint, lavender, and skullcap flowers. The tunnel leads to a large den dug out beneath a cracked rock.

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

Prey--

Mice

Shrews

Voles

Small birds (starlings, magpies, thrushes, robins, finches, etc.)

Squirrels

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

Predators & Dangers--

Badgers

Foxes

Bears

Dogs

Raccoons

Coyotes

Owls

Hawks

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

Trade--

Adder skins

Briars & brambles for weaving

Berries

Forest herbs

Flower beads

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

Creative Skills--

Thunder Sect music is rowdy- lots of party and drinking songs. Focused on victories and winning.

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

Naming Traditions--

The Roaring Thunder Sect prefers names relating to a cat's physical appearance (Snow, Red, Dark, Grey) or after flowers (Rose, Thistle, Dandelion).

When deciding on a title, parents and mentors have the most sway. Leaders will ask them what they think would be the best suffixes, a few are suggested, and the leader chooses from those.

Thunder Sect also has a system called "honor naming". When a cat has done something incredibly honorable- saving a kitten from a hawk, for example- they're named after it. Oftentimes if they receive a scar or injury from the experience, they're named after that (ex; Halftail). If a cat has gained an injury without doing something honorable and the leader changes their name after it (ex; Lostface), it's seen as cruel and hateful, and, occasionally, a reminder to the cat of the damage and harm they've done. It becomes both their name and title, and everyone, including friends and family, will refer to them with their full name. No other Sect has honor naming, and are often surprised and disgusted to learn about this.

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Important Names--

Adder, Lightning - A kitten is given one of these prefixes when their parent has high hopes for them, or when their child is weak and unlikely to survive without supernatural intervention.

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Taboo Names--

Maple - According to Thunder Sect legend, this name attracts Maple. To name your child this is basically asking for her to come and steal them away.

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Titles--

The Gleaming Star - Signifying a Thunder Sect leader

Storm - A title given to warriors and healers who have done something exemplary (such as discovering a new herb, or saving a litter of kits from certain death)

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Common Nicknames & Idioms--

"Like putting honey out for wasps" - If you give in to these demands, they'll just keep coming back for more.

"Sorry catches no prey / fills no bellies" - Apologizing doesn't undo what you've done.

"Making an oak out of a twig" - Making something small or unimportant into a big deal.

"An acorn spared may feed the forest" - Small efforts go a long way!

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Supersitions--

Thunder Sect believes that litters of three have a tendency towards bad luck, and the Maple haunts their forest looking for her children. Naming your kit Maple (or giving a warrior maple as a suffix) will attract her attention, something that they do not want. She is uhhhh not the most sane legendary Thunder Sect figure.

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

Funerals & Mourning--

Thunder Sect funerals are private, reserved for loved ones only. Friends and family groom the deceased's body and whisper their name, hoping to help the Star guide find their loved one's spirit. It's the deceased's loved ones who bury the body, not the elders.

Mourning is made to be productive here. It's expected that a cat puts their grief into something else, whether that be hunting, training an apprentice, raising children, or gardening.

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Accent--

The Thunder Sect accent is throaty and low in pitch, with emphasis on their vowels. Many cats of the Thunder Sect have a sort of rumble to their voices when they speak.

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Miscellaneous Tidbits & Fun Facts--

Wrenfeather, a Thunder Sect healer, learned about gardening from the River Sect and began a garden of her own. While the River Sect only ever gardened herbs, Thunder Sect began growing flowers and other plants as well. They even began growing plants in camp and using them as parts of their dens! Many Thunder Sect cats plant and tend to plants in memory of their loved ones- favourite flowers, or a particular vine, or a bush that grows flowers the same shade as their pelt or eyes.

Giving someone a rabbit or hare- a prey animal that doesn't show up often on Thunder Sect territory, and takes some skill to hunt- is a quiet way to ask someone to court.

