iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

Sadly, this monarch didn't make it through metamorphosis. 😭

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

A first time visitor to my butterfly garden (at least the first time that I've seen): a spicebush swallowtail.

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Images from the butterfly garden. My guess is the 1st monarch will fly to Mexico; the 2nd is likely laying eggs & enjoying nectar before she is done with this life. I have so many skippers this year(likely because I got rid of most of the invasive chinese praying mantis.) Butterflies love ironweed.

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Another day in the garden. I think I overdid it and I haven't taken any pictures of the butterfly garden yet but I had a little company. A dragonfly who allowed me a photoshoot and a black swallowtail caterpillar.

Black swallowtail caterpillar on fennel with a rudbeckia flower behind

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Not many butterflies in the garden today but I had these green cone headed plant hoppers(just the two) and a spring peeper. I don't mind the frog but I need to keep my eye out for more plant hoppers. Also seen, a dragonfly and many bumblebees.

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Male monarch butterfly in the butterfly garden.

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

The butterfly garden this evening. The wildfire smoke from the US Canadian border is causing a yellowish cast and haze.

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Butterfly garden this morning. It's a little bit wild because the weather has been good for the invasive weeds(mostly bindweed) and there are a couple wayward saplings that need to be removed. But, even wild, I find it pretty.

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

A bumblebee visiting a coneflower.

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

A monarch butterfly rests among the false indigo leaves.

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

First Great Spangled Frittillary of this year's. She was drinking the nectar of milkweed and coneflowers when I arrived home from work.

Brown and orange butterfly against the green leaves and pink flowers of common milkweed.

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Cut some flowers while I was in the butterfly garden today. Unfortunately, the cats thought they were hors d'œuvres so I had to put them out of reach.

Vase of garden flowers. Black-eyed susans, yarrow, and veronica.

Purpleicious veronica. Spikes of small purple flowers along dark green stems.

Heidi yarrow. Tiny clusters of five petal flowers in shades of cream and pink.

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Visited my paternal grandparents gravesite for the first time since I was nine. It was a beautiful day. I went with two dear friends. The visit reminded me of the ties I have to this region (SW Pennsylvania) We plan on another visit in the fall when I will put flowers on their gravesite.

Fluffy white clouds in a blue sky over what I've think was the Allegheny River in southwestern Pennsylvania. Green trees and random buildings are on either side of the river. Photo taken from a moving car on the bridge spanning the river.

View across a cemetery in southwestern Pennsylvania. Beautiful blue skies spotted with white clouds. Foothills of the Allegheny Mountains in the background. Clover grows randomly amongst the headstones.

Fluffy white clouds in a blue sky over the Ohio River in southwestern Pennsylvania. Green trees and random buildings are on either side of the river. Photo taken from a moving car on the bridge spanning the river.

Another view of a cemetery in south west Pennsylvania. My grandparents headstones is next to a dead tree. Lush green grass and clover covers their gravesite.

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

This evening, in the butterfly garden.

Two monarch butterflies mating on a daylily stem.

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

First year for peaches. Not sure they'll be edible or won't be eaten by birds or bugs before they're ready to try but excited to see them form.

Dark red peach forming amongst maroon colored leaves

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Society can be ugly, but beauty is easy to find in nature.

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

The first daylilies are blooming. These were divided and transplanted across the front flower bed earlier this spring. They're called raspberry pixie and the color looks surprisingly good with the red leafed peach tree.

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

False Indigo/ baptista/ lunar eclipse

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Found in my backyard: a young gray rat snake. Non-venomous. Can bite in self-defense but bites are harmless. They are fantastic climbers & hunt in trees. They primarily eat rodents, eggs, frogs, lizards, & birds. This one is probably in its 1st year, they ultimately reach a length of 3.5 to 7 feet.

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

My new shed is almost done! I'm super excited to be able to properly store all my yard and garden tools and equipment. I will actually get my studio back :)

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

Listening to vinyl this Saturday evening. One of my all-time favorite albums: Tears for Fears "The Hurting" There's something therapeutic for me just listening to vinyl

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

Having a shed built. Here are two walls and the floor framed. The other walls and roof should be framed today. Then the fun begins. So excited to finally have a dedicated space for my gardening gear.

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

It's poppy season. My favorite season of the year.

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

This year's peonies were short lived because of a few days of 90° May weather. They were beautiful while they lasted.

Vibrant red peony blossom with a yellow, pale green and pink center against deep green foliage

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

The first red admiral that I spotted this season.

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

One of my girlfriends dragged me away from the garden for a walk today. It was much appreciated. We walked down to the Wake Robin Boardwalk Trail in the Mentor Marsh Nature Preserve. It's a beautiful day. Saw a few turtles, many birds, and a dragonfly.

