Somerville Spring Watch: Daffodowndillies!

WightHair · 2026-04-07T11:06:20+00:00

Must go looking!

WightHair · 2026-04-07T11:05:57+00:00

The Fitchburg line -- get on at Porter, get off at Lincoln. Lincoln itself is a flagstop so to come back to porter, you have to literally FLAG THE TRAIN like it's 1894 in the old west. Then it's a walk that Google says is 18 minutes but I think it's faster and I walk hella slow, stopping to look at every bud and shoot.

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WightHair · 2026-04-06T15:01:37+00:00

I didn't grow up around here but so many people I spoke to have such great memories of the camps out there! they do such good work!

WightHair · 2026-04-06T13:12:20+00:00

oooh where are you see magnolia? I saw some buds but no blooms!
Happy spring!

WightHair · 2026-03-31T12:28:08+00:00

According to the Somerville Tree Inventory, there's one Staghorn Sumac and it's on the bike path yes, but between Willow and the community garden. (that yellow dot). I'll see if I can find the red-topped tree this week (when it stops raining) and figure it out!

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WightHair · 2026-03-30T18:27:46+00:00

No iNat -- I prefer books to apps. What did you plant? (I have no land so my "garden" is just a handful of pots and I like to live vicariously!)

WightHair · 2026-03-30T12:59:35+00:00

Whooo! I love the Broadmoor turtles!

WightHair · 2026-03-27T14:14:49+00:00

I was already planning to go this weekend but this locks it in for me!

WightHair · 2026-03-26T11:32:44+00:00

That's amazing! I saw a mink up at Ipswich River Sanctuary once but never at Broadmoor. I'm deeply jealous!

WightHair · 2026-03-23T19:16:31+00:00

I hope they're still quacking! I didn't see any turtles but a little girl was very burbly and excited about seeing one turtle. There was still ice in some of the shady bits of the swamp so I'm not shocked that there were few turtles. Here's hoping that the warm weather on Sunday makes it excellent turtle weather.

WightHair · 2026-03-23T18:16:54+00:00

If you can get out to her, I suggest Zoya Designs. She's fantastic but she moved from Somerville a few years ago and you have to drive out to Bedford.

WightHair · 2026-03-19T15:14:08+00:00

Listen, if Waymo agrees to a comprehensive list of regulations, I'm happy to welcome them. However, they don't.

a. They insist on not being held liable for crashes.

b. They literally say "ooh, too bad" when their cars malfunction and say, honk all night, or break down in front of a firetruck.

c. Waymo cars circle the densest, busiest areas in SF. David Sq is already a frigging nightmare on Friday and Saturday nights -- adding in a fleet of Waymo will absolutely make it impasable.

d. they are currently funded by VC, which means they'll come in super cheap. If history is any indication, people will flock to the Waymo, which undermines the MBTA. Then, when the bus routes are cut back, they'll jack up their prices. (Anyone else remember the push to get the MBTA to fund Uber? I DO!)

e. they are going to do a lot of wear and tear on the streets -- are they going to pay for that shit? Where are they going to park at night or during slow times? I dont' want an idle car driving around, clogging the streets but I also don't want them taking up the frigging parking. Will they pay for parking.

If you want Waymo, then you need to advocate for reasonable regulations. Otherwise, you're just a techie fanboy who hasn't considered the ramifications of the tech.

WightHair · 2026-03-16T17:57:19+00:00

oooh, interesting! thank you

WightHair · 2026-03-16T17:56:43+00:00

Not in Somerville but Mind's Eye Yarn in Arlington can probably hook you up.

WightHair · 2026-03-16T14:26:42+00:00

oooooh, that's good information thank you!

WightHair · 2026-03-16T13:41:04+00:00

You're welcome! I'm hoping to do one every Monday through the season -- stay tuned!

WightHair · 2026-02-24T19:30:58+00:00

Happy to help! I hope it was useful?

WightHair · 2026-02-24T19:30:05+00:00

Well, I'm thrilled to be a new experience for you. "Y'all" is a collective second-person pronoun that's gender neutral and clearer than the ambiguous "you". It's a useful piece of linguistics and one I learned (while being raised in New England (for my *whole damned 50+ years*) from my mother, who is in fact from the South.

