That moment when a strong burst of warm, gentle, spring wind blows right into your face and brings the scent of every blooming flower in your neighborhood with it, followed by the twinkling sound of every wind chime in the vicinity singing their pleasant melodies and filling your heart with glee <3

Mother Nature really be like “and bless this town in particular” today

One of the most consistently stressful things, in my opinion, is to live with people who expect nothing but the worst in the world, the future, and other people…and then try to use logic and science to constantly force those thoughts down your throat too.

Yes, maybe the world is going to hell and everything is falling apart. But I’m still alive. You are still alive. And there’s all this amazing technology out there that is changing the world for the better each and every day. There are individuals making ripples whose effects will cause waves. There’s stories, both fiction and nonfiction alike, full of hope and wonder and love for the world around us and the adventure that is life.

I have no reason to let you choke me with nonsensical pessimism and negativity no matter how “logical” you assume it to be.

So if you only want to see the bad in everything, so be it. But I am going to choose to believe in the good, to chase the good, that I know is in this world, in this future, and in other people.

Wear cinderblocks on your feet and sink if you’re so eager to drown, but holding onto my ankles will only make me swim harder, even if it makes me more tired in the long run.

Because in the end? I’ll be stronger for it.

I’ve heard this several times, but people make friends easier while going to school because they’re often forced to interact with new people on a daily basis. This increases their social skills, their perception and understanding of themselves and their individual interests, and their ability to adapt to new and unexpected situations. So what if there was a cafe where they have you fill out a short five to ten questions on a survey upon entering, then place you at a table with one to three strangers to help you make friends? There could be other stuff adhering to the theme too like conversation prompt cards on the table or improv games underneath it so you can get to know your tablemates!

i’m grunchy

Aight so I’m sitting in the living room at my uncle’s (still housesitting the farm in the woods in the middle of nowhere) and all the crows went flipping bananasand starting raising hell. So I look outside and a whole ass murder of at least 30 some crows flocked to the line of massive evergreens (taller than you’ve probably ever realized evergreens could grow) that separates our property from the plains.

I don’t know what spooked them but now they’re all just sitting there.

Staring.

Sometimes it can be difficult to know exactly where your headspace is at when you’ve been dealing with mental health issues for a long time. Eventually, you begin to become numb to a lot of the symptoms and it ends up harder and harder to know if you’re actually having a good day or not, or even to just pinpoint what’s actually doing the damage to you in the first place.

When I’ve struggled with this in the past, the first thing I check is what direction my daydreams are heading in.

And I know, that probably sounds a bit strange. But seriously, your daydreams (or more specifically, what you daydream about) can tell you a lot about your subconscious state!

If you tend to dream about far-off things like dragons and castles or storylines way removed from reality, you’re probably untethered because something in your everyday life is stressing you out. It’s most likely either a habit or a repetitive event that you feel trapped by and crave escape from. In this case, it’s good to figure out what that thing is so you can better manage it or, in some cases, weed it out entirely.

If you tend to have in-depth dreams about a perfect future where all the things you wish for are a reality, you’re probably anxious about what your real future will hold for you. Something about the direction you’re currently heading in is making you worried, for whatever reason, and it might benefit you to stop and observe your current life to find out what exactly is making you so nervous. Once you find it, a good exercise would be to think of what the absolute worst-case scenario might be, then brainstorm the absolute best-case scenario in turn. By finding these two unrealistic polar ends of “best” versus “worst” outcomes, it’ll be easier for you to become centered on a more realistic playthrough of what’s most likely to actually occur, therefore lessening some of that anxiety.

If you tend to romanticize a place, person, or time in your life that has already passed, there’s probably something about that thing that you are craving in your current life. It might do you some good to think about what exactly you miss about it and in what ways that something is absent from your present. Then you’ll know what categories of your life probably need more attention paid to them so you feel more comfortable.

Daydreams and a drifting conscious aren’t always bad things. They can aid you in being more creative, thinking outside the box, and other forms of problem-solving. However when you find yourself in that dreaming state more often than not, it could be beneficial to understand where those dreams are coming from since daydreaming is, in essence, a coping mechanism that distances you from what is currently harming or negatively affecting your current life.

I hope this helps!

Even if it’s difficult to uphold at first, the best habit I’ve ever gotten myself into is that while I’m lying in bed at night about to fall asleep, I’ll think of at least one thing that’ll happen the next day, no matter how seemingly small, that I can be excited about.

Even if it’s just “I wonder what’ll happen in the next episode of the show I’m watching??” or “It’s supposed to be a few degrees warmer tomorrow!”

Findsomething that makes you want to get up the next day. Hype yourself up about it the night before, and you’ll be shocked at just how much easier it is to leave your bed the next morning and face the day.

Quali-tea! 『Part 01』

To begin, a lot of people enjoy drinking tea, but have no clue how to bring out the best qualities of each kind. Most just assume they need to “dump boiling water over the leaves and wait for a couple minutes”.

But that’s…not going to give you a very good tea.

