u/jorgthecyborg

This is Sorority. She's a 2yo spayed female. I met her today during my volunteer shift at the Salt Lake County Animal Services (https://www.saltlakecounty.gov/animal-services/) catery. She is super sweet, but also has some sparkiness. In my work with cats, I have several qualitative descriptors. One is lap cat. Sorority is definitely a lap cat. Another is tummy rub cat. Sorority is definitely NOT a tummy rub cat. I have the bites and scratches to verify.
Here's the thing. Cats have not been domesticated like dogs. Humans have sucessfully bred dogs to perform the tasks we value. Cats, on the other hand, maintain their innate instincts and behaviors and put up with us humans because we make their lives easier.
Sorority will keep spiders and other vermin out of your house, will sit quietly on your lap and purr, and will let you know in no uncertain terms when you displease her.
She is one of 33 of these amazing companions ready for adoption at the county shelter.

This is Shiva. He's at the Salt Lake County Animal Services location on Thirty-Ninth South and Fifth West. I volunteer there and spend time with the cats. Shiva is an old man. He's about 15 years old. He was rescued from a bad situation, but that's not the point. He's awaiting adoption. Here's the thing about Shiva. He's a senior. He's not a cute and playful kitten. He's a clean old man who still has a few good years. It would be like taking in your elderly uncle, except that he doesn't smell bad, doesn't drink whisky, smoke cigars, or tell the same stories over and over. He'll just sit around and be happy for some gentle attention and will keep you warm on the coming cold winter nights.
Of course he's been neutered and is current on all his vaccinations.
Check out all of the adoptable cats at https://www.saltlakecounty.gov/animal-services/adoption/search-adoptable-pets/?t=Cat

I'm growing piment d'Espelette peppers. I bought commercial seeds last year and managed to grow one plant to maturity. I used seeds from that plant to start again this year. These were started in seed hydroponic seed pods in February and were moved into outdoor DWC in early may. The native environment for these beauties is the Basque costal region (humid and ave temps in the 80°s). I'm growing them in the high Utah desert in Salt Lake City (dry and highs in the high 90°s). To compensate, I've created a micro climate using a cooling mister for about 8 hours per day. As you can see in the pic, the plants have grown well. I switched to PK-rich hydroponic nutrients about 2 weeks ago. The plants have bloomed prolifically and about 90% of the blooms have converted to fruit.
I'm not looking for advice, but want to document the process of creating a micro-climate for hydroponically growing exotics.