朔
=
屰
+
月
:
The moon (月) wants to use the bathtub in the observatory's bathroom (o4), but Sheldon Shrimp (shu) has been using it all day and it doesn't seem like he'll finish any time soon. The moon angrily tells Sheldon to get out, but Sheldon disobeys (屰). Finally the moon remembers that it is the first day of the lunar month (朔), so he causes a spring tide (朔) which washes Sheldon out of the bathtub (and out of the bathroom) so that the moon can finally take a bath.
prefecture / (old) province / (old) administrative division / state (e.g. of US) / oblast (Russia) / canton (Switzerland)
州
=
丶
+
丷
+
川
:
Mnemonic symbol: the red cotton tree, as it is the official flower of 广州 (Guangzhou). A new river (川) formed spontaneously in front of the outhouse (ou1), and James II of England (zh) was barely able to climb on a red cotton tree (州). Other animals are happy about this development: a mean crocodile (丷) is floating on a petal leaf (丶) towards the red cotton tree.