America and Israel are in essence waging chemical war in Iran, filling the air above its metropolis with toxic smoke after lighting its oil storage depots on fire. How is anyone supposed to "rise up" when they can't breathe? open.substack.com/pub/billmcki...

Spring is in the Air, Colin See-Paynton.

You only have a short time to comment. They are trying to destroy our forests to enrich a few logging company executives and the politicians they’ve paid off. Leave your comment here: eplanning.blm.gov/Participate-... morethanjustparks.substack.com/p/blm-announ...

If bombing solved things, we'd have found out before now, I feel. It's certainly had enough tries at it.

Flickers carrying on outside all yesterday and today. They sound exactly as deranged as a bird that will probably put a new hole in my wall this spring ought to sound. Impossible not to admire them anyway (from inside my patched walls). #bird

Seed sowing time — entry for #March in the Labors of the Months section of the Très Riches Heures, probably the most important illuminated manuscript of the 15th century: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/labors-of-the-months-from-the-tres-riches-heures

say that to Boxer from Animal Farm’s face I dare you

Nobody should be able to buy the sky.

I can't get over this number: in 2007, there were 360,000 newspaper jobs. Now, there are 80,000. "My local paper sucked!" Sure. What sucks even more? The void. "I get all my news from the Guardian!" No, the Guardian doesn't report on your town council, your school board, local cops.

It's willow season.

The beloved Selkie! They have a grey sealskin coat that can be taken off when walking on land. In some stories, the coat is stolen by humans to trap the Selkie on land, often making them forget their roots to the sea. #FolkloreThursday 🦭

Merlin Bird ID. Duh.

Been sick for a week and I can tell I'm on the mend because now I'm enraged about everything all the time again.

The interview with Talarico has been posted to YouTube: youtu.be/oiTJ7Pz_59A

The National Capital Planning Commission is now accepting public comments on Trump's ballroom that dwarfs the White House and is ugly as sin. To comment, click on the link below, then click on "Submit Written Comments" button. Next, select "East Wing Modernization Project" off the menu. Go for it!

red rider #photography #photographie #photographers #EastCoastKin

Actual photo of me taken one year ago today, approximately 1/2 hour before I checked my email and, after over 24 years of writing novels, found my first publication offer (from @forestavenuepress.bsky.social). #writingcommunity #publishing #booksky

Trump Administration Announces That We Don’t Know Where The Sun Goes At Night

It's been a long while since I've done a book birthday week cake pic, but it's been a long wait for @vulgarhistory.bsky.social's debut. All the cake and all the congrats!

You can't... repeal... a scientific finding. At that point it's just called lying about it.

There’s gotta be some grevious sidhe curse in store for the hallions that fake Irish music with AI. Is it against BlueSky T&Cs to wish their loved ones replaced with lifeless fetches and their wealth turned to worthless lumps of coal? May their teeth fall out and the gentry take their sight.

Hosted a visitor this week. Fit right in.

When it's cold enough to see the melody.

Saw a drone operator chase a seal off once, trying to get a photo I guess. Just kept buzzing it up close until it submerged. No thought or care.

🔥🔥🔥

People can be surprised to see Shetland ponies out in wild weather but the breed was literally shaped by storms #Shetland

Superb Owl 4: Great Horned Owl, Superbly Powerful Today's superb owl is the superbly powerful Great Horned Owl! This nocturnal predator's talons require 28 lbs of force to open. They hunt prey much larger than themselves—even skunks, thanks to their poor sense of smell! #Raptors #Birds 📷 Jim Shane

Friday plans: 🖼️ Clare Hulfish #FrogForFriday

Good morning.

whoever figures out a way to bundle independent journalism subscriptions will be a hero

Apothecary Rose from Book of Flower Studies Master of Claude de France ca. 1510–1515.

"In the oceans, kelp forests tended by sea otters can sequester up to 12 times more carbon than forests not tended by them. That’s because sea otters love to eat sea urchins, who can chow down on entire strands of kelp if left unchecked."

"You know how it is, to hear everyone and feed them too. You know it’s no wonder Brigit sleeps through sermons. And now this guy." #stbrigid #Imbolc #stbrigidsday www.underrevision.com/blog/post/23...

"Imagine it. An infinite cloak, a shadow hung on light. Imagine all the trouble in the world." #stbrigid #stbrigidsday www.underrevision.com/blog/post/23...

Five university classes you took: 1) Playwriting 2) Anthropology and Myth 3) Calculus 4) Borges and His Precursors 5) Eighteenth-Century Documentary Prose (one of the best ever, 6 students, title scared everyone else off)

This is more of a trees portrait than a #SkyPortrait, but I love the color gradient.

Disappointed student eval from "Genre Fiction" class: "We never even figured out what genre fiction is."

This is the worst animal name of all time en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotwhee...

One thing I found deeply moving about resistance in the Twin Cities was the universalism of loving your neighbor, the philosophy driving the opposition to the ICE/BP invasion. I couldn't help but notice the contrast with the blood and soil-ism of Miller and Vance. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Possibly the most beautiful squirrel I have ever seen.

I love the blog posts @gigilittle.bsky.social writes about her cover designs, and if you're curious how this one came together, she has the story here: utomniabene.blogspot.com/2026/01/book...

A video of Alex Pretti reading out the final salute of an unnamed veteran he cared for until the end of his life in the ICU, posted to Facebook by his son.

Congress cannot fund a Department of Homeland Security that is unapologetically murdering Americans; running a "baby prison" in Texas for the purpose of traumatizing little kids; acting like the law and truth don't exist. We swore an oath to uphold the law.

Or, you know, email your local organization that cares and ask how you can help. With fury and happiness both.

Tomorrow’s front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 23, 2026

Say hello to our little ball of cuteness! A rare southern three-banded armadillo pup was recently born to proud parents Vespa & Scooter. At just two months old, this tiny newcomer marks only the second healthy armadillo pup born at the Zoo in our 121-year history, making this arrival extra special!

Pick up the nearest book.Turn to p 42, post the 2nd sentence. "So their version of Lucy was that she was a lousy walker with big floppy feet, a pretty good climber with long, strong arms, and probably part of a polygamous group in which small females spend more time in the trees than large males."

So thrilled about this beautiful cover by @gigilittle.bsky.social, with its beach-glass colors and #PacificNorthwest shore, for anyone who's ever wanted to bolt for the sea and sky.