iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Had a good time knocking on doors for #Shana4Fullerton today. Had a few good conversations, and a pleasant encounter with a mantis on one voter’s front porch, which I take as a sign of good luck. #localpolitics

A greenish brown praying mantis hanging from the underside of a greenish brown plant.

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Ah, darth. It’s threads like this that are making me dread your hibernation. Also, you know how petting a dog can reduce your blood pressure? I find watching them peacefully sleeping to be very calming as well.

2 shiny black dogs snuggling and snoozing on a colorful blanket on a brown couch.

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

I’m grateful there are still beautiful sunsets here in dystopia.

Sunset in my SoCal neighborhood. Fiery orange clouds against a suburban street.

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

Aedes mosquito on my banana this morning?! This might be the same one I’ve been swatting at, unsuccessfully, for the last day or so. Do they do that? Suck on things that aren’t blood? I mean, if he needed water, we have sinks, toilets, doggie water bowls.

A mosquito, perched on a piece of peeled banana. It looks like its proboscis is in the banana.

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

As much as I’d like to distract myself doodling on my iPad, please accept this turtle birthday card from my archives. Have a great day!

A mellow, kinda retro-looking turtle. He is various shades of olive green, with pops of turquoise on his shell. The background is olive green as well, with “Happy Birthday!” spelled out in turquoise across the top.

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

At last night’s regular Monday evening protest in #Brea, my sign was a plug for #BlueVoterGuide

Side one of my poster reads: Voting BLUE? Find your candidates on Blue Voter Guide.
bluevoterguide.org

Side two reads: Even the JUDGES are on Blue Voter Guide.
Bluevoterguide.org

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Oh! Gary Cooper! NOW I get it. I mean, I’m old enough that I should have gotten it yesterday, but the ol’ cranium is addled with the continuous onslaught of current events. By the way, I had a “pet” snail earlier this spring, named Snailio Iglesias 😁

A common brown garden snail, Helix aspersa, sits on a substrate of decomposing mulch. A tiny white snail, one of its own offspring, is on top of its shell.

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

I really loved the one that said, “Not Today, SprAyTAN” This was mine.

A bright green praying mantis perched on a leaf, amidst colorful spring flowers. The caption reads “Eat The Patriarchy”.
(Zoom in for FDT and NO KINGS hidden in the green areas)

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

Big hatch-out today on the first day of spring! #prayingmantis

A bunch of scattered tiny mantis nymphs, shortly after hatching in a screened terrarium. The egg cast can be seen in the lower-middle of the photo.

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

Lookit this weird/cool cloud I saw from my kitchen window this morning! 😮 #weirdclouds

In a bright blue morning sky, over a suburban SoCal street, there is a skinny cloud with almost cartoonish wavelike formations running in a line across the top of it.

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

My phone is full of pics of my 2, snuggling and snoozing. Beholding their peace and comfort gives me a moment of respite from the harsh reality of the day to day shit-show unfolding across the country.

2 black dogs snuggling on a brown leather sofa. Dex, in the blue collar, has his face turned away from the camera as he sleeps curled up against the arm of the couch.
Kira, in the pink collar, is asleep with her head on Dex’s back. Her long legs are stretched out and crossed in front of her.

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 15/12/2025

I wasn’t gonna do Hanukkah this year. Just not feeling it. I didn’t think I even had candles. But your words, and the sight of other people’s menorahs has moved me… And whaddaya know, there was a whole box of candles up in the cupboard!

A menorah with 2 lit candles, one orange and one blue, sits on my kitchen windowsill.

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 19/10/2025

One of my favorite things about #canvassing at this time of year is seeing the various Halloween decorations people have put up in their yards and on their porches. I found this wreath to be understated yet still celebratory. And oh yes, if you live in #California, please vote #YesonProp50

Here we have a lovely wreath, the foundation of which is made of black twigs, densely packed. The lower half of the wreath is covered in dried brown moss. There are 2 little headstones, some slender black mushrooms, a few fern fronds and a skull. Simple but elegant. Oh, and there’s a sweet pinkish moth at the top of the wreath.

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

I’m ready for #NoKings tomorrow. Look for me in #LaHabra #CA and carrying this sign. With Halloween right around the corner, I made the regime look extra ghoulish!

My protest sign, featuring Trump as a scary clown, Vance as Frankenstein, Miller as a vampire, and RFK JR as a zombie. Their faces are within the boundaries of a purple map of the US, and the caption warns, “Here Be Monsters” in a (sort of) creepy font.