#thunder sect #worldbuilding

[emperornorton47]

Black Star Canyon Road

#Road #western sycamores #Black Star Canyon #orange county #california #photo #digital #original photographers

[the-falcon-of-the-fall]

It’s a commonly agreed fact that western Pokespe fanon, primarily pre-2016, is sexist. Blue, Yellow, Crystal, and Sapphire are the unfortunate targets of being reduced to love interests instead of people of their own, stripping all of their charms and interesting parts of themselves. While it is not thought that this is still a common problem now, mostly because that was predominant in fan fiction which dropped in activity, it still is, though not limited to those four, fan fiction, and is much less blatant. One of the recent victims of this is unfortunately Y.

I noticed from the years of being in the Pokespe fandom that the fanon regarding X and Y is very skewed and layered with unintentional sexism and double standards between genders that’s not very obvious. Either X is a sad, depressed boy and Y’s a hot-headed and short tempered girl, or Y doesn’t have good friends to support her through her problems, has to suppress her emotions to be a leader, and never gets anything good. Both are true to varying extents in canon. X is sad and depressed and needs help. Y’s life is pretty sucky and her friends do only realize how much they rely on her until she’s gone and Y doesn’t receive enough validation from them. However, there’s much more nuance to that, and it’s sad to see the fandom not see that, believing it’s one or another.

I’ll first discuss the “X is a sad depressed boy and Y’s a hot-headed and short-tempered girl. That fandom narrative is unsettlingly more dominant, because it sweeps X’s flaws under the rug and makes Y seem more flawed because she looks unreasonable for being frustrated at him. X is frustrating to deal with, particularly in the beginning. He snaps at Trevor and Tierno under high-stress moments trying to help him, Shauna doesn’t really talk with him throughout the arc and is an edgy pessimistic misandrist because of him (and it obviously can’t be Trevor and Tierno as they’re very nice), and he has a bad attitude to Sycamore and Cassius despite them trying to help him and his friends.

(from the second side chapter, page 7 on Mangadex)

(from Vol. 1, Chapter 3, page 12 on Mangadex)

(from vol. 2, Chapter 8, page 23 on Mangadex)

(from Vol 2, Chapter 15, page 18 on Mangadex)

Even if X’s under great stress and has distrust for adults, that’s still not right for him to do. X may be depressed, but his flaws should still be acknowledged and corrected. Y is right to constantly call him out, and as much as she comes off as harsh to him, he never expresses a problem with her, which he clearly would have if he did. Even X realizes that when he messes up or when his attitude and actions in the past and present, he has to take responsibility, though not always in the right ways (invading Team Flare’s HQ on his own). He makes an effort to change and be better for the people around him, seen with trying to be good friends to Trevor and Tierno since the beginning of the arc, being more proactive as the arc continues, and apologizing to Y when she tells him he worried the hell out of her and everyone else for running into Team Flare’s HQ on his own. Being depressed doesn't justify his bad and apathetic attitude or treating his friends terribly, and he knows that. That X can acknowledge his mistakes and tries to change from them speaks to how strong his empathy and willingness to change is, and the fact no one acknowledges that misses what are some of the best parts of his character. While there’s a lot more to the matter about the fandom’s perception of mental health issues and X, that is a completely different topic I won’t discuss here.

While Y does come off as overly harsh and hot-headed on X, it’s only to X. She never acts this way to Shauna at all, who’s the second person who pisses her off the most. When Shauna ran away in frustration at Y, Y didn't bother trying to bring her back and let her cool off.

(Vol 1, Chapter 5, page 22 on Mangadex)

While it turns out to be a mistake, this does show that Y isn’t as hot-headed as fanon often depicts her. Knocking at X’s window every day to have him go outside would wear down her patience eventually. However, with Shauna, she doesn’t let Shauna’s disagreements bother her so much she gets mad and tried to confront her, as she usually does with X, because Shauna at her usual worst is the sassy friend whose jabs aren’t actually harmful.

