iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 16/10/2026

(And don’t forget survivorship bias when you read the comments to your post)

Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

I’m voting for @hannahpingree.bsky.social. She cares about kids and their future. Make Maine a great place to be a kid and vote for Hannah.

Three panels showing candidates for Governor in Maine. Leftmost is Republican Bobby Charles, who is staring at his mustache. In the middle is Hannah Pingree, who is thinking about how awesome Maine could be, and on the right is Republican-I-mean-Independent who is talking with eyes closed.

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

Phish friends (others feel free to ignore)… Just noticed this. What’s going on?

PhishSky feed has error that says “resource limits alert” “feed views exceeded…”

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

That is a gateway drug to bog gardening… Examples of my situation now:

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Congratulations @melissaberke.bsky.social on being awarded the @agu “Asahiko Taira International Scientific Ocean Drilling Research Prize”!!

“2026 Recipient - Asahiko Taira International Scientific Ocean Drilling Research Prize - Melissa A Berke”

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

It was wonderful to see and talk science with Mike Kaplan, Ed Cook, Mark Cane, Joerg Schaefer, Roseanne Schwartz, Nicolás Young, Nick Christie-Blick, and several others. This is my only photo (Ed, Mike, and me, at my old haunt - the Mountain House in Sparkill, NY). My only photo: Ed, Mike, me. 2/2

Left-to-right: Ed Cook, Mike Kaplan, and me.

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

About to fly from Newark to Bangor, and we were informed that there will be no beverage service and that the seatbelt light will be on the entire flight. Now I can see why…

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

My daughter and I witnessed Molly Tuttle last night. Amazing.

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

My daughter and I met these fellow Earthlings in the pollinator garden this afternoon.

Skinny, light brown male praying mantis perched on my fingers.

Bright green, robust female praying mantis perched on my hand.

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Just returned from a few days of glacial geology fieldwork on Katahdin. The early autumn weather is magical. Little-to-no cell signal to distract. And I made a friend (well, acquaintance) in North Basin while bushwhacking toward some glacially deposited boulders. ⚒️🧪

View looking south from Katahdin summit (Baxter Peak) towards South Peak, the Knife Edge, and Pamola. Foreground features the blockfield at the summit.

Beautifully perched erratic boulder on the Tablelands (Saddle).

North Basin, vantage west. I wasn’t the only one interested in the area with the boulders I was bushwhacking towards.

Zoomed-in view of young bull moose in North Basin.

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

While weeding the bog garden I discovered these cute volunteer Venus Flytrap seedlings! Sense of scale is hard in these photos, but I would estimate that they are a few centimeters across.

Tiny Venus Flytrap surrounded by bog cranberry, cinquefoil, and some Drosera rotundifolia seedlings.

Venus Flytrap seedling (maybe a year old) with a tiny D. rotundifolia seedling nearby. Bog cranberry leaves for scale (they are very small).

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

It is, for the moment, still Lake Ontario at a broad scale in Apple Maps. But zoom in and… (Of course I am mystified as to why this discussion is even happening at all, but, here we are…)

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

My 8-yr old and I walked among the glacially sculpted granite hills of Acadia today, Wabanaki ancestral homelands. Although I have seen them many times, these relict erratic boulders deposited during the termination of the last ice age still haunt me. (We also met a baby garter snake)

Tabular granite erratic boulder perched upon a cobble on bedrock of Parkman Mountain, Acadia Nat’l Park. 8-yr old leaning against boulder for scale.

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

The incredible @paleobluedot.bsky.social presented me with this mug for our wedding anniversary this past week! (I am a huge fan of Sara Willis)

A coffee mug featuring the ‘In Tune with Sara Willis’ show from Maine Public.

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Spotted this chonky ‘pillar chewing on some milkweed at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens today.

Milkweed with a large Monarch butterfly caterpillar.

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Fried zucchini. Highly recommend.

Half-fried zucchini slices in the skillet.

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

The drinks menu at Bar Harbor Beerworks… ⭕️

Specialty Cocktails named after Phish tunes.

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Beautiful day wading rivers in northern Maine. Machias River (tributary of the Aroostook River).

Child and two labradoodles wading the mouth of the Machias River where it meets the Aroostook River.

Canada lilies growing along the riverbank.

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Cobscook Bay State Park with the family. Not a bad view from the campsite.

View of campsite with tent, Jeep, dog, and Katherine Allen. Daughter is arranging things in the tent. Low-tide shoreline visible in background.

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Torben doesn’t care for the way humans celebrate birthdays of intangible ideals.

Black labradoodle stressed out from all of the fireworks.

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

@paleobluedot.bsky.social and I made garlic scape pesto tonight… I actually don’t really like pesto, but this was awesome. Scapes, mint, and basil all from the garden.

