iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 20h

My work Slack now has custom emojis for :sedge: and :sedge-party: And I'm not even the one who made them!

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

“I never thought a leopard would eat MY face.”

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Me: I don’t know how I’m going to get the 40 remaining plants from my last order in the ground in time. Also me: [buys 21 more plants]

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Hot sedge fall continues.

an improvised, two-tiered shopping cart filled with sedge.

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Friends: we are having foundation work on our house starting Oct. 10th and lasting about 10 days. I'm looking for recommendations for where I can take myself (I work remotely) and my anxiety dog during the day in that stretch. I'd want to stay local so I can be reached if the crew needs anything.

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Not even going to post my alxwhere results today. I didn't know you could score that low.

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Anyone happen to have a map showing the original shoreline of Old Town handy? Asking for a friend. ( @riotbrrd.bsky.social specifically).

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Insult to injury: I slept badly last night so when I went to take my morning meds in a fog, I accidentally started taking my evening meds (which are to help me sleep).

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Had some cool insects visiting my goldenrod a couple days ago.

An ailanthus webworm moth, a long insect with orange bands alternating with black and white bands, on small yellow goldenrod flowers. It looks more like a beetle than a moth.

A locust borer beetle, a long black beetle with yellow zigzag stripes feeding on yellow goldenrod, with pale lavender flowers in the background.

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

MEADOW SPECIES FOR THE MEADOW GOD!

My mini native plant meadow planting on a steep hillside in front of woods. It still does not look like much but I’ve got 15 additional pots of Andropogon virginica (broomsedge) being planted.

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

The asters are saying it's fall.

Close up of a purple aster with a bright yellow center against a green background of more aster buds about to open.

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

My 80-plant order came in a week early and I was not planning on planting this weekend. 😬

Three flats of grasses and sedges on a brick path in front of a fence: in front is a tray of 50 plugs of a short sedge (Carex swanii), to the right are 15 plugs of little bluestem (Schizychirium scoparium), and in the back are 15 quart sized pots of broomsedge (Andropogon virginicus).

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

On Sunday night I went to watch migrating chimney swifts roost for the night in a large chimney in Arlington. The official estimate was 1,200-1,400 swifts!

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Where are we taking our visiting friends for Ethiopian food these days?

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Goat/sheepies update! They are making PROGRESS. This was still mostly grown over with kudzu when I visited a few days ago. The second photo is a panorama, I expect it will be strangely cropped.

A brown goat walks inside a fenced area that is mostly grazed down, such that you can see the wide creek at the bottom of the slope instead of a wall of kudzu.

A panorama view of the fenced in area that was mostly kudzu a few days ago, and is now mostly grazed down. The creek and forested far bank are visible beyond.

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Sedge update: Talked to the lovely Bethany from Bona Terra and decided to switch from C. eburnea to C. swanii. Bonus is I learned how to properly pronounce both.

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

This must have been a bonus plant or stowaway seed in one of the pots I planted in the mini meadow, because I didn't intentionally plant blue mist flower. But I'll allow it.

A small plant with triangular, toothy leaves and lavender fuzzy flowers.

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Goat progress report: still hungry.

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

I am late-40s years old and I'm still learning new things about myself.

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I would revive Home Ec but instead of sewing boxer shorts (which honestly who is going to do except for hobbyists?), it would cover things like the basics of personal finance, simple home repairs, basic land management so folks don't butcher their trees or spray for mosquitos.

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Ordered 50 carex plugs. 💪

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Ok @one-less-tab.bsky.social — I need to get better at getting new prescriptions before I only have three days left and no refills remaining. What do?

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Tis the season for playing the game "did I plant this?"

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

I'm glad to see it. The Ben Brenman pond restoration project (completed in 2020) cost $1.75 million (grant money), including the installation of native plants. But if you go there today you see most of it is overrun with invasive species. (cont.)

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Made a new friend today 😍. Although I get the sense the friendship was one-sided.

A woodland box turtle – a small turtle with a dome-shaped shell with black and yellow markings – hides behind a too small sprout.

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Terrible news: I spent all day at Renn Faire and I didn't have *any* back pain. None. Zippo. This means that exercise works. Damnit.

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Morning: 👩‍🎨 Nature Journaling at Del Ray Artisans Midday: ☕ working (on a personal project) at Swings Afternoon: 🏡 Site visit as a Wildlife Sanctuary at Home Ambassador (first one solo!) Transportation: 🚲 ebike It's a very Carolyn day.

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

12yo walks upstairs just now and asks, “Can I have lunch?”

