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Auntie Syzygy

@auntiesyzygy.bsky.social
1.3K followers 1K following 5.9K posts

Hermit pensioner & forager. Former indexer. Scottish Statehood, Greek & Greece, Bee Orchids & the Bronze Age. Nobody should own land as if it was a thing.

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Reposted by Auntie Syzygy
NTS-Archaeology @nts-archaeology.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Good site visit out to see the #GUARD Archaeology team who have just started excavating at the Chest of Dee mesolithic site at #MarLodgeEstate
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Andrew Knights @andrewknights.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
A 2027 Pyramidal Orchid just poking its head up on the front lawn. Sawston, Cambs. @ukorchids.bsky.social
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Anthony Barnett @anthonybarnett.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
A stunning lecture
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Radical Anthropology @radicalanthro.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
TOMORROW EVENING Tues Oct 6 18:30 🌘 'The sex-strike theory of human origins' Chris Knight and Camilla Power All welcome LIVE Daryll Forde, 2nd Floor, UCL Anthropology Dept, 14 Taviton St ZOOM ID 948 6108 7055 passcode Wawilak
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Lightacandle @lightacandle.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I think when history looks back at this era, should we make it to the future, it will wonder how the people who actiively contributed to the world's problems, i.e. exploitation of people & resources, managed to convince their populations that they should vote them in as the answer to those problems
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Lomelindi12 @lomelindi12.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
#TombTuesday A diadem for the dead #Dartmoor
Cairn circle on autumn moors
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Independence Live @independencelive.net · 05/10/2026
Just watched a live event of Epstein Survivors from New York. How is it even possible anyone could vote for such a morally bankrupt person like Trump. Mind blowing.
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Paul Lewis @paullewismoney.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
The King’s cut from your electricity bill bit.ly/4yx46ng he gets 12% of crown estate profits through the Sovereign Grant
bit.ly
Crown Estate sea bed auctions could add £38 a year to energy bills
The business that manages the King’s land has put wind farm projects at risk with move away from capped fees for developers, a University of Oxford study warns
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Graeme Purves @gaspurves.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
ABRDN's purchase and attempted sale of Far Ralia: What happens when carbon speculation fails | Nick Kempe for Parkswatch Scotland: #ScottishEnvironment🌱 #ForestryPolicy🌲 #CarbonCapitalism #LandSpeculation #LateNeoliberalism parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2026/10/02/a...
parkswatchscotland.co.uk
Abrdn's purchase and sale of Far Ralia - what could have been - parkswatchscotland
In 2024 the Abrdn Property Income Trust (APIT)’s shareholders took the decision to wind down the fund.  Following the disposal of their other fixed assets in 2024, APIT have been having difficulty (se...
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Pissedoffpundit @pissedoffpundant.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
No shit🤔💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯
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nickkempe.bsky.social @nickkempe.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
New post Parkswatchscotland: The end of the Cairngorms National Park Authority’s unlawful exclusion zone in Glenmore/Abernethy? parkswatchscotland.co.uk/?p=33940
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Prof Nisreen Alwan @nisreenalwan.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
How cruel to admit this and still not give them safe routes when you have the power to do so. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Nearly all women arriving on small boats have been raped, says Shabana Mahmood
Home secretary warns people traffickers will exploit asylum seekers because they decide who comes to the UK
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News Eye @newseye.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
The silver lining to the horror story is that traditional pneumonic plague is inefficient at spreading - it kills its host far too quickly. However, given the international consensus that Russia has an active bioweapons programme, it would be presumptious to rule out a novel, weaponised strain.
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Bathsheba Demuth @brdemuth.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Today in whale news: www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
independent.co.uk
Gang of eight sperm whales sink yacht after ramming boat in South Pacific
Crew described terrifying encounter as they were woken up by “loud thud” as the 52ft vessel was struck
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Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
We just published our Annual Review 2025/26. It provides a round-up of the amazing achievements of #BSBImembers over the past year: our research, training, outreach & publications. It shows who we are & what we do. Includes a Message from our President + a financial report: bsbi.org/about/who-we...
A Grass-of-Parnassus flower, white with distinctive veining on the petals, photographed by Rebecca Cheape, graces the cover of the BSBI Annual Review.
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Jon Dunn @dunnjons.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I *cannot* wait to be reunited with my orchid-hunting best mate @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social for Orchids of Crete in 2028. We are going to have an absolute blast in this orchid wonderland.
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Andy Rogers @withylake.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
The very last Autumn lady's tresses (Spiranthes spiralis) and seeding Autumn squill (Scilla autumnalis) at Berry Head, 3/9/2026. @ukorchids.bsky.social
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Lucy Wallace - arranwildwalks.com @snoweider.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
I'm working out in Switzerland at the moment. Having a pretty stunning time. Here's a few from last week's expedition.
