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Dogs Build Their Vocabularies Like Toddlers

Basket the Border collie seems to have a way with words. The 7-year-old dog, who resides on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, knows the names of at least 150 toys — “froggy,” “crayon box” and “Pop-Tart,” among them — and can retrieve them on command.

The number is average. Most dogs can learn 100-200 words, typically 150-160. However, a majority of those are verbs like "sit" and "fetch." Nouns are less common, but most dogs learn a bunch of things like "food" and "leash." Having a vocabulary that is mostly nouns is uncommon.

Why a collie? Because people used to teach them the names of the sheep. "All in" is useful, but "Cut Molly" (out of the herd) is even more so.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today's theme is Led Zeppelin.

fanmix_monthly -- Mixtapes & Fanmixes
A fanmix is a compilation of songs inspired by a fannish source.
[Active with multiple posts in January.]

landoftheiceandsnow -- We Come From The Land of Ice and Snow
Led Zeppelin fanfiction archive.
[Active with one post in December.]

tfc_musicianships -- We Jammin'. We Are The Underground
Musicians, engineers, and others of the scene.
[Active with one post in January.]

thefreaksclub -- TFC // The Anti-Thesis Social Network
Everything related to darker alternative subcutlures. Discussion on books, the occult, music, & more.
[Active with multiple posts in January.]

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

This poem came out of the October 7, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from

siliconshaman and

chanter1944. It also fills the "Black / Orange" square in my 10-1-25 card for the Fall Festival Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with

fuzzyred. It belongs to the series Practical Magics.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Thanks to a donation from

fuzzyred, there are 10 new verses in "An Inkling of Things to Come." What if it rained diamonds for a week?

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

This year I'm doing Community Thursdays. Some of my activity will involve maintaining communities I run, and my favorites. Some will involve checking my list of subscriptions and posting in lower-traffic ones. Today I have interacted with the following communities...

Posted 10 Products to Help You Keep Your 2026 New Year’s Resolutions at

goals_on_dw.

Posted "Reading Challenges" on

25book_pwd.

Posted "Reading Challenges" on

50books_poc.

Commented under 01/07/26 on

abc_onceupon.

Commented under Hi There by

dr_zook on

friending_memes.
-- and under the comment thread by

tamena.
-- and under the comment thread by

forestofdreams.
-- and under the comment thread for

autumninpluto.
-- and under the comment thread for

adoptedwriter.

Commented under "Love Note to Quadrants" on

100quadrantedships.

Commented under "Love Note To The Sedoretu" in

40sedoretu.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today is cloudy, chilly, breezy, and wet. It rained earlier, and has been spitting rain occasionally.

I fed the birds. I haven't seen any though.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 1/8/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 1/8/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

Now dozens of sparrows are suddenly mobbing the hopper feeder.

EDIT 1/8/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I've seen some sparrows, and a larger dark-colored bird that may have been a starling or a grackle. The light was too low to tell exactly, even though it was on the metal tray feeder.

It's been spitting rain off and on. Heavier rain is forecast for tonight.

I am done for the night.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

beavertech has posted the January batch of sponsored poems. :D

"So Many Words for Wood" on

first_nations_freaks

"The Infinity of Acorns" on

scienceworld

"Birds and Snow" on

the_magick_circle

"A Piecemeal Apocalypse" on

thefreaksclub

Current Mood: accomplished

bedes

Challenge #4: Rec The Contents Of Your Last Page

Any website that you like, be it fanfiction, art, social media, or something a bit more eccentric!

The last website that I was on was TheFanlistings.org! You might recognize it, as it's been around since 2000 as a directory of approved fanlistings.

What's a fanlisting? In the words of the site itself: "A fanlisting is simply an online listing of fans of a subject, such as a TV show, actor, or musician, that is created by an individual and open for fans from around the world to join. There are no costs, and the only requirements to join a fanlisting are your name and country. TheFanlistings.org is the original (but not only) web directory for fanlistings, dedicated to uniting fans across the globe."

Basically, it's an old-fashioned way to connect with other fans of a subject, by listing all fans who sign up in the same place for easy searching! They were popular in the early internet, when social media wasn't as prominent, so fellow fans were harder to find. They're making a comeback, thanks to the revival of the indie web, though!

