iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

So his plan is.....you pay for healthcare in cash, and if something very expensive like cancer happens to you, you just die? That is the plan?

010

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

I don't think service cats are really a thing, but if they were I think Peppy would be good at it. Whenever I get down on the ground to do situps or whatever he thinks I am in mortal peril and comes over to check on me. It's pretty cute.

130

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

The spirit of Peppy captured by @poorlydrawnlines.bsky.social. it even looks like him.

010

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Composting is so rad. Look at all this free, handmade dirt!

010

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

i have had "walkin' on the sun" by smash mouth stuck in my head for days now. send help

120

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

It was so nice to come back today and be Actually Happy and to reflect on how far things have come in a year.

020

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

We were trying to have a nice time - this was our first non-medical outing since his surgery - but I remember sitting under this same tree wondering if this was one of the last good times I was gonna have with him

100

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

As we do every fall, Matt and I went to a little farm stand today and got apple cider donuts and ate them under this beautiful tree. Last year when we did this, we had just gotten his pathology results a couple days prior and we were Scared

110

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

A thing I love about witchhazel - cool zig zaggy stems

021

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Lil buddy emerged this morning! I missed it. Based on how he looked yesterday I thought I had one more day with him. I'm glad he's well and on his way though. It's getting late.

081

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Haha I very stupidly thought after taking some Tylenol that I was good and I went outside and did some winterizing tasks like draining the hoses and now I can barely type this skeet because my hands are shaking 🥴 mistakes were made

000

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Thank you both very much for the info! I had no idea about this

220

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I've had COVID just once and it was at least equally unpleasant except it lasted almost a month instead of one day and also gave me asthma so. Obvious tradeoff.

010

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

The COVID shots always make me feel horrible so I got Novavax this year hoping it'd be different. Nope, still up all night sweating/shivering/delusional looping thoughts. I'm thankful for these vaccines and will continue getting one every year! I just Do Not Enjoy it

271

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Federally legal THC is so funny. An employee of the US federal government brings it to your door, and inside there's a note that's like "congrats on taking this step in your Wellness Journey" Brother I purchased Drugs because I want to Get High we don't have to pretend this is some noble thing

030

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

In late March, after a very challenging winter, these bulbs were the very first thing to bloom and brought some much-needed joy. Today he is doing just fine, as far as we know!

120

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

A week later, the bulbs arrived, and we did a little ritual. We both kissed each bulb before putting it in the ground. Our little luck garden. In December, we got some good news about his prognosis and our hackles went down a little.

111

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

On this day a year ago, Matt was 6 days post surgery. I was in need of some joy, so I bought some - 216 spring-blooming bulbs. We had yet to learn that he had one of the bad types of thyroid cancer.

110

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Just found a third butterfly, but it was already a very capable flier so I wasn't able to catch it for tagging. Feeling more hopeful about my other two butterflies now. It does seem the warm weather is helping these guys get moving quickly. Still watching my chrysalis too. It's getting clearer!

030

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Two reasons for having some amount of hope: - Mantises don't eat the wings, and I have not been able to find any wings on the ground. - The butterflies appeared to be not ready to fly yet this morning, but it has warmed up a lot since then, and they fly better in warm temps. Man, nature is brutal

000

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Extremely troubling update on the butterflies. They are both gone, and I found a praying mantis near where they were 😭

100

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Found another gal this morning!

020

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I had >15 caterpillars on my milkweed but located only one chrysalis. That chrysalis is still unhatched, so this gal is someone else! I figured there were probably other chrysalises in the yard that I hadn't found. They are tough to find.

020

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

What a delightful surprise coming off of three days of hideous weather to find this newly-hatched monarch. I tagged her and submitted her data to monarch watch. Let me know if you spot her in Mexico this winter!

The monarch where I initially found her, clinging to a grape vine. Likely her chrysalis was well hidden inside the tangle of this vine.

The monarch, post tagging, hanging out on my goldenrod and posing nicely next to a stained glass butterfly I have on display in my garden. Her wings are splayed open.

The monarch, clinging to goldenrod, with the tag visible on her hind wing. The stained glass butterfly is still visible in the background.

120

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

That night in the hospital was one year ago tonight. UHC still hasn't paid. Matt doesn't even have UHC anymore. The hospital hasn't come after us for it either so we're just.......not gonna worry about it unless they do?? 🤷‍♀️

010

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

This has still not been paid for btw lmfaoooooo

110

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Thanks for your support then and now 🥹

000

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

On this day last year, Matt got his cancerous thyroid removed! Today he is, as far as we know, fine! He'll need periodic imaging for awhile more but we have every reason to be optimistic.

130

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Matt referred to the middle finger as "resting Boston hand" and I will be calling it that for the rest of my life

000

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

We got him a heating pad and now he literally lives in this basket. I think he spent 16 of the last 24 hours in there.

