The Wordsmith's Forge

People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

Does hardship make a person stronger? If so, under what conditions and at what point is it too much hardship? If not, what makes a person stronger? 

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Today is bright and sunny.  :D  We haven't seen much of that.  Previously I could barely see the plants.  Now I'm squinting against the sun.

So far I have:

* Hung up a couple of previously displaced window ornaments.

* Removed some dead leaves from several plants to clear the way for other tasks.  There is a lot more of this that needs doing. 

* Shifted a couple of empty pots to the bottom storage shelf.

* Found two pots, plus a saucer for the one that doesn't have a self-saucer, that I can put in the two new plant hangers.  The one for the brass hanger is just a little green pot.  The one for the spruce hanger is a nicer pink.

* Sorted through the babies hanging from the spider plant to identify the largest two.

* Hauled the potting soil and pots outside, where I could fill the pots without worrying about the mess.

* Tucked the spider plant babies into the pots and watered them in.

That's as far as I can get with the planters for now.  I have to wait for the spider plant babies to root in their new pots before I can detach them and move the pots to the hangers.


While outside I spotted more spring bulbs sprouting.  There's a tulip by the barrel garden, crocus under the golden raintree, and possibly grape hyacinths along their stump row.

I have seen a flock of sparrows and a male fox squirrel at the hopper feeder.

Today is mostly sunny, windy, and cool.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a flock of sparrows, a male and a female downy woodpecker, a starling, and a fox squirrel.

We used to get a peanut butter block, but haven't found those lately, so the suet cage currently has suet with peanuts and other stuff in it.  The starlings seem to like this better, and the woodpeckers aren't as fond of it.  :/

I walked around the yard taking pictures today, since the lighting was decent.  :D  There are more places with bulbs sprouting -- mostly daffodils and crocus, but a few grape hyacinths, possibly alliums, and at least one tulip.  In some places it's easy to tell what is growing, in others I have planted many different things and some have very similar leaf shapes. 

EDIT 1/28/23 -- I started cutting brush around the Manchurian apricot tree.

EDIT 1/28/23 -- Before lunch, I saw a flock of sparrows, a flock of mourning doves, and a male fox squirrel in the forest garden.

After lunch, I pulled weeds around the Manchurian apricot tree.

I've also started picking up seedballs from the sycamore tree and stuffing them into a garden trough that doesn't drain.  They like to grow in wet soil so this may encourage some sprouts.

EDIT 1/28/23 -- I cut more brush around the Manchurian apricot tree.

EDIT 1/28/23 -- I finished cutting brush around the Manchurian apricot tree, at least to the extent I can manage with the size of hand clippers I use.  We'll need to go out as a team another time and use the bigger loppers.

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.  Very pretty orange sunset tonight.

oursin posted about this with the quote:

‘Moral duty’ to allow family and friends to make big life choices, says Cambridge philosopher:
Trying to stop friends and relations from making certain life choices such as whether to take a new job or start a family could “violate a crucial moral right”, according to a new paper by a Cambridge philosopher. Dr Farbod Akhlaghi, a moral philosopher at Christ’s College, argues that everyone has a right to “self authorship”, so must make decisions about transformative experiences for themselves. In a new paper for the philosophy journal Analysis, he argues that this right to “revelatory autonomy” is violated even by well-meaning advice from friends and family about crucial life decisions. Akhlaghi argues that it is impossible to know if a friend’s life will benefit from a transformative experience – such as new job, the birth of a child, or a university course – until after the event. It is for them to find out, he says. Crucially, he argues, it is only by making these choices independently that we can know ourselves.

And then disagreed with it. My thoughts are more complex.

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