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Photos from our Carnivorous Garden here in Orono, Maine. Sarracenia (pitcher plant) leaves are starting to open. Sundews are glistening and Venus Flytraps look well-fed. Fun surprise this year: the Rose Pogonia orchids (non-carnivorous) seem to be spreading throughout the bog garden. 1/

Sarracenia flava pitcher with red veining just opened.

Large S. flava pitcher about to open. My hand is shown for scale.

The endangered S. oreophila seems to be happy in Maine!

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Had a lovely Father’s Day walk up a nice hill with these wonderful critters today.

View of 7-yr old daughter and our black dog sitting on coarse-grained granite bedrock ledge overlooking lakes, forest, and clouds.

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Bouquet of Sarracenia flowers from our carnivorous garden.

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Turtle time! (Had to encourage this and another nearby turtle to leave the road today) 🐢🐢

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

The story involves a young Austrian immigrant oceanographer/climatologist graduate student at SCRIPPS Institute of Oceanography named Walter Munk. Munk and his Ph.D. advisor Harald Sverdrup were working on the equations that related wind strength to wave height. 2/ 📸: from California Surf Museum.

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

Eighty two years ago, allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy in what was a pivotal moment in WWII. However, Supreme Allied Commander General Eisenhower had originally planned D-Day for June 5th. Why did he delay by one day? 1/ (📸: National Geographic)

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

And we took samples of glacier- and rainfall-fed streams and lakes for stable isotope analyses. 3/

UMaine Sea to Sky students with Svínafellsjökull in the background.

UMaine student Nathan Brame filtering a water sample collected for isotopic analysis from the Svínafellsjökull proglacial lake.

The carnivorous butterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris) growing in very recently deglaciated terrain).

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

We also applied geophysical methods (ground-penetrating radar and albedo measurements) to characterize structure and conditions of the glacier termini. 2/

Dan Dixon explaining how to make albedo (reflectivity) measurements on Sólheimajökull terminus.

Transition from clean to debris-covered (tephra-covered) ice on Sólheimajökull.

View of Svínafellsjökull terminus and steep upper portion.

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

Highlights from our #UMaine #Sea2Sky trip, supported by GeoCamp Iceland which is just wrapping up. We investigated the morainal forelands and glacier termini of Gígjökull (outlet glacier of Eyjafjallajökull), Sólheimajökull (outlet of Mýrdalsjökull), and Svínafellsjökull (outlet of Vatnajökull). 1/

Panoramic view of Gígjökull and downstream valley, with right-lateral moraine ridge.

Students studying a glacial moraine boulder on the Gígjökull Little Ice Age moraine complex.

Our transportation on Eyjafjallajökull. Image features a large-wheeled (49” tires!) white van on snowpack.

UMaine Sea to Sky team venturing from dirty ice and onto clean ice on Sólheimajökull terminus.

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

Wildflowers from the foreland of Svínafellsjökull, an outlet glacier of Vatnajökull ice cap. Thrilled to see Dryas octopetala in full bloom! This rose-family plant is famous for dominating European pollen records during the Heinrich episodes of the last deglaciation (e.g., the ‘Younger Dryas’).

Closeup of white Dryas octopetala flower (this one actually had nine petals!).

Pinguicula vulgaris - the common butterwort. Among my favorite carnivorous plants.

A white flowered plant that I have yet to identify…

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

This morning on Sólheimajökull. Small supraglacial stream that empties into a moulin (in the distance).

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

Also not so bad! Although we had a minor setback this morning. Broke an axle on this rig:

Mercedes van with 45” (I think) tires and a broken axle.

Axle with bushing missing and leaking differential fluid.

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

Some interesting plants encountered around Valahnúkur. 1. The carnivorous butterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris). 2. Lady’s mantle (Alchemilla vulgaris). 2/

Lady’s mantle leaf holding a droplet of water.

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

Views from Valahnúkur, at the base of Eyjafjallajökull and not far from the eastern periphery of Mýrdalsjökull. The lower reaches of Steinholtsjökull are visible from this location. The glacier was much larger in photos from the 1920s, extending well down the tributary canyon. 1/

View northeastward up the meltwater streams toward the convergence of the Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull (Katla) volcanoes.

View of the (now) hanging terminus of Steinholtsjökull, and outlet glacier of the Eyjafjallajökull ice cap.

View westward along the main river valley, with the Steinholtsjökull and Gígjökull tributaries joining the main valley. Both valley glaciers were visible from this vantage in the 1920s. Not so much now.

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

Early morning walk in Þórsmörk.

Purple flowers, possibly purple mountain saxifrage (?), growing amongst bright green mosses.

View up braided river with mountains in the distance.

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Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

We later headed to Reykjavík where we were thrilled and honored to meet with Andri Snær Magnason, and share with us his journey and ideas. Thank you, @andrimagnason.bsky.social!

Andri Snær Magnason reading from his Bónus poetry!

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