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Laura Blanchard

@lblanchard.bsky.social
223 followers 300 following 303 posts

Retired. Consorts with librarians. Goes on stupid little daily walks. One husband, one [technically foster] cat. Lapsed Whovian, Tolkien nerd. Admirer of other people's gardens and plants. Lifelong Philadelphian except for some years spent in exile.

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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 12h
The sudden closure of the Academy of Natural Science was a gut punch. I went five times in September — all day for two of those times. But there’s a campaign to reopen it that includes stakeholders with clout. News reports and action steps at the link: save-the-academy.org
T-Rex and friends in Dinosaur Hall A young visitor views the bison diorama.Auditorium packed with attendees for a live animal programTinpsila (prairie turnip). Herbarium specimens — one collected by Lewis and Clark, the other by an ethnobotanist
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Reposted by Laura Blanchard
Michelle says: Be kind. Always. ❤️ @snarkysillysad.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Giving a tiny bird a helping hand: #AGoodPlace Source: www.reddit.com/r/MadeMeSmil...
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Doing my bit to save the Academy of Natural Sciences -- I went on Friday, joined the Academy to help bump their numbers, and am contacting my elected officials and other stakeholders. Without a concerted public effort, the country's oldest natural history museum will close at the end of the month.
Picture shows a Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton in Dinosaur Hall at the Academy of Natural Sciences. I understand that this is a cast but the Academy has the real deal i. Its collection of 19 million items.
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Oooooh...
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
I will bring popcorn for this lawsuit.
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
With Congress, having skedaddle and being disinclined to come back to cope with this, I suppose our only recourse is to call the White House comment line and register an opinion – which I just did. The number is 202-456-1111. I told them I would support any lawful action to invoke Article 25.
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Reposted by Laura Blanchard
Clare Moore @clarelmoore.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
Sneak peak for our first Big Read session: Erik Jampa Andersson on Tolkien’s “On Fairy-stories”! erikjampa.substack.com/p/tolkien-on...
erikjampa.substack.com
Tolkien On Fairy-stories
The Tolkien Society 'Big Read': Session 1
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
Her novel,The Ear Trumpet, merits reading and re-reading.
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
I screamed at my Congresscritters about Trump/Hegseth and war crimes, immigration, the despoliation of our public lands, and the Epstein files first thing this morning. Enjoy this photo of a magnolia blossom with solar flare as a palate-cleanser.
Photo of a deep pink magnolia.
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
I did my civic duty last weekend. I also scream at my Congresscritters on the regular.
Picture of me at the No Kings! Rally in Philadelphia on March 28, 2026, sitting on a Rollator and holding a sign that says “No Kings in America since 1776.”
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
I’m only sharing because Gritty is holding a gingko branch, honest!
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
I'm registered mobilize.us/s/BU4Ehc
mobilize.us
NO KINGS PHILADELPHIA · No Kings
**We have the power and are claiming it together. No Thrones. No Crowns. No Kings.** What began in 2025 as a single day of defiance has become a sustained national resistance to tyranny, spreading fr...
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Hey, Donnie-boy! You broke it, you fix it.
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Are you a friend, colleague, or admirer of the open access work of the late, great Will Noel? Nominate an open access project for the Noel Prize Award (deadline March 15). Details: pacscl.org/what-we-do/f...
Will Noel contemplates an unusual acquisition -- a short sword fabricated from a narwhal horn.
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
This is good stuff...
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
A cleanse for your feed as the level of political angst rises: my beautiful Hippeastrum 'La Paz,' a cybister hybrid, now opening on my windowsill. You're welcome.
Photo of Hippeastrum 'La Paz,' a cybister hybrid, with slender red and green tepals.
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
Proud non-user of this sinister device.
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
The signage is back at The President's House historic site. For now. share.inquirer.com/Wi6KW4
share.inquirer.com
How a Black history tour kept the story of the President’s House alive after the Trump administration tried to erase it
The National Park Service began restoring slavery exhibits at the President's House on Thursday, but in the last few weeks Philadelphians made sure the story was told despite the bare walls.
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
I want the hat! Unfortunately, it's out of stock -- for a preorder???
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
The only thing better than reading about the Supreme Court's tariff decision is reading about the reaction of that man in the White House.
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
Whoa.
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Reposted by Laura Blanchard
Omg. WTF is Happening? @lalahaenzy.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again. #Pinks #ProudBlue
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Welp, so much for my plan to order some red yarn...
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Awwww...
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
When I'm not doomscrolling, caregiving, preparing for the Flower Show, or protesting, there's always Tolkien. This online read-through of The Hobbit is definitely popcorn-worthy. The sessions are live-streamed on YouTube with recordings available later. www.rosenbach.org/programs/bib...
Photo of an iPad screen with Edward G. Pettit and Dr Sara Brown discussing Chapter Two of The Hobbit, with a bowl of popcorn in the foreground.
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
More opportunities to support the restoration of the President's House signage...
Poster of a rally in support of the restoration of signage at the president's house site: February 10, 2026, 3:30 PM, sixth and market Street in Philadelphia.
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
