iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

Please pass along - We've extended the CAMBIUM fellowship deadline to December 15! Our NSF NRT supports new grad students to harness biodiversity big data to adapt to & mitigate climate change impacts. Great fit for evolutionary genomics, bioinformatics, ecology & more. cambium.arizona.edu 🧬🌐🌎

Sonoran Desert landscape looking west across Avra Valley from Tucson Mountain Park. In the foreground, a desert trail winds through cholla cacti, saguaros, ocotillo, and native shrubs. The valley stretches to distant mountain ranges on the horizon under a dramatic sky of blue patches and white cumulus clouds with rays of light breaking through.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 24/11/2025

Enjoyed a hike at Tucson Mountain Park on a beautiful day in Tucson after rain the last few days!

Sonoran Desert landscape at Tucson Mountain Park with saguaro cacti, palo verde trees, and desert scrub dotting a sandy trail. Rugged brown mountains rise in the background under a bright blue sky with scattered white clouds. The photographer's shadow stretches across the rocky ground in the foreground.

View west across Avra Valley from Tucson Mountain Park. Dense Sonoran Desert vegetation fills the foreground—cholla cacti glowing in the light, saguaros, palo verdes, and ocotillo. A saguaro-studded hillside rises on the left. The valley floor stretches into the distance with a blue atmospheric haze, distant mountains on the horizon. Sky of white and gray clouds with patches of blue. A trail marker sign is visible at bottom center.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Night blooming cactus on my evening walk in Tucson tonight!

A tall columnar cactus with multiple ribbed stems blooming with cream and peach-colored flowers at night in Tucson. The cactus stands in a desert garden with purple flowering plants, gravel pathways, and a palm tree visible against a dark blue night sky.

Close-up of a night-blooming cactus flower with ruffled white petals edged in coral-red, revealing a green center with yellow stamens. The delicate bloom is photographed at night against the ribbed, spiny stems of a columnar cactus in Tucson.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

Join us on Nov 18 at 2:30 PM MST to learn about CAMBIUM grad fellowships in biodiversity informatics & climate change @uarizona.bsky.social. For incoming Fall 2026 students interested in big data, ecology, evolution, climate adaptation & more. Register: events.trellis.arizona.edu/en/f44lNu67/... 🌵🧬🌐

Flyer for CAMBIUM (Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Through Biodiversity Informatics Education and Mentoring) Graduate Research Traineeship program. Right side shows a scenic photograph of tall saguaro cacti against desert mountains. Program highlights listed in a blue box include: professional development training in communication, teamwork, and professionalism; interdisciplinary research rotations; career and professional development; $34,000 stipend with paid tuition, fees, and health insurance coverage for 2 years; and a Certificate in Biodiversity Informatics. A red box announces an informational webinar on November 18th at 2:30 PM MST with link to the CAMBIUM program website at https://cambium.arizona.edu/. Eligibility requirements include U.S. citizenship or permanent residency, incoming graduate student status for Fall 2026, and acceptance contingent on graduate program admission. Bottom features a 'Register here!' button with registration link at https://events.trellis.arizona.edu/en/f44lNu67/cambium-informational-webinar-4a3UKgGu6U/overview, along with NSF, University of Arizona, and CAMBIUM NRT logos.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

The CAMBIUM NSF NRT is recruiting PhD students @uarizona.bsky.social! Fellowships for interdisciplinary training in biodiversity big data to adapt to & mitigate climate change impacts. Great fit for evolutionary genomics, bioinformatics, plant adaptation, ecology & more. cambium.arizona.edu 🧬🌐🌎

An organ pipe cactus in the moonlight with a starry sky above.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

I'm recruiting PhD students for the Barker Lab @uofa-eeb.bsky.social We study plant evolutionary genomics - polyploidy, hybridization & machine learning for genome evolution. Work with Selaginella, Xanthisma, Brassica & more. Funding available via CAMBIUM Fellowships. Reach out if interested! 🧬🌵🤖

The allotetraploid lycophyte Selaginella rupincola growing among the boulders at Cochise Stronghold in the Dragoon Mountains southeast of Tucson, Arizona.