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

One of my favorite things: the ethereal sight of my backyard fence steaming in the morning sun after a day and a night of rain. This is my first steaming fence of this season.

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

I never would have expected that Kira, the new dog, on the left, would so quickly become the alpha, or that Dex, with almost 6 years of being the spoiled only dog, would be totally ok with that. 🖤🖤 #blackdogs

2 black dogs huddle together on a brown leather couch. The room is in its usual state of “slight disarray”, with blankets and a jacket lying in view.

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

I’m not sure if this “coin” is supposed to look tough or menacing or what. But (with apologies to Futurama), all I see is this guy

Dr. Ziodberg, of Futurama fame. He’s a red, lobster/squid-like/alien character, who typically wears a white coat like a doctor.

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 02/10/2025

I didn’t know there was such a thing as Black Dog Day, but we have a couple of celebrants here. Dex and Kira, both rescues, hope Chester gets a family soon.

2 black dogs, Dexter on the left and Kira on the right. They are side by side, their heads resting on the arm of the brown leather sofa they are lying on.

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

Ah, well, now I’ve seen myself on Rachel Maddow tonight. Got censored too.

This is me: older white lady with a protest sign that features Nixon’s head in a jar (shout out to Matt Groenig’s Futurama).
Anyway, Nixon’s head says “I CAN’T BELIEVE THEY LET TRUMP GET AWAY WITH ALL THIS S***.
Photo credit: Gaston Castellanos
Thanks also to Harry at @indivisibleca45.org for submitting our event to MSNBC.

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

A view with the glow of sunset (or sunrise, for that matter) through diaphanous window-coverings is one of my favorite things. And I mean that it the Julie Andrews/Sound of Music sort of way. Here’s one out my bedroom from a few years back.

A sidelong view of the sunset out my bedroom window. The sun isn’t in the picture, but there’s a glowing effect in the sky, accentuated by the gauzy curtains. You can see the houses, cars and trees across the street. It’s all very ordinary, but somehow also very comforting.

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

Our nationwide #HandsOff protests were impactful and uplifting. Smaller weekly (or bi-weekly) protests are important too, for raising awareness in local communities. Here’s one in Diamond Bar, CA

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 06/04/2025

My protest sign that I carried in Santa Ana CA today, plus a couple of other signs that I really liked. #HandsOff #NoKingsOC #Indivisible

Me: an older white lady in jeans, a floral top, and a sun hat and glasses. I’m holding a sign that says “Adm. ACKBAR EXPLAINS TARIFFS” And there’s a picture of Ackbar (that fish faced alien of Star Wars fame) who is saying “IT’S A TAX.”
If you know, you know.

A person with an oversized Trump-face mask, in which trump has a Hitler-style mustache, as well as a crown that says “SHITLER”. The same person also holds a sign that reads “US Govt. for Sale. PAY HERE.

A vividly colored sign depicting a landscape of what could be SoCal or the US in general: it has land, water, sunshine, trees, and a red heart. There’s a mini-sign within the sign that says “HANDS OFF!” And it lists a whole slew of things that we want to protect: (in no particular order) immigrants, lgbtq+, students, Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans, schools, science, art, libraries, the environment, our bodies, Fair Elections, DEI, Gaza, And more! And all those words are incorporated into the sun’s rays, the water, the land, etc. Just brilliantly done.

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 06/04/2025

One of the most joyous and meaningful earworms I’ve had the pleasure to get stuck in my head. #HandsOff #NoKingsOC #Indivisible

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

Making time for #MantisMonday this week! Many years ago, my sister-in-law gave me a nice little (maybe 2") refrigerator magnet that I repainted, replaced the magnet on the back with a pin, and turned it into a brooch. I still wear it, often on a hat.

A sculptured mantis pin. (I think it's some kind of resin or plastic.) The mantis is a bright spring green color, and it is posed on a background of darker green leaves or possible grass. The mantis has a little smile that I added. I also added the antennas, because originally, it didn't have any.

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

Ah, there’s nothing like the warts-and-all beauty of one’s own neighborhood in the fleeting moments of sunset. (Or in my case, sunrise 😉). Greetings from California.

A little bird takes in the view from my neighbor’s roof. The top of my wood fence is visible. Beyond that is the street, houses, a street light (still on), and trees and foothills in the background. The dawn sky is glowing amid a layer of wispy gray clouds.

