iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Parodia erubescens. This is the most the flower has opened. 🌵 #cactus

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

Got my first owl picture of the year today and it's...not good. #SticksHappen 🦉

The shape of a Barred Owl can be seen through a dense tangle of branches. It has a broad, round head and a wide body that tapers down to the tip. A few details of the owl's feathers can be seen through gaps in the branches.

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

Is it my fault my wife FaceTimed me showing me Walmart had restocked their rare succulent collection? What am I supposed to do, NOT drop everything and run to Walmart to engage in mostly uncontrolled succulent buying? #cactus #succulents 🌵

Two small boxes containing an assortment of 10 cacti and succulents of varying shapes, colors and textures sit on a wooden table

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

There was a 4.1 magnitude earthquake in Nebraska this afternoon, about 140 miles from my home in Omaha. First earthquake I have ever felt. #Nebraska #earthquake

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

It's mid-February here in Nebraska so, of course, here's my butterfly pic for the day. #butterfly #Insect🦋

A bright orange butterfly with its wings spread sunning itself among dead leaves and sticks. The butterfly has brown spots on the wings and brown wing edges

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

If an undocumented immigrant driving drunk and killing a woman is a reason we shouldn’t have undocumented immigrants, then a billionaire trafficking countless young women and girls for sex is a reason we shouldn’t have billionaires. #NoMoreBillionaires

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

Happy 180th birthday to my great-great-grandfather, Franklin R. Harris. Orphaned at 11, Frank somehow made his way from Michigan to Minnesota where he enlisted in the Minnesota Volunteer Infantry at age 15, serving in the Civil war until 1865. #FamilyHistory

An old civil war photo of a young man in a Union uniform. His dark jacket is slightly open at the bottom revealing a white shirt. They are six large yellow buttons down the center and a rectangle bordered in gold on his left shoulder. The background is sepia, showing its age. Courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society.

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

Kyle Rittenhouse had a semiautomatic rifle.

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

@ketv7.bsky.social It sure would be nice if, rather than acting as a spokesperson for LPD, you asked questions or challenged their statements.

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

Braved the cold and got out and did my first birding for the year. Highlight was getting my 100th bird in my third Nebraska county. Believe it or not, a House Finch. Lowlight was having an unleashed and unattended dog bark and run at me. Control your dogs, please. #birds #birding

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

Astrophytum asterias currently blooming on my cactus shelf. #Cactus #succulent 🌵

A round planter filled with multicolored gravel and several cacti, prominently featuring a blooming Astrophytum asterias in the foreground. Its yellow flower has a vivid red-orange center and a dense cluster of yellow stamens. The cactus body is green with white speckled patterns, and another non-blooming Astrophytum asterias sits nearby. The planter also contains other succulents and various larger stones, creating a textured, desert-like arrangement.

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

I found this Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle on a Gymnocalycium on my cactus shelf. Hopefully it hasn’t found something to eat but if it has, eat all you want little guy. 🌵 🐞

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

The Mammillaria gracilis I got a well ago is flowering and loaded with buds 🌵 🌸 #cactus #flower

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

It's 8:18PM as I sit and wait for a delivery of #succulents that is supposed to be delivered by 9:00 tonight. Was originally supposed to be here yesterday. Tomorrow morning it is going to be 27 degrees. 🌵😥

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 24/11/2025

Surprise! My wife and I just learned we are hosting Thanksgiving dinner for at least 12 people. We have 3 days to clean 500 square feet + one bathroom of our house.

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

My streak of checklists outside the state of Nebraska that do not include an owl has, mercifully, ended at 554. Great-horned Owl today at Sweetwater Wetlands in Tucson, Arizona. Record now stands at Nebraska - 5 species, The rest of the world - 1 species. #birds #birding #Owls 🪶 🦉

A Great-horned Owl sits on a tree branch, surrounded by other branches. The owl's back faces the camera with mostly gray feathers striped with black. The tail is short and somewhat brad with gray feathers with black bands the head is turned to the left revealing one dark, partly-closed eye. A ridge extends from the beak to the horn, which is long and pointed. A dark curved line surrounds the face from ear to neck form a facial disk.

