If a dog’s recall isn’t great, starting calm & positive is crucial. If they come when called & the owner gets angry at them for taking too long, the lesson is, “If I come when called, I’ll get in trouble.” Always praise your dog for coming to you, even if they’re slow. Rewards help in the long run.

If a dog jumps up on you and you turn to the side and ignore them, it discourages the behavior - or at least doesn’t reinforce it. But catching their feet is a reward, even if you say “no”. Saying “no” while giving a reward can actually erode the meaning of “no”.

My dog learned to stick her nose in people’s crotches to get pets. I call it “the pet me button”. Every time she does it, somebody pets her, which reinforces the behavior. She doesn’t do it to me because I don’t reward her for it.

In my view, ADHD/autism are disorders *not* because something is wrong with the brain, but because something is wrong with *society*.

Please add me. I may not post Druidry-related things very often, but you never know.

#Baikal is an active tectonic rift lake, and the rift is still opening. Sediment enters the lake and sinks into the rift. Sediment and water included, the rift is an estimated 6 to 7 miles deep! Incredible!

Thanks Alie Ward @ologies.bsky.social for bringing yet another guest to blow my mind.

Cappuccino was also named as a reference to the friars’ brown robes and distinctively long and pointed hoods. The Italian word for hood is “cappuccio”.

Capuchins (friars and monkeys) still exist today, but the latter are in decline, mainly due to deforestation and forest fragmentation.

Capuchins (subfamily Cebinae) are small, social, intelligent new world monkeys with semi-prehensile tails.

Early explorers thought the contrast of the monkeys’ dark brown bodies and cream colored necks looked like they were hooded, which reminded them of the friars’ robes and hoods. 🧵

Once the stabilimentum is built, the spider will shake it vigorously by pumping its legs. It’s thought that this creates a visual effect that prevents accidental bird strikes, attracts insects, or warns off predators. Only spiders that hunt during the day build stabilimenta.

The yellow garden spider (I grew up calling it a writing spider) is a visually striking species, good to have in the garden, & generally harmless to humans (they won’t bite unless grabbed). The bite’s pain is comparable to a bumblebee sting. However, some folks are allergic. 🧵

Like many legumes, Desmodium species can fix nitrogen: they have root nodules that host symbiotic bacteria, which convert atmospheric nitrogen into a usable form. This enriches the soil and benefits neighboring plants.

Clover (a legume) is commonly planted in lawns and fields for the same purpose.

This animal dispersal strategy helps seeds move farther from the parent, decreasing competition and increasing genetic diversity.

Desmodium is beneficial to deer for browse, an important source of food for seed-eating birds, and nectar for pollinating insects. 🧵

I just learned that Desmodium is in the pea/legume family Fabaceae. But unlike a typical legume that splits lengthwise (think green beans), tick trefoils split between seeds, creating strings of loosely-connected triangular stickers. These break off individually when an animal brushes past. 🧵

And still, the same people who carried pocket-sized copies of the constitution at all times during Obama’s presidency are mysteriously silent.

Wild cannas are native to the tropical and subtropical Americas from South Carolina, west to Texas, and south to Argentina.

It’s also known as Indian shot, edible canna, and arrowroot. Arrowroot powder is used widely as a food starch and is produced from the plant’s rhizomes.

When the seed pods ripen, they dry, turn brown, and open to release the seeds. The seed pods’ 3 chambers are visible in these photos.

Reproduction by seed can be seen as secondary, as cannas spread via rhizomes, and seed hibernation is made possible by a hard seed coat.

As a monocot, the flower parts are in multiples of three. The three petals and sepals are inconspicuous. What’s appear to be bright, showy petals are modified stamens and pistil. The pistil is connected to a 3-chambered ovary, which matures into a 3-chambered seed pod (pictured below, unripe).