iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 6h

NYTimes gift article: "This Is the Future Scientists Warned About." We must slow down climate change so our grandkids can have a decent future & the only way forward is to #VoteBlue2026 at all levels of government. republicans are addicted to big fossil fuel$$. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/12/o...

nytimes.com

Opinion | Wildfires Are Unfightable Now (Gift Article)

This year’s fast moving, virtually irrepressible wildfire events are not the seasonal burns of decades past.

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 16h

For today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme, #Brown, I offer this Indian Pond heron (Ardeola grayii) that we saw in Sri Lanka.

Photo of a mostly light brown bird with some mottled white feathers on its neck & underside, a long yellow & black bill, yellow eyes, and yellowish legs standing on some rocks next to calm, blue-gray water.

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 17h

Tall elephantsfoot(Elephantopus elatus) is an easy-to-grow wildflower in the daisy family, but unlike many members of this family, it does not have ray florets that act like petals around the flowerhead. Even so, it attracts lots of butterflies. greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com/2022/09/tall...

Closeup photo of a mostly black butterfly with bright blue stripes & spots on its wings & red streaks & white dots on its black body on a pale lavender flowerhead with out-of-focus green leaves in the background.
Text says, "Great Purple Hairstreat (Atlides halesus) on Tall Elephantsfoot (Elephantopus elatus)"

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

For today’s #BirdOfTheDay alt theme, #Pigeons&Doves, I offer this encounter with a cleric feeding pigeons on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. He posed for the photo & was then interested to see how it came out. For us, interacting with the locals is one of the charms of travel.

Photo of and old man with a white beard dressed in white garb and a white turban sitting cross-legged on a lawn next to a tree. His arms are held out with birdseed in his hands. About 20 pigeons are around him & 2 are on his arms.

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

#PlantMoreTrees! To better understand the value of trees in your yard & in your community, read my article, "Transpiration: Forests' most important service." Transpiration not only adds water to the atmosphere, it literally cools the air. greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com/2019/02/tran...

Overhead photo of a green forest and a scattering of misty clouds over the forest.

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

It's been recently determined that scarlet sage (Salvia coccinea) is no longer native to Florida. Evidence shows that it was probably introduced to FL in the early to mid-1800s as seed from Texas, sold for landscape planting. greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com/2021/12/trop...

greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com

Tropical sage: a Florida native wildflower

A tattered gulf fritillary ( Agraulis vanillae ) feeding on a tropical sage. Tropical sage ( Salvia coccinea ) is a beautiful, easy-to-grow...

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Peat moss can never be sustainably harvested, plus it's highly acidic & offers virtually no nutrients for your plants & it's sterile so it kills beneficial soil microbes. #JustSayNOtoPeat Read this article with more details: www.nytimes.com/2020/10/09/climate/peat-climate-change.html

Photo of a bale of wrapped peatmoss. The green & white wrapper is labeled in both English and French. Premier Sphagnum Peat Moss for organic growing 2.2 cu ft.

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

For today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme, #Green, I offer this beautiful Peach-fronted Parakeet (Eupsittula aurea), that we saw near the Amazon River.

Photo of a mostly green bird perched on a branch with compound leaves & blue sky in the background. The bird has a gray hooked beak, an orange forehead, yellow circles around its black eyes, a yellowish throat & underbelly, with green on top of its head and a darker green back, wings, & tail.

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

#AMomentinNature was noticing this cute B&W spider on the underside of a swamp sunflower (Helianthus angustifolius) which is blooming now in our unpoisoned mostly native yard. This sunflower is native from NY-TX & most of FL. More info on this sunflower: www.fnps.org/plant/helian...

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

For today’s #BirdOfTheDay Alt theme #Waders, I offer this Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea), wading in a local Florida pond amongst the bulrushes (Scirpus sp.), which are sedges (with triagular stems) not rushes. But still, a bulrush hour is superior to any other rush hour.

Photo of a medium-sized, blue-gray bird with a 2-toned white & dark gray beak wading at the edge of a pond behind a growth of green reeds. The still water is gray. Short yellow-brown grass is in the foreground on the shore.

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

#GrowMoreFood! When growing onions, you don't want them to bloom because this reduces the bulb size. I harvest & use these rogue onions. In FL, we need short-day onions because we grow these crops right through the winter, when the days are short. greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com/2022/06/grow...

Photo of a hand holding 2 onion plants coiled into a circle with small white bulbs, green leaves, & long stalks with flower buds.
A row of onion plants still in the ground is in the background.
Text says, "Bolting sweet onion Allium cepa"

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

For today’s #BirdOfTheDay Alt theme #Eating, I offer this Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) on a fig tree (Ficus sp.) in Montevideo, Uruguay. The insulation of their large, colonial stick nests is one reason why Monk Parakeets are able to survive cold winters & they are found in northern cities.