Now I will discuss the “Y doesn’t have good friends to support her through her problems, has to suppress her emotions to be a leader, and never gets anything good”, which while not as prevalent, is still pretty unfortunate. The emotional suppression part has established to never been true from the start, she makes her problems with X clear and she doesn’t try to hide she’s fine when she finds out Grace is gone. In fact, she directs those emotions to a more productive way, seen here:

(Vol. 4, chapter 26, page 19 on Mangadex) 

While it’s true that Y’s friends only realize they relied so much on Y once she’s gone and Y clearly doesn’t get enough validation from them, that’s because her demeanor makes it seem like she doesn’t need it (even though this poor girl does need that because she thinks X is smarter than her, and I’m showing this panel because it forever hurts me). 

(Vol. 2, Chapter 17, page 8 on Mangadex)

(Vol 2, chapter 17, pages 23-24 on Mangadex)

While Y is certainly their leader, she’s not the sole decision maker of the group, and the panels above and below demonstrate that she can’t expect to and she has to hear their opinions.

(Vol. 3, chapter 19, pages 4-6 on Mangadex)

While the group’s plan is very obviously flawed and they didn’t find the Team Flare HQ as they wanted to, this shows that their friendship is not a one-way street as the latter narrative implies. The friend group have minds and agency of their own, and while they do rely on Y, they have their own opinions to the situation that Y doesn’t share. And in the end, they are right they should fight Team Flare head on instead of running. Taking that initiative to fight against them is what led them to reunite with Korrina and Diantha and meet Gurkinn, and led them to meet more allies through the gym leaders and Green to stop Team Flare from firing the Ultimate Weapon. This change in attitude and new opportunities followed along after it was not because Y made that decision alone, but all of them agreeing to do it. While the attack on Team Flare was only spearheaded by X’s stupid decision to go in there alone, it still shows that it wasn’t Y who made that decision, but X, who helped delay the first firing even if he was stupid about. Even Y acknowledges that would have been an acceptable plan if X told them all.

(Vol 4, chapter 27, page 17 on Mangadex)

A more unsettling part of that narrative is that it implies that Y’s friends have to help her with her bullying at school and they have to help her with her issues with Grace. That ignores that Y’s friends can’t help her with bullying at school because they don’t go there. And as much Y getting bullied frustrates her, she refuses to let it get to her to the point she wants to skip school and stop being a sky battler. That’s very impressive, because not everyone can stand against that kind of constant harassment, but that’s so rarely talked about, if ever. But that strength can’t always be founded by one person alone. There are hints that Shauna, Trevor, and Tierno all think and say to her she should be a sky battler because she wants to, given how that Trevor says in the first chapter he calls Y’s dreams big and everyone agrees Y is one of their best battlers, so it shows they do support her in that regard, even if it isn’t very obvious.  

(from vol. 1, chapter 3, page 11 on Mangadex)

And while it most certainly was because Y saved her bullies’ lives, the bullying stops at the end and Y even has a friendly relationship with Yvette to the point she can say she looks up to her.

(Vol. 6, chapter 39, page 24 on Mangadex)

Unfortunately, the fanon narrative also ignores how Grace and Y are in a more unique position that none of Y’s friends can understand, as Grace and Y are famous public figures, which is a big part of their conflict, while Shauna, Trevor, and Tierno are not. X himself can’t help Y with her issues with Grace either because he gets along with Grace, so he will have biases in favor of her, but he also doesn’t agree with Grace trying to stop Y from being a sky battler because he’s the one who encouraged Y to think for herself and pursue her own dreams. He recognizes that Y is in a situation he can’t understand or help with. Only Grace and Y can address the problems in their relationship, which they do in the end and on better terms now.

