When I was going down to get the mail today, there were several deer in the road and also at the mail boxes. The sky was just amazing to look at. The clouds were just staying still and letting the sun grace their tops while the bottoms were in shadow. They were all different colors from white to blue to yellow with hints of gold to slightly reddish. I just felt all good inside looking at nature doing its thing and I was just standing by watching and that everything would be…
@darmst in October 2021
There were a few more clouds covering up the sunset tonight and the sun made the clouds glow. #Sunset
Snipe was my daily quest. I have been getting this one quite a bit lately, I really do not know why but it takes me a while to complete it. I completed matches earlier today but then started losing several in a row so I stopped for a while. When I started back tonight, I finally was able to win the last three of five matches. When I opened the reward, I received the Alchemy potion. To say the least, I was a little disappointed but I will take it anyway for when I open packs…
Today, I was able to participate in my 2nd Hive Power Up Day. I had been saving for a few days so I would have the minimum 10 hive so I could power up specifically on HPUD. I normally power up my hive every single day of the week so that it can be there for increased curation value. For Hive, my current curation APR is 8.9%. I was able to exceed two of my five goals for September. I can't believe this is the end of the third quarter with only three months left of 2021. The…
Hope you week went well. I am certainly ready for the weekend. However with the change in weather, the mountain cedar starts to produce pollen. Due to this, everyone's allergies start acting up. They have a cute name for this allergy - Cedar Fever... The Mountain cedar tress start producing pollen in October and continue until well into February. Last year, I had a very light case of it and I am hoping for the same this year. It hits a lot of people hard and makes them feel…
The evening sky at dusk. It was a very calm evening so I sat on the back porch and watched the sky change colors. #Sky
Today's quest was the water quest. I have always liked this splinter it is my favorite. I was able to get through it relatively quick without many issues. Also, I noticed the DEC rewards are very high. I am very glad for that. Well, I opened my chest and received the Pelacor Mercenary card. I will take it. That is one more card to play with... #Splinterlands
Today my quest was a little harder. After an hour I had only won two matches with the fire splinter. I got up took a break and walked around for about 15 minutes. When I got back and started playing....Wham, three fire splinter wins in a row to finish out the quest. I also got a card when I opened my chest. #Splinterlands
The sky was just full of visual effects to behold. The clouds were rolling with different parts illuminated by the sun. It was a long day so the setting sun was a pleasure to just sit relax and enjoy. Take care everyone. https://ctptalk.com/@darmst5339/iaac-day-123-watching-the-sky-change-in-matter-of-minutes-while-the-sunsets #Iamalivechallenge
Saturday night's sunset had some large dark clouds with the sunset glowing below them. It was very nice to watch. #Sunset
I was outside a lot today and so was nature. I took several pictures of the insects that were enjoying the nice weather as well. The beetle and the praying mantis were crossing the road when I came upon them. The Caterpillars were in a Sumac bush eating leaves. One whole section of the bush was missing it's leaves so I looked to see why. It was the caterpillars. The clouds also had lots of various patterns and shapes which I thought were very interesting. I hope you enjoyed…
The clouds were a different type than yesterday at sunset. These were more wispy and it made for a beautiful sunset. I think a small plane is flying by in the last one. #Sunset
