Emma Lea Farms U-Pick Berry Farm (7 of 12)

It’s time for another speedlink on Beyond the Rhetoric, so let’s get down to it.

I’m a city boy by nature and I’ve come to take modern conveniences for granted. Karly Pinch, on the other hand, has been taking a completely different approach for the last six weeks, working on a small scale mixed farm. The farm not only grows vegetables, but it has 20 pigs, two lambs and 40 laying hens. They’ve got a heated outdoor shower and a composting toilet to use when they’re not actively transplanting, harvesting, weeding, and caring for the livestock.

Keeping with the subject of animals but in an entirely different context, Josh Rimer recently posted a video with 10 of the cutest dogs on the Internet and his appropriately flamboyant reactions to them. There certainly is no shortage of cute puppies, kittens and other cuddly creatures on the web. I’d also like to congratulate Josh on his recent deal to appear the OUTtv television network. Kudos!

Switching gears to the world of work, Tyler Cruz moved from a condo into a house not too long ago and now he has shared a quick tour of his new home office. There’s already a built-in desk in place, as well as a spot for his canine companion. There are many factors to consider when setting up your home office and it looks like Tyler has a space that will be both comfortable and productive for years to come.

You’ve surely heard the saying that a picture is worth a thousand words, but in much the same way, the right words can be worth far more than mere pictures. To this end, Michel Fortin has a post talking about the words that can paint vivid pictures in the minds of your readers. Indeed, this is why people say reading the novel versions of Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones can be so much richer and more fulfilling.

And speaking of vivid images, Klassy Goldberg explores the back story of one particularly iconic picture: the Japanese snow monkey using an iPhone. The photo was shot by Marsel van Oosten and he describes how the hot springs were once serene and quiet. The environment changes when the area gets flooded with tourists and that’s how the curious macaque managed to get its hands on the technological marvel. This made for quite the original image!