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 12/09/2025

Got home this morning just in time to witness two hummingbirds fighting for control of the feeder apparently by means of an aerial dance-off. They danced around the feeder for a while until the inferior dancer flew off and the winner took her place on a branch above the feeder. 🪶

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 07/09/2025

I had an unobstructed view of this Green Heron, not more than 20' away. It didn't seem bothered by me stopping to take a few pics. 🪶 #Birding #Omaha

A Greeb Heron perches on a branch over some murky water. The bord is oval shaped with a long, pointed bill. Its wings are greyish green, some with yellow edges. legs are yellow with long feet and long, curved claws tightly gripping the branch. Cheeks and throat are a rusty color with a patch of white just below the bill.

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

No fewer than 28 Common Nighthawks on the walk through the neighborhood this evening. Last week there were none. #BirdingNebraska. #FallMigration 🪶

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 16/08/2025

Not one but two mantids at the blacklight tonight. #insects #BackyardBlacklighting

A green mantis on a blue wall. The mantis has a long slender body which thins at the thorax. The head is triangular with large dark eyes and long, thin antenna. Hind two pair of legs are long and thin. Front pair have swollen femurs with claw-like tibia for grasping prey

A brown mantis on a blue wall. Hind two pair of legs are green.

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 11/08/2025

A Monarch butterfly was laying eggs on Honeyvine Milkweed in my garden. 🦋 #Butterfly #Insects #Omaha

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

Yesterday, my wife texted me a picture of a bird that was perching on a ledge outside the window of her office building and it was a nighthawk! Of course, I ran out there as soon as I could and got my own pictures. 🪶 #Birds #BirdingOmaha

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 20/07/2025

There was a young Green Iguana on my in-law's pool enclosure. I snapped a few pics and they asked me if I wanted to see some big ones. They took me to a spot a few blocks away that was crawling with them. 🦎 #Lizards #Reptiles

A young Green Iguana clings to a screen. The lizard is bright green with a red eye. Its hind legs have much longer toes than the front. the long whip-like tail is banded with darker green.

A Large Green Iguana rests on some rocks. The lizard is brown with some dull green on the underside and darker banding on the tail. There are spiny ridges on the throat and back. The eye is brownish-orange.

A green Iguana rests on a bank near water. The lizard is green with a stout tail, banded in black. There is a row of spines down the back and on the throat. There is a large circular structure where the head meets the throat.

A Green Iguana rests on a rock. The lizard is mostly green but blotched with pale black. A row of spines extends from the back of the head to the base of the tail, becoming shorter approaching the tail. Arow of shorter spines is visible from the lower jaw to the throat. There is a fold of green skin behind the head.

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

Common Gallinule chick - Peaceful Waters Sanctuary, Wellington Florida. 🪶 #BirdsofFlorida

A Gallinule chick stands on a Duckweed covered pond. The chick is oval-shaped and covered in black fuzz. The top of the head is bare and reddish orange. The top base of the bill is red with the remainder orange. Legs are black and almost as long as the width of the body. The feet are almost as long as the legs with three prominanent forward facing toes. The pond is completely covered with small floating green leaves.

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

First Lifer of this year's Florida Trip - Roseate Spoonbill 🪶 #BirdsofFlorida

A Roseate Spoonbill walks up a grassy slope. The bird has a stout pink body, long, thick white neck and a long, dull-yellow bill which resembles a flat spoon. Legs are red and long with long, dark toes.

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 28/06/2025

Probably the largest moth I’ve ever had at my backyard blacklight, this Underwing Moth. Maybe Ilia Underwing? 🦋 #Moths #insects #BackyardBlacklightung.

A large grayish-brown moth one blue wall. The moth is medium brown with a light grey band through the center of each wing forming a shallow V. There is a dark brown hourglass shape between the light grey band and the we ing edge. A small speck of the pink underwing is visible where the two forewings meet. Wingspan is about 50mm

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

One of the two Buttonbushes I planted last year is finally starting to bloom. A small hover fly stopped by for a visit. #NativeGardening #Pollinators.

A single Buttonbush bloom against its green oval-shaped foliage The bloom is white and round with many stiff white filaments radiating from it.