So today, I’m going to teach you the basics of tea brewing 101!

I’ll probably make more posts in this series at a later date too.

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The first step is to get your hands on some fresh tea leaves. But the question is what kind is right for you?

There are a lot of kinds to choose from, with six groups that tea leaves are generally separated into and many branches extending from each group.

The six main types are white, green, yellow, blue (also called oolong), black, and dark tea. Aside from that, there are also herbal infusions (or tisanes) made from fruit, flowers, or other herbs, but that don’t have any actual tea leaves in them.

But we’ll save infusions for another time, because right now is all about actual tea!

Now, you might already feel overwhelmed by the amount of choices, but fear not! It’s really not as complicated as it originally appears to be.

There are several key components into what makes each group special, be it their flavor profile, what nutrients they give, their oxidation levels, and even their common fragrances. Some basic information about each of the six groups are listed below!

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White Tea
Most kinds of white tea are made by simply harvesting the leaves and withering them without the use of heat. It has tons of antioxidants, similar to the fresh leaves before the tea making process.

They usually have a sweeter, fruity, or floral scent, making them a great choice if you are hosting a tea party or enjoying a spa day. For taste, white teas are normally more subtle and sweet.

My personal favorite out of the various white teas is called White Peony, which has a mild, floral taste to it and is a relatively delicate tea, perfect for a cool spring day!

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Green Tea
Green tea is one of the first things that come to mind for many when they think of tea. It’s no wonder too, since it’s one of the most popular types in the world! To make green tea, the leaves are harvested and allowed to wither for a shorter period of time before they are heated. The heat aspect prevents any oxidation from occurring. Then the leaves are rolled and pressed out to deepen their flavor.

Green tea, when brewed correctly is aromatic and has a deep, yet smooth taste ranging from smoky to grassy depending on what rolling and pressing method was used. However, it should never be bitter or astringent. Green teas pair well with sweeter and cold foods.

My favorite kind of tea from this category is Dragonwell. It has a pleasantly welcoming, almost grassy scent that I find deeply soothing during thunderstorms and late summer evenings.

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Yellow Tea
There’s really only one key difference between the process of making green tea versus yellow tea, and that’s that yellow tea undergoes something called wrapping. This causes non-enzymatic oxidation and give the tea a yellow or golden color! However, this tea is rare and typically difficult to find. As such, it is more expensive to get high-quality tea leaves.

Although yellow tea isn’t very well known, it has a beautiful, mellow scent with herbaceous or floral undertones. The taste is usually sweeter and more floral.

Due to its exclusivity, I have yet to get my hands on and personally try yellow tea (it’s definitely on my bucket list, though!)

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Blue Tea
Blue or oolong teas have more oxidation than green teas, but less than black teas. This also makes oolong have a color in between that of the other two kinds of tea since oxidation plays a huge role in how dark the tea appears to be. To make blue tea, the leaves are lightly bruised before being heated. This way, more oxidation is formed in the tea leaves.

Oolong teas are normally more of a rich floral or vegetal flavor with a buttery texture and a lighter body. The aroma is often sweet, if not a bit fruity. It’s a great tea to have in the summer on a hot day!

I prefer a balled oolong, since it’s a solid medium within the scale of oxidation that blue teas can come in. My favorite way to drink oolong is with milk and brown sugar!

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Black Tea
Black tea is the current most popular kind in the world. This is the other type most people will think of when tea is mentioned. It is harvested and withered for a long period of time before being dried. However, it isn’t heated since that would halt the oxidation process. Black tea is also usually cut or rolled to help with the method of fully oxidizing the tea.

Fully oxidized tea is less bitter and more sweet. Its flavor profile changes drastically depending on what specific process is used, as the means of making black tea is often unique to each region it originates from. It can range from smoky to citrusy to nutty and even earthy!

My preferred black tea, hands down, has to be assam black. It has a deep, malty flavor with a delicious, pumpkin-like scent. It’s also an excellent tea for beginners to try their hand at brewing!

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Dark Tea
Last but not least, is dark tea! Contrary to the names, dark tea is a lot closer to green tea than it is to black tea. This has to do with the process of how it’s made. After going through the green tea process, dark tea is then aged and fermented.

Dark tea has an earthy scent, but its taste is distinctly sweet and floral. It comes from the Hunan Province of China.

There seems to be some discourse over whether Pu-erh tea is truly a type of dark tea or not. According to what I’ve researched in the past, some people say it is, because it’s made using the green tea process and undergoes fermentation through aging (same as any dark tea), but others disagree, stating that it comes from Yunnan instead of Hunan and that it is fermented for far longer than other kinds of dark tea. Personally, I’m in the camp that Pu-erh, due to the process of creating the tea, is indeed a dark tea, but that’s just my opinion.

That moment when you’ve spent a long day working outside and preparing the grounds for the warmer days of spring, dreaming of kinder evenings and fragrant flowers, while the wind howls and tears across the clouded sky, sending chills along your skin as you stoop low to clear away the sticks and winter brush.

This year.

This year all your dreams will come true.

