iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Between hummingbirds, cuckoos, and warblers, it's hard to choose a #BestOfTheMonth for #BirdOfTheDay, but I do like this #NorthernParula from Murphey Candler Park on Monday. #FallMigration

Against a soft focus green background in dappled light, a Northern parula sits in the middle of crisscrossing twigs from which hang serrate-edged leaves, some speckled and some splattered with brown, some lit by the sun and glowing golden. The parula is a tiny bird with a blue-gray head, bright yellow throat and breast, a broken white eyering, short yellow bill, white belly, a large green-gold patch on an otherwise blue-gray back and black and white bars on otherwise blue-gray wings. The bird faces just to the left of the camera.

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I'm sad (but not surprised) to hear that this isn't limited to Georgia. We had an exceptionally hot summer this year. I'm seeing fewer wasps and decreased diversity of wasps in my garden, too. I really hope this is a weird year and not a trend.

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Just that one magical irruption year, fall 2020. (Seems funny to put "magical" and "2020" in the same sentence!)

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I didn't know about this until today! I'm so excited 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚

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Reposted by Sarah E. Kelsey

Stephen Boisvert 🇨🇦 🟦⭐⭐⭐⭐🟦 @srboisvert.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Black-throated Blue Warbler. One of my favorites to photograph because they are such a challenge to get the exposure correct. Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary, Chicago. 9.24.2026 #Birds #Warblers #FallMigration

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

I think mine might be L. glabellum. Waiting for iNat to confirm or correct! Meanwhile the seeds from my garden are getting stuck to my clothes and probably will get transported back to Legacy Park (if I'm not careful).

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Oh no, I thought the one I had was native! Darn.

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

A Sunday surprise in the back garden! Yellow-billed cuckoo painted with #LightAndShadow in a pecan tree. #BirdOfTheDay

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

All of these are lovely. The Lespedeza reminds me that I have a ton this year that I am pretty sure came from Legacy Park last year, from Velcro-like Lespedeza seeds all over my clothes (and car seat). I wonder if others have brought the park home this way.

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

I can't tell if it's just the time of day I'm going outside, but I think there are fewer pollinators on my boneset this year than previous years. Fewer individuals and far less species diversity. I'm a bit concerned, recognizing I could be wrong and just going outside at the wrong time.

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

I have terrible luck with Monarda! Seeds, plants bought from good plant sales or stores, anything. Sometimes I get a year or two of nice flowers and then the entire plant dies. What I have now are small plants from a mystery Monarda that comes back every year but never blooms.

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Great photos! Is that a scorpionfly in #7?

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I want to clarify that it's not just about AI - laptops are banned (only typed notes), assignments on paper instead of screens (sorry trees!), and I believe also discourages hybrid/virtual attendance. That's why I was so angry; this is a huge step away from a more accessible world.

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

This is a favorite in my garden. I did have to move a bunch of it away from walkways or the very front of garden beds where it would just be tall and green for months...and Chelsea chop aggressively...but it's a pollinator magnet and so pretty, like lace!

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Congrats! That is a truly cute caterpillar.

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Reposted by Sarah E. Kelsey

SaraG @hardlikearmour.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

A native Gentian from Goat Rocks Wilderness 8/2026. #ColorADay #BlueTue #ECK #Wildflowers #NativePlants

A close-up photo of a somewhat tubular cobalt blue flower, looking down into its opening. It has 5 petals with stripes in the throat of the tube and speckles where the petals flare out. The anthers are white. The foliage is a bright medium green.

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I agree 100%. 💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯 Like many forms of ideological purity, it ignores the reality of disability and other access needs (time, economics, etc).

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

So instead I apparently write essays in multiple BlueSky comments 😂

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

And I decided I wasn't going to keep living life on Hard Mode just bc others (who may not share my challenges and access needs) will judge. I'm not going to be ruled by someone else's ableism. I've thought of writing on Substack about this but not sure it fits with my normal theme.

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

So then I researched the actual environmental impact/externalities of this specific LLM use (plain text chatbot) — it's minimal — and realized it's like the plastic straws issue. No one with a disability should be shamed for a tool that creates equitable access based on resource use, esp minimal.

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

So much of the cognitive clutter was gone; it was like I could just *think* instead of running a constant loop of "what was I doing again? Did I already make that point? How do I make this tangle of thoughts flow in order?" I met the deadline without draining all of my cognitive resources.

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

To your example, while I usually can write well, my disabilities cause challenges in that realm. I'm a non-linear thinker with executive dysfunction and poor working memory. The 1st time I used AI to assist when I had to write for a surprise deadline, with high stress, I may have cried with relief.

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

But some will explicitly include access tools in this condemnation even when the access need is pointed out.

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Denying access is equivalent to slamming a door in someone's face and saying, "You're not welcome here." Even if unintended, that is the effect. I think most are unaware of the unintentional condemning of access tools, and when made aware, some are curious; some say, "That's not what I meant."

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Exactly, it's a tool. Some of the access tools I rely on rely at least in part on AI, and it's been maddening to see blanket "Fuck AI" statements by those who 1) probably use AI tools without realizing it & 2) condemn access tools for the disabled. Which is extremely non-inclusive.

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I agree. So many things don't need summaries! Like my inbox! Or every search query! I've definitely used a summary to give my brain guideposts of, for example, a dense document or something with a lot of jargon, where I might otherwise get lost, but I still *read* the thing.

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Sorry, I'm trying to fit things into the character limit without being unclear OR creating my own wall of text. I'm happy to explain the connection between all of this and bottom-up processing if you would like me to.

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I realized you were probably thinking of the summaries of articles and pretty much everything, that unavoidable box on top of so many screens. That's not what I was thinking of, though I have asked for some bullet points from a wall of text. Bottom-up processing is the reason.

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

...of those of us with a working memory deficit or other executive function challenges. Like any tool, it has to be used as such, not as a brain replacement. And I'm sorry about the burnout. I know what that's like and sympathize.

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Yes, like after a meeting. The outline and action items all cross referenced with a timestamp linked to a specific part of a transcript and recording. Obviously we check them against the transcript and recording. They seem to help the whole team, not just those of us who are bottom-up learners.

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I'm not sure if they work as well, but I would like to know, so I'll look it up after work. Regardless, I've noticed the captions getting much better in the past 5 years, and it makes meetings and court hearing more accessible for me. In wanting accessibility, I'm not supporting every use of AI.

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

For a long time, I had difficulty telling apart painted ladies and American ladies (V. virginiensis). I finally can see that, with wings closed, painted ladies have four hindwing eyespots and American ladies have two. (American lady from my garden in June.)

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Reposted by Sarah E. Kelsey

Lyndy Lambert @lyndyphotos.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

For Rob’s clever #Mamas&Papas theme, a mated pair of great blue herons display their affection for each other at #Wakodahatchee Wetlands, #Florida. #BirdOfTheDay #EastCoastKin #birds

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Although I'd still prefer to take my own (typed) notes. I fear these policies will be especially burdensome to those with invisible disabilities. Our access needs often include typing, captions, speech-to-text, virtual attendance options, and even AI summaries and executive function assistance.

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I forgot about paid notetakers! That is a good point. For those who do not know why I am fired up about this, ADA requests can involve a lot of time and cost (medical documentation) and it's agonizing knowing that your access need can be denied or taken away.

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Sarah E. Kelsey @botanylicious.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

When my access needs are simply met, it reduces friction and saves my time and energy for actually doing the learning or work, instead of a drawn-out bureaucratic process. What people overlook is that all humans have access needs, and access tools help even non-disabled humans.

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