Another bloom, less compact and globe shaped with thicker more yellow structures radiating from it. A Small fly wit a yellow abdomen and relatively large red eyes rests on it

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 15/06/2025

Got myself a late birthday present with this Elephant’s Foot - Dioscorea elephantipes. Native to South Africa, the woody tuberous stem stores water to help the plant survive harsh summers. 🌱 #CaudexPlants #Succulents #Houseplants

An Elephant’s Foot plant sits in a square, green nursery pot. The plant consists of a bulbous, woody tuber with a single vine emerging from the tip. The vine has alternating heart-shaped leaves.

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 13/06/2025

I saw this insect on a door at work today. At first I thought it was a small parasitic wasp. On closer inspection, it’s a moth, specifically, a Maple Callus Borer moth. 🦋 #Insects

A close-up image of a Maple Callus Borer moth resting on a pale background. The moth has narrow, transparent wings with distinctive black markings and fringed edges. Its slender, dark body is banded and elongated, with a fan-shaped tuft at the tip. It has long, curved, slightly thickened antennae that arch outward. The moth’s wasp-like appearance is typical of clearwing moths in the Sesiidae family.

An oblique view of the Maple Callus Borer moth. This views shows off the long pointed mouthparts, as well as the dense feathery fringe of the hind wing

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 07/06/2025

After an exhausting month of work and birding I decided to take today off from birding and, boy, I'm glad I did. Yard bird #65 and FOY Yellow-billed Cuckoo. #BackyardBirding #Nebraska 🪶 🐦

A Yellow-billed Cuckoo sits atop a Burning Bush against the backdrop of a grayish-brown cement wall. The bird's head appears above the top of the foliage revealing a black eye, brown head and back and white throat and breast. The bill is long and curves slightly downward. It is predominantly yellow with a thin black upper edge that broadens a bit towards the tip.

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 31/05/2025

My Domino Cactus bloomed sometime last night. Flower was fully open this morning and is now almost closed. The single bloom seems to have oriented itself towards the setting sun. 🌵 #Cactus #Houseplant

A Domino cactus with a single bloom. The cactus is barrel-shaped and encircled with ridges, each with a row of white tufts forming spots similar to those on dominos. The flower is all white with a yellow center. It is in a long green stalk. The cactus is planted in a terra cotta pot with small multicolored stones as a top dressing.

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 25/05/2025

I took 56 pictures of Black Terns today, all of them terrible. This was the best one. They were stationary but far away. 🐦🪶 #Birding #Nebraska

5 Black Terns perch on the remains of a dead tree that is surrounded by water. The terns have gray wings and black heads.

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

I took the Snake Plant I’ve been growing in water for the last four months out to clean out the algae and it’s grown four pups since I planted it. 🌱 #Houseplants

A Snake plant with bare roots. The yellow edged green leaves are arranged in whorls with one main whorl at he center and three progressively smaller whorls around it. Roots are mostly orange.

The same Snake plant planted in a glass vase. The base is filled with small black stones and water fills the vase up to the level of the leaves.

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

Last year was a terrible year for snakes, meaning I didn’t see any, so I was super-excited today to see these two Dekay’s Brown Snakes in the process of making more Dekay’s Brown snakes. 🐍 #snakes #AccidentalHerper

Two small brown snakes intertwined on a grassy lawn.

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

Native Golden Alexander -Zizia aurea blooming in my garden. A great plant for early pollinators and host plant for Black Swallowtail butterflies. 🌱 #NativeGardening

Green stems with serrated lanceolate leaves and clusters of tiny yellow flowers.

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 20/04/2025

First Nebraska herp of the year. American Bullfrog - Bellevue, Nebraska 🐸 #Frogs

"An American Bullfrog sits partially submerged in water, its robust, muscular body blending into the murky shallows. Its smooth, greenish-brown skin glistens with moisture, mottled with darker speckles that offer natural camouflage. The large, round golden eyes, encircled by a thin black ring, bulge from the sides of its broad head, giving it a vigilant appearance. Below its eyes, the tympanic membranes—flat, circular eardrums—are clearly visible. A thick ridge extends from the back of the eye and curves down the back of the head.

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 20/04/2025

Always nice when Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs appear in the same frame. 🐦 #Birds #Birding #Nebraska

A Greater Yellowlegs and Lesser Yellowlegs wade in shallow water. Both birds have mottled brown wings and back, white underparts, long thin bills and long yellow legs. The Greater Yellowlegs(Left) is a bit bigger and has a longer, slightly upturned bill. The Lesser Yellowlegs(right) is smaller and has more mottling on the throat and breast.

