From the Compost Heap header. A pencil style illustration of a compost heap with flowers and plants growing around it. A bee buzzes by and a white rabbit hops by.

  • Our chaos garden has turned feral.

    After being gone for a week and sick for another here’s a look at how it’s going. And it’s going to stay this overgrown for a while.

    One of my chronic illnesses causes heat intolerance so it is what it is at this point. (I can do a bit in evenings, but can’t keep pace with the grass.)

    The perennials that hold space against the grass are key. I keep adding more of them, but we can only afford to do so much at once. 🤷

    I show this to not idealize the chaos gardening approach. It works better in some seasons than others. Between the heat and the rain the witch grass is currently winning. My main point is that you don’t have to be a perfect gardener to enjoy gardening.

    Brick house with an undulating garden bed overrun with grass. A black armillary sphere and purple russian sage pierce the weeds.
    Garden bed along fence completely overrun with grass. A tall butterfly bush towers to the left.
    The self seeded sunflowers between overgrown garden beds.

    The self seeded sunflowers are a bright light. They’ve attracted goldfinch which we don’t often see.

    Read more: untitled post 156079265

  • Art for Social Change

    “I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.


    “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

    We can’t single-handedly solve all of the world’s problems. But we can collaborate with others to make a difference. We each have our own unique strengths to contribute.

    Art for Social Change

    • Tell a story to imagine a better world.

    • Draw, paint, collage, or print visual art to raise awareness of issues.

    • Write a zine, book, or blog post to educate others to share your own experience (especially powerful and needed for marginalized voices.)

    • Collaborate to paint a mural or create pubic art.

    • Hold a quilting bee or host a creative community to make blankets, hats, etc. for those who need them.

    • Tell a story, write a poem, or make art that encourages empathy.

    • Make a poster, zine, or postcard about a cause.

    • Make art to regulate your own nervous system.

    • Curate an art show, publication, or performance to support or educate about a cause.

    • Raffle or sell something you’ve made to raise funds.

    • Sell merch on Threadless with a percentage to charity.*
    Two round pins. One is a blue and teal nebula with a white infinity symbol. The other is a watercolor wash of rainbow colors in a color wheel spectrum. Typewritten text is collaged on top that says, "autism is a spectrum."

    You can grab these designs on shirts, mugs, and several other things from my new Threadless shop. 10% of the profit will go to the ACLU.

    Love snail mail?

    This is a virtual edition of my Art for Social Change zine for my monthly subscribers.

    If you’d like a printed copy (plus postcards + stamps to write your elected representatives) you can:

    order a zine
    Art for Social Change zine and typewritten postcards. Vintage buttons are on the cover including a yellow Buzzy Bee "be a helper", "try a little kindness", a retro earth pin that says "Don't blow it." an infinity symbol on an outer space badge, "bread not bombs" with a red flower", "yeah rights" in rainbow colors, "I'm on earth duty" and "I'm for wildlife" with a bird and wildflowers.
    FOOTNOTES

    * Threadless makes this so easy, automates the donation process, and matches donations up to $1 per sale. Learn more here.

    Read more: Art for Social Change

  • “In the pos­ses­sion of books unread, there is not shame but virtue: the pur­suit of a super­cool project: the pro­duc­tion of a perfect-for-you library; an intel­lec­tual armory.”

    “I do believe a great library is both a prac­tical asset and a per­sonal achievement. It’s a way of saying, this is who I am; this is what I value. Saying it to yourself, most of all.”

    “It is para­dox­i­cally the lim­i­ta­tions of the phys­ical book — the fact that it can only be in one place at a time; that fact that it bears marks of its use; the fact that when a friend presses a book into your hands, they are actu­ally giving some­thing up—that make it so pro­duc­tive as a cul­tural object.”

    Robin Sloan

    Read more: untitled post 156079263

  • “I’ve come to understand that not everything I write needs to go somewhere. But the act of writing itself—of witnessing—does something to me. It organizes what I didn’t know I was trying to understand. It shows me what I’m circling, what I’m avoiding, what I already know.

    Writing, self-publishing, and small acts of attention help me keep my heart from hardening. They’re not solutions—but they’re part of how I stay human.”

    Cody Cook-Parrott

    Read more: untitled post 156079261

  • Pin Collection

    Links to the pins in my collection. I’m not an affiliate. I just like to support artists.

    Two round pins and one pink butterfly patch. The first pin says, "The future is inclusive" and shows a wave and sunrise in pride flag colors. The second says they/them and a flare of rainbow coming off the letters.
    • The Future is Inclusive (Etsy)
    • They/Them (Threadless, 30% of Proceeds to NQTTCN)
    Three round pins. The first is a vintage pin with red flowers that says "Bread not bombs." The second is a black pin with white bird holding a red flower that says "Free Palestine." The third is a circular slice of watermelon.
    • Bread Not Bombs (Vintage)
    • Free Palestine (Threadless, 90% of Proceeds to Medical Aid for Palestine)
    • Watermelon (Etsy)
    Two round pins. One is a blue and teal nebula with a white infinity symbol. The other is a watercolor wash of rainbow colors in a color wheel spectrum. Typewritten text is collaged on top that says, "autism is a spectrum."

    These designs are my own. You can find them (including variations) in my shop.

    • Neurodivergent Spacetime (Threadless, 10% of proceeds to ACLU)
    • Autism is Spectrum (Threadless, 10% of proceeds to ACLU)

    Read more: Pin Collection

  • What #1 New York Times Bestseller Actually Means

    Read more: What #1 New York Times Bestseller Actually Means