My quest today was the Death quest. I never could seem to win. I started with my capture rate around 95% and by the time I had won the 5 Death matches my capture is now 59.63% . Hopefully it will recover enough overnight so I can complete tomorrows quest and get good DEC. I say that because when I opened my chest, I received 9 credits. #Splinterlands
I had never had a neutral quest before and all I had to do was win three matches at that. The only thing was that I could not use any neutral cards in the lineup. I finally finished and was rewarded handsomely with a rare card. #Splinterlands
For the past several years with the start of fall, I always go and get my annual flu shot. With the other virus going around, holidays approaching and everyone wanting to get out and be more social. I figure it would be a smart thing to do again to stay healthy during this winter season. https://ctptalk.com/@darmst5339/iaac-day-126-received-my-annual-flu-shot #Iamalivechallenge
The clouds were sparse during today's sunset but it was still glowing. The third one was taken about 30 minutes after the first two. I thought the angle of the rays up from the horizon was very interesting. #Sunset
another Neutral quest. I was surprised to get a second in a row. It took me longer today to get the three wins I needed. I think I like the other quests needing 5 wins better. After I finally finished I received a potion #Splinterlands
Some of my crops are ready for harvest, this will be my very first harvest. I had planted 2 carrots and a pumpkin. I was able to harvest 28 shares. The pumpkin will not be ready for another three days. I believe this allows me to be a park of the season end crop pool. The time spent in minimal so it should be easy to cover the cost of the packs. #DCrops
Well I played a while to complete my daily quest. I would win a few in a row and then lose a few. It was the Death quest. I received a Legendary Potion. I am hoping when I open my first Chaos pack all these potions do their thing and get me some nice cards....LOL #Splinterlands
You may have never thought of the Alive token to assist with your passive income but your should. WeAreAliveand.social Community offers two rewards for staking the Alive token. 1) The Alive Staking Contest for a share of 1000 Alive tokens 2) Staked Alive could earn you BRO token shares https://ctptalk.com/@darmst5339/iaac-day-128-stake-your-alive-earn-bro #Iamalivechallenge
After the sun sets, the moon was not too far behind it. You can see the sliver of the moon just above the horizon. It seems so peaceful. #Sky
The colors of the sky last night were just a wonder to behold. I hope you thing so as well #Sky
My daily quest today was the sneak quest. It took me a while to get all five wins but less than a full day. I received 24 credits so I rented cards since it was not enough to buy anything with #Splinterlands
I hate going shopping in the big box stores. They are so large that it is hard to find anything. We stopped at three stores in total. Walmart was the largest. We went from one end of the store to the other before we found everything we were looking for. Stores like this drive me Crazy. https://ctptalk.com/@darmst5339/iaac-day-129-stores-drive-me-crazy #Iamalivechallenge
Aren't you glad you've been Stacking? I am glad I created goals to increase my holdings. It is a very good feeling when you see the prices of your holdings pump. It just gets me more excited and reinforces the reasons I have been accumulating to begin with. Yes, the Hive price has pulled back but not all the way to before the pump. I will continue to keep growing my holdings. https://ctptalk.com/@darmst5339/aren-t-you-glad-you-ve-been-stacking #CtpTalk
I have been having some good matches lately and I have been able to stay above 1500 rankings for most of this week. Last season I finished with a ranking over 1300. I finally decided enough was enough. I rented lots of cards and I am now in Silver III
I rented enough cards to be in Silver III before I completed this daily quest. I now get two chest to open with each daily quest I complete. Today I was lucky and got two cards with one being rare.