Alpine Toadflax, tiny purple flowers with wild bright orange stamens, nestling amongst the limestone scree. Last light behind the mountains, and orange glow pierces clouds and the deep blue of the land. The Cabane du Plan Neve, a stone built mountain hut with jolly red and white Swiss flags and a huge grey cliff face behind.
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Bylines Scotland @bylines.scot · 04/10/2026
In the Highlands, work is being done to protect the fragile ecosystem of the peatlands; one of the world’s most important stores of carbon | Naz Saad
bylines.scot
Restoring peatlands in Scotland’s Flow Country
In the Highlands, work is being done to protect the fragile ecosystem of the peatlands; one of the world’s most important stores of carbon
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Anthony Barnett @anthonybarnett.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Yes! This was and is a terrific read
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John MacDonald @1johnmacdonald.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
A superb retelling of the struggle of West Virginians as coal companies moved in, stole the land, and used violence - supported by the US military - to maintain their monopoly and stop workers unionising. This is more than a well told story - it's a history lesson.
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Badger Mash @badgermash.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
This one normally only flowers in early Spring.
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The Xylom @thexylom.com · 02/10/2026
In 2003, the U.S. military bombed Iraq’s national seed bank in Abu Ghraib, effectively eliminating hundreds of varieties of indigenous seeds adapted to growing in the drought-prone desert climate. A year later, U.S. law prohibited Iraqi farmers from seed saving. (First published in 2025 by Prism)
thexylom.com
Saving Iraq’s Seeds, One Garden at a Time
Comprising a diverse range of backgrounds and ages, the collective fosters a space for voices of Jewish, Muslim, and Christian seed stewards from the Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) region…
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Hugo Rifkind @hugorifkind.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I cannot think of one good reason they could have for doing this. Nor even a bad one. They should fix it.
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Pepperpot Herbs 🌱 @pepperpotherbs.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
The Germander has now been cut back in order to allow it to put on some growth and provide a low evergreen hedge for the winter. You can do the same now or leave it until the spring 🌱🇬🇧 #herbs #flowers #allotment #horticulture
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Boze Herrington, Library Owl @sketchesbyboze.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Some of you have forgotten that only three years ago you were perfectly capable of writing an essay, writing a eulogy, telling a bedtime story to a child, and it should worry you that powerful companies have convinced us we can’t do things we’ve been doing for 5,000 years.
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barryclough.bsky.social @barryclough.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
The Moon, both yesterday morning and again as she rose the following evening. The detail visible with the naked eye is quite clear at the moment. #Moon #astrophotgraphy #lunalphotography
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Radical Anthropology @radicalanthro.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
LIVE and ZOOM 🌗Tues evening Oct 6 🌘 18:30 London time @UCL #Anthropology Chris Knight and Camilla Power 'The sex-strike theory of human origins' #humanorigins #femalecoalitions #symbolicculture
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Alec Finlay @alecfinlay.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
An eilrig, or deer trap, at Invercauld. A tainchell would drive deer, wolves, and boar into this confined spaces, where, in the days before guns, young clansmen would do battle with them in a ritual combat. bellacaledonia.org.uk/2026/09/29/b...
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New-Cleckit Dominie @ncdominie.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I want a small device, a bit like a dehumidifier, that sits in the corner of the office and quietly filters unnecessary drama out of the atmosphere.
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New-Cleckit Dominie @ncdominie.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
"This? Oh, this is the _last_ client who mentioned ChatGPT in my presence." Happy Feast of St Jerome to all who translate.
St Jerome, by Lucas van Leyden (1521). A bearded chap pointing at a skull while wearing a very meaningful expression.
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Alison Phipps አሊሰን @alisonphipps.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Being a global university should not mean becoming less Scottish www.thenational.scot/culture/2658... Subscribe to National app here: www.thenational.scot/subscribe/
thenational.scot
Being a global university should not mean becoming less Scottish
A UNIVERSITY can tell you a great deal about the country around it, not only through what it teaches, but through what it decides is worth keeping,…
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Future Economy Scotland @futureeconscot.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
How can Scotland close its looming fiscal gap to strengthen public services and deliver on its ambitions? Last week, our Senior Economist @hannawheatley.bsky.social spoke at the Scottish Government’s Tax Conference making the case for tax reform. Read more: www.futureeconomy.scot/publications...
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Morningsider @morningsider.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
We haven't really had a true planning system since the early 1980s. The planning system is really a management process for private sector development - setting a series of hoops to be jumped through, in the hope of producing development that serves (or at least maintains) the public interest.