If you want to join some fanlistings, I recommend browsing the approved fanlistings of TheFanlistings.org (as previously mentioned), and their partner site, AnimeFanlistings.com. You can put your Dreamwidth journal in the "website" space, so other fans can find your journal!

If you want to look through some fanlisting collectives (which is a website where somebody hosts their fanlistings), I recommend browsing through EPHEMERAL, which is a directory for exactly that! I have a fanlisting collective myself, as well. It's very small for now, and I aim to keep it that way.

I really like fanlistings, because it means that I don't have to put my stake in search engines and unreliable algorithms to find other fans. Plus, it doesn't have any requirements that you sign up to anything, unlike social media! You can find any fan across the whole, wide internet.

Current Mood: excited

bedes

The first appearance of The Fount of Knowledge, who wears long religious robes

The second appearance of The Fount of Knowledge, who wears a skin-tight bodysuit

So, Shadow Milk Cookie's corruption involved ripping off his flowing, religious-coded robes, revealing a skintight bodysuit underneath. A skintight bodysuit that, mind you, he looks much happier in.

I’m stuck between wanting to commentate on the inherent queercoded nature of this, and just wanting to call him the word.

( NSFW joke under the cut... continue? )

bedes

Do you ever see a piece of fiction that you wish you had gotten into as a kid? Like, you love it Now, but you wish you had the experience of enjoying it as a child, too? Although I often wish I could experience pieces of fiction for the first time again, too, so I suppose the grass is always greener.

I guess what I’m saying is that, in a universe slightly to the left from ours, a tweenage Azure became SICKENINGLY obsessed with Riku Kingdomhearts. Just an absolute BLOODBATH. Because if I have one thing in common with my tween self, it's undoubtedly that we both love mean queercoded characters who experience SHAME 🔥🔥💥💥💥🍾🎉🔥💥💥💥🎉

Current Mood: reminiscing

bedes

Challenge #3

Write a love letter to fandom. It might be to fandom in general, to a particular fandom, favourite character, anything at all.

I hate to use the exact same fandom twice in a row, when I am a multifandom girlie at heart, but I feel like this couldn't be for any other fandom but Pokemon. You'll understand why thanks to the contents of the letter itself.

Dear Pokemon,

( Letter under the cut... continue? )

Current Mood: loving

ysabetwordsmith

brickhousewench tipped me to Heading Prints, a company that makes scarves using book art as inspiration. They offer bandanas, skinny scarves, large rectangular scarves, square silky scarves, and also a few rings with designs to match some of their most popular scarf designs. Also, these are much more affordable on average than most fashion scarves I've seen, although they do cost more than the cheap random ones in a discount store.

If you've seen my post "How to Simplify Fashion," then consider these scarves as an option for color-matching. Look for a scarf whose colors you love and want to use. Wear it while clothes shopping to test if new clothes match your colors.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today is partly cloudy and cool.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 1/7/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 1/7/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 1/7/26 -- I gathered the raked leaves from the ritual meadow, enough to fill the trolley twice, which I dumped on the daffodil bed. (That should have been done in fall, but better late than never.) One quarter around the firepit equaled two trolleys and covered the daffodil bed completely. The tulip bed will need at least twice that much.

I startled several cardinals and the great-horned owl in the ritual meadow.

EDIT 1/7/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I filled a trolley with sticks from the brushpile beside the driveway, then dumped that in the firepit.

EDIT 1/7/26 -- I filled another trolley with sticks, then dumped that in the firepit.

There's not much left of the brushpile now, mostly pieces too big for me to break down.

It's 5:05 PM. The western sky is still twilight, the east considerably darker.

I am done for the night.

Current Mood: busy

lizdamnit

I am having feelings about aging. Overall, I'm pretty body-positive, age-positive, sex-positive. But sometimes I loose the thread. I lost it bad a few days ago. I'm going to talk about that in this entry. I want to emphasize that what I'm about to talk about is not jealousy at youth. This is not mutton-as-lamb nonsense. This is a real inventory of things that have been causing me actual pain and I think I'm not the only one. So I am just putting all of this out here in case this makes someone else feel less lonely.