You know sometimes you just want something sweet so I baked a cake. Well sort of, I had the help of Duncan and Betty. Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker that is. The cake mix makes it easy, just add water, oil and eggs. Then put it in the oven for 25 minutes. It took care of my sweet tooth. https://ctptalk.com/@darmst5339/iaac-day-131-a-cake-with-help-from-duncan-and-betty #Iamalivechallenge
Life was today’s quest and it took me almost the whole 24 hour period for the daily quest but I finally completed it. I received two of the same cards. That’s two days in a row receiving two cards each. #Splinterlands
The velvet leafed Senna is in full bloom in the fields around our house and in our back yard. I read that it is native to Northern Africa but I do not know how it got to the middle of Texas. The leaves are very soft to the touch and feel almost like velvet. I love these flowers because they indicate that fall has finally arrived. The backyard is spotted with the yellow flowers which breaks up the green of the grass and the cactus.…
Tonight the sunset did not have any clouds. The only cloud in the sky was way to the south along the horizon. #Sky
My quest today was the Death quest. It took me about average time to finish it. And boy was I pleased when I open the loot chest. Two Rare cards both of which I do not have. Now I can see how to add these to my lineup
These small pink flowers are blooming all over the front yard. It makes you look twice at the yard because they appear as pink dots until you get closer to them and can see what they really are. Earlier in the day, we were carrying some big items through the doors so had the doors open for a while. Afterwards we noticed something big flying around the room while we were watching TV. It landed on the window sill. It was a huge moth. I caught it with a plastic cup and let it…
Quests are now available in dCrops. They have been added which puts a little more strategy into the game. To earn additional rewards you need to complete tasks. You will need to plant specific seeds associated with the tasks so the tasks can be completed. The quests last for the entire season. https://ctptalk.com/@darmst5339/quests-are-now-available-in-dcrops #DCrops
The Sneak quest was very challenging for me today. It has taken almost the full 24 hour period to have the five wins needed to complete the quest. But I finally finished it. I received 10 DEC and Gargoya Lion. #Splinterlands
We are planning to put a small flower garden by the front porch and needed to know what kind of plants were available. What better way to choose plants than to go to a Plant Nursery. This nursery is about three miles from the house so a very short drive. They already had the entrance decorated with fall items with pumpkins for sale. https://ctptalk.com/@darmst5339/iaac-day-134-visit-to-a-plant-nursery #Iamalivechallenge
Well, today's quest was the snipe. It took about half the time the prior quest took me to complete however I think I played a lot more battles that I lost prior to winning the five needed to complete the quest. I was a little underwhelmed when I opened the loot chest and received 2 DEC and an Alchemy potion. Well there is always tomorrow's daily quest and Season end is right around the corner also. Maybe I can hit it big with those chests. #Splinterlands
Snipe was my quest today and I finished it in only a few hours. I like the Snipe ones. I received 9 DEC and the Pelacor Bandit reward card. I will take any card I can get at this point. #Splinterlands
Last night, it rained very hard and fast. The remains of Hurricane Pamela came through central Texas and collided with a cool front producing some severe storms. Some areas got up to 5 inches of rain. When it rains a lot, the water drives the Tarantulas out of their dens to higher ground. We live at the top of the hill. I noticed these in our driveway. Let me just say, I do not like spiders not matter what anyone says. I am told these are harmless to humans but it is still a…
There were only a few clouds in the very far distance for the sunset. It was still very pretty. I love the glow of the sun as it disappears. #Sunset
Bitcoin is knocking on $60k. Will it break through or drop back? That is the question on most peoples mind. Some say it will be over $100k by year end while others say it will drop back under $50k. Which will it be? To me, all I know is that I must accumulate as much Hive and HE tokens as possible in the meantime. Here is the progress that I have made over the last week: https://ctptalk.com/@darmst5339/crypto-up-and-down-but-i-am-just-stacking-hive-and-h-e-tokens #CtpTalk
Time does not slow down for anything, it keeps ticking away: Second by Second Minute by Minute Hour by Hour Day by Day Week by Week Month by Month Year by Year Do what you need to do now, Enjoy the time you have now. Do not wait because Time Flies https://ctptalk.com/@darmst5339/iaac-day-136-time-flies-do-it-now #Iamalivechallenge
