The paper wasps have woken up again, and are scavenging old wood from my car port to make their hives. European paper wasp, Polistes dominula. #SciArt #ScratchArt #entomology #wasp #ArtSky #nature

We welcome the start of spring with open arms. #celtic #spring #WitchSky #PhotoSky #FootpathFriday #FolkyFriday My mari lwyd inspired folk costume

Top tip for Western Washington State folks: Seeing cherry blossoms at the capitol building in Olympia is cheaper than going to Japan and has WAY less crowds than going to UW in Seattle. #spring #CherryBlossoms #sakura #pnw #cascadia #BloomScrolling #PhotoSky

Extinct species tarot card reading on my favorite dinosaur taxon, ankylosaurs. Eight of coins, upright. They had high skill and expertise, probably in using their tail club to smash! This was a result of time, practice, and attention to detail. #tarot #paleontology #dinosaurs #WitchSky #HardWork

The start of spring brings us a tiny early bloomer to the corners of open habitats in the Pacific Northwest. Small-flowered blue-eyed Mary, Collinsia parviflora. #SciArt #BloomScrolling #FridayFlowers #spring #NativePlants #pnw #botany #ScratchArt #illustration

Magnolias put a ridiculous amount of effort into their flower game. #GardenSky #BloomScrolling #tree

This is my full draft lifecycle for sunflower broomrape, Orobanche cumana. Last year, Washington State had the first known infestation of this parasitic plant in North America. #WIPwednesday #SciArt #WildflowerWednesday #BloomScrolling #ScientificIllustration

Extinct species #tarot reading on Prototaxites, as requested by @eb-greene.bsky.social. These massive organisms were probably in a mystery kingdom that wasn't plants or fungi! Five of Cups, reversed They accepted their grief and were moving on with what they could control #Paleontology #witchsky

The Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, was built in the 1400s, to be the burial spot of Timur's sons. Timur was supposed to be intombed in Shahrisabz, but his body didn't make it there, so he is in Gur-e-Amir as well. #MosaicMonday #history #architecture #PhotoSky #timur #uzbekistan

For my first divinatory extinct species vibe reading, I focused on The Tully Monster, from around 310 mya. The Staff of Asclepius, reversed. The Tully Monster did not want to be saved or helped. They may have wanted to do harm to others, though perhaps unintentionally. #tarot #witch #paleontology

I've been inspired by the "psychic" true crime tiktokers who get in trouble for doing readings about ongoing criminal cases. I'm going to be doing divinations on extinct species. I have never done tarot or oracle readings, but I kickstarted a beautiful deck a few years ago, and now I'm learning!

The Grandfather Tree at @wolfhavenint.bsky.social is at least 300 years old, but I reckon it is older because when I worked there a similarly aged old growth tree fell down elsewhere on the prairie, and that one had over 600 rings. #trees #NaturePhotography #pnw #WashingtonState

But that's my emotional support gut microbiome!

It is trillium time babes! Western trillium, Trillium ovatum, is one of the earliest bloomers in Puget Sound lowland forest understories. The ones in my garden and backyard forest are not blooming yet though! #SciArt #botany #ScratchArt #nativeplants #GardenSky #BloomScrolling

Pahlavon Mahmud Mausoleum complex, in Khiva, Uzbekistan, was finished in 1664. In addition to a mausoleum, it also has a mosque and madrasa, and is an important pilgrimage site. #MosaicMonday #TravelPhotography #history #PhotoSky #Uzbekistan

Lots of people think of drain flies, Clogmia albipunctata, as pests. I like to think of them as my tiny, fuzzy, non-perverted, shower buddies. They also cheer me on when I'm doing the dishes. #SciArt #entomology #illustration #ArtSky #BugSky #BugArt

Claquato Church is the oldest standing church in Washington State, built in 1858. Claquato became a ghost town after the railroad went through nearby Centralia and Chehalis instead. On the occupied lands of the Chehalis and Cowlitz tribes. #SteepleSaturday #ChurchCrawling #WestCoastKin #PhotoSky

