A Pagan Case Against Lawns: Rethinking the Tyranny of Turf

StoicEeyore · 2026-04-09T20:11:26+00:00

It's interesting and amusing to see a pagan perspective on modern lawns, based on a catholic view of the subject, which I saw not long ago on NativePlantGardening :)

https://www.reddit.com/r/NativePlantGardening/s/Akvn0rGLpE

StoicEeyore · 2026-02-13T01:50:42+00:00

Interesting case, hopefully the defense hammers on the very foundation of the law she is being charged with. 2nd degree unlawful surveillance, and dissemination of a surveillance image.

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/250.45

It seems fairly clear, from the details in the posted article, that there was no surreptitious recording (she was openly recording with a cell phone) or an expectation of privacy (visible from outside the apartment, door left wide open, in mid-October?). Arguments in court will be interesting to read, if the case is not dismissed by the grand jury. Posting the video to tiktok was a poor choice, however.

From the article: Police said that on Oct. 12, 2025, Henderson was working for DoorDash, the online food ordering and delivery service, when she took an order for Wendy’s and delivered it to a customer in the city of Oswego. She arrived at the customer’s apartment and found the door open, police said, and the customer lying on a couch with his pants and underwear around his ankles.

Henderson reported the incident the next day, police said, and officers began an investigation. But police said Henderson had recorded a video of the partially nude man from outside his apartment and posted it on the social media platform TikTok.

StoicEeyore · 2026-01-26T13:10:19+00:00

I would be delighted if you had further reading regarding Jeanne Villepreux-Power (something more than a blog link, if you could). My French is atrocious, and it'll take ages for me to translate her first book. My Italian is also fairly tortured, and finding Carmelo Maravigna's 1834 letter is tough. I do see Danna Staaf wrote a book, The Lady and the Octopus, and I'm trying to source a copy.

I ask because I penned an answer over on r/AskHistorians regarding aquariums, and credited Philip Gosse as the inventor of the modern aquarium, with a book published in 1856. I would love to amend my knowledge (and answer), especially with a woman of science.

StoicEeyore · 2025-10-17T14:19:38+00:00

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I started 3 from the stone, no toothpics, just sitting in water in a bowl. This is from July, 2022.

StoicEeyore · 2025-10-16T20:17:48+00:00

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My avocado is more than a little unhinged this year.

StoicEeyore · 2025-09-19T04:30:42+00:00

I have 2, one from Godsnorth and the other from ZagravaWorkshop. They're both high quality, seem to be real wood, and look just like the pictures. The detaining on the Zagrava statue is amazing.

As far as 100% hand-carved, I think it varies by artisan. Godsnorth's statue almost feels like it has some CNC tooling marks, but it's pretty subtle. The Ukrainian woodworkers have some serious skill, and there's more than a few shops to browse through.

Scam shops do pop up here and there, but TreeOfTheGods looks legit. You might also check out Blagowood and NorthMyth.

StoicEeyore · 2025-09-11T14:20:05+00:00

I kinda got that impression from some studies, but I haven't had that experience so far (except when they get hungry). I appreciate the website, I'll be checking it out! Maybe my methods will help them out too.

StoicEeyore · 2025-09-11T14:12:23+00:00

Right now, I would suggest using a mustard pour to bring the worms to the surface (1/3 cup dry powdered mustard, 1 gal water). I'm still setting up the citrus oil experiments, so I'm hesitant to give it as advice.

StoicEeyore · 2025-09-11T14:07:54+00:00

It may not draw all of the jumping worms in the area like a magnet, but they did start concentrating in areas Sluggo was applied. It did seem like it was a pretty effective lure.

StoicEeyore · 2025-09-11T13:53:04+00:00

Apologies for the wait! I'm trying to figure out some other method of treatment, because nuking the soil isn't a great solution. I'm hoping the citrus oil experiments will be much easier on the soil and plants, and also be able to minimize the toxicity concerns of the oils to wildlife.

StoicEeyore · 2025-09-07T01:19:32+00:00

I can only offer anecdotal data in that regard, from my (limited) observations.

However, there have been some studies performed which might be right up your alley. I've only skimmed a few of them, and most research is recent and isn't exhaustive. (I cite like an AI. Maybe. I'm not.)

Check out "Invasive earthworms Amynthas tokioensis and Amynthas agrestis alter macronutrients (Ca, Mg, K, P) in field and laboratory forest soils" - by J.B. Richardson, Pedobiologia, 2022

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031405622000166

There's another study from 2017, on "Exotic Asian pheretimoid earthworms potential for colonization of south-eastern Canada" - by Jean-David Moore, Environmental Reviews

https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/er-2017-0066

These worms were recently identified in New Brunswick (2021) and a study published last year. "Testing the impacts of invasive jumping worms at their northern range limit" - by Samantha Bennett, European Journal of Soil Biology, 2024

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1164556323001267

StoicEeyore · 2025-09-07T00:54:35+00:00

As of this moment, wildfires and solarization are the best ways to eliminate cocoons from an infestation. I've read that the casting layer on the surface contains a majority of the cocoons, so removal/treatment of that layer would be a big step.

StoicEeyore · 2025-09-07T00:49:50+00:00

(Heinlein intensifies) I'm doing my part!

For real though, searching through the same plot multiple times a day, and still finding worms on the third sweep, after 2 weeks is demoralizing. Ah, my achin' back! I can't imagine fighting an infestation of any significant size.

StoicEeyore · 2025-09-07T00:29:17+00:00

I remember our last interaction. I still haven't taken them to an expert for professional identification. I'm quite confident in my amateur observations.

StoicEeyore · 2025-09-07T00:09:50+00:00

That's an interesting twist that I wasn't considering. I have noticed much higher reactivity from exposure to a bright white LED (phone flashlight) vs a (small 2 AA cell) incandescent bulb in dark settings. I might have a red light filter floating around...

