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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 9h

Great article to share as well 👍

Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

But at Burrator Reservoir today at the ruins of Longstone Manor, I was struck by the name of the last owner of the place: Sir Manasseh Masseh Lopes. Turns out he was a British subject from Jamaica born in 1755 into a family of Portuguese Sephardic Jews. People have always been on the move

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

1 I've recently moved to Dartmoor - & struggle to say where I'm from. My surname is Sephardic Jewish, people who ended up in Dutch Brazil, then the British West Indies following expulsion from the Iberian Pennisula. My father was from Barbados, but moved to the UK. Being 'from' one place is rare...

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Hmm, this is Burrator Reservoir on Dartmoor, & as you can see, lots of it is very very empty. On Dartmoor. In October.

Brown & barren shoreline stretching virtually bank to bank at a reservoir. Mist & trees on the opposite bank.

Brown & barren shoreline stretching virtually bank to bank at a reservoir.

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Dreadnought Holiday @dreadships.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Oh aye, wildlife on British coinage "is a denial of history", is it now?

A heap of farthings from 1941, all of them showing a rather evil looking wren. For clarity, that's the bird, not the Royal Navy's feminine side. Of course in 1941 the sort of person now trying to turn this into a culture war would be happier trying to change British coinage into something more... Reichsmark shaped.

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

A boy I taught (in secondary school) wrote of egogs, which I rather liked.

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Mariposa Nature Tours @mariposanature.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Hello new @bsky.app followers! We've just noticed the Mariposa family on here has passed 2000 followers... it's great to see you here. BlueSky is such a friendly and welcoming space, and a great place to share natural history sightings. We look forward to hearing about what you've seen! 🦋🌸

A collage of blue(sky) butterflies

(Left to right, top to bottom)

Spanish Chalkhill Blue, African Grass Blue, Black-eyed Blue, Fatma's Bavius Blue
Azure Chalkhill Blue, Amanda's Blue, Blue Argus, Long-tailed Blue
Damon Blue, Mazarine Blue, Short-tailed Blue, Adonis Blue
Bavius Blue, Cranberry Blue, False Eros Blue, Chequered Blue

Images © Mariposa guests & guides Clive B, Harry F, Jon Dunn, David Moore, Janos Olah

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

There are good people on here who know much more and offer advice kindly

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Ah, could be that, thank you. Very fresh & pink.

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Cauliflower fungus, I think (Sparassis brevipes) growing at the base of an oak tree near the River Walkham on Dartmoor. #FungiFriday

Beige-pink fungi like a frilled garland in moss

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

I think these might be Panthercaps (Amanita pantherina) growing in oak woodland on the edge of Dartmoor. The one on the right has remnants of a pure white veil on the top of it. The veil isn't breaking into 'spots' but the ground in still quite hard & dry so perhaps rubbing them off. #FungiFriday

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Merrivale on Dartmoor with its Neolithic double stone rows - like some alien spaceship runway 😄 Fascinating to see - & the standing stones & burial cist

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Absolutely stunning walk yesterday up Tavy Cleave on Dartmoor - though the weather for October was alarmingly hot & dry.

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I only found out last week that Dartmoor farmers bail bracken

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Little Green elf-cups on a stick. Their bright teal colour is very striking but they're tiny! I have been finding plenty of Chlorociboria aeruginascens fungi staining pieces of wood turquoise but it was a thrill to find the actual fruiting bodies #fungi

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I did a double take on this. The segments & sheen made me think - Giant Millepede 😮 (Actually birch roots but still creepy-looking!)

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Devil's-bit scabious (Succisa pratensis) putting on its late show with Cross-leaved heath (Erica tetralix). Both like damp spots & provide food for autumn insects. And this pretty pink variant on the normal lilac-blue form was fun to find. Way off @wildflowerhour but never mind!

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Chlorociboria aeruginascens - the fungus that produces Green Elf Cups but more commonly stains wood a bright turquoise or verdigris green which was prized by woodworkers creating colourful inlays. These pieces are perhaps alder, down by a stream. I'l have to keep an eye out for possible elf cups!

2 pieces of wood with turquoise staining

2 pieces of wood - one an elbow of small branch, & the other a small rectangular piece, both with turquoise stain

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Yes, on consideration, shorter curtains are probably best here

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

It's pretty private at the back but come winter I think I'll want the insulation of curtains asthe window is single glazed.

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Thank you - that seems a good plan

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

That makes sense. Probably safer too!

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

I was wondering about a single. I don't want to lose any light though

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

It's very tall for a blind! By shorter drop for a curtain, do you mean to just below the window ledge?

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

OK, hive mind. What do I do about curtain lengths here🤔 2 curtains with a different drop... ? The shorter drop?? 260cm or 280cm drop btw 145cm wide I will be attempting to make them myself 😄

Window part way up stairs so has a step turning under it

Long narrow window on stairs. Curtain pole in place.

Close up of the 20cm difference in drop there would be for each curtain

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Hi Rachel - not doubt I'll bump into you one day!

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Your pictures are always so good! I've actually recently moved to the area (from Bristol) & have been hugely influenced to do so by your photography over the years. Now I'm recognising in your pictures exact trees & vistas I've seen in person!

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Hassinator @hassinator.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

a great letter in the times today. perhaps worth sharing in these troubled times. #RNLI #heroes

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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Nick Robinson on Today is literally talking about ‘legitimate concerns’ after second night of organised men dressed in black - sorry ‘protesters’ - mobilising en masse in another littoral town. This is how street fascism is normalised

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

It must make the databases extremely inaccurate - & it's opened the door to frauds & scammers.

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Such a long list of companies! I notice one has been removed by the govt as presumably it was scamming people. Emails from the site my other dog is registered to always go to Spam & are listed as suspicious 🙄

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

The previous owner was either scammed too or never bothered to transfer ownership from the dog breeder as my dog is still registered to the breeder 🤷‍♀️

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

When you search the dog microchip number online a load of sites are top of the search list - paying to be there - & many are scammers. You have to pay to transfer ownership of a pet but it's not obvious whether you're paying the right site. I took on a rehomed dog

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

I've no idea! But changing the details is so complicated I'm sure people don't bother. As you say it's a free market non-system 😬

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

We only finished the 5th move over the w/e - to NW London so I had a long drive back yesterday. All the family in their own places at last (well, rented places) while we have a rented work place in London & home in Devon.

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Very different area. Just been in a month - to the edge of Dartmoor. We've actually done 5 moves in & 3 moves out this summer 🙄🤯

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

6. (I'm presuming the guy on the phone was grumpy & impatient because this happens ALL the time) So how many dog microchip details are accurate - & doing the job they're meant to do??

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

5. The man who answered the phone (who had a grumpy & impatient manner) said I had been scammed when I had registered ownership of my dog back in 2019. As had his previous owner presumably. So I will have to pay again to register ownership of a dog I've had for 6 years...

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

4. The other dog was more complicated. The website he was registered with wouldn't work so I emailed them with my new address. Their reply said he wasn't registered to me but to the original breeder. (Odd as I'm his 2nd owner 🤷‍♀️) I even had a record of paying £17 to register him & the date...

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Lydia Massiah @lydiamassiah.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

3. One company website wouldn't work at all, because, the call centre person said, my account was inactive. Of course it was. I got my dog & registered her, then stayed in the same house for 9 years. I had no need to use 'my account'🤷‍♀️ But at least after the call, my address details were updated.

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