Furthermore, this fanon creates a double standard between her and Pearl, who has a similar situation like her. Both have strained relationships with their parents they don’t discuss much with their friends, both are leaders of their groups, both have to deal with a massive world-ending catastrophe involving legendaries, and both have been hairs away from death. While Pearl had a much less stressful situation in the beginning while Y’s in one since Day 1 and Palmer’s merely distant from Pearl, not disencouraging of his dreams, no one ever criticizes Dia or Platinum for never addressing Pearl’s issues with Palmer, especially Dia, who knows Palmer. Only Pearl and Palmer could address their problems in their relationship, with as a common meme shows, Palmer insisting that Pearl calls him “daddy” as a signal they aren’t so distant and Pearl doing so at the end. This double standard all but says that only boys and men can solve problems in their relationships on their own, while girls and women need someone to help solve their relationship problems. That is completely wrong and a potentially damaging message, as this can lead to girls and women receiving wrong advice from the wrong people or getting other negative consequences, instead of following what they believe is right and is actually right in addressing issues in their life. Of course, some people who believe this fanon may not have read the Dppt arc, however, the fact that Pearl’s situation with Palmer in relation to Dia or Plat isn’t discussed much still points to an unfortunate double standard.

Now I want to say that people who believe in either of those fanons regarding Y or any kind of fanon where the subtle sexism is there are not all bad people who want to hold women back. Sexism in the west is still present and still must be addressed. However, it can manifest in more subtle ways, and we should be critical of the opinions we hear and our own as well. I hope that we can discuss this more, and I’m happy to hear any response.

#pokespe #pokemon special #pokemon adventures #trainer y #trainer pearl #fandom commentary #discourse #trainer x #trainer trevor #trainer shauna #trainer tierno #pokemon xy #pokespe xy #thinking about this issue before writing my essay made me realize #i want a pearl and y friendship #and also elec was x's pokemon for one day and he was ready to maul a man for him #truly the best friend a boy can ever ask for

[cosmictulips]

Hey girl, it’s been a while I just wanna join your intuitive game. The colors I’m guessing are blue and green. The numbers that keep popping up in my head are 4 and 7. Thank you ❤️❤️

Soooo you -from what I'm noticing in the other asks - are the winner of the game because you're the only one who the color greeen AND a number lol.

sooo Lets talk about the message then.

Green, is a fun color. I've been learning a lot about it in my spiritual practice lately and I figure what i've learned, can be shared with you.

Green comes with discernment. there's many types of green. Green, is the color of the heart. it is the color of creativity, and forgiveness and being connected to ones world. when you see the color green you might often think of money, or nature, or just having security.

Considering you saw this AND blue, I'd gather that you are not only growing like the trees, but you are reaching into the very depths of your soul and trusting yourself more. you may be balancing out your yin and yang. or in western terms, your voice and your heart.

With the number 7 and 4, this has to do with spirituality and security. what walls we build and what we are building for in the future. the cards are suggesting that perhaps, what you are holding onto can help you, but don't be afraid of looking at other options. it's good to hold on to what you have, but don't let your new roots rot just because you're afraid of taking a chance.

I keep seeing a HUGE Sycamore tree. i don't think you realize just how much you've been growing. that's okay because others see it. and through that you are gaining new connections.

Trees are not the only thing that are green though ;) seaweed is green, houses are green. your nails can be green, and so can't money. allow yourself to bend with the tides of change and allow yourself to grow.

Also, show some more compassion to yourself. you're more connected than you realize. allow the waters of the rain and sea to nurture you and be inspired by what is around you.

#also its so funny cause I wanted to message you #so I feel like this was literally just meant for you haha #hope you're doing well ;o;

[0witchy-bitch3]

Acer pseudoplatanus, known commonly as the sycamore. Its one of my all time favourite trees due to the winged samaras, and is in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is a large, deciduous, and broad-leaved tree. Tolerant of wind and coastal exposure and native to Central Europe and Western Asia. In Britain however it is a naturalised species, though to be introduced by the Romans, or in the 1500s. In Wales, sycamore trees are used in the traditional craft of making 'love spoons', which are decoratively carved wooden spoons given as a romantic gesture.

#green witch #pagan wicca #norse pagan #original photographers #photography #pagen witch #nature #nature walks #sycamore tree #treephotography #tree photos #plant photography #nature aesthetic #plants #plant witch #trees #autumn trees #seed pods