Photo of a bird perched in a tree with many small globular yellow-green fruit at the end of each little branch. The bird is eating a fruit and one of its feet is raised & is near its mouth. It has a hooked orange beak, tan throat, green head & back with some bright blue wing feathers, green tail feathers. White sky is in the background.

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Wise words about #Hope from Dr. Jane Goodall. We are not helpless and we can all accomplish positive actions for our only planet, so the next generations can have better lives. Let's get to work and also change the people in power & #VoteBlue2026. May she rest in power!

Photo of an old woman wearing a Monarch butterfly scarf over her shoulders with her chin resting on her hands.
Text says, "I would say I was somebody sent to this world to give people hope in dark times. Because without hop, we fall into apathy and do nothing. In the dark times that we are living now, if people don't have hope, we're doomed. And how can we bring little children into this dark world we've created and let them be surrounded by people who've given up?" -Jane Goodall

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Yes, I try to learn something new every day.

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

A new look at an old fossil shows that insect ancestors probably had 24 legs & this also indicates their relationship to crustaceans. Read this gift article from the New York Times. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/04/s...

nytimes.com

The World’s First Bugs Had Way More Legs

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

For today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme #BlueWater, I offer this Green Heron (Butorides virescens) working the lake in our North Florida neighborhood.

Photo of a bird stooped down close to the surface of the blue water with grasses behind it and lilypads above it. The bird is mostly dark with a whitish face and a long bill.

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

#AMomentinNature was this Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) singing to us from a snag. A thrasher's song is amazingly complex with each segment of the call sounded twice. Snags provide important habitat. Read more about snags as habitat here: greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com/2024/08/snag...

Brown & white bird perched on a leafless branch with small patches of lichen on some of the twigs. Blue sky is in the background.

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

#VoteBlue2026 at all levels of government. Those who ban books are never the "Good Guys." Thanks to Craig Pittman and others who are bringing attention to their efforts to try to control our thoughts.

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

For today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme #BirdSupermodel, I offer this Purple-throated Carib (Eulampis jugularis) is the largest hummingbird species in the Caribbean.

Photo of a small bird with iridescent turquoise wings, dark brown head & chest, & a long curved beak perched on a narrow branch. Out-of- focus green is in the background.

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

#Botany! Word for the day is tepal. Tulips & most other flowers in the lily family have what looks like 6 petals, but the inside 3 are true petals & the outside 3 are sepals, but since they look the same, they are called tepals. My tulip article: greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com/2026/09/tuli...

Photo of 2 white tulips and 2 orange tulips with pointed petals. Small blue flowers and some yellow flowers are growing under the tulips.

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

For today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme #BlueSkies, I offer these colorful Rainbow Lorikeets (Trichoglossus moluccanus) competing to be on top of a fountain in Adelaide, Australia.

Photo of 3 colorful birds perched in various positions on a fountain with a stream of water coming from the top of a red sculpture. The birds have red beaks, blue heads, green backs, red chests, and yellow under their wings and tail feathers. The bird on top of the fountain has one wing spread out.
Blue sky in the background.

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Mulch should NOT touch the trunk, because it directs rain away from the tree, causes formation of adventitious roots above the root flare, & rots the bark. Mulch the root zone, but no mulch should touch the tree & keep their root flares above the soil line for healthier trees.

Graphic of a tree trunk divided in half with mowed grass all along the bottom. On the left side of the tree brown mulch is piled high against the trunk and the text there says, "No -Do not crowd the tree trunk with mulch. - Do not overmulch root systems. Too much mulch reduces oxygen and can suffocate roots. - Avoid incorrectly mulching trees to prevent problems that weaken them and open entry points for disease and insects."
On the right there is no mulch next to the trunk and a thin layer on top of the grass. The text there says, "How to mulch a tree. Yes. Keep mulch 1 to 3 inches away from the trunk. Apply mulch as far as the tree branches spread. Encourange root growth, conserve soil moisture, and minimize erosion with proper mulching."

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

#ThereisNoPlanetB, so I will #VoteBlue2026 at all levels of government so my grandkids can have a better future.

Photo of the Earth from space showing the Americas with swirling clouds and blue oceans.
Text says, "I'm with Her." There is a hand-drawn arrow from the text pointing to the earth.

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

For today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme #WingsOpenNotFlying, I offer this pair of Wood Storks (Mycteria americana) that we saw at the edge of Lake Okeechobee in South Florida, which is the 8th largest freshwater lake in the US (730 sq. miles), but is only 9’ deep.

Photo of 2 large birds facing away from the camera standing in shallow water wetlands with grasses and reeds in the background. One bird has spread its wings which have blacks feathers along the outside edge of the wings which contrast to the pure white feathers over most of the rest of its body. Its tail feathers are also black, but its head is gray with no feathers. The second bird is mostly hidden behind the spread wings.