I signed the petition to restore the interpretive signage at the President's House, where George Washington Washington evaded Pennsylvania's gradual emancipation law. www.change.org/RestoreOurHi...
change.org
Sign the Petition
Tell The Truth: Restore the President’s House Slavery Memorial
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
What if we donated a penny?
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
The weather and the news are both frightful but the holiday cactus doesn't care.
Closeup of a shocking pink Schlumbergera truncata, showing several blooms in various stages of maturity.
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
Gift link: share.inquirer.com/VgnUJX
share.inquirer.com
Judge chastises Trump administration attorney in hearing over dismantled President’s House exhibits
The city wants the judge to order that no more exhibits be removed and that the already-removed exhibits be protected as the litigation continues.
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
The administration's removal of signage about slavery at the President's House in Philadelphia included a panel about the venerable Pennsylvania Abolition Society. Today they issued a statement. paabolition.org/presidents_h...
paabolition.org
Pennsylvania Abolition Society
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
I am stirred up about ICE, Trump's multifarious malefactions, and the attempt to erase George Washington's shenanigans over his enslaved house servants at Independence Park, but Buddy says he has a warm lap and all is well.
Close-up of the tabby cat known as Buddy staring imploringly at me from my lap. "Don't get up!" his green eyes beg me wordlessly. In the background: computer keyboard and other office paraphernalia.
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
DEADLINE APPLICATION: January 26, 2026 for Pennsylvania Abolition Society grants. Our gift to the snowbound: something to do between bouts of shoveling. Grab an electronic copy of your 501(c)(3) letter and think about what you might do with another $1,000 or so. Paabolition.org/grants.html
paabolition.org
Pennsylvania Abolition Society
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
Tar. Feathers. I comfort myself with the reality that although they take down the signs they cannot erase the history. George Washington was an enslaver who rotated his enslaved house servants between Philadelphia and Mount Vernon to avoid having them emancipated under Pennsylvania law.
inquirer.com
Here are the signs the Trump administration removed from Independence Park
Following last year’s review, every sign has been removed from the President’s House site.
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
This.
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Reposted by Laura Blanchard
Adam Schwarz @adamjschwarz.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Danish Parliament Deputy Speaker Lars-Christian Brask: "If I could come with some advice, it would be for the Senate & House to start to take control of political power in America because with this erratic & mad behaviour, you have to ask the question, is the President capable of running the US?"
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
I will scream at my Congresscritters about Greenland and Minnesota tomorrow. Meanwhile, I made a contribution via standwithminnesota.com.
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
Oooh...
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
I take this personally. Hobbii yarns is in Denmark. Mess with my knitting supplies and you have a real problem, Buster.
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
A military historian speaks…
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
Hwæt! Today I learned that by long-pressing d and t respectively on my iPhone I get ð and þ!
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Now that Meta is literally in bed with a Republican senator, it's time to spend more quality time on BlueSky. Buddy The Cat approves.
Picture of Buddy, an ordinary tabby cat in early old age, showing by his classic cat-loaf position and closed eyes, that I am no threat.
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Deadline extended to January 23 -- please share! Yes, the Pennsylvania Abolition Society is still around. Small grants, easy application process. Details here: paabolition.org/grants.html
Photo of the original Pennsylvania Abolition Society logo, showing a White Quaker gentleman taking an unshackled loincloth-clad Black man by the hand.
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Please share! Pennsylvania Abolition Society -- yes, it's still doing the work. Small grants available, easy application process, details at the link. paabolition.org/grants.html
paabolition.org
Pennsylvania Abolition Society -- grants
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 22/11/2025
“This Thanksgiving,experience the history of European settlers as never before…” There. Fixed it for you. I have prerevolutionary ancestors on both sides but, frankly, my more recent immigrant ancestors were much more interesting.
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 22/11/2025
Agreed.
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
Behold the Lemon Hill ginkgo. It shines like a beacon across the valley.
Picture of a tall ginkgo with golden leaves.Picture of a golden-leafed ginkgo and Lemon Hill Mansion, a country house built on a bluff overlooking the Schuylkill with an oval bay. It was built 1798-1800zPicture of leaf fall under the Lemon Hill ginkgo, a carpet of golden leaves.View of Lemon Hill Mansion and the ginkgo from the Faire Mount, site of the Philadelphia Art Museum (about a half mile away as the crow flies and a lot longer by automobile).
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
Philadelphia ginkgos. I stalk them when the leaves turn. They went extinct in the Americas years ago but I’m glad they’re back.
The OG North American ginkgo, at Bartram’s Garden, Philadelphia. Planted 1785. Male.Quince Street, Philadelphia.Ginkgo, Lemon Hill Mansion, Philadelphia.Ginkgo, possibly the oldest female in North America, at Grumblethorpe in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia. Not my photograph but I have seen the tree.
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Reposted by Laura Blanchard
Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
I do think yesterday’s results reinforced the dynamic that while much of the American leadership class is chickenshit, most of the electorate is not
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Laura Blanchard @lblanchard.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
Pennsylvania retained its three Supreme Court justices and I found a lost earring. All in all, a good day. In response to one of Trump's latest tantrums, we are donating to Philabundance to help local folks who lost food assistance benefits or have been furloughed by the shutdown, among others.
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