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

Native Serviceberry and Eastern Redbud blooming in my garden right now. 🌸 #NativeGardening

White five pet sled Serviceberry flowed blooming in woody branches.

A small serviceberry tree. A single woody trunk with lateral branches covered in delicate white flowers

An Eastern Redbud tree. Multiple branches near the base give rise to numerous small pink flowers.

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 12/04/2025

Was watering some bushes in the yard and nearly missed this beautiful Grapevine Epimenis Moth. 🦋 #Insects #Moth

A black, triangular moth with two white mitten-shaped patches near the rear of the forewings and two red rectangular patches near the rear of the hindwings. The moth is perched on a bed of shredded leaves.

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 10/04/2025

My first #BackyardBlacklighting of the season last night. There were a ton of small midges but only one moth. I'm pretty sure this is in Orthosia, probably O. hibisci 🦋 #Insects #Moths

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 06/04/2025

Was cleaning up my native pollinator garden and realized for the first time that Cup Plant stems are almost perfectly square 🌱 #NativeGardening

A side view of a Cup Plant stem lying in the grass. The stem is woody an has corners which are keeled a bit.

A top view of as cut Cup Plant stem. The end is square and reveals a hold down the center which is also square.

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 05/04/2025

The African Violet leaf propagation I started almost four months ago is finally starting to put out new growth. I’m going to put it back in its greenhouse until it’s a bit bigger. 🌱 #Houseplant #Propagation

An African Violet propagation planted in a small black plastic pot. The plant consists of a single mature leaf with several tiny leaves emerging from the soil near the base. The main leaf is heart shaped, green, and covered with fine short hairs. An angular notch is missing from the margin. It is on a thick purplish petiole which is about the same length as the leaf. The soil is black and peppered with white pieces of perlite

The propagation has been returned to it’s Ziplock bag to retain moisture while the small plantlets continue to grow

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

Nonnative Vinca minor flowering in my garden right now. I tried ripping it out a few years ago but it keeps coming back. 🌸 #Gardening

A five-petaled purple flower. One petal is mostly obscured by a small green oval leaf.

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 29/03/2025

Native Prairie Willow in flower in my backyard. Unlike the non-native Pussy Willow, this is attracting pollinators 🌸 #NativeGarden

Up close image if Prairie Willow flower. The flower consists of a central stem with many white filaments radiating from it. Each filament is topped in yellow with several tipped in reddish brown

A Prairie Willow branch with several flowers. Mist of the filaments are plain with a few tipped in reddish brown.

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

Yesterday’s blizzard knocked out my electricity, possibly until Monday, so I packed up a third of my #Houseplants and took them to the office to stay warm. The rest will have to tough it out. 🌱 #BlizzardBlackout 🤞

A black plastic tote filled with various plants. The tote is illuminated by a headlamp. The shadow of my head and headlamp is visible in the scene.

The black plastic tote is partially unpacked. Some plants are still in the tote, others are crowded on top of a small wooden file cabinet.

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

Saw a number of these Comma butterflies on the trail today. Hard to believe these trails could be under 6" of snow tomorrow. 🦋 🤷‍♂️ 🌨️ #Insects

An orange butterfly poses with wings open on some leaf litter. The butterfly has black spots on the wings and dark margins with a row of light orange spots down each wing. The outer margin of the hind wings is a thin pale violet. The body is a fuzzy brown.

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Keith Roragen @keithroragen.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

I was going to save buying my 50th #Houseplant for something cool but I found a Lowe’s with actual bargains in their clearance section. Maybe that Air Plant is dead but at least I get the doggy planter for $1. 🌱

Two plants sit on an open laptop. One is an Air Plant in a small Dachshund-shaped planter. The other is collection of 3 succulents in a small black pot. The Air Plant is very small and is a cluster of slender pale-green leaves. Is it dead? We shall see. The planter is made of black, glazes ceramic. The succulents are clusters of fleshy green leaves of various shades. The pot is ceramic and decorated with evergreen trees painted in gold around the outside. A bit odd for a pot of succulents.

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