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David Steel @steelyseabirder.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Been a busy day on the Isle of May again, the Red-flanked Bluetail was present for 2nd day, 3 Yellow-browed Warblers, Hen Harrier and a lot of Song thrush as the blog explains: isleofmaynnr.wordpress.com
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Kirsty Hughes @kirstyshughes.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
EU political dynamics plus Burnham interviews reopening whole Brexit debate www.politico.eu/article/macr...
politico.eu
Macron and Sanchez say UK would be ‘welcome’ back in EU
Andy Burnham’s suggestion that the U.K. could rejoin the EU was met with a more muted response from Brussels itself.
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Dominic Hinde @dominicmhinde.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
newhumanist.org.uk/articles/ins...
newhumanist.org.uk
Inside Mamdani’s sanctuary city
In New York, I found a sweltering city pushing back against Trump and his brutish ICE agents
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Rev Peter W Nimmo @peternimmo.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
This is a joy to behold
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Independence Live @independencelive.net · 01/10/2026
1/2 BURNHAM’S STAGGERING HYPOCRISY As it stands, the Scottish Parliament has the most pro-indy MSPs ever with the latest polls showing more support for Scottish independence than the union and people wanting another referendum.
BURNHAMS STAGERING HYPOCRISY
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John MacDonald @1johnmacdonald.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Apolitical observation: using your father's death to score political points in a conference speech is both crass and cynical.
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Lesley Riddoch @lesleyriddoch.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
‘Seismic’ Andy Burnham proposals already quite familiar for Scots. Right to buy abolished here 2016, free personal care 2001, comprehensives never axed, 62% Remain vote, water never privatised, PR standard. So what do Scots make of the PM’s big speech? Listen LesleyRiddoch.com/podcast
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Dr. Suzanne Simard @drsuzannesimard.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
We’re celebrating the release of Ocean of Stars by Azita Ardakani! A poetic journey through the wonders of the universe, Ocean of Stars explores the deep connections between the cosmos, the natural world and all living things. Congratulations to Azita on the release of this beautiful new book! 🌿✨
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Pete Birkinshaw @binaryape.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
MAN VS TOFU 2: In this shockingly graphic sequel to the original hit video (8 likes) I molest some Chinese supermarket firm tofu to show how it differs from big chain supermarkets' firm tofu. It wobbles! You can cook things other than stir fries with this. Warning: Explicit thumbing
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Andy Wightman @andywightman.scot · 28/09/2026
My latest blog discusses the future of this important site. The relevant legal documents are published and I would be interested in the views of others as to whether in fact Castle Tioram is ownerless 4/4 andywightman.scot/2026/09/who-...
andywightman.scot
Who Owns Castle Tioram? - Land Matters
Castle Tioram is located on the tidal island of Eilean Tioram located near the mouth of the River Shiel in Loch Moidart (see map below). The castle was granted to Clan Macdonald of Clanranald by Rober...
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Andy Wightman @andywightman.scot · 28/09/2026
Castle Tioram is an ancient ruined castle in Loch Moidart one of the seats of Macdonald of Clanranald. It hit the headlines over 20 years ago when the person who claimed to own it (Lex Brown) proposed to renovate the property and convert it to residential use 1/4
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GardenOpus @gardenopus.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
🌱Good Evening All at #GardensHour - September has been the month where I seem to have brought a bit of the garden's accumulated chaos under control. Would be too unlike me to have it fully reined in - people would think they're looking at someone else's garden.😅
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Radical Anthropology @radicalanthro.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Lovely review in Counterpunch of Chris and Jerome's'The Revolutionary Origins of Language' by Julie Wark. www.counterpunch.org/2026/09/27/w...
counterpunch.org
What's Revolutionary About the Origins of Language?
If a book has Revolutionary in its title, it’s perhaps appropriate to go topsy-turvy and begin a review of it with a conclusion (Chris Knight and Jerome
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Lightacandle @lightacandle.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
#WildflowerHour #WildflowerAllotment Field Woundwort thriving. And here's a favourite fact... 'As its common name 'field woundwort' suggests, this herb has been used since Roman times in healing wounds, and its seeds, scattered by Roman soldiers, mark the lines of Roman roads.'
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John MacDonald @1johnmacdonald.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Walk.
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Raptor Persecution UK @raptorpersuk.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Red Kite dies after being found with gunshot injuries in Peak District National Park. Police appeal for information + commentary from me ⬇️ #RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime raptorpersecutionuk.org/2026/09/28/r...
raptorpersecutionuk.org
Red Kite dies after being found with gunshot injuries in Peak District National Park – Police appeal for information
Derbyshire Constabulary has issued an appeal for information (27 September 2026) following the discovery of a shot Red Kite in the Peak District National Park on or before 7th July 2026. RURAL CRIM…
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