iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

It’s autumn, and with autumn comes the yellow-rumped warblers! Aka butterbutts 🪶

A yellow-rumped warbler showing off its butt while sitting on an oak branch that’s quickly turning red

Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Another bird I’ve been trying to get a photo of for a while: a belted kingfisher! These birds aren’t aggressive or anything but they do make it 100% clear that they hate you and want you to leave immediately. Mood 🪶

A young female belted kingfisher sitting on a bare tree branch and glaring at the camera

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Finally got a decent shot of one of my favorite birds, the American Kestrel! It’s the smallest raptor species here in North America, weighing about 3-6 ounces and small enough to hold in one hand 🪶

A female American Kestrel at sunset, perched on a power line

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

This juvenile blue heron was practicing hunting last night and caught a stick, some seaweed, and finally a fish (which it then dropped) 🪶

A juvenile blue heron wading in shallow water with a stick stuck on the end of its beak

The heron again, finally having caught a small fish

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Was out with my camera yesterday and got to watch this family of deer swim about 1/4 mile to get to the other side of a bay You wouldn’t think so but they’re very good swimmers!

Two white tailed deer swimming across a lake with only their heads visible

The whole deer herd including a fawn, still up to their bellies in water

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

I love having been a smut writer for many reasons but one of my favorites is being able to refer to “my sordid past” and being 100% serious “Ella you’re 25 and one of the quietest people I know, what do you mean ‘sordid past’?” 😉

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

This picture is making me laugh for some reason. Look at his skinny lil leggies 🪶

A great blue heron in flight, tilted to the side so that its stomach and legs are facing the camera. The legs are very skinny and pale.

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Excellent news! I probably don’t have cancer! Bad news is the oncologist didn’t know what was wrong with me so I had to give a bunch more blood for more tests. Yayyyy

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

I’m not ready to share this with anyone in my real life yet but I need to say it somewhere so y’all will have to do: I’ve been having health problems for about a year now and my primary doctor has given up and is referring me to an oncologist (cancer doctor) bc some of the signs point to that

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

This chipmunk lives under our raspberry bush and frequently eats so many that it can’t (or won’t) move

A chipmunk viewed from the front. Upon close inspection its paws and mouth are slightly pink from raspberry juice

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Quite possibly the chunkiest bumblebee I’ve ever seen. Bro was the size of my thumb

A large two-spotted bumblebee hanging onto a fireweed flower. The bee is about the same size as the flower.

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Had the pleasure of watching this trumpeter swan family last night 🪶

An adult trumpeter swan with their baby standing in front of them

A baby trumpeter swan boldly stepping through the grass. It’s a ball of gray fluff with big pink feet

The same adult swan with their two babies, the other parent is not pictured but they’re heading up the rear as the family parades towards the lake

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

Bet you’ve never seen one of these before! It’s a hummingbird moth, a giant moth that’s shaped like and moves like a hummingbird

A yellow hummingbird moth drinking out of a dandelion from behind

The same moth from the side, its curled proboscis clearly visible

The same moth with its proboscis extended

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

I want to talk about how much fun I’m having working on this political campaign but I also want to omit the specifics so I’d have to censor so much like “So I was *** with *** the other day about *** and then *** called her a *** even though *** in ***”

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

This other dog wanted to play SO BAD but Eva’s 13 and doesn’t have the energy to keep up with youngins like him

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Just drove by some enterprising little kid who set up their lemonade stand right outside of the marijuana dispensary, good idea buddy

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

I had to jump 2 rusty barbed wire fences to see this guy but it was so worth it 🪶

A male indigo bunting perched on the top of a pine tree

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

I’m usually pretty good with bird ID but I’m stumped on this one

A medium sized American black bear stands defensively over a broken bird feeder

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

A family friend just messaged me on Facebook and asked if I wanted to be a part of her local art show in August and sell some photo prints there 😭😁 I think this counts as nepotism but I’m also very excited

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Extremely pleased to share that not only have I gotten photos of the baby barred owl at my aunt’s place, but that there are actually 2 of them and they look like possessed clumps of dryer lint

A fluffy gray barred owl chick in a maple tree. It looks very angry

Another fluffy gray barred owl chick, but looking incredibly sad

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

You wouldn’t think it because their legs are so stubby but porcupines are great climbers, especially when food is involved

A North American porcupine in a budding tree, standing on its hind legs and reaching for a branch

More or less the same photo but the porcupine has grabbed a branch and is happily munching it

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Anyone else’s household play a fun game where if there’s only a little of something left (like ketchup or butter) everyone avoids using it because they don’t want to be responsible to clean the container and open the replacement

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Tried to herd this turtle off the road last night and she deployed the lesser known turtle defense mechanism: just like a ton of pee

A painted turtle on a road, trailed by a surprisingly large puddle of urine

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

Me infodumping about Lady’s Slippers to my friend: “they can take up to 16 years to bloom for the first time and-“ Friend: they look like balls 🌸🌿📷