......Space because I can't figure out the damn cut tag........

For my 41st and 42nd birthdays, I've been in a depressive state. I feel old, ugly, insecure, invisible. I yearn for external attention, validation. I want compliments, pursuit, desire. But I was sitting there crying. I'm still not 100% even a few days after as I write this.

I know I should not rely on these things but my god I feel like I'm starving to be noticed as a sexual being. I feel petty, needy, damaged. I want attention, flattery, compliments, desire. However I am terrified to ask for it. I also resent having to ask for it. Yes, I want spontaneous compliments, affection, recognition that I am desirable. Let me know that you think of me and want me even when I'm not there. I literally worry I'm deluding myself that anyone finds me attractive (even in the platonic sense).

So this morass of emotions led me to introspection which is never a good idea. I started feeling very sorry for myself. However, I at least reached some interesting points of thought. I realized several things about myself and my appearance/appeal:

I am so wounded by the late 90s/early 2000s culture regarding sex appeal. If you are from this generation, you know what I mean. Back then, if you were a woman or girl that did not fit into a certain mold, you were ignored at best, bullied/abused at worst. If you were a man that wanted someone outside that mold, no you didn't - you pursued who the culture told you was attractive not who you wanted. This was drilled into me by media and my family. It was unrelenting. If you are not XYZ, you are unfuckable and need to be grateful for any crumb of attention thrown your way. Fast forward to today where it is common for men to take to social media to openly, unapologetically discuss their love for various body types. I have seen this effect myself and while I love it I can't rest easy in it, I can't bask in it because I just can't reconcile being a desirable woman with the "programming" I was built on. I just can't wrap my head around it. I feel like I'm scamming people if they find me attractive. I am convinced I'm invisible in social situations. At some point the jig will be up and whatever beauty I admire will turn around and be cruel to me for daring to look above my station. I've been the convenient blowjob. I've been the girl you never want your buddies to see. I've been the hidden secret. It's not fun. I took what I could get at the time, but by god I wish I held out for more. Now I have to still carry this crap while I'm trying to enjoy my adult life.

External validation is not supposed to be something ~strong women~ strive for, but I need it. I need this because I have been invisible pretty much my whole life. I have done a lot....a lot....of caregiving from a very early age. I call this being the Mother Machine. Most of this was emotional/psychological so all the more insidious. I was parentified with a capital P. Realizing this doesn't make it easier to deal with. The praise came when I was strong, when I was reliable, when I weathered every storm and kept moving around my track. Peace only really came when I was hurting. This is not what a young woman needs. I developed a smart mouth where self esteem should have been since humor was the one way I could be seen. I love my humor but it tells a tale that's very sad: When you are this deep in a parentified role, you are not visible. You are not validated. Your personality is not reinforced since you are the Mother Machine that keeps going and going. No one stops to teach you how to praise and be praised. I was loved, yes, but I was only valued for how much pain I could take and keep going. So I

I am femme but not feminine. I have no idea what this means buy by god is it true. Sometimes I wonder if one can be cis and have dysphoria, since I think I do. I don't think I'm NB or trans, but I don't think I fully fit into femininity. However, I am very femme. Make this make sense, cause I can't!! For example: the thought of being seen in regular lingerie makes me want to cry and run away. But give me something menswear or vintage and I'm fine. So what can I do about it? How do I make myself believe that I am beautiful and sexy? The typical advice to handle this feeling usually to "wear something sexy, wear what makes you feel powerful and beautiful, slay queen! (tm)" I don't know what that is. I literally don't know what works for me sartorially because I don't fit into "feminine". I have a damaged relationship with femininity for many reasons that I'm still discovering. Some of it is from being a larger person ("feminine" is usually equated with petite). Some of it is from being money conscious (hard to be a fashion plate when you

