JJ's Pallet Palace

06/08/2026

05/26/2026

Homeowners in Central Indiana have reported sticker shock after receiving their property tax bills, with many seeing an increase in their property's assessed value. However, they have the option to file an appeal, with a 48% success rate on average, according to a survey of county assessors.

FULL STORY:🔗https://tinyurl.com/msv5jn4h

05/26/2026

Thanks for being a top engager and making it on to my weekly engagement list! 🎉

Elizabeth Hall, Donnya Sagarsee Boyd, Bill Christine Wyrick, Paul Melody Dennison, Tammy Sharp

05/21/2026

Most people don't know that released balloons travel miles before breaking apart — and the fragments land where wildlife finds them.

Latex looks like jellyfish to sea turtles. Ribbon tangles around nesting birds. Mylar never breaks down.

The intention behind a balloon release is real. The alternatives carry the same meaning without the landing.

🌿 Five ways to mark the moment:

- Blow bubbles — they catch the same light and vanish without a trace
- Plant a native tree or wildflower patch in their name
- Float luminaries on water — visible, beautiful, temporary
- Write messages on plantable seed paper — bury it, wildflowers grow
- Donate to a wildlife rehabilitation center in their name

The gesture doesn't have to cost a life to mean something 🌿

05/19/2026

Thanks for being a top engager and making it on to my weekly engagement list! 🎉

Rachel Allard, Rhonda Burns, Donnya Sagarsee Boyd, Paul Melody Dennison, Sheila Brewer

05/01/2026

Love these

05/01/2026

Thanks for being a top engager and making it on to my weekly engagement list! 🎉

Donnya Sagarsee Boyd, Rhonda Burns, Brandi Seeley, Cindy Hileman, Elizabeth Hall

04/20/2026

I hovered six inches from your face on the back porch. You flinched, waved your hat, and went inside.

I'm an eastern carpenter bee. The one that just dive-bombed your head was me — the male. I don't have a stinger. I've never had one. The entire display was a bluff performed by an unarmed bee.

My job is to guard the airspace around the female's nest. When anything enters the zone, I intercept. I hover and hold position. If you leave, I win. If you don't, I have no second move.

The females can sting but almost never do — only if physically grabbed. The large bee holding still in front of your face is the one that can't do anything to you.

The holes in your beam are her work. Perfect half-inch circles drilled straight in, then turned to run along the grain. She carves chambers inside, stocks each one with pollen and nectar, lays an egg on top, and seals it with chewed wood pulp. She reuses the same tunnel across seasons, adding branches.

🐝 The part that changes how you see her:

She's one of the few bees that can pollinate a tomato flower. The pollen inside is locked in tubes that only release under a specific vibration. She grips the flower and buzzes her body until the pollen shakes loose. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and blueberries all depend on bees that can do this. Honeybees can't.

🌿 If you see one:

- The dive-bomber is the stingless male — wait a few seconds and he returns to his post
- If the beam damage concerns you, seal finished tunnels with a wood plug in fall after the bees have emerged — don't plug active tunnels
- Offer an alternative by mounting a block of untreated softwood nearby — she may drill there instead of your trim
- Skip the wasp spray near the beam — she's pollinating the vegetables that need her most

The bee you ran from can't sting. The one you've never noticed is the reason your tomatoes set fruit 🌿

04/07/2026

Thanks for being a top engager and making it on to my weekly engagement list! 🎉

Rhonda Burns, Julie Junk, Julie McCoy, Sheila Brewer, Bill Christine Wyrick

01/22/2026

I will be posting more tomorrow afternoon. Posting a little at a time right now with it being so cold. 🥶 stay warm everyone.