I may have a problem. Nature photos for #iNaturalist

This piece is called “Deer Resistant My Ass!” We have a few painted rocks around our garden. After deer browsed my evening primrose literally the day I planted it, I thought about a rock with this quote. Then was like “wait. I have a bandsaw.” #nativeplants #starwars #failure Oenothera biennis

I found a dead fly in my yard. Turns out it’s zombie fly infected with a fungus that makes it find a high perch, spread its legs/wings, die, and release fungal spores below. I’ve found 3 now, with 1 shipped to @zombiflied.bsky.social at Harvard for science! Just in time for Last of Us finale! 😂

Zebra swallowtail wing looks like pixel art. #butterfly #naturalist

It happened! At least 4 of the 32 zebra swallowtail #butterfly chrysalises that overwintered survived (maybe all). The 1st eclosed today! This shot was NOT planned. 3 more coming in the next 1-2 days. All offspring of this single mom: www.publicsource.org/zebra-swallo... #pawpaw #nativeplants

Another tiny strip of lawn I’ll never mow again! The other side is neighbor‘s lawn. Shrubby St. John’s wort + foxglove beardtongue from seed. I’ve solarized w/cardboard/mulch around plantings before. Works well enough. If the deer strike and I need to replace, well the hard part’s done.

Before and after. Evening primrose grown from seed in my basement. 😂 #nativeplants #gardening #eveningprimrose #deer

Made a new #hobbit hole for our front garden. Partly to make kids/parents smile when they walk by. But mainly to make myself smile. Scrap fence cedar and acrylic paint. It’ll look better with real plants around it I think. Pieces cut on #scrollsaw. #woodworking #geekart

Current vibe post Chewie’s “cryptorchid” surgery. Fun tangent: this lead to me learning that “orchid” means “testicle.” Hat tip to @metalmarks.bsky.social for sharing this illustration of why the plant is called an #orchid in our Pittsburgh #Naturalists signal chat. #DogsofBluesky

Happy to have this recent wooden monarch #butterfly piece shown at the University of #Pittsburgh #EcoArtisans Sustainable Art Expo today! Bonus materials showcasing #milkweed, #nativeplants, #pawpaw, and zebra swallowtails.

Plant Milkweed! #Monarch #Butterfly wood #intarsia is complete! Started this thing in Dec24! Made from 310 pieces of wood handcut on a scrollsaw. Ebonized black walnut, orange-dyed ash, American holly (all scavenged). + A bit of wenge, and painted metal cord antennae. #woodworking #nativeplants

Cold & rain makes for a great day to do my annual refinish of this inlayed patio sunflower table I made. Downside of oil-finish: yearly maintenance. Upside: it’s easy and much prettier than something like spar urethane. It stays on our porch so at least somewhat limited exposure to elements.

If any of you happen to be #pittsburgh local, the monarch I’m working on will be displayed at the “EcoArtisans Sustainable Art Expo” on April 2nd (10-2pm, WPU, Pitt Campus).

1 way I make my #woodworking more sustainable is by ebonizing common woods like this black walnut instead of using e.g. ebony. Vinegar + steel wool in an old mason jar = iron acetate (& hydrogen, so don’t seal it💥!). The solution reacts with tannin to create various shades (depending on species)

Back at this #monarch #intarsia again. I started it in December! It’s a slow metamorphosis. All handcut on #scrollsaw. Will dye some of it orange. #woodworking #art

I don’t show my face here all that often - just because there’s usually much more interesting things to show. But Chewie was being too cute not to share. I swear there will be both woodworking and nature content here soon!

The fastest creature on Earth - a peregrine falcon - flying around the Cathedral of Learning while supporting #standupforscience2025 in #pittsburgh (a pair nests up there). The survival of the peregrine is 1 of the great conservation stories. #science #nature @standupforscience.bsky.social

Hey if y’all want to see some absolutely gorgeous woodworking - often inspired by nature, wildlife, and pets. Give my friend Chelsea @evergreendaydreams.bsky.social a follow! She’s a truly amazing pro and just joined here. (Chelsea you should post one of your cardinals!).

I started many of my #nativeplants seeds suuuper early (like December), mostly as a mental health exercise, and expecting failure. But so far like 95% of it still looks happy and healthy-ish. For a cool dry basement under cheap lights anyway. The main challenge has been fighting the fungus gnats.

How I maintain my winter sanity: garden planning. Our small pizza slice of Pittsburgh started as monoculture lawn and a few invasives and non-natives (but beautiful rhododendrons). I’m slowly converting it to mostly #nativeplants (minus dog runs). 100 native seedlings in our basement now!

This was certainly a transformative moment experience for both me and for our backyard :)

I have to shoutout @belz-ebub.bsky.social as an account to follow if you’re into cool intricate scrollsaw wood art. He and I go way back on IG.

Accurate representation of current vibe. (It’s a carved “porg” from #starwars).

This was one of my (many) favorite #nature videos from my backyard in the summer. A backlit European #honeybee drinking from the bird bath. I am trying to be here in my mind today. And failing. lol. #naturalist

Too early to start #nativeplants indoors? Probably. But I need to watch green things grow right now. Indoor #gardening is a mental health exercise. I’m sure I can keep some of them alive until spring. Maybe. And bonus, maaaybe some will bloom 1st year.

Some of you may know about the appearance of a zebra swallowtail #butterfly in our yard last year. Chrysalises are still hanging out! A bit of snow has drifted through the screen, but they’re otherwise protected. Painting by @zswallowtailpgh.bsky.social #nature www.publicsource.org/zebra-swallo...

My wife is working on her melon party. (There were a couple fun surprises in this). #severance. lumon-industries.com

These tiny pieces are the hardest. Anyway here’s proof they’re hand-cut. Removed audio because it’s annoying 😂

Doing some #woodworking! Finally gonna get back at this monarch #butterfly #scrollsaw #intarsia I started in… November?