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

For today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme #Black&Red, any bird with Black & Red in its plumage, I offer this pair of Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) that we saw on a beach in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California, Mexico, doing their important work of cleaning up the dead stuff.

Photo of 2 large mostly black birds with read heads and red feet on yellow-tan sand that has various footprints. One has its foot on a dead animal.
Text says, "Turkey Vultures Cathartes aura"

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

A "freedom lawn," a mowed area that is free from: - pesticide applications, including insecticides, fungicides, & herbicides; - synthetic fertilizers; - over-seeding of winter rye to keep it green all year; and - over-irrigation. Read: greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com/2021/05/our-...

3 photos. On the left is several little lavender daisy like flowers with other blue flowers in the background. In the middle is a mowed area with a wooded aera in the background with one small white lily-like flower growing in the mowed area. On the right is a non-grass plant with 3 fingers under it show that it shows. In the background are some plants with circular leaves.
Text at the top says, "Freedom Lawns host a wide variety of plants that can be mowed. Kid-safe & pet-safe 100% of the time."

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Explore this gift article from The NY Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. And then read my article, "Why do plants produce caffeine?" greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com/2023/07/why-... www.nytimes.com/2025/06/02/w...

nytimes.com

That Cup of Coffee May Have a Longer-Term Perk (Gift Article)

A new study of over 47,000 women found links between coffee drinking and healthy aging. Here’s what we know.

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

#Sunrise A cold-blooded, gnarly-looking wasp waits for sunrise over the St. Johns River in North Florida, so it can continue its important work.

Photo of an out-of-focus sunrise with orange sky at the horizon fading to yellow and then to light blue at the top of the photo. Silhouetted in the foreground is a large wasp with a hairy leg held out from its body is clinging to a flowerhead.
Text says, "Waiting for sunrise..."

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Where are the native plants? Gardeners find displays of mostly nonnative annuals in full bloom. Each tray is not too expensive, but they fade in a couple of months need to be replaced. This may be a good business model, but it’s not sustainable. greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com/2023/10/why-...

Photo of racks of flowers and hanging baskets of flowers
in a garden center. To the left there is also a rack of green plastic containers & spray bottles.

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

For today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #YellowElements, I offer these Orange-fronted Yellow-Finches (Sicalis columbiana) that we saw in Manaus, Brazil. Males have a bright orange forehead.

Photo of 4 small, mostly yellow birds perched in a thicket of bare gray twigs. One bird has a bright orange forehead.

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

#ScarySeason has begun. It's a horrible situation that well-educated, smart people are "Scary" to people who are grifting our tax $$ at the expense of preserving our only planet. But, we can change this momentum. #VoteBlue2026 Thanks to Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden for their "SmartCrow."

Photo of a scarecrow on a green lawn with palms and sagos in the background. The scarecrow is dressed in a blue graduation cap (motorboard) & gown and a medalion hanging around its neck with a rainbow ribbon. It has a white head with green leafy hair and red eyeglasses, palm flower stalks for hands, and stuffed blue jeans for legs. There is a collection of books and papers at its feet.
Text says, "SmartCrow Faircild Tropical Botanical Garden--Education Department"

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

For today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Black&White; any shot in black and white, I offer this Australian Pied Cormorant (Phalacrocorax varius) that we saw on Kangaroo Island in South Australia.

Photo of a medium sized bird standing on dark gray rocks with slightly wavy pale blue water in the background. The bird has a dark, hooked beak, a red spot by the eye, black from the top of its head, down its back to its tail feathers and white from its throat down to its underbelly to its tail feathers.

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

The tulip gardens were spectacular in Victoria,B.C. in April 2026. This was the last port of an 18-day Hawaii cruise where I was a #GuestLecturer. My love for tulips came to an abrupt halt when I moved to North Florida in 2004. Read my tulip story: greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com/2026/09/tuli...

Photo of 2 women in jackets and long pants standing in front of a tulip bed at peak season in front of a large brick & cement building labeled "The Empress"

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

While this is probably not our best bird photo in Alsaka this month, I chose it because of the interaction of the sea lions & the gulls in reaction to an easy meal of dead & dying salmon. Here's my take on cruise gigs after my first one in 2017: greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com/2017/03/reac...

greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com

Reaching new audiences

The itinerary for the 2nd leg of the Incan Empires cruise. (The first leg had mostly different ports.) Surprise! 18 months after applyi...

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

#Botany Perfoliate: leaves that subtend an inflorescence are joined together. E.g., Coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), a bine (not a vine) native to eastern North America, attracts Hummingbirds with its flowers & Cardinals with its fruit. greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com/2025/08/cora...