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 16/03/2025

I’m sad to report that the mourning dove nest on my front porch was abandoned earlier this week, with 2 eggs still in it. This would have been the 2nd brood this year. I don’t know what happened to the mama. Dad tried sitting on them for a while, but he was inconsistent, and eventually gave up.

A black and white photo of two eggs in a simple nest of dry grass, pine needles and twigs. The nest had already been abandoned for a few days when I took this photo.

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

A few pics from our protest last night in Brea CA with @indivisibleca45.org. I tried out my QR code poster idea (link goes to @indivisible.org) and people were scanning it from their cars while waiting at the red light! It works! Thanks to Gus Castellanos for the great photos.

A wider view of the street corner. It's getting close to dusk. The shadows are getting longer, but there's a crowd of people (including myself) holding protest signs against Trump, Musk, and all the havoc they're wreaking on our country. And this is just one corner. We had people on all 4 corners!

This is another sign that I made, with inspiration (and permission) from @iwantyoustudio.bsky.social.
The poster says NO KINGS, followed by a crown with one of those red NO symbols slashed through it.
Below that it says NO BILLIONAIRES, followed by a dollar sign with a red NO symbol over it.
and at the bottom, it says NO FASCISTS, followed by a swastika, also with the red NO symbol over it. Thanks, Chris.

As much as I love to toot my own horn, I think this was actually my favorite shot of the evening. An unidentified supporter of democracy stands at the intersection as night is falling. He is facing away from the camera, a blue baseball cap over his graying hair. He carries 2 American flags, one of which is glowingly backlit by the out of focus traffic lights and car headlights. Thanks again, Gus.

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

Happy #MantisMonday. I haven't raised a lot of non-native mantids, but back in 2007, I tried my hand at a few Cilnea humeralis, AKA the wide arm Mantis. Mantids in general are photogenic, but this girl loved to strike a pose. Also, I think the common name could have also been wide HEAD mantis.

A light jade-green mantis against a dark shaded background. The sun is also shining in such a way that you can almost see through parts of her legs and body. She is standing upright on her 4 rear legs, and she has her claws folded up almost to her face. Likewise, her abdomen is folded straight up behind her. She's looking straight at the camera. And she appears to be smiling. Like if the Mona Lisa were a mantis, this is what her smile might look like.

This is a close up of the same mantis. It's a little blurry, but it does show how wide her head and face are. She looks a little less like the Mona Lisa in this view, and maybe a little more like something from Area 51.

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

I thought I’d just give a quick update on my front porch doves, while simultaneously posting a gratuitous photo for #MantisMonday. As you may have noticed last week, I have a praying mantis yard-art plaque that lives on my porch. I got it years ago at a flea market or some such.

This is the top shelf of the baker’s rack on my front porch. On the right is a dinner plate sized decorative plaque with a large mantis in the center, surrounded by a circular border of ivy. It’s done in bas-relief. It’s got a faded green finish that looks like it was meant to appear old even when it was new, and I have no idea how old it was when I got it about 10 years ago.

Meanwhile, on the left, the little doves are looking good, and I’m a little surprised they haven’t left the nest yet. There are 2 of them, grayish brown with beady eyes, in their nest atop a tacky plastic flowerpot.

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

How quickly they grow! Look at all the feathers on the little one! (Sibling is out of view, behind Mom.) They ’ll probably fledge in another day or so.

Mourning dove mama and growing baby snuggle in their nest atop a green plastic plant pot. There’s a bit of praying mantis yard art in the background. I’ll post more about that soon!

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

So here’s a twofer (sort of) for #MantisMonday: I bought this graceful but flimsy metal decorative piece at a swap meet many years ago. Then, more recently (but still over 10 years ago) I gave it a faux verdigris finish and mounted it on the little box that covers the workings of my doorbell.

A delicate decoration made of wire and cutout pieces of metal. It shows a vine with leaves, flowers and tendrils, and a praying mantis appearing to be climbing up onto a flower. The whole piece was originally spray-painted black. 2 little grommet thingies at the top allow it to be hung up for display.

Same piece, maybe 20 years later, give or take. I painted it a coppery metallic brown, and added splashes of faux verdigris (sorta like rust, only it’s turquoise. Think of the Statue of Liberty)

I also removed the grommets and turned the whole thing upside down, so the mantis is now climbing down, and attached it to a board that had been painted beige-ish to match the wall. And THAT whole thing is attached to and hiding the little bell and wiring stuff for the doorbell.

