iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

🌿☕ Morning🌞 It was my daughter's birthday over the Summer. At school a friend presented her with 👇 crafted with little Ferrero Rocher inside 🥰 so clever! Ferrero invented the chocolates, adding Rocher after the Roman Catholic shrine at Lourdes Rocher de Massabielle Rocher being French for rock 🪨

Home made bouquet 💐 with 3 little pink crafted roses nestled in a display of ferrero rocher chocolates all wrapped up in a cream and gold paper wrap with a gold bow

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

9/11 today. A day of perspectives. A day that defined my husband's life. 3 tours of Iraq. A day that defined many more. I won't add to that, we all know or can suppose what that can do to anyone or any community or any world order. Failed politique is the phrase I continue to use. Policians look in.

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

🌿☕ According to John Suler’s "Online Disinhibition Effect" we drop filters online due to lack of eye contact & anonymity, breaking our natural ability for empathy 🤗 Thankfully few people argue with me over plants & flowers 💐 #bekindalways

"Life is short.
Make sure you spend as much time as possible on the internet arguing with strangers"

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

🌿☕ Dolly Parton wrote Jolene on the same day that she wrote I Will Always Love You Wowsers That's like the day I made this victoria sponge & this sherry trifle RIP to one of the best philanthropic musicians ever 🤟✨ rest in peace my lovely 🌹

Victoria sponge, on a plate made by me. Few strawberries on top

Base of sherry (has to be sherry) trifle in the making

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

🌿☕ Medusa, granddaughter of the Earth (Gaia) & the Ocean (Oceanus) Medusa comes from Ancient Greek Médousa for guardian, protectress or ruling one One look could turn people to stone The ancient Greeks & Romans used her face on shields, armour & doorways scaring away evil spirits & bad luck 🐍💐

Medusa at the Basilica Cistern, Istanbul. The architecture at the cistern is largely constructed of much older Greek/Roman temples and building likely thousands of years old, despite being a water source for the Byzantine/Ottoman residents

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

🌿☕ Corn on the cob always has an equal number of rows 🌽 🌽 Usually 16 On particularly hot summer nights, fast growing stalks creak loudly as they stretch Something I find strangely familiar.. #nature #food #nutrition #aging

Corn on the cob street food vendor. Brightly coloured yellow 💛 choice of bbq or boiled

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

🌿☕ All the wonderful eclipse 🌙 photos.. Well this was mine.. I would just like to thank Oslo for the show 🥳😂 Nice driving back last night to Cheltenham after the #coolcation I was greeted by the Perseids ✨ ⭐ ✨ Didn't get a photo of them either 💃🕺💃🥳⭐

Eclipse behind clouds.. honestly rubbish 😂

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

🌿☕ Some houses in Norway have grass roofs (torvtak) Dating back to prehistoric times they were used by Vikings Historically farm goats used to be allowed to climb up & graze to keep the them trimmed I've just trimmed mine with kitchen scissors✂️😂🌿 I'm unsure how this would go down in Cheltenham..

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

🌿☕ Highland cudweed/ Norwegian arctic cudweed 🌿 Cudweed derives from the middle English cudde (cud: the food cattle regurgitate to chew) Historically, farmers believed eating it could help cure cattle that had stopped ruminating) 🐮🥛 Amoozing 💥 #bloomscrolling #nature @susiedentwords.bsky.social

highland cudweed or Norwegian arctic cudweed tall green plant native to Norway and rare in Scottish regions

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

🌿☕ The beautiful brimstone butterfly 🦋 camouflaged cleverly on a leaf❤️🌿 The brimstone lives up to 12 months unlike many other butterflies It survives freezing winter temperatures by storing glycerin, which acts as a natural antifreeze in its body enabling it to "wake up" at first warmth🦋🌿 #nature

Brimstone butterfly wings folded to the underside camouflaged by alder leaf .. super clever adaptation 🌿❤️🇳🇴 taken in Telemark, Norway

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

#VoteBinface #Clacton British politics is never dull, our next Boatymcboatface 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧 🌿🌿🌿🌿

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

🌿☕ Norway is home to c. 211 bee species 🐝 172 wild solitary bees 35 bumblebees .. & domesticated honeybees It also has a conservation programme for the Nordic brown bee Oslo pioneered a 🐝 highway network of rooftop gardens to protect urban pollinators 🌺🌿 #bees #norway #pollinators #autumnhawkwit

Bumble bee on a yellow autumn hawkbit head, not to be confused with dandelion!