Xanthisma spinulosum growing outside a gym in Tucson, Arizona.

Selaginella arizonica X eremophila hybrid zone at Alamo Canyon in Organ Pipe National Monument.

A Dieteria sp. being visited by a skipper in the White Mountains of Arizona.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

A vermilion flycatcher sitting on a branch of a flowering desert willow tree on this morning's walk in Tucson.

A vermilion flycatcher, a bird with a bright red chest and fuzzy head with black wings and back, sits on a branch of a desert willow tree with green leaves and pink-purple flowers blooming around it.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

Fouquieria macdougalii in bloom on this evening's walk. An organ pipe cactus (Stenocereus thurberi) is in the background.

Red flowers of Fouquieria macdougalii hang in the center of the image with an organ pipe cactus in the background. Branches of the Fouquieria macdougalii are visible above with more flowers.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 17/04/2025

An ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) in bloom this evening.

Bright red flowers of an ocotillo on the end of a spiky branch with small green leaves against the dark night sky.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 29/03/2025

Join us on Wednesday, April 2 at 11 AM Pacific Time for the next #PolyploidyWebinar! The last webinar of the 24-25 season will feature @raymondcast.bsky.social and @erichagen.bsky.social! Sign up (if not already!) to get the zoom: www.barkerlab.net/polyweb

A flyer for the next Polyploidy Webinar on Wednesday, April 2, at 11 AM PDT. Featuring Raymond Castillo from Washington University presenting "Phylogenetic methods for modeling chromosome size and count" and Eric Hagen from the University of Toronto on "Using -SSE models to study diversification after neopolyploidy and paleopolyploidy"

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

Join us on Wednesday, March 5, at 11 AM PST for the next #PolyploidyWebinar! This month features Maya Wilson Brown on Capsella genetic variation and Nomar Waminal on the Crocus panrepeatome! Sign up (if not already!) to get the zoom: www.barkerlab.net/polyweb

Flyer for the March 5, 2025, Polyploidy Webinar that will take place at 11 AM PST. This webinar feature's Maya Wilson Brown from Michigan State University presenting "Genetic variation of allotetraploid Capsella bursa-pastoris in introduced range" and Nomar Waminal of the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research presenting "The Crocus panrepeatome: duplication, dynamics, and dysploidy".

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 15/02/2025

Encelia farinosa and Sphaeralcea ambigua are blooming in Tucson now!

A bright yellow sunflower inflorescence of Encelia farinosa is in the center of the image with other inflorescences around the photo. In the background are the orange flowers of desert globe mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua).

Orange flowers of Desert globe mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua) are in the center of the image above a leaf of an agave with yellow Encelia farinosa inflorescences in the background.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 01/02/2025

Join us on Wednesday, February 5, at 11 AM PST for the next #PolyploidyWebinar! This month we have @cherrityg.bsky.social on apomixis and polyploidy in Malus and Christoph Rosche on herbarium specimens and invasive Centaurea! Sign up (if not already!) to get the zoom: www.barkerlab.net/polyweb

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

We had a fun end of the semester axe throwing and Sonoran dog day in the lab! This has become an enjoyable annual event! Here is @aast242.bsky.social throwing an axe with Geoff Finch and @skang.bsky.social with a winning throw!

Two men stand in a wooden cage with a two target boards at the far end. They are throwing axes at the target with one axe flying in the air towards the board. The sign of above the targets reads "St Hubert's Hatchet House."

A woman stands in front of a target board with an axe stuck in the board.