A single pink lady’s slipper flower against a backdrop of green plants

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

A family of foxes has taken up residence in a storm drain on my dad’s mail route and I’m a big fan of how the babies look like slightly off taxidermy at this stage

A juvenile (about 10 weeks old) red fox staring straight into the camera. Its ears and nose and eyes are all slightly too big for its face, making it look rather silly

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

House sitting update: I haven’t seen the baby yet but here’s mom or dad with food for it 🩷🪶 The baby was definitely nearby, though, I could hear it screeching for food lol

A barred owl perched on a tree branch with half a mouse(?) in its beak, staring directly at the camera

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

I’m house-sitting for my aunt next week and I’m very excited because this little barred owl is about to start leaving the nest box and I’m going to try and get pictures

A large nest box attached to a tree. Inside the box is a barred owl chick, staring curiously at the outside world.

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

There were a lot of coatimundis in Mexico and they mostly dug through the trash which made me sad but thankfully I got to see them do some semi-natural behaviors

A coatimundi, an orangish raccoon-like mammal, sleeping on some rocks in the shade

A coatimundi perched on a tree branch facing the camera, looking like it’s about to jump

Another coatimundi clinging to a tree trunk facing the side

Yet another coatimundi sitting on its hind legs in the shade of some plants

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

Home from Mexico, now this weather is more my speed

A screenshot of my weather app stating that it’s 47 degrees Fahrenheit outside with a 28 degree windchill

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

What little I’ve experienced of the global south has awesome but I was not built for temperatures above 70 degrees Fahrenheit The day I was supposed to be born was over 90 and I refused to come out for over a week until I knew it was cooler

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

I’m in Mexico for a wedding and when one of the locals heard where I was from he jokingly said “lol you must be dying of heat” I wanted to pull him close and be like “my brother in christ it was snowing there last week, you don’t know the half of it”

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Some robins built a nest right outside of our kitchen window and now I have an audience whenever I’m making dinner 🪶

A female American robin squished into a nest, looking at the camera rather judgementally

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

This cub is actually quite special as it’s what’s known as a cinnamon phase black bear. Essentially it’s a black bear with a brown coat. It’s not exceptionally rare, more like the bear equivalent of being a redhead, but I think it’s really neat. 📷

A black bear lovingly watching her cub descend from a tree. The cub is a cinnamon bear, a black bear with a brown coat.

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

Being a bear cub is hard work, which is why it’s important to find a nice tree to nap in.

A baby cinnamon black bear resting in the crook of a large tree. One of its forepaws is sticking out from under its head

The same bear in the same pose but from a different angle

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

How in the world am I supposed to resist going up to her and petting her? She’s such a goober

An American black bear sitting on a tree limb. Her fur is slightly disheveled from napping and her tongue is partially out, making her look very silly

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

This is a pro turkey vulture page btw. I love their silly faces and the fact that they throw up when they get scared (relatable am I right folks) 🪶

A turkey vulture flying against a solid gray sky.

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Proof that birds are dinosaurs: exhibit P (for pelican) 🪶

An American white pelican with its bill open to the sky in a primal scream against a backdrop of dead grass

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

I saw my first bear of the year yesterday but I didn’t get any photos because I was so busy watching it open someone’s garbage can and gleefully run away with a bag of takeout Chinese food containers. That must be such a score for an animal that’s supposed to eat berries and roots and stuff

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

Snapping turtles are a lot less intimidating when they’re the size of a hockey puck I know the lil guy does not look happy but I was just moving him out of the road as to not get squished.

A baby common snapping turtle that has partially retreated into its shell being held by my pale hand

The same baby snapping turtle out of its shell, standing on some gravel

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

The otter proceeded to follow me and hiss as I walked away, just to make sure that I got the message that I wasn’t wanted

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

The video’s kinda shit because I took it on my phone but I interrupted this otter’s dinner yesterday and in classic otter fashion it immediately squared up

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

The swan couple by my house is making a nest so be prepared to be inundated with baby swan photos in about 2 months 🪶

A trumpeter swan standing proudly on its partially completed nest (a pile of sticks and mud)

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

At least someone is enjoying the late season snowstorm we got yesterday

An orangeish red german shepherd dog laying on a patch of snow in the sun with her eyes blissfully closed. In the top left corner of the photo it’s clear that some of the snow has been shoveled, indicating that the dog is choosing to sit in the snow.

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

It has to feel so good to stretch your wings like this as a bird. 🪶📷

A trumpeter swan on a semi calm icy lake. His wings are fully outstretched behind him and it’s majestic as shit

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Midwest Menagerie (Ella) @midwestmenagerie.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

I’ve been busy irl with the campaign and school so please have this incredibly fluffy and pissed off bunny as an apology

A wild cottontail rabbit sitting in the snow. It’s fluffed up to the max and looks very pissed off that it’s almost April and still cold.

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