iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Other shots when I returned later.

A large green European praying mantis clings to the side of a planter.

A large green European praying mantis sits on a cream colored stucco wall.

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Unexpected visitor on the door this morning.

A large green praying mantis sitting on a wooden door.

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

I saw whales and so many dolphins today! Maybe you need to see a baby dolphin.

Four dolphins swim through the water, three of them leaping out of the water. One pair is a mother with a baby dolphin leaping alongside.

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Every morning she waits to eat breakfast until I'm having my own breakfast with her. This is the "what's taking you so long?" look. She will occasionally eat a piece or two, the way you eat a French fry off your plate when you're waiting for others to get their food.

A German Shepherd sits with a bowl of food between her front paws, staring back at the camera.

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

An entertaining reminder of the sort of efforts we used to have to make to play video games at home.

A clip of an old video game manual. It reads: "BEFORE YOU START If you purchased a cassette version of Crush, Crumble, and Chomp! when was the last time you cleaned and demagnetized the heads on your cassette player and checked to see if they were properly aligned? If your answer is "Never" or "Not recently," it would be a good idea to get those things done NOW."

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

My dog wants to go in and out more times than a cat. The problem is that he pounds on the door so loudly that it's impossible to ignore.

A giant long haired German Shepherd Husky mix stands on his hind legs, paws against a muddy glass door. Not pictured is the thunderous pounding he is making, terrifying everyone in earshot.

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

I mean, this is my most recent photo of the other one...

Behind the edge of the could, two tan dog feet and a fluffy tail stick out. The dog is clearly lying on its back, legs splayed out.

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Hello, excuse me, I can't help but notice you seem to be enjoying that chicken.

A German Shepherd peeks around the corner of a dining room table, smiling up at the camera.

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Did you happen to read the Pope's encyclical on AI? I am not in the habit of reading much by the pope, but I was skimming it and I was struck by the following passage. AI seems to me the most extreme and latest attempt to paint human efforts as a mere means to achieve end goals, rather than the...

"The pursuit of greater profits cannot justify choices that systematically sacrifice jobs, because the human person is an end, not a means, and the economic order must remain subordinate to human dignity and the common good."

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

post the best picture you have ever taken of your pet:

A black shepherd husky mix stares open mouthed at the camera. His appearance is disturbing, and easily mistaken for AI though this is all too real. His left eye is brown. His right eye is blue. Even though he is staring head on at the camera, somehow his nose is pointing off to the left side of the frame. One upper fang is exposed in a lopsided snarl. His tongue is flying out of his face like a weird twisted banner. He looks like a strange warped pet that you might wonder why you adopted as you stare at the photo in horror.

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

I saw thousands of velellas on the shore of the Central Coast of California today. Apparently they usually come upwards in spring to follow the rising nutrient rich water, but because they are easily washed ashore. Warming ocean waters only increases the likelihood of this happening.

A blue velella sits on a sandy shore. It looks like a lump of flat blue jelly with a transparent plastic-like fin protruding from the top.

A picture of a pile of blue velella washed up on the shore.

A picture of the shoreline. At first glance it looks like small black rocks are spread all along the shore. A closer look shows they are thousands of washed up velella.

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

I took this less than two hours ago. It has already left the nest.

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

The baby hummingbirds are going to fly away anytime now. Once they get to where most of their body is out of the nest, they're usually gone in a day or two. They really go from 0 to 100 immediately, there isn't much in the way of test flights.

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

Baby hummingbird timeline cleanse.

Two baby hummingbirds poking their heads out of a nest. The one on the right looks right at the camera with a round black eye.

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

I see them occasionally on the California coat.

A velella sitting in sea foam on a sandy shore.

A velella perched on a pile of tubular brownish orange kelp.

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

The latest batch of baby hummingbirds in front of the house. They are gaping their beaks a lot in the heat.

Two little beaks poking upwards from a hummingbird nest sitting at the end of a flimsy branch.