Two Sonoran style hot dogs sit on a table in two red baskets with a roasted chile güero pepper beside each hot dog. The hot dogs are wrapped in bacon and in a bun filed with diced tomatoes, onions, beans, a stripe of mustard, salsa, and mayo.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

Their paper is a heavy, flax paper dyed with indigo, walnut, persimmon, and other natural dyes. It is often used for book covers, such as this special edition of Dune.

A copy of Frank Herbert's Dune bound in a speckled tan paper from Cave Paper in Tucson.

A woman holding up a copy of the book Dune bound in a speckled tan paper made at Cave Paper.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

We had a fun tour of Cave Paper (www.cavepaper.com) today! They are a handmade paper company in our neighborhood making custom paper from flax. We only recently discovered they have tours and classes so we signed up! It was really interesting!

A sign on the back wall says "Cave Paper: high quality handmade paper since 1994" with a table in foreground that has a could of pieces of their handmade paper with flax plants and fibers.

A woman, Zoe, shows flax plants and fibers to people. The fibers are in soft balls on a plate and the flax plants are long, straw like bundle in the center of the photo.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

The Baccharis sarothroides are in bloom and producing lots of fluffy seeds right now at Sweetwater Wetlands!

A large desert broom plant (Baccharis sarothroides) covered in white inflorescences and fluffy white seeds is centered in the photo with a pond and trees in the background.

Multiple white inflorescences of Baccharis sarothroides up close with greenish-white centers and white ray florets.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

We saw a group of Gambel's quails taking a dust bath today at Sweetwater Wetlands in Tucson!

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

One of the broad-billed hummingbirds that lives in my backyard in Tucson near @uarizona.bsky.social. This one was chattering a lot and looking out for other hummingbirds to engage them in their daily skirmishes for the backyard.

A small broad billed hummingbird with bright turquoise feathers on chest, green in the back of the head, and bright orange red beak sitting on a mesquite tree branch surrounded by green leaves. Head is tilted to the side as it looks around.

A small broad billed hummingbird with bright turquoise feathers on chest, green in the back of the head, white fluffy feathers underneath, snd bright orange red beak sitting on a mesquite tree branch. A white stucco wall is in the background with blue sky.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

Walked into the middle of a coyote pack this evening near UofA in Tucson! Definitely a few more moving through the shrubs around me - probably five in total!

A coyote stands on a sidewalk at night with vegetation close around the sidewalk in Tucson.

Two coyotes in the street at night with lights from apartment buildings in the distance.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

🧪 Join us in Tucson! We will begin reviewing applications on December 9 for our tenure track faculty position on the genomics of resilience @uofa-eeb.bsky.social! Apply here: arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...

A photo of a mountain road covered in snow with a rock wall on the right side and tall conifer trees on both side of the road. A bright orange sunset is in the background of the photo. Taken on Mt. Lemmon in the Santa Catalina Mountains above the city of Tucson, Arizona.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

Somehow it is already December and time for advent calendars in our home! After several years of whisky advent calendars, this year it is a green tea calendar! Up first is a gyokuro cha musume - I look forward to enjoying this later today!

A red bag full of red envelopes in the top right corner of the image, a brown clay teapot sits in the top left, and an opened red envelope with a silver package of tea and a small card is in the lower center of the image. The tea package reads gyokuro chat musume Japan, and the card contains instructions for brewing the tea. It also reads "Shaded leaves rolled like pine, gyokuro makes the season divine".

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 30/11/2024

Join us on Wednesday, December 4, at 11 AM PST for the next #PolyploidyWebinar! This month we have Pam & Doug Soltis presenting on the Polyploid Integration Institute and @trevorfaske.bsky.social on analyses of mixed-ploidy data! Sign up (if not already!) to get the zoom: www.barkerlab.net/polyweb

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 30/11/2024

A creosote gall on a creosote (Larrea tridentata) in our yard! More on the creosote gall midge here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creosot....