With the resetting of the levels at Season End, I went down to Bronze II. I finally was able to get to Bronze I but not before I needed to claim my first daily quest. Since I was not able to get back to Silver III, I only get one chest. I had the snipe quest and my reward was an Alchemy potion. I hope to have better luck next time. #Splinterlands
This is the first full weekend that Sweet Berry Farm is open for the Fall Season. They have pumpkins of all kinds. White ones, gray ones, small ones, large ones and all different shaped ones. It was very crowded because everyone wanted to get pumpkins. There is even a corn stalk maze, bounce area, craft area and animals to pet for the kids. You could spend hours here selecting you pumpkins, having fun or just people watching.…
I started this quest yesterday and could not seem to win any water matches except one. Today, I won all my matches except one and completed the Water quest. For my efforts, I received an Alchemy potion. I have five hours to wait before my next quest begins. #Splinterlands
I started playing four days ago. When you start playing, you do not have any cards and start out as "The Busker" It shows I have 107 Fans however only 10 of those are permanent the other 97 are "Temporary Drunks" that expire after 12 hours. In the four days, I have made it to Level 7 and earned 2049 Starbits. During that time, I have completed 67 missions: 26 Illegal Busking, 30 Open Mic Night and 10 Mid Week Support. Where should I go from Here?…
I saw this spider and wondered why it had weaved its web where it did. I then noticed the blooming plant close by which was full of black flies. This immediately reminded me of this famous poem "The Spider and The Fly" by Mary Howitt which I had heard as a child. I included the full poem in the post if you would like to read it. https://ctptalk.com/@darmst5339/iaac-day-138-the-poem-said-the-spider-to-the-fly-by-mary-howitt #Iamalivechallenge
I was not able to get back to Silver III yet just over 800 ranking three daily quest into the season. I will try real hard tomorrow to win enough to get there. My quest today was water and I received 4 credits. #Splinterlands
I have only increased my ranking by around 100 still not enough to get back into Silver III. My quest was Life and I received 28 credits for completing it. Maybe tomorrow I will win enough matches to push up my ranking to the Silver level but until then, Take care. #Splinterlands
Monarch Butterflies that are migrating are not very easy of which to get a photo. They are small, they need to get close enough to you before you see them. Then you need to point your camera at them and hope you get their photo before the wind blows them away. When Monarchs migrate they travel all the way from Canada to Mexico. Texas is about 3/4 of the way on their journey so they are probably very tired by now.…
I would like to share a quote by Sir Winston Churchill delivered in London on September 28th 1943. We should all take his advice and go forward without fear of what awaits us there and do so with believe and conviction. "I have no fear of the future. Let us go forward into its mysteries, let us tear aside the veils which hide it from our eyes, and let us move onward with confidence and courage." - Sir Winston Churchill Photos I took of tonight's sunset.…
For the Winter season, I planted the only two winter seeds I own, Radish and Peas. They have now mature and it is time to harvest them. I was pleasantly surprised when one of the peas quality was two stars (bottom left) so fit that one crop the I will get six shares when I sell the shares. https://ctptalk.com/@darmst5339/dcrops-winter-harvest-and-hold-or-sell-alpha-pack #DCrops
The Sneak quest was what I had to work on today. I was able to win one early on and then it took me a while to finish the others. However the good news is that when I started winning, I was able to get back into Silver III which gave me one extra loot chest for my daily quest. I received two cards and one of them was Rare. I was very lucky today. #Splinterlands
I was tied of all my Drunk (Temporary) Fans waking up and not having any fans for the higher level missions. So I purchased two card so I can at least start out on the Open Mic Night mission each morning which requires 25 fans. You start with 10 fans so the two cards added 20 more. I am only at level 9 in the game so just starting out. #RisingStar
The Bouquet: Containing The Poetry and Language of Flowers. It is a collection of over 100 flowers with their meanings. Each flower is accompanied by a poem. Because of it's age, I do not want to handle it to much. I should have been wearing gloves so the oils from my hands would not get on the pages but I did not even think of that until after I had already taken the pictures. This book is 176 years old. However I do find it strange that the Author is referred to as "A…