030

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Most surprising finding: I have identified *23* distinct species of wasps in the yard!

000

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Like I have spruce sp on there twice because I have two spruces that I think are different but I don't know what either of them is! As I get better at ID I'll try to fill stuff in! But this doesn't have to stop me from listing.

110

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

The beauty of this thing is that you do not need a definitive ID on everything. Bug ID is hard, usually I can only identify down to maybe the genus. I just have a line item for each thing that I'm reasonably confident is not the same as another thing.

100

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Inspired by a skeet I saw on here, I am now keeping a yard species list for everything alive - birds, plants, bugs, mammals, etc. - I've observed in the yard. It's at 331! If you exclude "imported" stuff (e.g. plants I bought and planted), then it's at 191.

110

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

In my dream last night I stated that the only places worth living were places where "you can reliably see a duck without having to get in a car." My current house does not meet this benchmark so I suppose I will be needing to move 😔

030

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Hard to overstate just how much Life is buzzing around the goldenrod at midday this time of year. It's why I love this plant so very much.

1285

Reposted by Rachel

Stephanie! 💜✌🏻 @craniatology.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

This one does look a smidge young. At about 6 weeks babies will free roam but will return to the den. So the den is nearby but it’s almost to the “getting kicked out” age.

121

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Thanks so much for the info! Very reassuring. I am fairly certain I know where the den is - I've seen some holes in the garden with dirt piled up beside them where the adults were tunnelling last fall.

000

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I know nothing about mammals. Is this a normal sighting for this time of year? Is it okay that there isn't an adult with him? I have seen some adult chipmunks in the yard today, but none have interacted with them / they might not be his parents. cc @craniatology.bsky.social

120

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Young chipmunk spotted in the garden today. I realized I don't think I've ever seen a juvenile chipmunk before now. His tail is so thin, he's slow and clumsy, and he is mostly unafraid of me.

a very small chipmunk in grass. His eyes are bit squinty, his ears are pulled back, and his tail is very thin. He is perhaps 75% of the size of a normal adult chipmunk.

The same chipmunk, more alert looking in this photo, sitting upright and nomming on some weeds in my garden.

1124

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Peppy sleeps wherever the sun patches are. Even if it's somewhere...kinda weird.

My cat is fast asleep on a hard TV stand in bright sunlight.

041

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Most of the time when Peppy sleeps on my lap, he's in a loaf or some other upright form factor, but exactly once he sprawled out on his side and I'll be chasing that high for the rest of my life

A little black cat is totally conked out on his side on my chest

I am looking down at my little baby cat with absolute adoration

080

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Some of the details, like the flowers and the eye/feathers on the birds, are painted on. I use a special paint for glass that cures by baking in the oven. I also love making wire feet for stained glass birds!

A close-up of the male oriole's face, with a painted-on eye.

A close-up of the female oriole's foot, which I made from wrapped wire.

A close-up of one of the tulip poplar blossoms, which has detail that was painted on.

RW 26, my initials and the year, are burned into the corner of the wood frame.

0120

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

She's done y'all!!! My magnum opus 🥲 Stained glass window based on Audubon's painting of Baltimore orioles. Wood frame by my partner.

A stained glass window with light shining through it. The window depicts two Baltimore orioles and their nest in a blooming tulip poplar.

A photo of me holding the stained glass window.

The Audubon painting the window is based on. His painting was oriented vertically, so I had to "crop" it to get the more horizontal orientation I wanted. In his painting, there are four birds.

A zoomed-out shot showing the panel placed in a window in my home. It fills the lower half of the window.

611722

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Locust borer, a very cool looking beetle! This guy reliably shows up in the garden every year once the goldenrod starts blooming.

A beetle with a cool black-and-yellow zig-zag pattern and long antenna perched in some bright yellow goldenrod flowers.

0102

Reposted by Rachel

Kelly @broadwaybabyto.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

It’s been offered to me. It’s been offered to patients like me. I said no… and I am still waiting for healthcare and social supports. That’s coercion. You can’t ethically administered assisted dying when you won’t commit to assist people with surviving.

327160

Reposted by Rachel

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

One day when I was a stupid child my sister said "if ur happy and u know it clap ur hands" and I clapped because that was simply what one did upon hearing that phrase, and my sister, ever the evil mastermind, was like "oh so you're happy that terrorists blew up the twin towers?" Yeah. It was 9/11

121

Rachel @raythewren.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

As of this morning he was still in the J-shape, but by lunchtime he had transformed! The camouflage is crazy good. I spent a solid ten seconds in despair thinking he'd been eaten before I managed to spot him.

A zoomed-out photo of a rose of Sharon with - very tough to spot here - a green monarch chrysalis hanging from a low branch, near center frame.

030