A brown, dense ball of leafy material attached to a creosote stem. The ball is a creosote gall made by a gall inducing fly in Asphondylia.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

Come join us in Tucson!! I am excited to announce a tenure track faculty position on the genomics of resilience @uofa-eeb.bsky.social! Read more about the position in the updated link below! We will begin reviewing applications on December 9! arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...

A photo of the Sonoran Desert at night with a saguaro cactus in the foreground with the top glowing from the moonlight. A field of stars is visible in the sky behind the cactus.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

I have the first volume and it is fantastic! Great introductions accompany each of the original papers making for an enjoyable read. The other three volumes are on my reading list for the year! @sfiscience.bsky.social

A photo of a large yellow book on a black table. The title of the book is "Foundational papers in complexity science, volume one, 1922-1962, David C. Krakauer, editor."

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 16/11/2024

Post a picture you took (no description) to bring some zen to the timeline

Red cliffs above blue waters and below a clear blue sky at Cape Peron, Francois Peron National Park, on Shark Bay in Western Australia.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

Starter Pack for coffee pot ramen enthusiasts?

A scene from Parks and Recreation with a character stating "Leslie, I tried to make ramen in the coffee pot"

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 14/11/2024

The rain lilies are blooming again in our yard in Tucson! We had some rain about 10 days ago, but I have never seen them bloom this late in the season here.

A white rain lily flower with yellow pollen is in focus in the center of the image against a background of rocks and dirt.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 11/11/2024

A beautiful day in Tucson for a bike ride! Stopped at the Bike Church while waiting on a train to pass on our ride back home.

An open air metal structure reminiscent of a small chapel made of white bike parts with colorful stained glass images of bikes with the sun setting behind it.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 09/11/2024

It is the season when the smiley face of grass fully appears in the lawn at our park!

A bright green grass smiley face grows against a background of dying grass of another species. This happens every year at this time in our park.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 08/11/2024

For #FernFriday here is Alsophila bryophila, a tree fern endemic to Puerto Rico. This one is from the Cordillera Central above Jayuya.

A bright green tree fern fills the picture with green pinnate fronds and a large, relaxed crozier of a new grind growing up in the center of the photo.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 01/11/2024

Join us on Wednesday, November 6, at 11 AM PST for the the next #PolyploidyWebinar! Sylvia Kinosian and Tamsen Dunn will present. The zoom link will be emailed out before the talks - sign up here if you have not signed up before! www.barkerlab.net/polyweb

A flyer for the next Polyploidy Webinar on November 6, 2024, at 11AM Pacific Time. It includes photos of the two presenters and their presentation titles. Sylvia Kinosian from the University of Arizona will speak on "Genomics is modifying our concepts of evolution in homosporous pteridophytes" and Tamsen Dunn from San Diego State University will present "Deciphering the Polyploid Ks Histogram with Forward Time Simulations."

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 31/10/2024

The Star Trek vibe I bring to the party

Dr. Culber of Star Trek Discovery standing and wearing a gray jacket in a dark scene saying "But I suspect he's a polyploid."

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 28/10/2024

If you see this, post a photo taken in the mountains. A photo I took in the mountains of Puerto Rico while studying a tree fern hybrid zone. Here is the view looking south towards the Caribbean Sea from the Cordillera Central just a bit west of the Cerro de Punta.

A green tropical forest with palms, tree ferns, and other tropical trees rolls down mountain slopes towards the sea in the distance. White clouds hang low in the sky.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 27/10/2024

A beautiful morning in Tucson for the fall 2024 Cyclovia!

People riding bicycles down the city streets of Tucson with booths open serving food and promoting different causes and organizations. A man in the foreground waves from an extra tall bike

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 23/10/2024

It was great to catch up with @sutherlandbl.bsky.social last night while I am in DC! Always fun to talk polyploidy, enjoy good food, and hear about all the wonderful things they are doing at George Mason!

Two people standing in a restaurant with green lighting. Brittany Sutherland on the left and Mike Barker on the right.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 21/10/2024

I also enjoyed a half smoke from Ben's Chili Bowl. Good stuff!