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

🌿☕ Had a lovely walk along Kvitåvatn lake near Gaustatoppen. I saw many large fluffy white reindeer lichen They only grow a little over 3mm a year - it is an air quality spy, absorbing air pollution & dying off when the air is toxic Not only is this old but it is a measure of Norwegian clean air❤️🇳🇴

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

🌿☕ Waved pom poms on our local mountain #gaustatoppen this weekend 1st & 2nd Norseman Xtreme triathlon for 🇳🇴🇬🇧 Jump off a ferry in Eidfjord over 226 kilometers, 3.8 km swim, 180 km bike ride, 42.2 km run, over 5,000 meters elevation #alistairbrownlee #kristiangrue #ruthastle #norseman #xtri

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

🌿☕ Morning 🌞 Red admirals 🦋 are common because the caterpillars eat nettles, abundant almost everywhere The males guard territory c.30x per hr. If you see 2 fluttering & looping, they aren't playing or dancing ⚔️ Females mate with boys that maintain territory so they need to keep up the action!🐛🦋🌿

Red Admiral butterfly 🦋 in the scrub on the edge of woodland Birdlip, Gloucestershire

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

🌿☕Pre football post🥳 We are blessed in Cheltenham & surrounds with beautiful places to walk. Today I went to Crickley Hill, Birdlip🌲 I was intrigued to seen Robin's pincushion, the Bedeguar Gall. Not a plant part, but created chemically by the wasp Diplolepis rosae to grow its developing larvae🐛🐝🌿

Not a true flower at all.. but a rose gall often tied to Robin Goodfellow (also known as Puck from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream) or Robin Hood. In English herbal medicine, the gall was dried, ground up, or hung around the neck as a folk remedy to treat whooping cough or toothaches. As to whether it worked 🤔

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

🌿☕A Kakistocracy is government by the worst least qualified, most unscrupulous people First used in the C17th century from the Greek kákistos & krátos Bees govern through decentralized democracy The Queen's job is to lay eggs, but power & decision making is with the collective of female worker 🐝s

Bumble bee on a large red poppy head. Exemplars of matriarchal decentralised democratic government

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

🌿☕ Good morning 🌞 Plenty of butterflies 🦋 on the wing in the UK heat 🌞🌞🌞 scorchio 🌞🌞🌞 This is a gatekeeper or a hedge brown as it likes scrubby areas & can be found, yes, near farm gates.. Females lay between 100 & 200 eggs, usually in the shade or somewhat bizarrly ejecting eggs into the air 🌬️🍃

Gatekeeper butterfly, wings closed on a partially eaten bright green cherry tree leaf

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

🌿☕ This can only happen in the UK That is why I love this country, it's the quirks, the tea, the biscuits, and inevitably... the popcorn 🍿 🍿 🍿 #clacton #binface #government #democracy @countbinface.bsky.social

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

🌿☕ Good morning🌞 Wild flowers, weeds, whatever you call them.. I often leave them in the garden - a weed can be life giving for others For example ragwort, survives the heat & gives a home to the cinnabar moth caterpillar which turns into my favourite moth that we playfully call Darth Maul💥🌿

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

🌿☕ Good Morning🌞 Bumblers, after labradors & hover flies are my favourite garden companions after my husband of course when he brings me tea Bees 🐝 even have facial expressions www.keysnews.com/news/nationa... And are adept at the box & banana problem www.theguardian.com/environment/... #beekind

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

🌿☕ Morning ☀️ Lots of coffee required this morning.. Saturday becomes a tricky one for me England v Norway, would have preferred them not to meet 💥🇳🇴🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Today I am going to pin back some roses & don my "long gloves" to remove brambles.. Have a lovely day 🌹 🌹 🌹 #bloomscrolling #hangover #football

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

🌿☕ A big & beautiful good luck from me to Norway today in the World Cup 🇳🇴⚽ Did you know Norway is the only country to have never been beaten by Brazil 🇧🇷⚽ winning 2 & drawing 2 of their men's international football games Lykke til, og ro, ro, ro!! 💥💥💥 #football #haaland #scandinavia