Photo of a vine with a group of yellow & orange berry-like fruit on a stem & 2 leaves joined together are below the fruit. More vines and green leaves are in the background.
The 2 joined leaves are labeled "Perfoliate leaves"
Other text says "Coral honeysuckle Lonicera sempervirens"

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

For today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme, #BestOfTheMonth, I offer these Glaucous-winged Gulls (Larus glaucescens) & Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) at a fish hatchery in Valdez, AK where the salmon had returned to lay their eggs. I had a guest lecturer gig on two 10-day Viking cruises in Alaska.

Photo of a fast-running stream of milky water with many gulls flying just above it, swimming in the water, and perched on the shorelines. There are also 3 large, brown sea lions in the water. There is trimmed vegetation on the near shoreline and a rocky shoreline on the far side.

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Even if climate change is a hoax, the worst that could happen is that we work to create a better planet for future generations. As citizens of our only planet, we have been charged with the responsibility of being good stewards of our lands. #VoteBlue2026! We must do this because #ThereisNoPlanetB!

Cartoon of a Climate Summit meeting in a large auditorium with a man standing behind a lectern pointing to the screen behind him that says, "Energy independence, peserve rainforests, sustainability, green jobs, livable cities, renewables, clean water & air, healthy children, etc. etc."
A frowning man wearing glasses is standing up in the audience & saying, "What if it's a hoax and we create a better world for nothing?"

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Yes, I see the resemblance to Audrey II, but cabbages are not carnivorous as far as we know...

Cartoon drawing of a mostly green plant with a head with a large mouth with sharp teeth and lips. Under the head are 2 leaves with sharp claws and under that 3 tendrils curling outside of the pot.
Text at the top says, "FEED ME!"

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Yes, an American tea with no tarriffs.

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Sept. 29th is national coffee day! To celebrate the day, read my article to learn why coffee plants (& a few other unrelated plants) produce caffeine, the most-widely consumed psycho-active substance in the world! greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com/2023/07/why-...

Cartoon by Boynton of a gray cat-like creature with big eyes holding a green coffee cup on a saucer. The background is light brown and framed with dark brown.
The dark brown hand-lettered text says, "You must learn to espresso your felines."

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Cole crops: derived from a wild mustard(Brassica oleracea). Kohl is the German word for cabbage. In addition to cabbage, these include kale, collard greens, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, & more. This is why a cabbage salad is cole slaw. greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com/2014/09/cole...

Photo of a large very green cabbage with all of its outer leaves being held by a person who is out of the photo except for her arms and the front of her shirt. A house with white siding in in the background.

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

For today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme, #EFG, birds beginning with any of those letters, I offer this beautiful Fork-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus savanna) that we saw in Manaus, Brazil, which is 1,000 miles up the Amazon River.

Photo of a small bird with very long tail feathers perched on a brown twig. The bird has a white underbelly, a black cap, black bill, black eye, light gray back, & black & white tail feathers. Green shrubbery is in the background.

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Thanks for the deep dive on pet peeves...

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

For today’s #BirdOfTheDay Alt theme #AwkwardAvian, birds in a silly, clumsy or strange position, I offer 2 Egyptian Geese (Alopochen aegyptiaca) that we saw in South Africa interacting with each other. The tune that came to us was “Walk like an Egyptian.”

Photo of 2 large birds extending their necks out towards each other. The birds have mostly white heads with dark brown eye spots, beaks that are dark on the bottom and white on the top, long mottled brown & gray necks with a dark brown ring at the base of their necks. They have grayish bodies and bellies, dark brown wings with bright white streaks at the bottom edgs of the wings, dark brown & black rumps & tails, and reddish webbed feet.
They are walking on a rough green lawn in the shade, with a sunny lawn at the top of the photo.
Text says, "Walk like an Egyptian Goose"

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

#AMomentinNature Plant more natives and the butterflies and other pollinators will come! This tiger swallowtail was on my snow squarestem (Melanthera nivea). For more information on this native plant, read my article: beautifulnativeplants.blogspot.com/2016/02/snow...

Photo of the underside of a pale yellow butterfly with black stripes and other black & orange markings along the edges of the wings that was hanging upside down on a whitish flower head on a green stem. Green leaves and other whitish flower heads are in the background.

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Ginny Stibolt @ginnystibolt.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Let's kill an old gardeners' tale. It was shown 100 years ago gravel does NOT improve drainage, but even today, so-called gardening experts continue to pass this myth on as if it were fact. Linda Chalker-Scott’s “The Myth of Drainage Material in Container Plantings” s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/site...

Drawing of a cross-section of 2 flower pots each with one plant with roots in the soil. On the left, the soil in the pot is light brown at the top and dark brown at the bottom & the root do not touch the dark brown soil. On the right, there is a thick layer of white gravel in the bottom of the pot, so the roots of this plant are in the midst of the dark brown soil.
Text on the left says, "The wettest soil is at the bottom."
Text on the right says, "Gravel moves the wettest soil up in the pot closer to the roots, which can lead to rot."

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