A half smoke from Ben's Chili Bowl. It is a sausage in bun covered with chili, mustard, and onions.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 21/10/2024

Arrived in Washington, DC, this evening for a meeting at NSF this week and tried to capture comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS on the National Mall. I could not find it when I was out there, but it was a perfect evening for a walk!

The Lincoln Memorial with an orange sunset behind and the branches of a tree in the foreground.

The Washington Monument at night reflected in the Reflecting Pool with the US Capitol Building in the distance.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 19/10/2024

📢 Calling all prospective grad students: join us Oct 30 for a zoom webinar hosted by UofA EEB in a step towards demystifying the grad school application process. Info below 👇, registration required (register here: bit.ly/eebgradwebinar)

A flyer for a webinar on getting into grad school. The event will be on October 30, 2024, at 9AM PST. Sponsored by the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona. Register here: http://bit.ly/eebgradwebinar

Why choose UA EEB for your MS or PhD?
UA fellowships and training grants
What prospective advisors look for
How to apply and what happens next
Advice from current students
Q&A

¡Prepárate para el posgrado!
Webinar: Cómo ingresar a la escuela de posgrado

30 de octubre de 2024 a las 9 a.m. PST

Patrocinado por el Departamento de Ecología y Biología Evolutiva de la Universidad de Arizona.

Regístrate aquí: http://bit.ly/eebgradwebinar

¿Por qué elegir UA EEB para tu maestría o doctorado?

Becas y subvenciones de capacitación de la UA
Lo que buscan los posibles asesores
Cómo postularse y qué sucede después
Consejos de estudiantes actuales
Sesión de preguntas y respuestas

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 19/10/2024

This is expected if meiotic drive is happening in angiosperms, but not ferns. These preprints point to some new directions to study the forces driving the diversity of plant genome organization! We are recruiting students for Fall 2025 - reach out if interested in pursuing this kind of research!

A circular phylogeny of the ferns with WGDs indicated as circles on branches of the tree. Outlines of different fern species surround the phylogeny to indicate different clades.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 19/10/2024

chromosome data to study the dynamics of WGD and chromosomal evolution across vascular plants. We found similar number of rounds of WGD in ferns and angiosperms, but that rates of chromosome loss are much lower among the ferns - consistent with the observation of high fern chromosome counts. 2/n

Two plots of the number of rounds of WGD in angiosperms, ferns, gymnosperms, and lycophytes. On the left is a plot of absolute number of rounds, whereas the plot on the right is WGD per MY). Angiosperms have the highest number of rounds of WGD per lineage and most WGD per MY. Gymnosperms and lycophytes are among the lowest in each plot.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 18/10/2024

Tithonia and Lagascea going into full bloom as the weather starts to cool down a bit here in Tucson!

A bright yellow sunflower of Tithonia diversifolia stands among green leaves with blue sky and clouds behind.

A bright yellow collection of inflorescences of Lagascea decipiens in full bloom with a white stucco wall in the background.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 15/10/2024

Comet c/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) tonight on the walk to dinner Tucson! #comet

A comet with a white point and long, whispy tail pointing upwards in the sky at dusk to the right of a telephone pole.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 11/10/2024

TFW you find a quiet place to write a couple of recommendation letters, but feel like someone is watching you.

A brown javelina standing in mud at the edge of a pond in the Chiricahuas surrounded by grass stares into the camera.

Three javelinas standing in mud at the edge of a pond in the Chiricahuas surrounded by grass.

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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 04/10/2024

The neighborhood roadrunner family was out on the street on my bike ride home today! This pair had four chicks last spring - maybe we'll see some more next year!

A tan roadrunner with a blue and yellow tail standing on the road in front of a red curb. Behind the roadrunner are some plants with a second roadrunner on the sidewalk behind the plants in shadow.

A tan and brown roadrunner standing on a curb in front of plants.

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