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

🌿☕ I enjoyed the Bergs v Fery match at Wimbledon today 🎾 Reminded me of an old use of yarrow to heal wounds & stop bleeding, in the 16th century the crushed leaves were used to stop nosebleeds & literally known as the nose bleed plant! Best of luck Arthur, you played a blinder💥 #tennis

Yarrow - millefolium, white heads in summer sun

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

🌿☕ Morning☀️ Crocosmia 'Lucifer'👿 It's European name comes from Greek krokos (saffron) & osme (smell). When the crushed leaves or flowers are steeped in water, they emit a strong saffron aroma In it's native South Africa they are known as umlunge & udwendweni (isiZulu) & khalal-ea-bokone (Sesotho)

Bright red crocosima in the morning sun surrounded by green and rear ceramic pots

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

🌿☕ ☀️ day today in Cheltenham, my car attracted this lovely fat moth🦋 There are many moths on the wing currently, not all nocturnal Moths outnumber butterflies by 10:1, with over 160,000 species these ancient insects, outdating dinosaurs are vital pollinators, some species more efficient than bees🐝

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

🌿☕ Morning☀️ Spiders weren't always spiders: They used to be loppe in middle English or lobbe meaning something that dangles or jumps or attercop, meaning poison-head, my favourite is gangewifre "a weaver as he goes" This, however is just scary😱👇 www.newscientist.com/article/2532...

newscientist.com

The world's fastest spider tops 3.5 metres per second

The most comprehensive database ever compiled of how fast arachnids can run has shown how leg anatomy and evolutionary history influence spiders’ running speed

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

🌿☕ Calendula derives from Latin calendae meaning little calendar or clock It has many mythological properties such as the ability to strip a witch of her will!🧹 Placing it under the bed is said to offer protection from thieves & induce dreams if you've been robbed so you can identify the culprit 🚨

Bright yellow calendula, often known as pot marigold, in the sunshine

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

🌿☕ Finally found out the meaning to WTF What tomfoolery There. Fixed it. Have a lovely day 🪻 ☀️😎🌿

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

🌿☕ Phew 🥵 today... Done my bit for nature & put up an RSPB swift box Shockingly swifts are red listed with a 70% population drop between 1995 & 2024 with only 40,000 breeding pairs in the UK left @hannahbournetaylor.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social @rspbengland.bsky.social #cheltenham #birds

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

🌿☕ I don't normally do this but I am going to signpost a bit of a girl crush after having watched Hannah Bourne-Taylor on Clarkson's farm Season 5, Episode 7 Amazon Prime Do follow, she's awesome 😎 🕊️ 🐦 @hannahbournetaylor.bsky.social Makes Merlin Bird ID look pedestrian 😂💥🌿

Red kite in front of my Victorian rose wall

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

🌿☕ Morning🌞 I'm so happy with this 📸 a climbing rose I dug by my fence is festooned with flowers & hover flies 🐝 colours are beautiful & the sheen on those wings😍 Don't be fooled by the wasp stripe, its Batesian mimicry, where a harmless species imitates a dangerous one to trick predators Clever🤓

Hover fly in the head of a climbing rose

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

🌿☕Black Jack, buckhorn, cat's cradle chimney-sweeps, cock grass, cocks, dog ribs, English plantain, headsman, hen plant, jack straws, kemps seed, klops, knock-heads, lamb's tail, leechwort, narrow-leaved plantain, ram's tongue, rat tail, ribgrass, ribwort, ripple grass, windles, lllwynhidydd Phew💥🌿

Plantago in garden scrub area. 3 stems with poppies in the background

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

🌿☕ 5 years on & I have my 1st mulberry! Even it's Latin name Morus comes from morón, Greek for slow😂 William J Bean a curator of Kew Gardens said.. "Nothing gives to a garden fortunate enough to possess it a greater sense of old world charm & dignity than a rugged old mulberry standing on a lawn" 🌿

A mulberry in the morning sunshine betwixt green leaves!

