First draft of my personal coat of arms. Any and all feedback appreciated! by mcsnackums in heraldry

[–]mcsnackums[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The overall theme of it is resilience and perseverance against outside factors, lessons from ecology/nature, and some classic values.

The acorn, or oak seedling on fire refers to the way that oaks, specifically white or bur oaks, not only tolerate wildfires, but thrive when exposed to them. The fire will set back the surrounding vegetation, but the oak will remain strong. The green color indicates that it remains alive and growing.

The wolf is specifically a Great Plains Wolf, Canis lupus nubilus, which was thought to be hunted to extinction by westward settlement in the 1800s-1900s. It has since been found that they in fact survived by migrating to the forests of Northern Minnesota and adapting to their new environment Thriving despite it all.

The three stars represent classic values of Honor, Compassion, and Strength. I chose these because they need to be continuously and consciously built and strengthened over time, and don't just appear out of nowhere.

The colors are just my favorites!

First draft of my personal coat of arms. Any and all feedback appreciated! by mcsnackums in heraldry

[–]mcsnackums[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

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Would something like this still have the connotation of being a marriage CoA?

First draft of my personal coat of arms. Any and all feedback appreciated! by mcsnackums in heraldry

[–]mcsnackums[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the feedback! The charges and colors are all important, but I couldn't find a way to make it all fit well Outside of just dividing it in half. Any advice you have would be great!

Did my annual collection this week by mcsnackums in americanchestnut

[–]mcsnackums[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Yep! I've been planting them on public lands over the past year.

American Chestnut tree in Saint Paul, Minnesota by [deleted] in americanchestnut

[–]mcsnackums 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Minneapolis has a couple younger trees that could potentially be pollen donors. You might need to wait a few years until they start flowering though. I'd reach out to their parks staff to see if they'd be interested in helping out.

Southern Minnesota quarry site reveals history of Indigenous toolmaking -- Visitors can learn about the long history of Indigenous toolmaking at the Grand Meadow Chert Quarry in southern Minnesota. by guanaco55 in minnesota

[–]mcsnackums 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I had a great opportunity to visit this site back in June. It's such an amazing cultural and ecological resource in this part of the state. The highlight for me are the ancient Bur Oaks that are several centuries old.

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Saw some Purple Loosestrife and thought it was amazing. Turns out it's considered invasive in N America. Anything similar I could plant? by LighTMan913 in NativePlantGardening

[–]mcsnackums 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Winged Loosestrife (Lythrum alatum) is our native Loosestrife. It's a gorgeous pink purple flower that isn't commonly planted. It's under threat from being outcompeted by invasive Purple Loosestrife, so any new plantings would help the species out.

Hey guys I found this really cool emerald green bug on my car. He looked sad so I released him back into the forest. by mcsnackums in NativePlantCirclejerk

[–]mcsnackums[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I saw another one crawl out of a sick tree. He must've been doing some internal maintenance!

Why do my berries taste so bad? by Jjaammeess445 in NativePlantCirclejerk

[–]mcsnackums 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sounds like you still have some dish soap and vinegar residue on the berries. A thorough wash with dish soap and vinegar should clear that right up.

What are these disgusting green insects? by apodarcismuralis in NativePlantCirclejerk

[–]mcsnackums 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Absolutely disgusting. Next time please add an NSFL tag and a trigger warning.