"Greg began cautiously. His first video was just him reading out loud a newspaper article about a Florida woman..."

"... who had accidentally burned down America’s fifth‑oldest tree by smoking meth underneath it. After he read it, he said to the camera, 'Isn’t that crazy?' 'The video got 10 or 12 views,' Greg told me, 'and a comment: "You look like you’ve been smoking meth."'"

I'm reading "He Was a Top Lawn Care Influencer on YouTube. Then Everything Went Haywire. Many people think Greg Chism is a freak — or worse. He says he was just following the incentives of the platform" (NYT gift link).

Read the whole amazing story of a man ruined by YouTube. It's adapted from a new book called "The Castle: Adventures in a World of Unraveling Men" (commission earned). The author is Jon Ronson.

Tiny Althouse in the rain/frantic bee in the rose.

Videos by Meade:

Walking at sunrise, between rainstorms.

Video by Meade:

3 hours after the rained-out sunrise, the post-rain sun looked quite white.

Write about whatever you want in the comments.

It's mid-May, the 15th, and we see deep red columbine.

Back home, it's time once again to move the avocado tree back out onto the deck. That's a big production, and I played only a small role in the process, but it was a bit more than just taking this picture:

Sunrise... with moon.

Write about whatever you like in the comments.

"While devoting most of her time to her son, Monita Wong said she needs to maintain a little distance."

"On the second floor of the foundation building, she incorporated two small bedrooms, for [her husband] and herself. 'I am reluctant to go back to the condo,' she said. When the owner of the lot next to the condo chopped down the spruce that Matthew loved, she brought the stump to the foundation building. 'I could not stop them,' she said. 'But I thought it would be good to have it here. It is outside now.'"

From "A Grieving Mother Safeguards Her Son’s Artistic Legacy/The troubled painter Matthew Wong’s star was on the rise when he died [by suicide] at 35. His mother, Monita Wong, is making sure his work can still be seen" (NYT)(gift link so you can see more of the mother's story, some of the son's paintings, and photos with the captions "Wong's paint tubes, stained sneakers and even the light switch were relocated from his studio" and "Monita Wong carried over the clutter to recreate her son’s studio in the headquarters of the Matthew Wong Foundation in Edmonton, Alberta").

Quote from an art dealer: "He was a very attractive, tall figure, very well spoken. It was very refreshing the way he talked about art in general and not of himself. He was very direct and clear. I had no idea he was depressed. I had no idea he was autistic."

Sunrise.

Write about whatever you want in the comments.

Crabapple blossoms on a rainy afternoon.

Crabapple time in the UW Arb.

Today, around 2 p.m.

Half-fallen tree completes its journey to the ground.

For years, I've enjoyed the sculptural grandeur of this half-fallen tree. You've seen it in photographs on this blog. Just from this past year, here are 3:

Sunrise.

Write about whatever you like in the comments.

In the UW Arboretum...

... there were some blossoming magnolias...

... but mostly the trees were bare.

We kept stopping at benches and catching up on our reading. Have you forgotten the pleasure of reading outdoors?

And don't be telling me those aren't magnolias. This comes up every year. I looked back to last year. It was precisely the same day that we went to the arb — April 13th: "These are our magnolias. You don't need to tell me that your magnolias look different or that only your magnolias deserve the name magnolias. These are magnolias."

Fog at sunrise time.

Meade's contribution:

Sunrise, 7:13... afternoon, 3:58.

Write about whatever you like in the comments.

Sun lines.

This morning on Lake Mendota:

Sunrise — 7:20, 7:25.

Please use the comments section to begin topics of discussion — topics not already under discussion in other threads. In particular, I'm putting the discord in Minnesota off limits. Go to this post or this one to talk about that. The overnight open thread is not a place for anger and repetition. Bring some light.

AND: I put up an even newer post on the immigration strife. I'll update the time of this post so it can continue to sit on top of the day's travails.

We got out for the sunrise when it was 18 below 0 with a "feels like" of 35 below.

7:09:

7:29:

I hope you're keeping warm... at least most of the time. I recommend getting out and challenging yourself to feel the cold. It's thrilling.

But watch out for exploding trees!

It's happening!

@PatMcAfeeShow it’s happening… pic.twitter.com/4GbBspkFlU

— Bob Rae (@TheBobRae) January 22, 2026

"The pink forests of the northern pre-spring."

"To day is a tree found in several communes in Mu Cang Chai such as Kim Noi and Mo De, and in Pung Luong Commune. The trees bloom at elevations above 1,000 meters. The H'Mong people there call them pang to day, or wild peach blossoms. It is one of the most distinctive flowers in Vietnam's northwestern mountains when spring approaches."

Reports VnExpress. Nice photos at the link. Great name for the tree — "to day." I love the idea of pre-spring, but it wouldn't apply very well to the forests of the Upper Midwest of the United States.

I'm seeing "Exploding trees possible across Minnesota, Iowa, and South Dakota" (KKRC Sioux Falls). That does not mean "exploding" with flowers. "[S]ap and moisture inside trees freeze rapidly... it expands, creating immense pressure within the trunk. If temperatures fall quickly enough, this pressure can cause the tree to split or explode with a sound like a gunshot or thunderclap...."