They are very fond of French fries

Night Guard
#cat #Italy #Matera #bw #monochrome

A cousin raised rabbits which was great for me as a kid: all the petting, none of the daily responsibilities 😁 They're so warm! I hope your doggos know how lucky they are to have you care for them 💜

Going, going, gone! Last night we had hot chocolate and watched the moon chase the sun. #villanovadegaia #porto #beach #ocean #sunset #praia #mar

I overwintered in cedar chips, so Amazon decided I must have rabbits. Their suggestions for additional purchases were very cute!

Pilates reformer workout #1: haul this beast up the stairs. My intro to Pilates was from a science fiction novel. It turns out humans need more care than seedlings, what with how we're made of meat, so I am returning to one of the only exercises that has helped me in the past. I am currently thinking about how to measure progress: plank hold time? #pilates

@danceismypassion2 oooh fabulous! It's such a special place. My photos did not capture it so well. Muito bom, cara!

@jblue@mastodon.world great note, thanks. I had to water the new trees so much while they got established in California. That's a strong argument to site new trees here next to plumbing (switchable from municipal water to well water; both tested.)
That puts the blueberry bed at a longer distance from water, and not anything I can conveniently put on a timer, with only municipal water available. But losing a blueberry bush is less trouble to replace, if it comes to that. Thanks!

@richrollgardener Former nutmeger here wishing you an easy time. May you have heat, power, and may snowplows never seal off your freshly dug-out driveway.

The friends we make along the way. The Seek app identifies this as "Dietes iridioides." Muito prazer! #bloomscrolling #porto

@aosmith16@hachyderm.io What a great suggestion, thank you! The winter was such a deluge that the schedule was "when it's not raining" which became utter neglect. Maybe I should just go at it first of the month.

Do I understand correctly that each box held the pieces for the little puzzles, one per night, as an alternative to candy? Very cool

Could be worse: https://www.potatonewstoday.com/2026/01/19/germany-4000-tons-of-potatoes-to-be-given-away-for-free/

@deirdrebeth@mas.to Thank you! I hadn't realized we have freecycle here. OLX might work too.
I'm envisioning meeting in a parking lot and handing over bags of potatoes...

@LifeTimeCooking@mastodon.au I'm going to have to figure out a way to do so! There are worse excuses to meet the neighbors

Yay seeds! But... I went into my favorite store with "uma lista!" in English & Portuguese. The seller patiently helped me find things. Reader, I intended to buy six planting potatoes. But in the challenge to express that I would actually prefer red potatoes, despite at first saying either was fine, doing my best with my elementary Portuguese, well: I flat out missed that I was handed a box with 100 potatoes. 100 potatoes! I was so proud to only walk out with *almost* nothing more than what I listed (strawberries & spaghetti squash got past me, but so close.) While not my first #garden, as happens I've never grown #potatoes before, let alone here in #porto. I've drastically rearranged the garden plan. I can now accommodate 18 potatoes, but I'm not sure I should. And even if so... What am I going to do with the remaining 82?! 😳 With a plan for two zucchini, I better figure out an answer I can reuse in a few months! #gardening #raisedbed

@jblue@mastodon.world fabulous thank you! Ollas were part of my strategy in the US. Here in Porto there is so much rain that I have not worried about irrigation for the time being. I assumed our future was LESS water but this year suggests otherwise. The raised beds help things drain so I can plant a little earlier. I'll look up the specific plants you listed -- thanks ever so much!

@jblue now I need to find your pepper post -- your photos are stunning! I planted lemon & lime trees in the California Bay Area, and they struggled at first but were doing well last I saw. This fall I'm planting trees in Porto Portugal with an eye on climate change. Citrus yes, maybe mango?

Hardening off might go better too!

Fruit tree wall! Crossing the Douro River on the downtown #Porto side across from #VilaNovaDeGaia, there is a beautiful section of the old Roman city wall. And in front, there is a small grove of orange trees. Stone walls have great thermal mass, so they improve the microclimate for citrus, plus provide shelter from strong winds. This is the sort of thing I read about in books. Seeing it implemented in practice is delightful. I have no idea but I like to imagine there have been fruit trees there for centuries, for as long as the wall has been there. And then the river view is always spectacular. Church bells rang in the distance to call out 6 pm as the sun set over the ocean. It's a magical city. #gardening #organic #history #citrus #douro