iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

Also, this continued video quality issue is the main reason I find myself going back to IG. @bsky.app :/

Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

This piece is called “Deer Resistant My Ass!” We have a few painted rocks around our garden. After deer browsed my evening primrose literally the day I planted it, I thought about a rock with this quote. Then was like “wait. I have a bandsaw.” #nativeplants #starwars #failure Oenothera biennis

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

I found a dead fly in my yard. Turns out it’s zombie fly infected with a fungus that makes it find a high perch, spread its legs/wings, die, and release fungal spores below. I’ve found 3 now, with 1 shipped to @zombiflied.bsky.social at Harvard for science! Just in time for Last of Us finale! 😂

A fly infected with a zombie-making fungus, with the fungus erupted between abdominal segments.

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

Getting ready to release #4 that just hatched!

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

It happened! At least 4 of the 32 zebra swallowtail #butterfly chrysalises that overwintered survived (maybe all). The 1st eclosed today! This shot was NOT planned. 3 more coming in the next 1-2 days. All offspring of this single mom: www.publicsource.org/zebra-swallo... #pawpaw #nativeplants

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

Another tiny strip of lawn I’ll never mow again! The other side is neighbor‘s lawn. Shrubby St. John’s wort + foxglove beardtongue from seed. I’ve solarized w/cardboard/mulch around plantings before. Works well enough. If the deer strike and I need to replace, well the hard part’s done.

New garden bed being solarized around native plantings.

Turf lawn before-shot. With some holes dug.

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

Just perusing through your native plant photos. :) this one reminded me of some NE aster shots I took this week! Yes, really. I grew them from seed under light in my basement. Then took them in and out trying to harden them while avoiding freezes. They’re so confused 😵‍💫 😂. I was shocked.

Fall blooming New England aster… blooming in April.

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

That’s great to know! Although these deer will keep coming back over and over. City deer… haha. I had read that oenothera are deer-resistant. That clearly does not apply to starved urban deer. 😂 or just bad internet info

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 15/04/2025

Bonus: I get to make dog walkers laugh when they go by. 😂

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 15/04/2025

Before and after. Evening primrose grown from seed in my basement. 😂 #nativeplants #gardening #eveningprimrose #deer

Beautiful evening primrose fully leafed out.

A lonely evening primrose cane stripped of leaves with a sign hanging that says “Nice try, sucker! -DEER”

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

Yes the “stairs” were haphazardly thrown together today. Squirrels will ruin it regularly anyway.

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

Made a new #hobbit hole for our front garden. Partly to make kids/parents smile when they walk by. But mainly to make myself smile. Scrap fence cedar and acrylic paint. It’ll look better with real plants around it I think. Pieces cut on #scrollsaw. #woodworking #geekart

Blue painted hobbit hole nestled in the ground.

Blue painted hobbit hole nestled in the ground next to the old yellow one.

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 06/04/2025

Wow. Here in Pittsburgh (6B), they haven’t even emerged from the ground yet!

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

Current vibe post Chewie’s “cryptorchid” surgery. Fun tangent: this lead to me learning that “orchid” means “testicle.” Hat tip to @metalmarks.bsky.social for sharing this illustration of why the plant is called an #orchid in our Pittsburgh #Naturalists signal chat. #DogsofBluesky

Chewbacca the tiny Wookiee (puppy). Apparently one of his 🏀s was up in his abdomen and took a second incision to get to.

Diagram of an orchid. Complete with two fuzzy tubers.

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

Aw thanks for sharing, Kate! I appreciate you!

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

Happy to have this recent wooden monarch #butterfly piece shown at the University of #Pittsburgh #EcoArtisans Sustainable Art Expo today! Bonus materials showcasing #milkweed, #nativeplants, #pawpaw, and zebra swallowtails.

Exhibition of my wooden monarch butterfly intarsia, along with materials and references to milkweed, native plants, and the story of the zebra swallowtail in my backyard last year.

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

Plant Milkweed! #Monarch #Butterfly wood #intarsia is complete! Started this thing in Dec24! Made from 310 pieces of wood handcut on a scrollsaw. Ebonized black walnut, orange-dyed ash, American holly (all scavenged). + A bit of wenge, and painted metal cord antennae. #woodworking #nativeplants

Wooden monarch butterfly intarsia, made from 310 pieces of wood handcut on a scrollsaw.

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 22/03/2025

Cold & rain makes for a great day to do my annual refinish of this inlayed patio sunflower table I made. Downside of oil-finish: yearly maintenance. Upside: it’s easy and much prettier than something like spar urethane. It stays on our porch so at least somewhat limited exposure to elements.

Patio table made from walnut & sapele, with bloodwood, yellowheart, & wenge sunflower inlay.