A host of daffodils at Belmont Abbey. Designed by Edward Welby Pugin 1850's. #sundaystonework #daffodils

Southern Magnolia, Magnolia grandiflora, is one of only around 10 magnolias native to North America. They grow in the wild in the south eastern United States. #NativePlants #GardenSky #SciArt #botany #illustration #ScratchArt

We are crazy for carnyx-es in this house! A recreation of a different carnyx I got for my spouse's birthday last year #IronAge #Celtic #instrument #OddInstruments

The loss of the Aral Sea is one of the most obvious ecological disasters of the last century. It was basically drained to grow cotton for the USSR. This is the ship graveyard in Moynaq, Uzbekistan, on used to be the shore. The water is now miles away.

I'm not good at poetry, so insert a beautiful artsy statement or title here. My favorite scatch-art I've done. A common raven, Corvus corax, by the light of the crescent moon. #ScratchArt #SciArt #raven #corvid #ornithology #skull #drawing #illustration #witch #gothic

Toshhovli Palace, in Khiva, Uzbekistan, was built in the first half of the 1800s, under the last dynasty of Khiva Khanates before Russian rule. This room was a summer mosque, meeting hall, or both, but I don't recall. #MosaicMonday #Uzbekistan #Photography #TravelPhotography #history

Me, singing to my dog as I prepare his arthritis medicine hidden in cheese: 🎵 Tro-jan, Trojan cheese 🎵 It's the best cheese 🎵 This side of Greece

Registan Square is probably Uzbekistan's most known site. It is made up of 3 madrasas (schools for Islam), and was a major center of learning during the Islamic Golden Age. #TravelPhotography #Photography #architecture #history #uzbekistan

Because I'm from New Mexico, I know that the best chile (with an "e") pepper are Hatch green chiles, Capsicum annum var. New Mexico. #NewMexico #GreenChile #ChiliPepper #food #GardenSky #BloomScrolling #agriculture

Fountains Abbey. The main ruins of the Abbey behind the almost totally demolished infirmary buildings. The tower was erected by Abbot Huby, 1495- 1526. To the left the south transept of the church, from the 1170s. To the right the 13th century Chapel of Nine Altars. #ArchitecturalIllustration

Part of a Unesco World Heritage site, Tilya Kori Madrasa, in the Registan complex in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. It was a mosque and school after it was built in the 1600s. #MosaicMonday #uzbekistan #TravelPhotography #history #architecture

Henderson's Shooting Star, (formerly in the genus Dodecatheon, but has since I drew this changed to Primula hendersonii) is one of my favorite plants on South Puget Sound Prairies! #SciArt #NativePlants #ScratchArt #botany #BloomScrolling #pnw

Ak-Saray Palace, in Shahrisabz, Uzbekistan, would have been absolutely massive when it was completed around 1400, for Amir Timur. This is just what is left of the entrance archway! #Uzbekistan #history #ruins #TravelPhotography #architecture #archeology #mosaic

Graham's nipple cactus (fun name), Arizona fishook cactus (boring name), or Cochemiea grahamii, I saw growing at the bottom of the Grand Canyon many years ago on a research trip. #FlowersOnFriday #BloomScrolling #succulent #cactus #desert

Khiva was probably my favorite town in Uzbekistan. It is over 2500 years old, and the old city is blocks and blocks of amazing museums and historical sites. #uzbekistan #travelphotography #HistoryThursday #architecture

Fairy Slipper Orchid, Calypso bulbosa, is a circumpolar species. This means it grows all across the northern hemisphere, where it can be found in shaded habitats. #SciArt #orchid #ScratchArt #BloomScrolling #WildflowerWednesday

Six months ago I visited Uzbekistan, and I have a lot of photos to share from that adventure. The Kalan Mosque, in Bukhara, was completed in the 1500s, while the Kalyan Minaret was built in the 1100s. #uzbekistan #TravelPhotography #CentralAsia #history