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

I don't realize how big my garden beds are until I have to overhaul them. I prefer perennials because I find it generally requires less maintenance when the plants are mature & established. Unfortunately, this bed got away from me. (That wheelbarrow is full of various daylilies.)

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Last year, due to poor weather, mean yellowjackets, & an injury to my knee, I wasn't able to get my garden in order. This year, I took a week's vacation so I could spend it in my gardens. This is the cottage garden. Everything except the poppies have to come out, then I'll till, replant, & mulch.

A messy garden with wildly overgrown dutch iris, daylilies and chives. Fall leaves and weeds litter the garden. A garden fork stands in the middle of the frame.

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

I just found when I first received this tree, April 10, 2023. I didn't get it planted until around May or June of that year. This is the first photo I have of her.

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Not my best photo, but, my red leaf peach tree is going to bloom for the first time! I don't remember when I originally planted it, but it was before 2024 because I found a photo of it in June of that year. It was given to me by a friend's mom who had many saplings in her yard.

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

Our insecurities are seeds planted by others that we, often unconciously, decided to nurture.

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Apparently, we had a meteor enter the atmosphere here in Cleveland this morning. I personally thought it was the large truck driving past the office at that moment, the other ladies thought it was someone dropping something on our roof. In true Cleveland fashion, someone already posted this image. 😂

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 15/03/2026

There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats. ~Albert Schweitzer

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

Animals. Music. Art. Nature. An abundance of gratitude for the life with which I've been blessed. This is how I'm choosing to get through these chaotic days. Aware of what's happening but focused on a world we must all come together to create. We collectively create the seed of our future.

Black swallowtail and skipper butterfly drinking nectar from a magenta butterfly bush flower.

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

Detail of "Moonlit Flight," the second painting that will be shown at The West Woods Nature Center, March 28 - July 26. "On the Wing" Geauga Parks Community Art Show.

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

Another plant from work that I've been nursing back from the edge. This one is named Preston and he's always done well when I've brought him home for spa days (usually during my vacations.) Then I splurged and bought him his own full spectrum light. He's never been happier.

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

Detail from one of the two paintings I entered into the community art show, "On the Wing," March 28 -July 26 at the West Woods Nature Center, Newbury, Ohio.

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

Both photos are of the same fern. I've been caring for her since I started at the office. First picture is from July 2023(5 months after I started); the latest is from March 6, 2026. My coworkers were impressed with the 2023 growth, lol. I'm gobsmacked by her continued flourishing.

Struggling boston fern in office window.

Flourishing Boston fern in same office window 2 1/2 years later.

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 28/12/2025

Denver Quiche. Ham, peppers, shallots, and sharp cheddar cheese suspended in a creamy egg custard baked into a homemade crust. Christmas leftovers at their finest.

A freshly baked quiche; a slightly cheesy golden brown egg filling top with specks of green peppers, ham, and shallots showing randomly throughout.

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

My resident eastern #cottontail #rabbit. He spends most of his time in my yard . It'll be a sad day when he's no longer around. #wildlife

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

Another great #wasp to have in the garden is the Four-Banded Stink Bug Wasp. It's a solitary sand wasp that preys on true bug nymphs including the brown marmorated stink bug. They are beneficial pollinators and pest controllers.Solitary wasps look intimidating but are rarely aggressive. #InverteFest

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

Common blue mud dauber #wasp on bronze fennel flower. These are one of my favorite wasps in the garden. They are not aggressive and help to keep down the spider population. #InverteFest

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 21/07/2025

I took a vacation day today, solely to work in my butterfly garden. I got up early, went outside, started removing wayward saplings, milkweed, and other large weeds. I was making great progress when I apparently disrupted a bee's nest and got stung 8 times. Needless to say, I'm done for now.

Japanese beetle on a butterfly bush flower with yellow and pink flowers in the background.

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 30/03/2025

Early spring flowers in bloom or coming into bloom. Feels like running into an old friend you haven't seen in a while.

Tulip plants emerging from their winter slumber.

Purple hyacinth sending up their yearly flowers.

Magenta primrose nestled in emerging iris plants

Close-up of a two toned daffodil blossom

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Kelly @blueheronalchemy.bsky.social · 29/03/2025

T'is the season! I've been busy starting this year's food garden. Here the seedlings of three types of tomatoes(Cherokee Purple, Thorburn's Terra-cotta, and Rosella,) King of the North sweet peppers, Thai and Italian Basil, and Amaranth.

Three cells of thai basil seedlings on the far left, three cells of Italian Basil to their right, three cells with yet to germinate dill, and three cells of burgundy colored Amaranth on the far left side. All in Purple light.

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