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

Purely based on my 1 successful attempt at doing exactly this: don’t give up hope on them if it takes FOREVER for them to pop out. Haha. Mine took like a couple months to germinate (I tried scar vs non-scar, fridge cold strat vs fall sow). But everything ended up growing after a few months.

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

If any of you happen to be #pittsburgh local, the monarch I’m working on will be displayed at the “EcoArtisans Sustainable Art Expo” on April 2nd (10-2pm, WPU, Pitt Campus).

Save the date: Pitt’s 2nd Annual Sustainable Art Expo, April 2, WPU, 10-2pm.

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

Next 2 stages of glue up. Since body is glued, I 1st did the bottom wing, pressing them toward center with cauls. Then repeated with forewings. You can see the cauls (a superglued scrap and a wedge) in the second photo to apply clamping force. The pieces interlock at the body creating a pivot point.

Wooden monarch forewings being glued. A scrap piece of ash superglued to the backer. And scrap walnut wedge gives clamping pressure.

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

1 step of glue up has begun. I usually find it helpful to glue at least 1 piece to serve as a stable reference when I go to glue the rest. Tiny errors are additive (especially with over 300 individual pieces of wood). So it’s best to take it in stages. I’ve never had a stress-free glue up. 😂

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 16/03/2025

Demonstration of homemade iron acetate (vinegar+0000 steel wool) stain. I’ve had this stuff sitting in the shop for a year+ with no loss of potency. After the steel wool mostly dissolves, I run it through a tshirt or coffee filter. Some maple turns shades of gray. Walnut and red oak turn black.

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 16/03/2025

1 way I make my #woodworking more sustainable is by ebonizing common woods like this black walnut instead of using e.g. ebony. Vinegar + steel wool in an old mason jar = iron acetate (& hydrogen, so don’t seal it💥!). The solution reacts with tannin to create various shades (depending on species)

Walnut wood being ebonized with iron acetate.

A mason jar of iron acetate (vinegar + steel wool).

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 15/03/2025

Time to cut a riser to add some depth to the body.

Wooden monarch butterfly and thin plywood with template attached.

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

Such a satisfyingly tight fit! Cue obligatory gratuitous comment by my wife (or any Michael Scott fans).

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

1st step of glue up has begun: tacking in the little bits with cyanoacrylate so I can shape them as part of the larger sections. #woodworking #butterfly #intarsia

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

Some of these pieces are tiiiiny. Cutting those on a scrollsaw is…fun. But hey , it’s better than reading the news.

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

Back at this #monarch #intarsia again. I started it in December! It’s a slow metamorphosis. All handcut on #scrollsaw. Will dye some of it orange. #woodworking #art

Pieces of wood that will eventually metamorphose into a monarch butterfly

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

Thank you so much for the unexpected share!

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

I didn’t know this when the adult visited my pawpaws and laid her eggs, but apparently they’ve been missing here in Pittsburgh, PA for almost a century. It ended up quite a big deal! Such a cool experience learning to raise the cats too. nextpittsburgh.com/environment/...

nextpittsburgh.com

After 87 years, zebra swallowtail butterflies return to Pittsburgh thanks to pawpaws

Although its host plant is native to Pittsburgh, no sightings of zebra swallowtail butterflies had been reported in 87 years. Until now.

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 09/03/2025

Ooh nice. Following for hopeful follow ups! I have ~30 zebra swallowtail chrysalises I hope eclose this year!

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 09/03/2025

I don’t show my face here all that often - just because there’s usually much more interesting things to show. But Chewie was being too cute not to share. I swear there will be both woodworking and nature content here soon!

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Thanks for the share! It was a good day amongst a sea of bad ones lately!

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

The fastest creature on Earth - a peregrine falcon - flying around the Cathedral of Learning while supporting #standupforscience2025 in #pittsburgh (a pair nests up there). The survival of the peregrine is 1 of the great conservation stories. #science #nature @standupforscience.bsky.social

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

Hey if y’all want to see some absolutely gorgeous woodworking - often inspired by nature, wildlife, and pets. Give my friend Chelsea @evergreendaydreams.bsky.social a follow! She’s a truly amazing pro and just joined here. (Chelsea you should post one of your cardinals!).

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

I started many of my #nativeplants seeds suuuper early (like December), mostly as a mental health exercise, and expecting failure. But so far like 95% of it still looks happy and healthy-ish. For a cool dry basement under cheap lights anyway. The main challenge has been fighting the fungus gnats.

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Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social · 22/02/2025

This was epic. Thanks for sharing! It answers so many questions the lay public would have like “why are we wasting money studying squid?!” 😂 The mountains of foundational work behind basically everything in modern medicine is astounding. The public needs to know this.

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