So in my neighborhood there’s an excellent bbq place, and on thursdays they have a delicious pulled pork sandwich (and trust me they do not skimp on the meat) for only $3. So because I didn’t wanna add gross styrofoam waste to the environment, I walked up and brought a paper bag with me and was just like “hey could you just like wrap the sandwich and put it in here instead of the styrofoam?” and the owner was like “sure why not”

So I ended up walking home on the cloudy, damp spring day, observing the irises and crocus flowers gently sprouting from the ground with a paper bag of today’s meal in hand. And it felt so god damn aesthetic I just-

my cat was being a naughty boy so I scolded him and told him to get into my room for a timeout

and the boy put his head down and acted like he was taking a walk of shame because he did something he knew he shouldn’t

toddlers are fun lol

I wrote down my dream date that would most certainly make me fall in love with someone

cottagecoregrandma:

the pink shrub is a shrub of trumpet flowers!! credits to @rassy for taking such a wonderful picture!!!!!! i am so glad to have finally found the original owner.

✨New amethyst crystal necklaces available!✨

If any local witches and wizards are interested in boosting magic spells…

Or just want to look fancy…You can find them here!: ✨✨

Amber glass bottle in the sun:✨

A list for any adventuring party includes making merry with fellow travelers here are some things you can do 

1. Make a meal, nothing beats a good meal next to a fire with a cool breeze gently grazing your skin as you help your friends make fresh meals with items packed and foraged 

2.Stargazing it’s august-September the skies are usually crystal clear unless stormy maybe you may find a wish,a meteor, or a strange man with a pale woman running from some witches.

3. Conversation nothing beats conversation on a hot night its great distraction and you get to know your friends around you. It helps build deeper connections.

4. Listen just listen to the sounds around in silence before drifting to sleep wolves howling nearby, wind hitting trees, rivers running, or ocean hitting the sand, it’s an experience many must take in it’s your memory your stories no one else can experience or take it from you.

I rarely get to go outside but here are some photos from my walk I didn’t go past the no tress passing sign

Continuing my foraging log I will talk about Idaho and Montana 

Idaho

1. Wild Ginger (spring found in cool and moist areas )
   
2. Wild Strawberry( Late spring- Early summer found in meadows and on the side of streams) 
3. Saskatoon berry (season is July only a month found in timberline areas)
4. Thimbleberry (I live coast side so I have never seen these in person but the photos online look adorable they are found in wooded and wet areas they are best foraged for in early-Mid summer)
5. Chokecherry (Early-Late summer found where there is sunlight)
   
6. Elderberry( Late summer found in moist areas)

Montana

1. Bearberry (Early spring found in foothills)
2. Wild Bergamot ( Early-Late summer found in prairies )
3. Wild Licorice (Early-Mid summer found in low ground nearby streams)
4. Cow-Parsnip (Mid-Late spring found near streams WARNING BE CAREFUL WHEN PICKING AN PREPARING THESE CAN AND WILL LEAVE NASTY BURNS WITHOUT PROPER PREPARATION)
5. White Bog Orchid (Mid-Late summer found in wet bog areas WARNING DO NOT EAT THE LEAVES THEY ARE POISONOUS )

Spring/summer is right around the corner so I am going to make a list of edible plants you can forage for in the Pacific Northwest and make seperate posts for different Parts of the country as well and a few countries outside of mine 

 Oregon:

1. Hawthorn berries (side effects are the seeds do not eat)
2. Blackberries (late spring-early fall)
   
3. Fairy Bell Berries(Summer berry plant found in wet forest)
   
4. Juneberry (June-July found in foothills and lowland do not eat raw the pits are dangerous raw as they contain CYANIDE)
5. False strawberry (late spring-early fall open woods and edges of forest)
6. Oregon Grape ( Summer DO NOT EAT IN LARGE AMOUNTS THEY ARE DANGEROUS THEY CAN ALSO DESTROY GOOD BACTERIA WHEN EATEN BE CAREFUL )
7. Jerusalem Artichoke (March)
   
8. Siberian Miner’s Lettuce (Late winter-early spring found in wetlands)
9. Sea Asparagus ( Early spring - Early fall found in Marshes near ocean)
   
10. Brookelime (Spring-Fall do not eat near polluted water)

Washington

1. Blue Elderberry(Late Spring-Early summer found in damp places)
2. Serviceberry (Late spring-Summer found in hills and rocky areas)
3. Bullwhip kelp (Early Summer-Late summer ocean)
4. Onion Grass (All year in meadows and grassland WARNING THEY HAVE A TWIN CALLED STAR OF BETHLEHEM TO CHECK IF IT'S NOT THAT CRUSH IT ON A ROCK YOU WILL KNOW IF IT’S NOT THE TWIN IF THEY LEAVE A STRONG SCENT THE TWIN IS POISONOUS)
5. Chickweed (Early spring found in damp soils underneath treelines)
6. Fireweed(Late spring-Early fall)
7. Japanese knotweeds(Early Spring-early Summer)