If we must have large #datacenters springing up like mushrooms, wouldn't it be great if the builders commissioned local #artists to design & paint interesting #murals on those huge walls? Right now most of them are ugly brutes. Cost of art would be pocket change to these huge ventures. #ai […]

"You take the high road and I'll take the low road." Two #bees using different styles work the center of a water lily. The lower bee seemed quite comfortable hanging down from those stamens. Reston, Virginia, USA. 25-Aug-2025. #insects #insectphotography #flowerphotography #naturephotography

That skipper #butterfly was having a lovely time enjoying that flower until that great big clearwing #moth came over to spoil the party. Lake Fairfax Park, Reston, Virginia, USA 25-Aug-2025. #insects #insectphotography #naturephotography

This #butterfly was enjoying a flower at Lake Fairfax Park in Reston, Virginia, USA 23AUG25. It might be a Delaware skipper but there are so many types that look rather similar to my untrained eye. Can any #entemologist types help me out? #insects #insectphotography #naturephotography

Lucky to get an eye-level shot of a male eastern pondhawk #dragonfly. To me the neutral gray backdrop (more luck, no Photoshop gimmickry) helps give it a nice art illustration look. Lake Fairfax Park, Reston, Virginia, USA. 25-Aug-2025. #insects #insectphotography #naturephotography #inverts

My conventional brain says bright colors are a major part of what makes a #butterfly attractive. But then I was just fooling around with #b&W and came up with this. The shape, lines and patterns are pleasing, no? #photography #monochrome #naturephotography

Just a wee monarch #butterfly to cheer up a dreary Monday. Sterling, Virginia, USA. 14-August-2025. #insect #insects #insectphotography #naturephotography

Monarch #butterfly -- always a delight to see. Sterling, Virginia, USA 14-Aug-2025. #insect #insects #insectphotography #naturephotography #nikonz8 #lrc #topazphotoai

A monarch #butterfly in a dreamy setting. Sterling, Virginia, USA. 14-Aug-2025. #insects #insectphotography #naturephotography #invert #inverts

Satire and mockery are powerful tools to resist #tyranny, #authoritarianism, and #christo-fascism (which has no resemblance to authentic Christianity). Here is an absolutely brilliant example. "Klanned Karenhood" FTW! #usapol […]

I have lived in the #Washington, #dc area for nearly 50 years and I can assure you that #Trump 's militaristic intrusion into #police matters is total #authoritarian #fascist bullshit. Actual crime rates are down. Yes, like many big cities, there are bad neighborhoods where crime is too high […]

Someone has finally found a good use for the #tesla #cybertruck, although at ~ US $100K they make rather expensive targets. #musk #news #usapol https://electrek.co/2025/08/06/us-military-buying-tesla-cybertruck-targets-missiles/

I enjoy #wildlifephotography but I'll never be a serious naturalist. I just don't have the patience to study the details necessary to tell me whether these #butterflies are black swallowtails, pipevine swallowtails, or dark morph eastern tiger swallowtails. Oh […] [Original post on mindly.social]

Skinny photo of a skinny skink. Huntley Meadows Park, Alexandria, Virginia, USA 29-July-2025. #herps #naturephotography #wildlife

Heads-up to any who use #Facebook on a PC browser (not mobile devices). Spare me the lecture on why I shouldn't use FB.] You may see something like this in the upper-right corner. It looks a lot like legitimate FB and Messenger notifications, but it's just a […] [Original post on mindly.social]

I see both male and female adults fairly regularly, but here's a juvenile female red-bellied #woodpecker No red anywhere. Huntley Meadows Park, Alexandria, Virginia, USA. 29-July-2025. #birds #birdphotography #naturephotography

Since I use 'Teach Honest History' as my tagline, this kind of news story really disgusts me. Truth is patriotic, dammit! We can handle the truth. #usapol #history #Nationalparks #muirwoods […]

I guess this is an OK photo of an Eastern tiger swallowtail #butterfly checking out a hunk of scat. But what I really want to know is who is that sinister Guy Fawkes-like character with the crooked nose & thick mustache lurking in the marsh on the other side of […] [Original post on mindly.social]

I believe in appropriate and sensible regulation of #capitalism . Stories like this one just reinforces my experience of what happens when companies are unconstrained by #regulations ethics, or basic decency […]

Here's that same green #heron that I posted earlier, but here it's untucked and putting the brakes on for a landing. You can see more of the body shape and range of colors in this pose. Reston, Virginia, USA 17-July-2025. #birds #birdphotography #naturephotography

A lesson I've learned doing #wildlife #photography is to be ready to shoot at all times. This green #heron was taken literally seconds upon arriving at this pond. My first green heron in flight photo! Reston, Virginia, USA. 17-July-2025 #birds #birdphotography #naturephotography

"On Final Approach". A female ruby-throated hummingbird hovers into position to begin sampling the nectar at another bloom. I like this shot because you can see the whole length of that wonderful stiletto beak. Green Spring Gardens, Alexandria, Virginia, USA […] [Original post on mindly.social]

Here's a slightly different kind of #hummingbird photo. Here a female ruby-throated is sipping the juice from the berry-like fruit of a honeysuckle vine. Alexandria, Virginia, USA 11-July-2025. #birds #birdphotography #naturephotography

‪Teach Honest History‬ ‪@cliftographer.bsky.social‬ · 5s How about a #bee and #flower shot for a change? BONUS: Looks like there is another much smaller #insect in the other flower! Does anyone know what it is? #photography #naturephotography #insects #flowers […] [Original post on mindly.social]

A classic pose struck by this beautiful little lady. Female ruby-throated #hummingbird, Green Spring Gardens, Alexandria, Virginia, USA 11-July-2025. #birds #birdphotography #naturephotography

I don't know who needs to see a #hummingbird in mid poop today, but here you have it. Female ruby-throated hummingbird. Alexandria, Virginia, USA. 11-July-2025. #birds #hummingbirdpoop. #birdphotography #naturephotography Am I a terrible person for adding a #gravy tag to this?