I kinda dropped off posting for a bit. New #puppy (Chewie), new job locale, and my shop is too damn cold! But I imagine both art and native plant gardening will pickup here before too long.

#ArtAdventCalendar Day 14: “Freddie Chirpury” the song sparrow (get it?). Freddie ruled our backyard for at least 4 yrs. He lives a hard life & keeps on singing. Cut on #scrollsaw: walnut, maple, tree of heaven, wenge, sapele, black locust, holly, ebony & cherry. #wildlifeart #woodworking #intarsia

#ArtAdventCalendar Day 12: “Chewbacca”! The most challenging piece I’ve made. 653 pieces handcut on #scrollsaw over 14 weeks! Catalpa, walnut, elm, mahogany, stinkwood, wenge, holly, ebony, limba, bloodwood, purpleheart, yellowheart, chakte viga, maple, rosewood, leopardwood #woodworking #starwars

#ArtAdventCalendar Day 11: another real throwback to my #blender3D days from over a decade ago. My now-wife. As a fairy. 😂 I was literally just playing around, learning to model and texture. I’ve thought about re-learning Blender. But the physicality of woodworking is just so satisfying.

#ArtAdventCalendar Day 10: I actually finished this today! A #plantpropagation tube holder for a breast cancer surgeon. I’ve been in BC research for 12 yrs. But it’s rare I can think of an appropriate way to include that in my art. But being for a surgeon as opposed to patient is much easier.

#ArtAdventCalendar Day 9: “Nectar for the Orcas”. Back in 2010 I was mostly into #3D digital art with #blender. I did a whole series of marine animals in absurd land habitats. Obviously rudimentary by today’s #CGI standards. That penchant for absurdity led to my studio name. #digitalart #cetaceans

I’ve had this spacer block from a pallet used to ship a tissue culture incubator for about 6 years. I decided to turn it into propagation tube holders today! Much prettier wood than even expected. No idea what it is - some sort of tropical hardwood most likely. #woodworking #plants #propagation

#ArtAdventCalendar Day 8: “Sir Rano Ham,” a piece I made in memory of our friends’ beloved fuzzy little #hamster. Handcut on #scrollsaw, built from mahogany, honey locust, holly, walnut, apple, and wenge. #intarsia #woodworking

#ArtAdventCalendar Day 7: “Power. I have it. They don’t. This bothers them.” Any #Buffy fans out there?Handcut on #scrollsaw. No paint/stain. Bloodwood, mahogany, purpleheart, pine, basswood, ebony, holly, elm, Euro cherry, and walnut. I think it turned out five by five. #intarsia #woodworking #art

#ArtAdventCalendar Day 6: Boba Fett! Roughly based on a #marvelcomics panel by the late John Cassaday. 270 pieces of sycamore handcut on #scrollsaw over 6 weeks. One of my few pieces using wood dyes. #woodworking #starwars #bobafett #art

#ArtAdventCalendar Day 5: “Bandit”. In 2020, we knew our little boy was nearing his end. He’d had a blessed life and almost zero health problems until 13-14yrs old when everything began to fail him. I decided to immortalize him in wood. We lost him less than a year later. 😭 #woodworking #scrollsaw

#ArtAdventCalendar Day 4: my second #stainedglass lamp! I barely knew what I was doing but it turned out great and it makes me happy every day I turn it on. Designing in glass is similar to my woodworking “intarsia” style, but with big differences like no internal cuts! Design is continuous around.

#ArtAdventCalendar day 3. I drew this barred #owl many years ago as part of my efforts to woo my now wife, as evidenced by her name hidden in the feathers. haha. Success! Though i think drawing her dog Bandit was even more influential (he later became my fur-son). #graphitedrawing #art

#ArtAdventCalendar Day 2: “I Hear You Have Crabs” Built from mahogany, sapele, lacewood, maple, purpleheart, bloodwood, padauk, cherry, ebony, aspen, walnut, & white oak. Based on a painting/sculpture I did on canvas and MagicSculpt years ago. #woodworking #intarsia #scrollsaw #art #octopus

We have a limited number of seasonal garden flags we swap out every month or two. This is the only December-ish looking one. Who knows where we got it? My wife noticed something we previously missed. Haha. #pridemonth in December? (For you non-bird nerds, those are both male cardinals). #birds

#artadventcalendar Day 1. “Sentience” #pastel drawing (pan and pencil pastels) I made some years back before presbyopia fully set in 😂😭. Actually, I attribute spending months on this thing as a major contributor to my prematurely aging eyesight (along with decades using microscopes). #art #elephant

Frozen #mushrooms. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen this happen myself, though I imagine it’s not uncommon.

While our bodies seem static, our cells are constantly changing shape or on the move during tissue homeostasis or wound repair & even more dramatically during embryonic development, during events like gastrulation. Defining how cellular machines mediate these events is a key task for our field 1/n

Punch it! Sound on. This is still my favorite thing I’ve ever made. Cut on #scrollsaw, including every. Single. Star trail cut out of a walnut panel and filled with epoxy. I learned arduino programming to run the backlights. Adafruit soundboard. #woodworking #starwars #art #geekart

As part of my goal to turn our front yard into a whimsical #nativeplant garden, in addition to the hobbit hole, I also added some hand-carved “koroks” from #legendofzelda. Made from scavenged urban-felled black locust. I gave three to a child/friend up the road. Shalaka! #woodworking #carving #art

I need to make a couple more tiny hobbit holes for our front yard #nativeplant garden. This spot will hopefully be full of Monarda and Agastache next year. I’m slowly eliminating all the turf grass. #scrollsaw #geekart #lotr #hobbit #woodworking #art