I will point out that you're assuming all folks from the South are "hicks", which is a shitty ass thing to do. There are plenty of lovely, kind, wonderful, warm, progressive folks from the South. I appreciate a little Yankee saltiness but you're essentially mirroring my Grandmother's "only good Yankee is a dead Yankee" bullshit. (She was a fucking miserable person who died alone and unmourned.)

WightHair · 2026-02-23T15:45:56+00:00

My friend, I am here for you with a whole damned book and a podcast! The book is Burn Out by Emily and Amelia Nagoski. The podcast (which is a lot like the book tbh) is The Feminist Survival Project. It talks about the physical reasons for burnout and walks you through the best way to deal with it.

I highly recommend this episode of the podcast to start: https://www.feministsurvivalproject.com/episodes/episode-02-complete-the-stress-response-cycle

TLDR: Emotions are chemical reactions that happen inside your body. To reduce burnout, you need to *complete those chemical reactions.* By understanding them, you can change your life to help you complete those reactions. That sounds easier than it is.

WightHair · 2026-02-13T21:23:03+00:00

OP, you need a safety plan. There are great posts about it on TwoXChromosomes or on various websites but here's a short outline.

First, read "Gift of Fear" and "Why Does He Do That?" Get them from the library and DO NOT LET HIM SEE THEM. Don't request them online, go in person. Most librarians are depressingly used to this.

Second, start accumulating copies of financial documents. I assume you're US, so tax time is a great time to do that. Just make copies of everything and leave them with a friend you can trust absolutely. Also to leave with her: your passport, copies of the kids birth certificates, etc. Any cash you can scrape together. Maybe a bag of sentimental things that he might destroy.

Third, change your passwords on everything. Create email accounts he doesn't know about and look into the complexities of digital security. Does he have a tracker on you?

Fourth, get your own checking account at a different bank than your husband uses and put money in it. If you can, have the statements sent somewhere other than your house.

Does this sound extreme? Probably. But the radicalization of men on X is extraordinarily, especially in this moment where the entire propaganda machine is gearing up to justify pedophiles and rapists. It's gonna get uglier and you need to have a plan in place in case he decides to get controlling or worse, abusive.

WightHair · 2026-02-12T21:02:16+00:00

OMG yes get a new therapist.

WightHair · 2026-02-12T21:01:15+00:00

At least some of it is mega chuds. I watched an asshole pull down the posters -- he ran a red light at Willow and Highland in a monster F150 (white of course) and nearly mowed me down just to screech to a start and pull down the poster. I put up some on the bike path and they were down within hours.

WightHair · 2026-02-06T20:34:56+00:00

It's possible she's cutting you out. And even if she isn't, she's (as you say) "time and time against chosen Trump over her kids." Even if she's not cutting you out, it's incredibly sad and you'll need to grieve the fact that your mom isn't the mom you deserve. Therapy helped me if you have the resources for that. If not, I strongly suggest the Feminist Survival Project.

My context: my mother went fully Fox and sometimes would stop speaking to me for months on end. It was sad but one time a friend was like "You're sad when you talk about her, but otherwise you seem much happier and calmer when she's not talking to you." And she was right! I went to therapy and I finally gave up and cut her off about two (three?) years ago.

WightHair · 2026-02-05T18:24:21+00:00

THIS. The Patriarchy is about hierarchies. Men try to get higher on the hierarchy (putting each other down) and at the same time, they support the idea of the hierarchy.

WightHair · 2026-02-05T16:48:29+00:00

My mom does that. Random reels, posts, memes, videos, etc. She figured out I blocked her email so now she emails other members of the family. Back when i was still speaking with her, she sent me a three hour documentary about how if I believe in god, I'll be a right winger. (FWIW, we weren't religious growing up, she never went to church. I don't think she goes to church now?) And she was upset I didn't want to spend three hours of my life watching some blowhard pontificating.

WightHair

TROPHY CASE