"Why did I come here? It's too late in the season, too late in the day, too hot. This was a big mistak... oh wait -- what's that!?" BOOM #nevermind. (-- My wildlife photographer inner monologue). Female ruby-throated #hummingbird Green Spring Gardens […] [Original post on mindly.social]

I see a great blue heron at just about every pond I visit. I'm sure I have a thousand photos of them, including some very good ones. I still can't resist them, they are just mesmerizing. Reston, Virginia, USA 3-July-2025. #birds #birdphotography #naturephotography

Well, I don't know what else to do, so I made a donation to the local food bank today.

At first this northern mockingbird was spooked by my arrival and took flight. Later decided I was OK and even showed me his/her prized blackberry! Reston, Virginia, USA 3-July-2025. #birds #birdphotography #naturephotography

I had just arrived at a new-to-me pond in Reston, Virginia, USA when this double-crested cormorant made a nice splashy landing. Reston, Virginia, USA 4-July-2025 #birds #birdphotography #naturephotography

Have a good thought for our beloved dog Bentley. He was a rescue and brought us a decade of devotion and joy. Passed over the rainbow bridge yesterday. #pets #dogs #otrb

I love my wife, I love my baby I love my biscuits sopped in #gravy

I’m talking to Davey Who’s swimming in #gravy And will be greasy for life. (With apologies to Billy Joel)

There's a lot of grief, danger, and hate out there in the world today. Keep an eye out and protect one another. #birds #birdphotography #naturephotography

"Beautiful Pest". Spotted #lanternfly late stage nymph (4th instar). Very pretty insect IMO. Also very harmful to hardwood trees and many crops. Authorities say "kill on sight". Clifton, Virginia, USA 24-JUN-2025 #insects #entomology #insectphotography #naturephotography #macrophotography

One of my better #bee shots, never saw such a gap between thorax & abdomen. Put a 20mm extension tube on my #macro lens for this one. Can anyone tell me what kind of bee it is? Is there an app for IDing insects that works like Merlin for birds? #insects #insectphotography #naturephotography

This great egret was feeding at the far side of a lake, too far for quality photos. Fortunately it took a flight tour around the lake. This shot shows off the large drooping wattle-like gullet hanging down, almost like an upside-down sail. Lake Fairfax Park […] [Original post on mindly.social]

‪Teach Honest History‬ ‪@cliftographer.bsky.social‬ · 12s I'm not a #macrophotography expert by any definition, I just dabble now and then. But for what it's worth, here's my best photo ever of a house fly. Not excited? OK, just keep scrolling. #insects #insectphotography

Resting #butterfly #schmetterling #insektensamstag #photography

"Hi, my name is Junior. I'm the smallest juvenile Canada goose in my family. I am very cute, and I know it. Check out how cute my ear tufts are!" Lake Fairfax Park, Reston, Virginia, USA 20-April-2025. #birds #birdphotography #naturephotography

...and here it is, the clearest evidence yet of a fascist tech bro deciding the current corpus of human knowledge needs "correcting", and openly stating his intention to use his LLM to manipulate public understanding. When I called current iterations of AI […] [Original post on mastodon.world]

I think this barn swallow must have opted for the special hot wax at the bird wash, it's a shiny as a new car on a dealer showroom floor. Lake Fairfax Park, Reston, Virginia, USA 20-April-2025. #birds #birdphotography #naturephotography

This is about as good a depiction of the orange, yellow, and cream colored shoulder-patch on the dubiously named 'red-winged' blackbird as I am likely to get. Lake Fairfax Park, Reston, Virginia, USA 20JUN2025. #birds #birdphotography #naturephotography

Need something calming and pleasant in your feed? How about this family of juvenile geese going for a swim. Not babies any more, but still lots of cute fuzziness. #birds #video Lake Fairfax Park, Reston, Virginia, USA 20APR2025. #birdphotography #naturephotography

Saw this in my neighborhood today. I don’t think this #cybertruck driver is fooling anyone with that big TOYOTA logo, but I applaud the effort. #tesla #doge #usapol

**RANT** Years ago I purchased Corel Draw 3 graphics suite. Paid major dollars ($349 IIRC) for PERPETUAL #license. Also paid for upgrades thru Ver 7. Used for years, no issue. Today, it's broken, demands #activation, but activation mech broken. Hey #corel Corp. IMO you STOLE my #software. SHAME […]

I have to admit I'm not one to get super excited about all the different kinds of sparrows, but here's a grasshopper sparrow. I've only seen it at Mannassas Battlefield (Virginia, USA), but that may be because it's more meadow and field than my usual marshy […] [Original post on mindly.social]

I would have loved to get photos of the escaped zebra running free in suburbs and fields of Tennessee, but I don't. How about a Zebra Swallowtail #butterfly instead? Uncommon in my area. Proof that a little pop of color goes a long way! Mannassas, Viriginia […] [Original post on mindly.social]

Who's up for a few green tree frogs? Here two different ones. The photo on the left has a nice setting & mood, while that on the right is probably my personal best 'technical' wildlife photo of a GTF. Which do you like best? Alexandria, Virginia, USA 5JUN25 #herps #photography #naturephotography