Famous witch Patricia Crowther has crossed over.

And there is much rejoicing in the Summerland!

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I saw this line elsenet and thought it would be fun to share here:

What day does the Christmas season begin?

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Scientists discover a stunning new golden-tongued lizard in China

A new species of mountain lizard, Diploderma bifluviale, has been discovered in the upper Dadu River Valley of China. Its distinct traits and isolated habitat highlight the hidden biodiversity of the Hengduan Mountains.

We made it to the end of October! \o/ If you have completed some of your medium-term goals or subgoals, and/or you're still chugging away at your ongoing goals, then pat yourself on the back. You worked hard for that. We are now well into autumn. If you're doing seasonal goals, share what you're working on for this fall.

This year I'm trying something new, continuing to track goals at the end of each month. So far it seems to be helping, so that's encouraging. I'm looking at my goal list more often and trying to keep ticking off more of them. The main drawback is that this update becomes more of a chore each month.

These are the previous check in posts:
New Year's Resolutions Check In January 4
New Year's Resolutions Check In January 10
New Year's Resolutions Check In January 17
New Year's Resolutions Check In January 24
New Year's Resolutions Check In January 31
New Year's Resolutions Check In February 28
New Year's Resolutions Check In March 31
New Year's Resolutions Check In April 30
New Year's Resolutions Check In May 31
New Year's Resolutions Check In June 30
New Year's Resolutions Check In July 31
New Year's Resolutions Check In August 31
New Year's Resolutions Check In September 30

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I have made bingo down the B column of my 10-1-25 card for the Fall Festival Bingo. I also have 8 extra fills.


B1 (wizards) -- "What Wizardry Is All About" (standalone)
B2 (black / orange) -- "The Two Cottages" (Quixotic Ideas)
B3 (magic) -- "Maybe She's Just Singing" (Practical Magic)
B4 (witches) -- "The Unretired Witch" (The Adventures of Aldornia and Zenobia)
B5 (unstable) -- "A Fountain of Energy" (Polychrome Heroics: Rutledge)

I2 (herbs) -- "No Worthless Herbs" (One God's Story of Mid-Life Crisis)
I3 (dark side) -- "Set on Continuous Improvement" (Polychrome Heroics: City Engines)
I5 (broken) -- "The Clearest Signal" (Polychrome Heroics: City Engines)

G1 (Alone in the Woods) -- "The Songwitch" (Practical Magic)
G2 (transformation) -- "The Road to Transformation" (Sleeping Beauty)

O2 (talking dog) -- "The Disappointing Daughter" (The Adventures of Aldornia and Zenobia)
O4 ("That felt weird.") -- "To Understand Water" (Polychrome Heroics)
O5 ("Do you trust me?") -- "Trying to Be Better" (Polychrome Heroics: City Engines)

Yale study: Most Americans support climate justice — once they know what it is

Climate change is an omnipresent threat for us all, but its impact disproportionately affects non-white populations.

Inequalities stem from generations of racial injustice and colonization of Indigenous lands, contributing to ongoing marginalization and risk in BIPOC populations.

Climate justice is a movement that seeks to rectify those inequities, with the goals of reducing unequal harms of climate change, producing equitable benefits from climate solutions, and including affected communities in the decision-making process.


Among examples of climate justice are taking steps to stop exploitative actions that worsen climate and environment, and ensuring that people have humane ways to escape environmental foreclosure.  The latter is crucial because right  now, victims of climate-driven eviction have no rights; they are classified as migrants without even the flimsy protections that refugees of war or discrimination have.  And if you look at the Dustbowl, you can see how very badly America has handled that issue in the past.

Today we went around Charleston and Mattoon with a friend.

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Today is cloudy, chilly, windy, and wet. It rained off and on yesterday, then drizzled earlier today.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 10/29/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 10/29/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

I am done for the night.

Our theme this time was "Witches and Wizards." I wrote from 1 PM to 4:30 AM, so about 13 hours 30 minutes, accounting for breaks. I wrote 8 poems on Tuesday plus 2 later in the week.

Participation was up, with 11 comments on LiveJournal and another 28 on Dreamwidth. A total of 12 people sent prompts.


Read Some Poetry!
The following poems from the October 7, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl have been posted:
"The Disappointing Daughter"
"The Unretired Witch"
"What Wizardry Is All About"

"New and Innovative Approaches"


Buy some poetry!
If you plan to sponsor some poetry but haven't made up your mind yet, see the unsold poetry list from October 7. That includes the title, length, price, and the original thumbnail description for the poems still available.

This month's donors include: janetmiles and Anthony Barrette. All sponsored poems from this fishbowl have been posted. There is 1 tally toward a bonus fishbowl.


The Poetry Fishbowl has a landing page.

Before plants or animals, fungi conquered Earth’s surface

Fungi were Earth’s first ecosystem engineers, thriving long before plants ever took root.

Fungi’s evolutionary roots stretch far deeper than once believed — up to 1.4 billion years ago, long before plants or animals appeared. Using advanced molecular dating and gene transfer analysis, researchers reconstructed fungi’s ancient lineage, revealing they were crucial in shaping Earth’s first soils and ecosystems.