Morning goat

What *actually* works — right here, right now — to address climate change? Here you go. This is the result of thousands of hours of painstaking research and analysis from the Project Drawdown team.

Bird populations are crashing, due to habitat loss and cats and, of course, climate change. But a major reason is that birds are running out of food, which for many means insects. In his latest "Lookout" column, @jasondovemark.bsky.social learns to love the bugs that feed the birds.

I was sick of seeing JD Vance's memoir get all of the book coverage. So I asked a bunch of writers I know and love what recent books they think should get more attention. These are books for people who actually like to read. Please check them out! lithub.com/40-great-new...

Last day of residency gonna write a hundred pages #writers

In a global milestone, Peru’s Satipo and Nauta-Loreto regions have recognized native stingless bees as rights-bearing entities. Backed by a 2025 national law, the framework allows legal action to shield critical pollinators from deforestation and pesticides. Liz Kimbrough reports for #Mongabay.

Thoroughbreds crossing Union Ave in Saratoga Springs, NY

The latest Bad Naturalist newsletter has plants in Portugal, indigo buntings and scarlet tanagers, a poodle on vacation, and more. 🌿🌎 badnaturalistnewsletter.beehiiv.com/p/near-and-far

Bad Naturalist is a Library of Virginia People's Choice Award finalist in nonfiction! www.lva.virginia.gov/events/litaw... #books #writers

Dog baffled as to why I made her try out the sheep bell that I bought at a flea market in Portugal. "But, how will I surprise the rabbits?"

Storm coming? 🌿

A high-voltage power line turned stork apartment building in the Alentejo region, Portugal 🌿#birds

my favorite data centers are libraries

Want to explore tons of interviews with members of the local literary community? Signing up for our Lit Life newsletter gives you access to our full interview archive, featuring Zach Powers, Manil Suri, Elliot Williams, and many more. Visit dcwritersroom.substack.com to subscribe for free!

Sad day when I realize there will be no more Sumo oranges until next year. Please keep me in your thoughts at this difficult time.

The latest issue of the Bad Naturalist newsletter has native plants blooming, controlled burning (finally!), bluebirds, and a goat update.... 🌿

🧵 BOOKS FOR EARTH DAY 🌎 While writing my book, Becoming Earth, I read — and have continued to read — *a lot* of books about our extraordinary planet. Here are a few of my personal favorites, old and new, with a particular focus on Earth as a dynamic, interconnected, evolving system 🧪 📚💙

Aside from Florida, nearly the entire contiguous U.S. has experienced earlier than average first plant blooms in 2026. Earlier springs can cause longer allergy seasons, accelerate wildfire risk, increase pests/mosquitoes, and lead to less reliable snow-fed water. Map: www.usanpn.org/data/maps/sp...

Goat morning

One of my kids lives in Europe, and my mom just asked if he can receive emails. 😶

Prescribed burn happening right now on the mountain! 🌿🌎

The latest Bad Naturalist newsletter has goats and more goats, bluebirds, a paperback cover reveal, and a little poodle nostalgia. 🌿 badnaturalistnewsletter.beehiiv.com/p/march-madn...

A neighbor stopped by 🌿

Goated!

Bluebird on boulder 🌿

The mother of all black widows hanging out on the basement stairs. Around the size of my thumb but I did not feel like sticking my thumb in there for scale 🤷🏻‍♀️ 🌿

The news has moved on, but ICE is still in Minneapolis. My neighbors are still patrolling streets, driving strangers to work, and providing aid. As a photojournalist at @propublica.org, I wanted to know: What do they look like in their daily lives? So I picked up my camera 👇

I'm over the moon to learn that I've been awarded an artist residency at Yaddo! #writing

First carpenter bee of the season 🌿

I am leaving the Washington Post to join a new journalistic venture backed by Politico founder Robert Allbritton that will be both the hometown publication the D.C. region sorely needs and a scrappy and fearless national news organization. I hope you'll join us.

🚨 A new frontier of coordinated disinformation. Fossil fuel industry front groups are using AI platforms to flood clean air regulators with fake public comments—submitted under real residents' names, without their consent. @robbonta.bsky.social www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...

I'll be talking about Bad Naturalist and my project restoring native meadows on a mountain in the northern Blue Ridge region this Friday at the Shenandoah Valley Plant Symposium! 🌿🌎 www.waynesboro.va.us/971/Shenando...

The US already makes 96% of the N fertilizer we use. The fertilizer we import the most is POTASSIUM. Which we get from CANADA. When we import phosphorus, we get 98% of it from PERU. Not Iran. So the reason we've had trouble getting those is TARIFFS. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/07/us-f...

We shouldn’t have to fight just to be able to exercise a right, but primary night in Texas made it clear we will have to. Here’s what you need to know and how to get ready to do it. open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...

I just passed the exam to become a Certified Prescribed Fire Manager in Virginia! 🔥🔥 (I took the course for my own knowledge, and it has convinced me, at least for now, that I don't want to supervise burns…) 🌿

Call your reps about this. Every time a book ban has been overturned or shut down, it's because the vast majority of people who believe in the freedom to read spoke up. Find your reps' info at reps.fyi.

Don't want giant mirrors in the sky to reflect sunlight onto the earth, lighting it all up at night? Don't want a million more low-orbit starlink satellites in space? There's still time to stop these proposals now at FCC. See instructions for commenting from DarkSky International #astro 🌿🌎

I've always been a little obsessed with these fiddler crabs that live among the mangrove roots, so I was interested to see that they're moving north, even to places where there are no mangrove trees. 🌿🌎

Lightning storm! In February! Knocked out my internet! Everything's fine! #itsfine

Hey DMV! On Sat., Feb. 21, 5 p.m., there will be a tribute to Book World at @politicsprose.bsky.social. Several former editors and contributors will be sharing memories in honor of the late lamented BW. See link below for the lineup. #BookSky 📚 politics-prose.com/tribute-book...

My mountain road is still covered with snow. The latest Bad Naturalist newsletter has, yes, snow, and also a raptor, a weevil, and a poodle. 🌿🌎

"I believe in modes of thinking, not rules." I just finished reading A Long Game: Notes on Writing Fiction, by @elizmccrack.bsky.social, and it resonated like no other book on writing that I've read in a long time. So, thank you!

Notice the reasoning when the Baltimore Banner’s editor-in-chief explains their jumping in. dankennedy.net/2026/02/13/w... "At a time when so much pulls communities apart, sports bring us together. The Washington Post’s decision to eliminate its sports section creates an opportunity for us..."

While others are stepping back on climate, Project Drawdown is stepping up! We’re proud to announce the Climate Science Serving America Fellowship to support U.S.-based Ph.D.-level scientists & engineers focused on climate solutions for the public good. drawdown.org/news/project...

Found an additional graphic that gets even more of these quotes together. I've kept "I hate myself, I hate clover, and I hate bees" pinned above my desk since I first started studying evolutionary biology as an undergraduate. So relatable to get extremely frustrated with your study system.

I'm going to write one long thread over the next couple of days about the people I worked with at the Post. They deserve the extra time and attention. I'll start with someone you likely know well: @roncharles.bsky.social 1/TK

we need to talk about that Ring Super Bowl ad

End of an era and one of the final nails in the coffin of a once-great newspaper that now ignores intellectual life (and so much else).

We now have input a list for the Northeast and Mid Atlantic Native plant nurseries. Here is an update: beechhollowfarms.com...