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

🌿☕ Morning 🌞 This 📸 was once a warm, shallow tropical sea during the Jurassic Period 178-166m yrs ago.. but it is changeable cooler weather today #cheltenhamracecourse Supported hubby yesterday at #cheltenhamrunningfestival & doing what I do best 📸 beautiful self seeded oxeye daisies! Joyful 🥰🤗

Cheltenham racecourse with oxeye daisies in the foreground and cleeve escarpment in the rear

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

🌿☕ A very good morning🌞 Genomic studies suggest the oldest roses from 30-40 million years ago were yellow with a single row of petals, with pinks coming next millions of years later through natural genetic mutation Whilst human have adapted many varieties the yellows & pinks give so much joy🌹🌹🌹

Yellow rose growing up a cottage red brick wall

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

🌿☕The oxeye daisy: Dedicated to Artemis, Greek goddess of the moon🌙 staying open at night unlike it's smaller lawn cousin, known also as 🌙 penny or 🌙 daisy The game "He loves me, he loves me not" began with the Oxeye Daisy Used by 🐝 🦋 🐜 🪲 it serves a pivotal ecological function I definitely 💕 it!

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

🌿☕ What do you think this delphinium looks like 🐬? Yup, a dolphin The word delphinium comes from the Ancient Greek delphínion or delphis 🐬 Botanists including Carl Linnaeus, adopted the New Latin genus name as the spurred shape of the unopened flower buds resemble a dolphin's nose or curved body🌊

Blue delphinium in a garden bed in the sunshine surrounded by green 💚

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

🌿☕ Poppies .. everywhere in Gloucestershire at the moment & just glorious The word poppy originates from the Old English or Anglo Saxon word popig Popig, a glorious & wonderful word for you to enjoy along with my popigs 🐖 🐷 🐖 💐🌸💐🤗

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

🌿☕ I don't know who did this, but whoever you are thank you. It is genius 🍄 😂 💥

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

🌿☕ Deeply saddened to read Anthony Head has died. Gave great joy to not only my generation but my daughter's too as the re runs of Buffy took hold for her generation. For me, always the Gold Blend man ☕♥️ Rest in peace and fly your wings 💗

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

🌿☕ With very many thanks to @plantlifeuk.bsky.social for opening the door for me to happily walk through every year - 4th year now and seeing things like this in my lawn fills me with joy 💃 #NoMowMay just very lovely really 🌿 #bloomscrolling #nature #gardening

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

🌿☕ An adult ladybird 🐞 can eat 50 to 60 aphids a day, eating up to 5,000 aphids over a lifetime Impressively, a hungry ladybird larva can eat between 100 & 400 aphids a day whilst growing Natures natural pesticide.. Keep going kids xx 🤗 ♥️🐞 #nature #environment #gardening #cotswolds #ladybug

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

🌿☕ Morning🌞 Roses are out out!! 🥂 Sending floriography love for 35 million years 🌹 ♥️: Romance, deep love, desire & passion 🤍: Purity, innocence, reverence & new beginnings 🩷: Gratitude, joy, grace & admiration 💛: Jealousy or friendship, joy & warmth 🧡: Enthusiasm, fascination & desire Enjoy 💃🌹🌹🌹

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

🌿☕Paeon, student of Asclepius god of medicine & healing, discovered uses of the peony root after Leto the goddess of fertility told him it soothed childbirth pain Asclepius threatened to jealously kill him. To save him Zeus turned him into a peony 🌺 so he could continue to alleviate childbirth pain

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

🌿☕ Glorious Butterflies are out out, on the wing in the heat.. the Painted Ladies are all a go after all the blues were flying earlier in the month They have a fondness for my purple erysimum wallflowers Did you know wallflowers are related to Brussel Sprouts? 🌱 🌿❤️🌸

Open wing painted lady butterfly on a purple wallflower

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

🌿☕ Here in the UK, it is "Patterdale Terrier Hot"🔥🔥🔥🥵🌞🌞🌞🌞 Do: Dampen fur with cool water, use a fan or place cool ice packs wrapped in towels on their armpits groin & the back of their neck Hose water 💦 play can help too.. & please, don't walk on hot pavements.. they have paws for shoes.. 🐶

Patterdale terrier flat out in the heat on a lap

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

🌿☕ Ooh Series 2 Celebrity Traitors line up. Our family fave!!! ADORE #RichardEGrant 🌿🌿🌿 fellow Cotswolds resident xx

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Justsmudge @justsmudge.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

🌿☕Happy bright day😊 Originally known in China as Zi Ten or Blue vine, Wisteria was named after Caspar Wistar in the C19th. Friend to Thomas Jefferson, with whom he worked to id bones of the megalonyx 🦖 He also developed a set of human remains preserved by injecting with wax 🩻😲 This is prettier 🌿💃

Wisteria vine through a metal gate. Ethereal secret garden somewhere is Cheltenham..

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