My points of reference came form a heavily traumatized boomer and it's fucked me up. I am quite literally disconnected from the world around me because the "intel" I got growing up was irrevocably colored by the unhealed wounds of my parents, especially my mother. From her own insecurities to the fucked up shit they lived with generally and in terms of dating/mating. I think my mother had the best of intentions, but she was trying to arm me against what she perceived as a terrifying, cruel social world. To use the example of weight: she was far from an "almond mom", thank god. But she had a fucked up view of size. She didn't diet or restrict, but she had this weird view that exercise and physicality were "for skinny people". She literally subscribed to BBW magazine but also constantly talked about how abused she was about her weight in her youth, by men. Men will hate you. But why am I not talking about men, pursuing men, MEN MEN MEN??? But remember men are disgusting and don't like big girls. BUT MEN. Be unique, be an engine not a caboose, be independent but don't leave the house, don't move, don't give any way for people to bully you for your size. ALSO MEN. Eat, cook, enjoy food, don't diet, but don't exercise, but also don't forget that you NEED MEN and skinny women are stupid. This was a constant broadcast when I was growing up. It's a wonder I don't have an eating disorder and a drug addiction. Even though the last few sentences were chaotic, I think you can see what I'm driving at here!

Next installment: What am I doing about it?

Current Mood: indescribable

ysabetwordsmith

Challenge 4: Rec Your Last Page

Any website that you like, be it fanfiction, art, social media, or something a bit more eccentric!

On many of the fannish websites we use, our history is easily compileable into "pages". When we look back through those pages, sometimes we stumble upon things that we think are rather cool.

Snowflake Challenge: A mug of coffee or hot chocolate with a snowflake shaped gingerbread cookie perched on the rim sits nestled amidst a softly bunched blanket. A few dried orange slices sit next to it.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

And there goes Lilith. \o/

Current Mood: amused

ysabetwordsmith

Life is full of things which are hard or tedious or otherwise unpleasant that need doing anyhow. They help make the world go 'round, they improve skills, and they boost your sense of self-respect. But doing them still kinda sucks. It's all the more difficult to do those things when nobody appreciates it. Happily, blogging allows us to share our accomplishments and pat each other on the back.

What are some of the hard things you've done recently? What are some hard things you haven't gotten to yet, but need to do? Is there anything your online friends could do to make your hard things a little easier?

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Recreating an Ancient Pump (with no moving parts)

This historic pump uses a mixture of flowing water and air bubbles to lift water high above its original level. While not as efficient as some other methods, it has two tremendous advantages: 1) It requires no electricity, fuel, or animal power. 2) With no moving parts, it avoids the problems of wear and clogs that threaten more complex pumps. Given the increasing issue of climate change, there is great value in any useful technology that runs entirely on renewable energy and doesn't need repair or replacement at all often.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

This poem is from today's fishbowl. It was inspired and sponsored by

fuzzyred. It belongs to the Pain's Gray thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.

"Done to Perfection"
-- a cinquain

Pain's Gray
bakes French pastries --
beignets and petits fours,
choux à la crème and tartes des Alpes --
exquis.

* * *

Notes:

Read about the cinquain form.

French pastries include beignets, choux à la crème, petits fours, and tartes des Alpes.

exquis
French: delightful, delicious

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

This poem is from today's Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from

dialecticdreamer. It also fills the "Seas Beneath" square in my 1-6-26 card for the Public Domain Day Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by

fuzzyred. It belongs to the Kraken and Mercedes threads of the Polychrome Heroics series.

"Beneath the Sea"
-- a hexaduad

Jules reads
job feeds.
Come work beneath the sea!
Stock Cans; room and board free.
He knows it's good work and good pay,
but should he go or should he stay?
Tides rise and fall,
feelings, sea call.
Beach, a liminal place;
teen, in similar space.
Jules scans the shore,
texts, Tell me more.

* * *

Notes:

Read about the hexaduad form.

Current Mood: busy

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
						1
2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28	29
30

Dreamwidth Pagans

A Community For Pagans of Any Path

Animal Communication

Follow Friday 1-9-26: Led Zeppelin

Poem: "The Two Cottages"

New verses in "An Inkling of Things to Come"

Community Thursdays

Birdfeeding

New Poems

Snowflake Challenge 2026 #4

Fount of Knowledge Leaks

(The Emoji Spam Is for Comical Effect)

Snowflake Challenge 2026 #3

Shopping

Birdfeeding

Age.

Snowflake Challenge 4: Rec Your Last Page

Humor

Hard Things

History

Poem: "Done to Perfection"

Poem: "Beneath the Sea"

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November 2025

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