Completed another daily quest. This one was the Death quest. I received an Alchemy potion and a Gargoya Lion reward card. I am happy with my rewards. Can't wait to see what I get next. #Splinterlands
When I purchased the i30 Cheap Mic V2, it was offered for both Starbits and Swap.Hive Since I only earn Starbits from Rising Star Missions, I had only been looking at the lowest Starbits price. Then I started thinking that maybe I should calculate the rate of Starbits to Swap.Hive. Based on this, it is cheaper to purchase this card using Swap.Hive than Starbits. I converted 1157 Starbits for 0.0399 Swap.Hive and made the purchase saving around 350 Starbits in the process.…
I wish I was as eloquent as the poets. I love poems and todays sunset put me in a mood of reflection. Enjoy the photos I took of the clouds and sunset while you think about the words of this poem. This is my wish for you: Comfort on difficult days, smiles when sadness intrudes, rainbows to follow the clouds, laughter to kiss your lips, sunsets to warm your heart, hugs when spirits sag, beauty for your eyes to see, friendships to brighten your being, faith so that you can…
Before I knew it, I had completed today's quest. It was a neutral that only needed three wins to complete. I was so focused on my matches that I did not even know I had finished it. Once I realized it, I looked back and I had played four additional matches afterwards. My rewards when opening the loot chest were a Pelacor Mercenary card and 8 DEC. #Splinterlands
I received another Neutral quest for my daily. This time it took me a lot longer than it did last time but I still finished in less than 24 hours. I received two cards as my rewards the Pelacor Deceiver and Gargoya Lion both nice to have #Splinterlands
Our Calamondin (mini citrus) tree is loaded with fruit which are starting to get ripe. I will soon have many of them to eat or add to salads or to drinks. This is the first year we have had the plant and it will be the first big harvest from the tree. Does anyone have any suggestions regarding recipes for drinks or eating? https://ctptalk.com/@darmst5339/iaac-day-144-calamondin-fruit-tree-producing-many-fruit #Iamalivechallenge
A few pictures of this evenings sunset. It was very plain but sometimes those can be beautiful as well. #Sunset
Sold dCrop Alpha pack to fund seed purchase so that I could have four seeds to plant per season. I sold the pack for 8.85 Hive and after the purchases, I still have 1.48 Hive left over. With the proceeds, I purchased the following: 1 Cabbage @ 1 Hive = 1.00 Hive 3 Broccoli @ 0.75 each = 2.25 Hive 1 Turnip @ 0.67 = 0.67 Hive 1 Turnip @ 0.68 = 0.68 Hive 1 Peas @ 0.69 = 0.69 Hive 2 Wheat @ 0.69 = 1.38 Hive 1 Garlic @ 0.69 = 0.69 Hive Total = 7.37 Hive…
The wild Lantana is flowering and attracted this butterfly. It was gathering nectar with its wings spread. I thought it was a very pretty thing so took it's picture. Since the fall has been nicer than normal with a few rains, we are having more flowers bloom than normal and this is attracting the butterflies. We are still seeing the Monarch Butterflies migrate through our backyard every day since I posted about them.…
I finally was able to finish my daily quest that I started yesterday evening. It was the fire quest. Normally I finish the fire quests a lot quicker than it took me this time. However long it took, I finally finished and was able to claim my rewards. I received the Gargoya Lion and some DEC #Splinterlands
Another fire quest that took me almost the whole 24 hours to complete. In fact, after I claimed my loot chests, it showed that I had 19 minutes prior to my next daily quest becoming available. Just in time is cutting it a little close. But it is finished and when I opened the chest I received 7 DEC and an Alchemy potion #Splinterlands
We spent most of the day shoveling and hauling gravel to fill up a flower bed. We had spent the prior day picking up and moving rocks to fill up the bottom of the bed so that we would not need to put as much gravel. After three truck loads the gravel is still not up to the level that we need it to be. The plan is to place potted plants on top of the gravel. This will allow us to bring the plants in during the winter since they would not be able to withstand the freezing…
Today marks my 6 Month Anniversary of joining as a member on the Hive Blockchain. For me this is a huge milestone as I never partook of the other mainstream social media apps/programs like Facebook, Twitter, etc. To write and blog is something I would have never thought possible for me to do but look at me, I have now been doing it for six months. This will also be my 400 post on the blockchain.…
And another Fire daily quest. This time it did not take me as long to complete. I guess I learned from the prior one about which lineups work better than others or the better players are not playing as much. Who knows... My rewards were 1 DEC and a Pelacor Mercenary #Splinterlands