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

What’s on your Georgetown bingo card? Mine: - an idling diesel engine - 2 F150s trying to pass each other on a road designed for horses - The C&O mosquito farm - unholy construction fumes wtf even is that - Paulownia growing out of and destroying the canal walls - 5 idling diesel engines

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Going to start a liriope replacement stan account called “There’s a sedge for that.”.

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Had my first site visit for the NoVA Bird Alliance Wildlife Sanctuary at Home program as an ambassador, which was a lot of fun! We chatted about plants that would do well on a steep slope after a couple of large trees fell earlier this year in a storm.

nvbirdalliance.org

Wildlife Sanctuary Program — Northern Virginia Bird Alliance

Wildlife Sanctuary Program Photo: Asclepias tuberosa with Fritillaries - by PNN

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Made a new friend on a hike earlier. I won’t say where, because unfortunately there is a poaching industry for these little guys. She’s grumpy but I love her.

A woodland box turtle in dappled shade on a sandy dirt path.

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Molly did not want me to work this morning, and she definitely did not want me to work with the office door closed.

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Molly has retreated to her bomb* shelter‡ * thunder ‡ the eldest child's closet

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

I spent a goos chunk of the weekend out in the heat (first birding at Bombay Hook, then paddling/birding at Prime Hook) and yet today I cannot stand to be outside for more than 10 minutes because it is too hot. 🥵

A mylar balloon that says “Happy Birthday” on a colorful background floats on still water in a marsh behind me and my kayak. I found it floating on the water in the wildlife refuge. Balloons don’t want to be free.

The front of a white kayak in still water looking at a line of trees on a sunny day.

Hyssop-leaved boneset, a plant with multiple vertical stems and very narrow leaves, topped with small white flowers, as seen in the wild at Bombay Hook.

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

@yuda.org, upon seeing I had bought yet another hat: “Boy you get skin cancer one time and now you’re all about the sun hats.” Yep.

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Me: everyone needs to take a shower before we spend 3 hours in the car together. Teen: Takes shower, puts on same smelly clothes they wore yesterday.

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Molly is anxious and discombobulated because we have a crew here finally insulting the attic, and tbh, same.

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Fancy fly from a few days ago.

A small, iridescent orange fly with black spots on its clear wings sits on a common blue violet leaf. The leaf has a couple small
holes chewed into it about the same size as the fly. I don’t think the fly chewed the holes, but it makes for a pleasing visual repetition within the frame.

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

We sometimes have to wipe between her toesies with medicated wipes and she does not like it.

A brown brindle hound stands on the chaise end of a sofa. I am holding her collar so she doesn’t run while my spouse is bent over her, holding up her rear paw and wiping between her toes with a small cotton pad. She had the biggest, saddest eyes and the saddest, furthest backiest ears a dog has ever had.

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

When you want some alone time in the bath but your kid is RIGHT THERE.

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Caulk is always a humbling experience.

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Summer in the chaos garden (pics from Thursday). I’m posting the second as an “in progress” pic for the patio garden. I planted a bunch of native grasses (and some perennials) in this area this spring but they haven’t fully grown in yet. Will be interesting to compare later.

Spikes of Liatris Spicata (common name: blazing star or gayfeather) with pinkish-purple blooms emerge from behind pale green stems of Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia, you’ll be shocked at the disclaimer that this is non-native). In the background is the rest of the garden, blurred by slight bokeh, but including the late flowers of hydrangea “Endless Summer,” (Asclepias incarnata), black-eyed susans (Rudbeckia sp.), among others. It’s a mix of native and non-native plant species.

A view from a patio area of a naturalistic garden, with a number of intermingling plants, both native and non-native. Beyond the patio the garden rises along a short, steep slope before a wooden fence. In the background is the neighbor’s house and a cloudy sky.

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

Found this giant snail shell in my yard and this can’t be from a native snail, can it?

A large dark brown snail shell sits on a blue outdoor table next to a bottle of seltzer water. The shell is probably around 2 inches by 3 inches.

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

I was an hour early at the giant parking lot at the Fairfax Gov. Ctr. – or rather – the Scout camp bus was an hour late, but I noticed a number of walkers heading towards the corner of the lot. Turns out there’s a whole network of trails back there. Ended up a great way to kill an hour.

A newish meadow planting with the lavender flowers of wild bergamot in the foreground, and a line of trees in the background.

A shady path through the woods bordered by a typical mix of native and invasive plants.

A view through trees towards muddy pond and stream flowing from it, cascading over artificial rock berms.

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Carolyn @caslon.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

This is going to be a fun mid-July project.

A dryer vent hood, not yet installed. It is to replace the existing dryer vent hood in the exterior brick wall that faces west and gets full sun.

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