Male peacock spiders (Maratus species) are very bright to convince mates to give them a chance, while the females blend into their surroundings, as the ambush predators in the jumping spider family. #SciArt #entomology #spiders #GelPen #illustration

Farewell-to-spring (Clarkia amoena) and hello summer! Farewell-to-springs vary a lot in their coloration across their range from British Columbia to California. This, plus their good seeding ability, has made them a popular annual flower to grow in gardens. #BloomScrolling #GardenSky #WestCoastKin

Most forget-me-nots have very small flowers and even smaller seeds, called nutlets (the texture of which can help ID to species). Myosotis laxa are circumboreal, they are native across the entire Northern hemisphere! #botany #SciArt #nativeplants #etch #ScratchArt #GardenSky #BloomScrolling

Columbia tiger lilies, Lilium columbianum, are a native #wildflower across the northwestern US and British Columbia. Their bulbs were used by native peoples for food, and can be cultivated to spread in your garden. #macrophotography #BloomScrolling #GardenSky #OnlyBeautifulThings #ColorsOfNature

All species of Larkspur are toxic, just like most plants in their family, Ranunculaceae. A familiar poisonous relative is monkshood, Aconitum sp. #SciArt #botany #BloomScrolling #etching #ScratchArt

I saw #fireflies (that light up*, see footnote) for the first time last week! It was just as magical as seeing the aurora last year! *I have seen #beetles in the #firefly family, Lampyridae, in the PNW before. It is just that most Washington and Oregon species don't light up. #ColorsOfNature #DC

Puget balsamroot, Balsamorhiza deltoidea, is a sunflower native to the west coast from British Columbia to California. It's populations thrive with frequent burning, but can still grow in a well drained Western Pacific Northwest garden #SciArt #FlowerSky #GardenSky #NativePlants #pnw #WestCoastKin

The amount of moshing was exactly what you would expect at a historically-punk festival. At least A Day To Remember wasn't playing this one, otherwise there would have been surfing on the crowd surfers in addition to a general disrespect for your surroundings. #WarpedTour #DC #emo #PopPunk

I'm so excited that my #NativePlant baldhip #roses are finally old enough to bloom! They love the shady forests of the #PNW #ScratchArt #etching #PriDemonTh #SciArt #QueerArt #botany #GardeningFeed #FlowerSky

Aurora were maybe visible in the lower 48 of the Pacific Northwest last night. Here is the best shot I got of it, with varying amounts of editing. #vaporwave #JazzCup #aurora #NorthernLights #pnw #SkySky #PhotographyOfBluesky

There was drama this morning! See the following post for the entire saga of my amazingly observant guard dog/wolf who didn't even see the deer until she moved. #DogsOfBluesky #mutt #JackRussellTerrier #RescueDog #wildlife #pnw #deer

Common camas (Camassia quamash) is usually shades of purple, but periodically all white individuals grow! They are not albinos, as plants with albinism wouldn't be able to photosythesize. Prairie Appreciation Day at Wolf Haven International was great today! #LandscapePhotography #NaturePhotography

Pangolins are some of the most endangered mammal species in the world. They are popular in illegal wildlife trade, while being difficult to raise in captivity for conservation and re-release. #wildlifeWednesday #SciArt

Golden paintbrush (Castilleja levisecta) is a formerly endangered species. It is closely related to harsh paintbrush (C. hispida), and thus can hybridize, making a range of orange individials. Prairie Appreciation Day was great this morning! #pnw #botany #nativeplants #landscapephotography

Chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) are not very popular for eating, partially because their meat usually isn't orange. But! One run in Washington, the Nisqually run, do have orange meat. They occur all around the northern Pacific, so there are probably other unique runs. #fishfriday #pnw #sushi 🐡

White-lined Sphinx moths (Hyles lineata) are known as hummingbird moths, since they are so big. Even their caterpillars are huge and showy! The caterpillars do vary a lot in coloration. These were in Death Valley National Park last April. #MothMonday #MacroMonday #entomology #DeathValley