We got a new toy for our dog, Roxie to play with. It has a squeaker in it so she grab it and make it squeak. She plays with her toy all during the day and sometimes takes it back and forth between rooms with her. We also got a pumpkin to display in front of our house in the flower bed as our Fall/Halloween decorations. We are not much for decorating for the holidays so this is as much as we do. https://ctptalk.com/@darmst5339/iaac-day-147-new-toy-for-roxie-our-dog…
The wind has picked up and is blowing clouds in the sky. The weather person says there will be some storms tonight with high winds, possible hail and some rain. The clouds made for some great sunset pictures. Enjoy. #Sunset
I was lucky enough to be invited to the Index Squad Guild where I try to do my best in my brawl matches. This set of brawl matches has ended and the Battle Results reflect that I won 7 of my 9 brawl matches, well sort of. I normally am lucky to even win 2 or 3 of the 9 so I was very pleased with myself for doing so well. Then I looked more closely and noticed that 4 of the matches were forfeited by my opponents because they "Fled". I have never seen this before "Opponent…
I had the neutral quest today. I kept forgetting that I could not have a neutral monster in my lineup so it took me longer than it should have. But when I finished, I received a rare card, the Venari Seedsmith and a Legendary potion. Not bad #Splinterlands
Over the past few days, we have had a new visitor at the front door. This Tarantula has been off and on the front porch at the front door every night for the past three days. We have also seen him about once a day during daylight hours. I guess it has made itself at home near our front porch and comes out at night to get the bugs that are attracted by the lights that shine through the windows. We found a dead scorpion and a few other larger bugs on the front porch as well so…
This daily quest seemed very easy to complete. As you can see, I posted the last one 4 hours ago. I started playing and all of a sudden I had completed the quest. I was surprised. I am glad but now I get to wait almost a whole day before I can start another one. I received Pelacor Conjurer and a Legendary potion. #Splinterlands
Have you heard the old saying "To Wish Upon A Star"? I took this picture of tonight's sky. There are so many stars in the sky that it is sometimes hard to identify which one is which. This can also be true about your wishes. Some people wish for everything all at once. I find that it is best to focus on one at a time. Make a wish, create a goal to accompany that wish and then takes steps to make it come true. Focus on what you want, be very specific and get started now "To…
Today is National Internet Day. On October 29th 1969, the first word was sent via the ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network). This network was funded by the U.S. Department of Defense that had four terminals. The terminals were located in UCLA, Stanford, UC Santa Barbara, and the University of Utah. The sender's computer crashed in the middle of sending the word "LOGIN" and it took over an hour to get the computer back up and running. It was not until years…
Another sneak quest that I was working on most of the day. I kept forgetting to add a monster with the sneak ability to my lineup. When I completed, I opened my rewards and was nicely surprised with a Rare Gargoya Devil. I like, I like... #Splinterlands
Tonight we were having some wine with our movies. We watched two movies back to back with a break for our supper in-between. The movies were old thriller mystery movies which are always fun to try to figure out who did it before it is revealed. I am not good at guessing what will happen after a few glasses of wine but it is a lot of fun trying anyway. https://ctptalk.com/@darmst5339/iaac-day-151-saturday-night-is-movie-night-with-a-glass-of-wine #Iamalivechallenge
I have been working on the fire quest since yesterday. I was winning but just not with the fire splinter. I finally just started making all of my lineup in Fire if that was an option. I was getting desperate since the season was ending and I would be reset back to Bronze if I did not complete it. With 10 minutes to spare, I won my last fire match and received the two chests for Silver III. I received a Venari Heatsmith and 6 DEC #Splinterlands
I had just finished my Fire quest from the previous day with 10 minutes and 12 seconds left before season end. A new quest appeared this one was Neutral needing only three wins. Is there enough time to finish it as well? I will give it a try. I won my first, lost my second then won the next two just in the nick of time. 17 seconds left on the clock. I received two chests for still being in silver III. And boy was I lucky to get a Rare card, Exploding Rats. I did not have…