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

Please keep posting bugs when you can manage. I've been struggling with this issue too. Everybody needs bugs in their timeline, whether they know it or not. So I will lend you a #MantisMonday photo from my archives. We're in this together. Virgil the praying mantis, from 1979

Virgil the praying mantis, posing on a bouquet of daisies. He is big, about 5" long, and mostly brown, except for green eyes and a stripe of pale green running the length of his folded wings.

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

Front Porch Mourning Doves, Season 2 now playing! Last summer I had a pair of doves nest in a plant on the top shelf of a bakers rack on my porch. They raised 3 broods (or was it 4?) They’re back at it already and here are the first squabs of 2025.

A pair of baby doves, just a few days old, rest side by side in a nest of dry weeds and pine needles. The babies have dark gray skin and sparse, off-white feathers.

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

I started doing #MantisMonday last month, then got a little sidetracked by…stuff. But here’s the intersection of insects and political engagement: I made a Valentine card for @congresstran.bsky.social. It has a mantis on it, and today it’s doing double duty. #ValentinesForDemocracy

A digitally altered vintage Valentine card, starring a handsome green mantis. He’s engaging the attention of a little brown and yellow bug. It could be an earwig, or maybe some kind of beetle larva. We may never know, but it doesn’t matter. These 2 friendly bugs are surrounded by red hearts of various sizes and some orange and yellow flowers befitting a bright and cheery sentiment that reads,” Can we have a TOWN HALL? I promise I won’t BITE YOUR HEAD OFF!

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

Last call folks. I’m closing with a bug theme, because I’m still a BugLady at heart. And I found a vintage Valentine with a praying mantis. I couldn’t resist. Please share, print, and wish your members of Congress a happy Valentine’s Day for me. #ValentinesForDemocracy #Indivisible

My final Valentine for the evening is a handsome green mantis, engaging the attention of another little brown and yellow bug. It could be an earwig, or maybe some kind of beetle larva. We may never know, but it doesn’t matter. These 2 friendly bugs are surrounded by red hearts of various sizes, and some orange and yellow flowers befitting a bright and cheery sentiment that reads, “Can we have a TOWN HALL? I promise, I won’t BITE YOUR HEAD OFF!”

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

Please save this image, print it, and give it to your Senator or Congress Person this Valentine’s Day. #ValentinesForDemocracy #Indivisible

This is not a vintage Valentine, but I’m throwing it in here. It’s a cartoony pig making a kissy face. He’s dressed like a certain president, including an ill-fitting dark blue suit, white shirt, and a long red tie. The pig also has a strangely orangish-brownish face, and an unruly yellowish mop of something vaguely resembling hair on his head. There is a red Valentine heart floating above the pig in the upper left corner. The heart has a cringy-face, and appears to be uncomfortable to be near that pig. In fact, the text on this card says, “Don’t KISS UP To that PIG”

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

Gee, this Valentine has a similar layout as the one right before this.😬 If you’re reading all these, thank you. Please feel free to use and share them. #ValentinesForDemocracy #Indivisible

A white couple sit close together on a green sofa. So close together, their heads are touching. They’re supposed to be elderly. They both have white hair, but they’ve been drawn so “cutely” they look like kids who are pretending to be old people. The woman has on a long black skirt. The man wears black pants. Both of them are wearing tops with black stripes. Makes them look like either old-time referees or maybe servers from an old times ice cream parlor.
Anyway, they both look like they’re trying to see the big red Valentine heart hanging up behind them. Inside the heart, clearly what’s on their mind:
“Gee, VALENTINE,
Are we gonna LOSE our SOCIAL SECURITY and MEDICARE?”

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Cindy Calisher ❌👑 @buglady1104.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

2 thoughts here: I’m pretty sure I’m posting these wrong. I mean there must be a better way than one at a time, and I’m not sure they’ll end up in an actual thread. If so, I’m sorry. “Gee” was a pretty popular idiom back in the day, apparently. #ValentinesForDemocracy #Indivisible

A forlorn little boy in what might be a sailor suit (the hat, at least, reminds me of Donald Duck.) He sits on a park bench, his hands clasped together in a contemplative manner. He looks upward. A tear rolls down his cheek. On either side of him 2 little birdies gaze up at him with empathy.
Oh, and behind the boy on the park bench with the 2 birds is a big red Valentine heart. The heart reads, GEE! VALENTINE
and on the green grass beneath the boy’s feet, the rest of the text reads,
“I’m so WORRIED about our country.
Can I count on you to FIGHT for our DEMOCRACY “

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