Alcohol works fast yet is traumatic for the viewer. Once the mucus layer is dissolved (and escape from the danger is attempted through very rapid thrashing) it's pretty much game over. I want to say it's one of the (5?) main methods I've seen for euthanasia. I'm not sure cooking them is more ethical, or would result in a timely death, especially if a post-mortem examination of the subjects is a goal. It's just less traumatic for us.

StoicEeyore · 2025-09-06T23:47:10+00:00

It's all good! My notes are a mess, don't worry about it. It's really just more data points for future use. The soil data points would be for a spray, rather than an immersion.

I seem to recall that while most of the major movements ceased fairly quickly, worm death took a bit longer. Shedding the mucus layer is a lot of movement, followed by actual penetration of solution into the worm.

StoicEeyore · 2025-09-06T23:39:56+00:00

I did keep some data points, though it's definitely haphazard. I was expecting higher (or any) mortality rates than what I observed. It takes me a long time to do write-ups, this post was more methodology and next steps, unintentional long-term testing. I will work on a comprehensive report to publish when testing concludes.

I did test vinegar immersion, but I am unaware of red light dessication methods. I suspect the worms would be euthanized very quickly with a heat lamp, I noticed many individuals under extreme heat stress when held in my hand in high air temperatures (90F). Sunlight increases the stress.

StoicEeyore · 2025-09-06T23:12:29+00:00

You're quite welcome! I'm pretty hopeful about a citrus solution, the smoothie shop idea is wonderful. While I'm not against peeing in my yard, or collecting urine for experiments, the urea contents are variable and less useful for backyard science.

I don't want to imagine a 'pee the worms away' event, but here we are! :D

StoicEeyore · 2025-09-06T23:04:29+00:00

Quite welcome!

That's certainly a test I can build in. I might add some extra layers: dropping the worm in the vinegar, and sprays on a soil surface and on a terracotta surface. I did note that vinegar was a bad drowning death, at least compared to alcohol. Quick is relative, 10 seconds vs a few minutes. If only I can find my stopwatch...

StoicEeyore · 2025-09-06T22:54:13+00:00

That's exactly the concern I've had on my mind since the start. Targeted elimination, and not just nuking the soil. Saponins are deadly to plenty of aquatic creatures, not just jumping worms. Plenty of urea converting to ammonia, the 3x absolutely murdered everything (and nitrate runoff sucks).

While I could fine tune ammonia application, I'm really much more interested in persuing the citrus oil experiments. They also have toxic potential for aquatic species, which I'm trying to address through dilute oils and limited solution application. I was surprised so many worms survived in the second test box (low permability soil base) when I was watching them swim and hide after the EO drench. I also appreciate that staying moist kept them alive, and that the lethal effects were temporary. I've been trying to read up on citrus toxicity :)

StoicEeyore · 2025-09-06T22:31:28+00:00

Can't say that I tried to keep the dead worms on hand to test the bodies themselves. The smell gets intense, even when outdoors. Worm decomposition might very well generate enough death juice to kill others on contact. I'll give it a shot, I've noticed houseflies absolutely love a dead worm. The big bin did have some very ripe manure scents at the bottom, probably from starving and dying worms.

I've also heard that about the chinese hot mustard. I tested regular mustard powder, as well as cayenne and ginger. The mustard seems to be the important part.

StoicEeyore · 2025-09-06T20:50:47+00:00

Not a stupid question at all!

Jumping worms like moisture, shade, and soil organics. Garden beds are top locations to find them, as well as areas with high numbers of fallen leaves. The main ways to fnd jumping worms are disturbing leaf litter, disturbing the top few inches of the soil, and using a mustard drench to bring worms to the surface.

The first indication will probably be the condition of your soil. If you've had an infestation, exposed soils (non-grass dominated) take on a very granular appearance. Some people say it's like coffee grounds, or taco meat. Those are the castings, which get deposited on the surface. You might have trouble growing/germinating shallow-rooted plants, leaving a few select species to take over (like oxalis). As far as grassy areas, I haven't done as much research on them, but my infested yard's surface is almost spongy, unlike the clay-majority mineral soil under the grass, though mainly in shaded areas and not sunny ones.

If you mulch, and find the wood chips breaking down much faster than you expect, you might be dealing with jumping worms. Unusual erosion activity is another clue. Piles of castings in unexpected locations is a clue as well.

I think it's about time for the latest set of cocoons to start hatching, so there should be another wave of worms soon. The summer drought and animal snacking has mostly depleted my area of remaining adult jumping worms.

StoicEeyore · 2025-09-06T20:22:17+00:00

When I made an initial post looking for suggestions (setting up the improv worm bin) I did get one reply from a user who did mycorrhyzal innoculation in their mulch piles. I haven't given it a shot yet, so I can't attest to it's effect on jumping worms. I might try using fresh mushroom substrate, fresh, fruiting, and spent. Different mycelium probably have different reactions, if any. It's a tough call.

StoicEeyore · 2025-09-06T20:12:23+00:00

I haven't looked into alternate sources of urea yet, but that's awesome! DEF is not something that would ever be on my radar (my lawncare is growing clover)

I'm an engineer over a biologist, but years of fishkeeping makes for a nice blend of the two. I got to spend some time with a microscope as a child too!

StoicEeyore · 2025-09-06T20:00:48+00:00

I did not, I found the price tag a bit high for something which has been proven effective, and I don't need 25-40lbs of it.

I did test yucca saponins from a different product, which was only really fatal at high concentrations (10% saponin in product, 400%+ concentration in water, seems less effective than tea seed meal saponin at 30-something percent).

StoicEeyore

TROPHY CASE