I’m seeing a lot about accounts from Gaza, and if you want to help but don’t know which orgs or fundraisers are trusted, might I suggest @gazasoupkitchen.bsky.social @msf.ca @wck.org pcrf.net anera.org map.org.uk Your employer may also have a match, so you can make your donation go further!

Here is your Saturday Spider, a pirate spider (family Mimetidae), spotted by @mhedin.bsky.social in Anza-Borrego Desert, CA. Pirate spiders prey on other spiders; they pluck another spider's web, and when the web-owner runs out, the pirate grabs it (maybe with a barely audible "Arr!") #Bugsky 🐙🌿🕷️🏴‍☠️

My guiding thought: “One way to open your eyes to unnoticed beauty is to ask yourself, ‘What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?’” ~Rachel Carson The Sense of Wonder Bombyliidae on White Daisy Tidytips 🌿 #Invertebrate #Biodiversity

I am just finishing reading @oliviacampbell.bsky.social 's Sisters in Science. It is a sobering history of four women scientists who managed to escape Nazi Germany, and why many women were unable to. I highly recommend it. #booksky

Ravi, that’s not the deal. I keep snacks in the bowl for you. You leave the lizards and hummingbirds in yard alone… Yeah, I know. Present for your lady friend probably… But.. sigh

Be the axe-wielding Irishman you want to see in the world

What a great photo just added on the NASA Johnson Flickr page www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2...

Feels relevant #Artemis

I'm not on socials much these days, but this photo made me think of you. Zoom into the center of the cherry blossom.

“If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. … notice it in the instant when love begins. … Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.” ~Mary Oliver, Don't Hesitate (2010) Halictina bee on Hookers Balsamroot

“Making fun of people for chasing their dreams purely because it requires a level of vulnerability and courage you don’t have.” ~Lule 22, Tucson, AZ 📖 🤳👁️⃤ Citation: Kelsey Weekman (4/26): Gen Z’s fear of being “cringe” drives self-censorship…avoiding emotional expression due to social judgment.

Everybody loves a Clap-n-Stomp song. Let’s bring ‘em home with cheerful joy!

This is why you don't cultivate you lawn, and just let grow whatever nature brings in. It's 35 degrees out there, but it's spring nevertheless.

I love these bees and their little neighborhoods! 🥰 And so fun to see my friend Hannah in Adrian's video 🤩 I was able to visit a similar site near campus a couple weeks ago, and will be posting pics this weekend of some of the fauna 🐝

AMAZING lightning show in Antelope, CA!! #CAWX

Disco is the smooth jazz version of funk. I said what I said.

Thirteen Lined Ground Squirrels have only 9 lines (Emergency hot take)

It's going to be a wild summer.

It's the time of year for wood ducks in the woods. Here's a wood duck on a tree branch in a greater Vancouver (BC) park.

Hate having to to pay extra taxes to the feds at the moment. I want our $$ to go to science, healthcare, USFS, NSF, NASA, Dept of Interior, etc.

Illegal trafficking of insects (endangered and otherwise) is a growing problem that tends to fly under the radar. "Levels of criminalisation for wildlife trafficking often vary based on the species, **attitudes towards them** and country legalisation." 🪲🪳🌍 theconversation.com/seizure-of-2...

It’s bee season @mariannedenton.bsky.social !

On the beautiful path. Spiny Phlox on Granite Rocks

Hello, I am new here. And very very smol. Newly metamorphosed Pseudacris. In a parking lot. #herps

"AI is garbage, bro, it gives you wrong answers like half the time and the other half the time makes you stupid." Overheard a middle schooler chastising a fellow student for suggesting they use AI. Whole middle school herd started mocking the AI kid. ...We need to let these kids at the tech bros.

If you're in need of a bit of color this morning, here's a metallic green sweat bee who wants all the pollen. Anza-Borrego Desert, California. #Bugsky 🌿🐙🐝🌼

Spring is magical 🌿

Benefits to following real photographers: -No AI slop -No misinfo -We like answering questions & sharing info -We like to hear about the nature you see & looking at your photos And we’re not going to sell our accounts to bad actors so you wind up following some crypto scam account

If you're like me and scan every raptor atop each tree or lamppost for a year, you’ll see ~1000 birds—400 Red-tailed Hawks, 500 Red-shouldereds, and a few dozen kestrels. But you’ll also find ONE Merlin glowering at you—and you’ll be thrilled to find it and thrilled you’re not a chonky rodent 🪶

A Gray-waisted Skimmer on the end of a branch #invertebrates #dragonflies

A movie couple who would definitely have a podcast

Change your focus, change your life. ~•~ Male Globemallow Bee (Diadasia diminuta) in Apricot Globemallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua). 🌿 #Invertebrates

Mourning Cloak.

Fun fact: An "endearing" nickname for male Oregon Juncos is "Executioner Bird" He would never! #BirdOfTheDay #BlackHeads #birds #becurious 🪶

Child, please.

Phosphorus is essential for all life, including the crops we grow for our food. Phosphate fertilizer is essential for high yield agriculture and a massive increase in P mining accompanied the global "Green Revolution" in the 20th century. #Pweek (Figure from our book, Phosphorus Past and Future)

Fascinated by these golden dung flies. A species I didn't know existed until today. @ichnologist.bsky.social and @mariannedenton.bsky.social might be interested. My brain was flummoxed and frozen at first as these read as bees but not bees until @sallyfisherprice.bsky.social looked them up.

In the evening these scarab beetles come out and fly around. Adults feed on juniper and my hat is off to them. The Punctate Little Bear Scarab Beetle Paracotalpa puncticollis

Stop w the TACO shit. We got what we wanted, right? These are real people with real lives. If we cry about crimes against humanity, then it’s absurd to celebrate djt backing off. Look at this photo. It’s all women in hijab & manteaus. Do you think they volunteered to be a human shield? Would you?

Meanwhile at The Albatross - Band-tailed Pigeon Season is in full swing (see what I did there?) They are actually eating out of the tiny open feeder. When it's empty they just sit on the big caged feeder trying to crack the code (they...cannot) They've also broken 2 hoppers - this week. #birds🪶

Quote post with a person or group that gives you hope

Waking up to the awe-inspiring images from NASA at the same time the US President is implying that he will commit genocide, I can't think of a better quote for the times than this one from Apollo astronaut Edgar Mitchell. I added it to today's Earthset image:

What. The. Actual. Fuck.

They should have sent a poet.

Cuddle Puddle 🥰 “Early instar caterpillars are gregarious and remain as a family in silken tents.” Western Tent Caterpillars (Malacosoma californicum) on Desert Peach (Prunus andersonii) - a common, and favorite, Springtime sight. 🌿 #Invertebrates

Happy international beaver day to all who celebrate (and who wouldn't?) Check out this outstanding short animation by Emily Fairfax on how beavers can help make ecosystems more resilient to wildfires 🔥 youtu.be/IAM94B73bzE?...

Why are scientists, particularly geologists, so excited to get new images and human observations of the far side of the moon? A planets geology is the ultimate “crime scene”. Let me explain…. #Artemis ⚒️🧪

tired: multitasking wired: multiverse

I am grateful for dandelions.

native bees native bees native bees nativ #invert 🌱🌿