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splodinvark @splodinvark.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

Nature Is Healing: Turkey vultures claim area ruin #birds

Four large birds on what’s left of the roof of a disintegrating house surrounded by thicket; one of the turkey vultures is perched on the chimney, which is leaning at a 45-degree angle.

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splodinvark @splodinvark.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

Wisteria blossoms: also pretty tasty

A large salad with lettuce, carrot, radish, sesame seeds, and wisteria blossoms, with flatbread arranged around one side of the blue bowl

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splodinvark @splodinvark.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

Mayapple blooming for the first time, seven years after bare-root planting #FlowerReport #NativePlants #BloomScrolling

A white flower with thick stamens that appear to be clutching a pale green egg-shaped berry

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splodinvark @splodinvark.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

Apple (Arkansas Black) and native plum (Prunus americanus) #FlowerReport #BackyardForest

Pink buds opening to white, five-petaled flowers on a small apple tree with some leaves. Tiny yellow flowers are visible on a currant bush below.

Clusters of small white plum flowers with prominent stamens on branches without leaves

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splodinvark @splodinvark.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

Some more signs of spring around the garden #NativePlants

Tiny, bright yellow spicebush flowers on a branch

Pendant blue and pink Virginia bluebell flowers and bright green leaves

Small white Chickasaw plum flowers and green leaves on a branch

Closed red elderberry flowers all bunched together at the end of a branch with leaves

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splodinvark @splodinvark.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

Signs and portents emerging from the leaf litter, zone 6 Illinois garden edition

Three dappled leaves with an unopened flower bud in the center

A small white flower with bright yellow pollen

Deep purple five-petaled flower and several young heart-shaped leaves

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splodinvark @splodinvark.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

I actually have a recent photo of one of them, because I was struck by how it was still hanging on to its leaves in February. (The other got eaten by rabbits in its first year and is still very small.)

A small tree with many brown leaves clinging to it

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splodinvark @splodinvark.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

I’ll probably start posting more garden photos in the spring, but as a general picture, here’s a comparison of (2018?) Streetview and a May 2024 photo from roughly the same position

Top: A small house and garage as seen from the road, across an expanse of lawn

Bottom: The buildings are obscured by a mass of greenery, and along the road, prairie plants are growing instead of turf grass

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splodinvark @splodinvark.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

Behold mikanbuta みかんぶた

A mandarin orange with toothpick legs, clove eyes, and an Irish penny in its “mouth”

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splodinvark @splodinvark.bsky.social · 05/10/2025

Black witch moth on the garage today. Wingspan around four inches. #inverts

Large brown moth with intricate markings. One of her wings has taken some damage

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splodinvark @splodinvark.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

Here’s a smaller one, still in the Very Hungry phase #Invertefest

A small brown and white caterpillar on a half-eaten spicebush leaf. Dark spots on its back and the larger front part of its body make it look like an extremely truncated snake is looking at you

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splodinvark @splodinvark.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

Not sure why this large spicebush swallowtail caterpillar is hanging out on a yellow leaf. Maybe thinking about pupating? #Invertefest

Spicebush swallowtail in its final caterpillar phase, viewed from above on a yellow leaf. It resembles a very short brown snake

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splodinvark @splodinvark.bsky.social · 09/08/2025

Weighing in late but it looks like one to me. Right now there are some larvae in the garden here in the leaf tent stage

Spicebush leaf that has been folded over along a long trail that the caterpillar ate earlier

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splodinvark @splodinvark.bsky.social · 04/08/2025

My partner accidentally captured #bee drama at this Kankakee mallow in our garden today, and I’ve watched it approximately fifty times #NativePlants

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splodinvark @splodinvark.bsky.social · 26/07/2025

Feels like fireflies are widely appreciated

Firefly with an orange-red helmet with a black spot. Its wings are black with light edges, and it’s resting on a large leaf

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splodinvark @splodinvark.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

Every sundown I hear a tree frog commuting over the patio roof from the wall to the trellis. Last evening I heard rustling in the hop leaves soon after and managed to spot the frog. #Herps

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splodinvark @splodinvark.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

Frogs are holding a festival down by the old train tracks, dogs are barking about something, and over here it’s a firefly sanctuary. Also it smells great because the basswood is blooming. #Inverts #Herps

