Found on Imgur in memorial of Alex Pretti

I'm sharing them so that anyone can share them.


Never forget.

Costa Rica realtors sure do know how to sell a house

I'd get at least TWO feline companions!!

The first full moon of 2026 is tonight my fellow, Howlers

Something to consider for New Year's Resolutions

I have the same two important New Year's Resolution every single new year.

1. Avoid toxic people

2. Avoid MAGA

These two are not always the one and the same.


I'm going to add this one to my list as well.

❄️ Ryan Hall Y'all- Major bomb cyclone coming in the Midwest ❄️

The Legend of the Yule King or the Holly King

Last year, I shared some Christmas cheer knowing what we were going to have to face on January 20, 2025.


There's a reason why I didn't post any Christmas cheer threads this year. Sometimes I believe that people on DU forget that there's another person on the receiving end of their unnecessary responses. I'm not complaining about DU but only reminding people that there is another human being at the other end.



With this reminder, I present:

The Legend of the Yule King or the Holly King



Long ago, in the depths of winter, when the days were shortest and the nights stretched endlessly, the people of the land would gather to honor the changing of the seasons. It was a time when the frost covered the earth in a sparkling blanket, and the wind howled through the trees, whispering of the old ways. In those days, there lived two mighty kings who ruled over the cycle of the year – the Yule King and the Oak King.

The Yule King, an ancient figure with a crown of holly and ivy, reigned over the darkest days of winter. His face was lined with the years, his beard long and white as the snow, and his cloak seemed woven from the very chill of the north winds. His kingdom was one of frost and stillness, a time when the land rested in slumber beneath the cold earth. The Yule King’s power was immense, for he governed the silence and stillness of winter, making the nights longer and the days shorter. He was a king of endurance, a guardian of the deep sleep that winter brings.

But though the Yule King was wise and revered, his reign could not last forever. For deep within the heart of the forest, a rival king, the Oak King, waited for his time to come. The Oak King was young and full of light, with a crown made of oak leaves and a heart as warm as the sun. His power grew as the days lengthened, for he was the king of spring and summer, the bringer of warmth and life. Every year, as the solstice approached, the Oak King prepared to challenge the Yule King for dominion over the land.

On the night of the winter solstice, when the darkness reached its peak, the two kings would meet in a great battle. The Yule King, with his cold and quiet strength, would face the Oak King, whose warmth and light had begun to stir beneath the earth. The battle was one of great force, each king wielding his power against the other. The Yule King brought the stillness of winter, and the Oak King brought the promise of the sun’s return.












As the night wore on, the Oak King, with his light growing ever stronger, would rise victorious. The Yule King’s power would wane, and the first signs of the sun’s return would be felt, ever so faintly, on the horizon. With his defeat, the Yule King would bow and retreat, retreating into the deep shadows of winter. His time had passed, and it was the Oak King’s turn to rule.

But the Yule King’s reign was not one of pure darkness, for it brought with it a quiet magic. His rule reminded the people of the importance of rest, of patience, and of the quiet strength found in times of hardship. Though his time was brief, his legacy lived on, for it was through winter’s stillness that the first stirrings of spring could grow.

And so, year after year, the battle between the Yule King and the Oak King continued, a dance as old as the land itself. When the Oak King reigned, life would return to the earth, and the world would be filled with light and warmth. But when the Yule King ruled, the people would remember the quiet power of winter, waiting in anticipation for the return of the sun, knowing that in time, the cycle would begin anew.

- author unknown

Christmas Homecoming by Dominic Davidson

Dominic Davidson is one of my favorite artist.

Birdwatching by Jane Crowther

500 pound bear living in crawl space of an Altadena, CA residential home (News article and two YouTube videos)

Now the owner of the home found a second bear walking in his driveway. There's no mention if the second bear is tagged, the first bear is tagged.


https://abc7.com/post/altadena-man-has-bear-living-underneath-home-gets-surprise-visit-another/18240675/

How to keep your personalized background from automatically changing on Windows 11

I did the start menu into settings select personalization on the left hand side and select background and into personalized your background with picture selected.
Double check that slideshow or windows spotlight in not selected here.

Go back to start menu into control panel and then into control panel window. Double check that view by is selected to large icons. Go into power options into change plan settings and then into change advanced power settings. Expand desktop background settings and expand slideshow.


If there is a on battery and a plugged in option be sure to select that both options are paused. Click on Apply. For me, my option expanded option under desktop background settings was slide show and so I paused that option and clicked on Apply.



I was doing all of this and my background was still changing on the daily and it was driving me bonkers.


The solution was to go back to the start menu into settings select Apps from the left hand side into installed apps. I found a third party app called Bing Wallpaper and uninstalled that app.


My Windows 11 background has been my personalized and unchanged since I uninstalled the third party wallpaper app.


I'm not tech savvy at all and I'm hoping that I explained this clearly. I'm also hoping that this will save someone else some frustration.