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Outside the post office was a payphone, itself a work of a more modern artist. I like finding the traces of art left in the world, and seeing the New Deal art is a great reminder of how much support the government is capable of providing - to artists and to provide art for the community.

A public pay phone. Above the keypad is a sign saying Wind Phone. Below the keypad is a poem:
"This phone will never ring
It carries your message on the wind
Say hello, goodbye
Say I love you, I miss you
Words you wish you had said
Words you wish you could say"

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Lately I've been interested in finding the buildings and artwork commissioned by the government during the New Deal. Many murals were made for post offices where they could be seen by the community. This particular one represents the transition of California from the Spanish to Americans. 1/2

A mural on a wall rendered in oil paints. A Native American woman wearing skins and feathers is in the bottom left, grinding corn in a bowl. Above her is a stagecoach. Men in suits and hats ride on top of the coach with women in dresses within. A robed priest speaks to them from outside the coach. On the right side of the painting, another robed priest walks next to a herd of goats. The background is brightly colored green and light brown hills with a Spanish mission on the right.

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

My kiddo was asked to describe the mating habits of tilapia for school and produced this excellent comic. #SciArt

A comic with tilapia fish. One has a backwards baseball cap, the other a bow and lipstick.
Panel 1: "Waddup. I'm Tad the Tilapia."
Panel 2: "I have this huge crush on this girl Stacy."
Panel 3: "But she's way out of my league."
Panel 4: "Today's the day. I'm gonna ask her out."
Panel 5: Stacy: "Uh, sure I guess... Meet me at the park after school." (Cartoon of Tad freaking out.)
Panel 6: "She said yes! I'm so happy I decide to eat a few of my roommates."
Panel 7: "After the park, we head back to my crib and I impress her with my hole digging skills."

A comic with tilapia fish. One has a backwards baseball cap, the other a bow and lipstick.
Panel 1: "Hey, I'm Stacy the tilapia."
Panel 2: "Right now, I'm chilling with my new BF Tad. He's digging a hole."
Panel 3: (Tad is wearing a bowtie and Stacy has a white veil.) "Even though we've only been dating for an hour and a half, we decide to get married and have kids."
Panel 4: "I lay some eggs in the hole."
Panel 5: "Then Tad goes and ferralizes them or whatever."
Panel 6: "Then I carry the eggs around in my mouth for a bit."
Panel 7: "I eat some of them though. And a few when they're born." (A Instagram style photo of a dinner plate with some fish eggs on it with the caption 'Stacy_Style Dinner Time' posted by @Tad_the_rad.) "When our kids grow up, they'll do the same."

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

We're taking this crazy guy to snow this weekend, and it will be his first time seeing it. I can't wait to see his reaction. (He won't be in a ring though!)

A happy looking German shepherd/husky mix with black and brown fury and one blue eye and one brown eye. He is wearing an inflatable ring around his neck.

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

Someone is happy to be back to digging up stumps. I'm not sure what I'll do when I run out of stumps.

A black and tan long haired Shepherd Husky mix with one blue and one brown eye stands over a small hole he has dug among plants.

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

My tomato plant is super confused about what month it is, and honestly so am I.

A hand holds a ripe red cherry tomato in front of a blurred tomato plant in the background.

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

Some pics from the walk today.

A dirt train leading up a low rise. On the trail in the distance are four adult quail birds.

A view looking up at a jagged dead tree against green shrubbed hills and a clear blue sky.

A dirt trail heading up a rise, flanked by bright green grass and oaks shading the trail on either side.

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

Malibu Creek. Also where MASH was filmed, though I didn't reach the MASH site that day, and Planet of the Apes!

Grass and shrub covered hills with a plaque in front identifying the spot as the location of the Ape City set for The Planet of the Apes.

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

Pics from a nice walk the other day.

Green hills in the distance under a blue sky with clouds. On the flat plain in front of the hills is a still river with the hills, sky and clouds reflected in it.

