Best Of

By setting no goals today (free day) I achieved all of them. Gosh could almost be a Taoist or Zennith.

• Sat in the sun.
• Did extreme napping.
• Did mantra (Medicine Buddha) for every sentient being I could think of from the three time realms; Past, Present and Future.
• Fed the birdies.
• Washed some old fool. Oh eh... that was me.

...that sort of a thing...
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/24/country-diary-the-quiet-vitality-of-a-well-managed-churchyard

The garden is full of ladybirds! It is beautiful but hard to share as my camera cannot capture this instance so well. Little red buttons flying around and latching to the flowers of our lavender bushes, teresitas, etc. Only thing is I have to be on pool duty to save a few from drowning. In fact....gonna check now.

May you all be happy!

Hm lucky they were caught off our State's jurisdiction as that is a schedule I substance

@zorro said:
For ants you can spray the area with vinegar. This masks their scent trails so they can't navigate.

On the downside you’ll have a house smelling of vinegar, which also may not be ideal 😂

@Ning We're in this together! 😊
Serendipiously, my mother tasked me with resolving her ant infestation. Apparently, they are coming from cracks in the bathtub (not the pipes).
She explicitly said: 'wash them away with water, none of that Buddhist stuff!' She is quick to anger and was off for an operation so I did not say that I'm not going to comply with her request, nor that that method would not actually resolve anything.
The plan is:

• Learn how to and plug the cracks in the bathtub.
• Transport the remaining anties outside.

I wanted to learn more of the handyman stuff, since I know nearly nothing about it, here is my chance.
Tips for plugging cracks of a bathtub welcome. There's gotta be some 'gel' to do it?

Attended a Stop the Wars Coalition Peace rally yesterday. Fortunately the ferries were still running, the tropical cyclone was approaching but hadn't quite made itself felt. Anyhow, the rally was peaceful as usual, with good to the point speeches. It was organised by trade union and socialist party with different community groups there in support of Palestine, Lebanon, Iran, Venezuela and Cuba, to name just a few of the countries the US and Israel have been bombing and killing innocent civilians including women and children and deliberately destroying cultural and thousands of years old historical sites.
We marched to the US consulate. Prior to our arrival there had been a few pro war-happy for the US and Israel to bomb their own people- Iranian monarchists and pro Israel supporters outside the consulate. Most had scurried off by the time we arrived.

I took my 8 year old daughter to the office on 'Take your daughter to work day'.
But then when we walked into the office she started to cry.
As concerned staff gathered around her, I ask her what was wrong.
She said " Daddy where are all the clowns you said you worked with?"

It is 03:00 AM time for me to stay up or zzz
... or have breakfast
Yep so many choices, May just meditate and or hydrate

... wait I have a cunning plan, not involving a turnip

I heard the story of a US-based Zen monastery that had a bug infestation. First, they tried eveything they could think of to remove them nonviolently. Then, they sent a letter to their seniors in Japan seeking advice. The seniors advised to extermimate the bugs since the health and hygiene of visitors takes precedence in this case.
You asking the question shows that you are rightly thinking of the ants as important and that you've likely already tried various nonviolent remedies.
A practical idea for your possible consideration:

• ask AI to suggest nonviolent ways of getting rid of them.

@Ning said:
I think I might be one of the newest people on this site, why is everybody from 2012 😭
I joined because I wanted answers to my questions about Buddhism from real people in this age of ai and computers, I live in Washington and I'm in highschool (and I get concerned about telling people on the Internet my age so that's the best you're getting) I hope other people still use this bc I don't want to be alone

If you remember 2012 was the year the Mayan calendar ended and the world as we know it came to an end...😏We all joined in the aftermath.

This is refreshing to hear. There is something different about even the exact same knowledge coming from a person and coming from an AI.

I have heard some rumblings that some of the younger generation may be having enough and seeking to unplug. I think a video I posted in the AI thread not long ago talked about the possible trend.