WTF-Beta

wtg

Bloomberg seems to have gotten a copy of a draft of the MOU.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/read-the-14-point-draft-memorandum-between-the-us-and-iran-220917023.html

wtg

The linden trees are blooming here. My best friend's birthday is June 22 and the lindens are always in bloom for her birthday. The lovely scent (especially strong in the evening) always remind me of her. We had a birthday dinner for her with her family when she turned 40 at a restaurant that was near a grove of lindens. The scent takes me back to a wonderful celebration.

Near my house:

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Makes me crave a cup of linden blossom tea!

wtg

Wow. That looks lovely, @andyd !

wtg

So, fellow birders....I gave up on bird feeders years ago..got tired of the mess and all the squirrels they attracted. It was a pain with the dogs around.

No dogs here anymore. I picked up a nice feeder with a solar powered camera for cheap at Costco. Online it's $110, but for some reason they were on closeout at the warehouse back in January for $25. I can't resist a bargain.

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I got some seed and put up the feeder where the squirrels can't get in it. Of course the birds drop seed all over the ground, and the squirrels are ground feeding amongst my hostas. Four or five at a time, and when they scuffled with each other to protect their access to the seed, they did a number on the two really nice hostas that are at the base of the post with the feeder. Had to dig half of each plant out in order to save them. Anyway...

I find that I'm basically feeding the house sparrows right now, with them consuming probably 99% of the seed. Cardinals, blue jays, brown-headed cowbirds, and a downy woodpecker are seen every so often but clearly the sparrows outnumber them bigly.

The new feeder is empty right now and I'm thinking about not filling it until fall or winter. Do you guys feed birds during the summer? Or do you let them forage their own food during the summer and focus more on late fall/winter feeding? I bought a small finch feeder, too, and filled it with nyjer seed and we've been enjoying the goldfinches who show up pretty regularly.

wtg

Yea, the Albanians aren't happy about this. At all.

https://www.npr.org/2026/06/16/g-s1-128162/albania-resort-protests-kushner-trump

wtg

DUBAI, June 16 (Reuters) - A $300 billion private fund designed to trigger investment into Iran is outlined in the U.S.-Iran framework agreement and more than half that sum has already been committed, a source with ‌direct knowledge of the deal told Reuters.
The fund is designed to give both sides an economic incentive to conclude a final deal, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the plan has not yet been announced as Washington and Tehran prepare to sign on Friday.

https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/iran-deal-includes-300-billion-fund-more-than-half-which-already-committed-2026-06-16/