The sun coming up over dark trees on the left, while a river cuts across the picture diagonally, reflecting the blue sky and small puffy clouds above. Hills can be seen on the other side of the river.

A river running away from the viewer, its waters a dark but still reflection of the blue sky and clouds above. A dead leafless looking bush is in the foreground on the left.

Three Canadian geese swim across a still river, leaving ripples in their wake. The river reflects the sky and clouds above. Beyond the river, the bank is covered with green grass and leafless trees.

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

From the awesome children's book, Giggle Giggle Quack:

Cows stand behind a fence, watching a white duck in front of it. The text reads: " I wrote everything down for you. Just follow my instructions and everything will be fine," said Farmer Brown. "But keep an eye on Duck. He's trouble."

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

One coyote on the walk tonight. Usually there are up to 3 around the area in the evening. They get a steady supply of rabbits, rats, and fruit in the neighborhood.

A dark picture of a coyote standing on a hillside at night.

An artificially brightened picture of a slightly blurry coyote standing on a hillside at night.

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 13/12/2025

I was lucky enough to see a takahe on Kapiti Island and I feel like it's a living giant muppet bird. (This photo from the Auckland Zoo.)

A brilliantly colored dark blue, green and purple bird. Its body is round, almost spherical. Its head juts up on an almonst non-existent neck, and its large orange triangular beak dominates most of the front of its head.

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 23/11/2025

I'm so excited about finally getting my crafting table set up. It's an IKEA Norden folding table, and attached are workbench casters. The casters can be raised and lowered so the table either moves or stands firmly and doesn't interfere with the extra fold out legs. And drawers for supplies!

A natural colored Ikea Norden table on a hardwood floor. Two flaps have been folded out on either side to extend the table. Workbench casters are screwed onto the center legs.

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

I still can't bear to get rid of them.

A stack of mini illustrated classics books on a shelf.

More mini illustrated classics books on a shelf.

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

I love that my sewing machine manual contains sections like this.

Black and white printed text advising the reader to get information from the "Electric Light Company" and guidance on checking your voltage or cycles depending on whether you have direct current electricity or alternating current electricity.

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

I saw a ton of these guys just a few months ago on the California Central Coast. They're really amazing to look at!

A by the wind sailor on a sandy beach with foam bubbles around it.

A by the wind sailor sitting on top of a pile of brown kelp weed.

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 14/10/2025

Having a lot of rain today has only underlined for me the truly disappointing lack of coziness in coffee shops these days. Here's a random assortment of places near me... chains or not, it's all about minimalism. It makes rainy days more dreary rather than an opportunity for comfort.

A coffee house with angular white counters, an off-white ceiling with recessed lights, brown cabinets, small white tables and grey benches. There is no art on the walls. The floor is a mottled grey concrete. I feel like I am drinking coffee before I am processed in a dystopian SciFi film.

A coffee house with dark walls. There is a warm wood counter and identical U-shaped wood tables. A wood bench runs the length of the wall The floor is a grey tile. The people sitting in a row at the tables on their computers look like they all have identical, meaningless work being handed to them. There is no art on the wall.

A grey tile floor. There are warm colored lamps in the ceiling, but the ceiling is an open-industrial type with exposed pipes, all painted black. Any coziness that could be sought from the round wooden tables and vinyl benches is overwhelmed by the empty space and general industrial look. It does appear that there is some sort of notice board on the far wall, notes of humanity creeping into this space.

A hardwood floor, a fuzzy couch, and weird soft chairs are promising, as are the mismatched table types. Except that everything is white or grey or brown. And the walls are white - with, that's right, no art on them.

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Lesley M @lesleymath.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

In Southern California there is a time of year where the hills are covered in yellow flowers and look gorgeous... except it's all invasive black mustard and driving out everything else. It's terrible for the ecosystem and increases the danger of fires.