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Wendy wins the Red-winged Blackbird stakes! #blackandred #birdoftheday 🪶

For the #BirdOfTheDay theme of #Black&Red, I of course immediately thought of Red-winged Blackbird, this one is at #Marin Headlands #GGNRA #California 🪶

A glossy black bird perched on a dry reed among naturalized non-native orange crocosmia, facing left, bill open. It has a bright red blaze on its left wing.

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 16h

I got my COVID and flu vaccinations today! Nothing makes me happier than protecting what's left of my one wild & precious life. I worked like a dog for 40 years to get to retirement & I'm not about to fuck it up now. That said, I feel like crap & I'm going to bed. Catch you on the other side!

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Reposted by iolanthe

Tim Dawson @timblor.bsky.social · 17h

Sunrise to sunrise on the Friends of the Pleistocene trip to Mono Basin.

Sunrise hitting the the eastern Sierras with clouds reflected in the Owens River

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Stately Canada Geese on Corte Madera Creek, Larkspur, #Marin #California at #Sunrise 🪶

14 Canada Geese in a long line on creek waters tinged pink with the sunrise.

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay them is #BestBeaks. After considering obvious choices like Pelicans and Flamingos, I have settled on the Anna's Hummingbird and its small but deadly beak 🗡️ 🪶

An Anna's Hummingbird on the feeder, looking a bit borby. Its perched facing the camera withhead looking to the right, emphasizing the its long, sharp, thin bill.

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Black&White. Here's an adorable little Downy Woodpecker at the birdbath. 🪶

A small woodpecker, seen from the side facing right, perched on the edge of a cement birdbath. It has a black and white striped face, balck wings and tail with white spots, and a creamy white breast.

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Heads up #Californians, it's #Proposition time! There will be 14 of the little suckers on the #midterm ballot. I highly recommend the KQED @kqednews.kqed.org Bay Curious podcast "Prop Fest" series: one short, deeply clarifying, episode for each proposition. www.kqed.org/propfest

kqed.org

Prop Fest 2026 | KQED

If reading through the statewide ballot propositions has made your head spin, you are in the right place! From Oct. 1 - 16, Bay Curious is exploring the 12 statewide ballot propositions in our 12-part...

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I just used my Medicare card for the first time! After 6 years of paying for my own insurance, it FELT GREAT! Thank you, Lyndon B Johnson 🙏

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

"I'm too sexy for the lost wax method"

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

#BirdOfTheDay is #BestOfTheMonth -- so hard to choose! In the end, though, I have to go with this moody Great Blue Heron. I just love all the shades of gray. 🪶

A Great Blue Heron seen full lenght from feet to bill looking left. It is standing on a dark rock with flat gray water in the background echoing the grays of its plumage.

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Look at this little nubbin of perfection (and violence) 🥰 🪶

An Anna's Hummingbird, wings outspread, coming into a landing at a feeder.

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I had my piano lesson this morning drugged on migraine meds and it went well. I think I might be onto something.

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

For today's #BirdOfTheDay theme #EFG, here's a Great Blue Heron, looking bright eyed and bushy tailed at #Marin Headlands #GGNRA #California 🪶

The neck and head of a Great Blue Heron in front of green waters. Its thick dagger bill is beautifully orange, eye bright, and it has two lovely dark plumes hanging off the back in a comely fashion.

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Reposted by iolanthe

Dr SpookyGoth @ghostingdani.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Humanities will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no humanities.

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I had a lovely encounter with a Green Heron this morning on Corte Madera Creek #Marin #California. 🪶

A green heron, standing up straight, head turned to the right, amongst some willow branches on green creek waters. It has a steel blue head and bill, bright yellow eye, and chestnut-striped chest.

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay is #BokehBirds - a bird with a soft, muted or blurry background. This is a Rock Ptarmigan in Hamn #Senja #Norway, near #Tromso. I was not feeling well on a hike and pulled off onto a rock slab to rest a bit and this little guy came to visit & we had a magical moment together. 🪶

A chicken/grouse-like bird, seen from behind with its head looking left. It has gray feathers in the process of changing to white for the winter. It has impressive red "eyeshadow" over its eye. Green lichen and gray rocks soften the background.

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

"The Divers" by Berthommé Saint-André (1930s). This piece really speaks to me.

Text from the 1stDibs online gallery where it is for sale: "'The Divers', oil on board affixed to stretcher, by Berthommé Saint-André (circa 1930s). A dynamic composition capturing swimmers in mid-dive at a countryside swimming pool, rendered in Berthommé Saint-André's characteristic vibrant, gestural style. Sun-warmed flesh tones, painted in confident sweeping strokes, contrast against a lush green landscape and cool turquoise water, with a diving platform and figures joyfully animating the background. The composition presents a bold diagonal charge with bodies stretched in motion across the picture plane, yet it maintains a naive quality about. Swimming pools and athletic leisure scenes became a hugely popular subject in French painting during the 1930s, partly spurred by the 1936"

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Silvery serene morning yesterday on Bon Tempe Lake #Marin #California with Mt Tamalpais in the background. #Photography

Still waters of a lake reflecting the clouds and blue sky. In the middle ground a redwood forest backed by the rolling slopes of Mt Tamalpais.