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splodinvark @splodinvark.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

First harvest, June 7. Three suppers for two of this amount of peapods (cooked with Chinese sausage, onion, garlic, and ginger) so far

A blue plastic basket containing several handfuls of snow peas

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splodinvark @splodinvark.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

Pasture rose (Rosa carolina) flowering for the first time #BloomScrolling #FlowerReport #NativePlants

Pale pink five-petaled flower with lots of pollen in its center

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splodinvark @splodinvark.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

Native to eastern North America, the purple-flowering raspberry (Rubus odoratus) is a magnificent, thornless perennial shrub #BloomScrolling #FlowerReport #NativePlants

A striking magenta flower with five petals and a circle of bright yellow pollen in its center. Several unopened fuzzy flower buds are nearby among the leaves, rising on purple stalks

A bright green leaf reminiscent of a maple leaf, larger than my hand shown for reference

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splodinvark @splodinvark.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

Sweetshrub (Calycanthus x “Aphrodite”) in bloom with southern arrow-wood buds (Viburnum dentatum) #BloomScrolling #FlowerReport #NativePlants

A large, dark red flower with several unopened buds around it on a smooth-leafed shrub, and in the foreground a big cluster of unopened white flower buds accompanied by veined serrated leaves

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splodinvark @splodinvark.bsky.social · 17/05/2025

At one point today, we had eight simultaneous weather alerts in Central Illinois

4:58 Weather Alerts

Severe Weather Statement
Expires at 5:45 PM Today

Tornado Watch
Expires at 10:00 PM Today

High Wind Warning
Expires at 7:00 PM Today

Dust Storm Warning
Expires at 6:45 PM Today

Severe Thunderstorm Warning
Expires at 5:45 PM Today

Special Weather Statement
Expires at 7:00 PM Today

Special Weather Statement
Expires at 6:00 PM Today

Blowing Dust Advisory
Expires at 7:00 PM Today

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splodinvark @splodinvark.bsky.social · 11/05/2025

Black raspberry (Rubus occidentalis) is my favorite garden fruit, and all of ours were planted by birds #BloomScrolling #FlowerReport #NativePlants

A small white flower on a thorny, leafy stem, surrounded by many flower buds

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splodinvark @splodinvark.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

Told my partner that I thought I heard a northern waterthrush in the garden (using the Merlin app). He saw a bird in the pond out the window, and I asked him to take video. Ohoho, migrating waterthrush stopover confirmed #birds

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splodinvark @splodinvark.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

We have some old doors set up as garden features, seen here with native spicebush and decorative (and hummingbird-supporting) flowering quince #BloomScrolling #FlowerReport #NativePlants

An old door painted black with a crystal handle. Bright green spicebush leaves are in front, and bright red, roselike quince flowers peek out from behind

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splodinvark @splodinvark.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

We got on the Chipdrop waiting list for free mulch in February 2023, and last August a literal truckload arrived. Not for everyone, but we’ve been turning the lawn into a forest garden. Down to a five-minute mow now on a quarter acre

A truckload’s worth of wood chips in a huge pile by the side of the road and partially smothering some of our plantings

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splodinvark @splodinvark.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

The first columbine to open is the sidewalk volunteer wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), in accordance with hyperlocal tradition #BloomScrolling #FlowerReport #NativePlants

Tall stems bearing many nodding orange flowers, all but the top one still closed, rise from a mass of green leaves on a sidewalk next to a blue-painted wall

Closeup of an open wild columbine flower, which resembles five birds in shades of reddish orange and yellow. (The word columbine comes from Latin columba, meaning dove.) Unopened flowers nearby look more like little sleeping bats

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splodinvark @splodinvark.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

Our goldenseal plant is finally old enough to flower! And not all of them even flower. #BloomScrolling #FlowerReport #NativePlants

Small, rayed white flower with a fuzzy stem and wrinkly leaves in dappled sunlight

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splodinvark @splodinvark.bsky.social · 26/04/2025

If you see this, post a picture of a tree #ArborDay

A young cherry tree bursting with white blossoms in a forest garden setting

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splodinvark @splodinvark.bsky.social · 26/04/2025

Indigo bunting eating dandelion seeds #birds

A small bird with an iridescent blue head has found a convenient branch on which to perch and eat dandelion seeds

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