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Crazy spectacular #sunrise this morning. This is as we were exiting the condo to go on a hike. Larkspur #Marin #California #Photography #Stunday

Saturated orange and yellow clouds, with white and beige structures in the foreground.

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Seabirds with Alt theme #Airborne. Here's a twofer: a pair of Brown Pelicans flying in front of the Golden Gate Bridge on a blessedly foggy day #SanFrancisco #California 🪶

The base of one of the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge in the classic "International Orange" color. It is foggy. Two Brown Pelicans are passing in front, heading out to sea.

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

#BirdOfTheDay theme is #Pairs. Here's a lovely twosome of Great Flamingos in the #Camargue #Provence #France 🪶

A pair of pink flamingos, seen from the side facing opposite directions. The large one in the back is facing right and the feathers. on its back are ruffling in the breeze. The one in the foreground is smaller, facing left. They are really lovely.

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

It comes to my attention that today is #InternationalRabbitDay! Have a bunny. I think I snapped this on at Rodeo Lagoon #GGNRA #MarinHeadlands #California

A small gray bunny rabbit on a dirt path lined by summer-browned grasses.

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

At my art class, we were challenged to paint photorealistically and given a public domain photo to copy (Unsplash photo by Darius Žukasto). I did my best! #Watercolor #Gouache #ArtYear #OilPastel #Pastel #ColoredPencil

A painting of a large red apple. The Apple uses watercolor, gouache and colored pencil. The background is Sennelier oil Pastels and Caran d'Ache Aquarelle II water soluble pastels. Arches cold press, 12"x16"

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Reposted by iolanthe

Gaijin Mommy @gaijinmommy.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

welcome to the fall

Bright red higanbana in red sea of other equinox flowers against bokeh trees and dude I can’t unsee now that I just realized he’s there but oh well

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I love the abstract quality of this Mute Swan and its reflection. Las Gallinas #SanRafael #Marin #California 🪶

A sleeping Mute Swan, stretched out on green water, with neck twisted back into itself, head buried in feathers.

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

#BirdoftheDay is #Divers with alt theme of #BirdStare. This gannet works for both. The Internet describes the Gannet as a "spectacular aerial plunge diver." This one is at rest at Noup Head, Westray, #Orkney #Scotland 🪶

The wind-ruffled white neck and head of a Gannet emergin from a large cushion of pink sea thrift with cold gray ocean waters in the background. It has striking, pale ice-blue eyes facing the camera with a Paddington-style hard stare.

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

#BirdOfTheDay theme today is #Raptors. Here's a very handsome Verraux's Eagle Owl, part of the amazing Hawk and Owl Center at Mucaster Castle in the English Lake District. 🪶

The head and shoulders of an owl. The bird is facing the camera and is an overall buff color. It's eyes are hooded with salmon pink.

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

For today's #BirdOfTheDay theme, #Redhead #Redheads, I have an Pileated Woodpecker, hard at work. 🪶

A close-up of a Pileated Woodpecker with its bill buried deep inside a tree trunk. With no malar "mustache," it's a female. She has a bright red patch on her head, a thin neck and black shoulders.

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Completing High Holiday services is sort of like going through a minor medical procedure. You emerge better, but also feeling delicate and exhausted.

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

#BirdOfTheDay theme is #lightandshadow. I'm sure I've already posted this before, but it fits the theme so well. Great Blue Heron. 🪶

A Great Blue Heron, wings outstretched against a dark blue sky, flying left to right. Its wings in complete shadow, but its middle body is brightly lit.

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

#BirdOfTheDay theme is #lightandshadow. Here's a Snowy Egret, casting a shadowy light-filled reflection. 🪶

A Snowy Egret, seen from the rear, head bent down, in shallow water. It's reflection is black and backlit by the sun.

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Dang, there must have been 1000 people at Erev Yom Kippur/Kol Nidrei last night. Absolutely packed. I think a combo of post-Covid comeback plus Jews really feeling the need for community at this time. It was a beautiful service. Gmar tov and best wishes for an easy fast. 🕯️🕯️

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

So I guess Section 4 of the 25th Amendment was all just for show.

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay is #CaptionThatBird 🪶 When asked for comment, the Robin replied, "Mffm mfff mfffmmmf fff."

A photo of an American Robin, on leaf-covered ground, with a bill full of nesting material, completely obscuring its face.

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

This is a lovely and fascinating article about the items a Londoner found "gardenlarking" her 19th century home.

londonist.substack.com

Mudlarking at Home: Digging the Minor Treasures of a South London Garden

Gardenlarking?

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

"A spokesperson for Shetland Islands Council said the council had received a donation of WW1 items for an upcoming exhibition. 'Among them was a possible ordnance device.'" 😱

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iolanthe @iolantherosa.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Just found this great item in the obit of the artist AD Lucas: "He originated the famous controversy over the wax bust which Dr. Bode attributed to Leonardo da Vinci. Lucas proved the work was by his father, by showing that a pair of early Victorian trousers was used as the core of the wax."

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