iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

It appears the roly polies/pillbugs/isopods really REALLY like the compost I bought in spring. My big new garden bed is INFESTED with the adorable little pests 😵‍💫 Normally I love a roly poly, but I do not love it when they’re nibbling my pea shoots down to nubbins as soon as the peas emerge.

The dirt of a garden bed, with a small, green, very nibbled nub of a pea shoot in the center. There is also an acorn at top of frame.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

My mother and I got a good laugh out of these chestnuts.

A pair of round spiky green chestnuts on a tree, with a long brown chestnut tassel poking out from between them. They have a certain phallic air about them.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Fun with 3D printing! I tried assembling these scales like actual chainmail first, but that was tedious and I was bad at it. Sewing them onto a base worked so much better (unsurprisingly, given my affinity for sewing 😂)

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

The sunset tonight was so so pretty.

Wide angle photo of a sunset. There are wisps of cloud lit golden orange at the horizon, fading into pink streaks across the deepening blue sky.

Same sunset but tighter crop. The clouds are gold and orange-pink.

Stop the sunset. Clouds in gold and orange and pink cross the sky.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Every time the Cal Fire planes start going overhead I think about dragging out a camera with a real telephoto, because I could get some really cool shots from my deck. That blodge is the same Lockheed C-130H tanker plane that flew directly overhead earlier, now heading home.

Photo of green trees and clear blue sky. There is a vaguely plane-shaped smudge in the sky.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Meet Zigzag and Chansey, who will become Thunder’s new babies tonight. Thunder is my hen that went broody. Since we don’t have a rooster the eggs she is so determinedly sitting on will never hatch, so we’re trying the old trick where you put chicks under a broody hen & hope she adopts them.

Two day-old chicks sitting on wood shavings. They are very small and fluffy. The chick on the left is darker brown-black on top. The chick on the right is lighter and more yellow.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

OMG BOBCAT IN MY GARDEN!!!!!!!! 😍🤩😍🤩😍🤩 I heard an EXPLOSION of chicken displeasure and got to the window in time to see the bobcat go over the top of the garden fence to check the chickens out. The chickens are very displeased and wish to speak to the management, but all safe.

Photo of a rocky hillside with a fenced in garden to the right and a wire-mesh enclosed chicken run to the left. There is a light brown bobcat visible in the garden, peering hopefully into the chicken run.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

Ma’am. Ma’am that is not where you are supposed to lay eggs.

Portrait of a grey-brown chicken with impressive red wattles and comb peering around the corner of the coop door. She is in the process of laying an egg in the most obnoxious to reach corner of the coop.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

What is going ON with these people’s clothes o_O

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Look at this cool moth I just found! iNaturalist suggests it’s a Bilobed Looper Moth, which seems about right going by the other photos.

A cool brown moth on dirty window. The moth is head-down. It is mostly dark brown and black, with wavy brown bits around the head and a striking white blobby patch on its wings. It looks like it is mimicking dead wood or leaves.

The same moth, shot from below so you can see its pointy little face.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Welp, the fickle printer gods heard me and cursed me to have my wish granted 🤣 Time to wash my print plate and try again.

Photo of a 3D printer showing the print plate strewn with a mess of tangled filament bits. The print did not adhere to the print plate correctly and the printer made plastic spaghetti.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

It’s hard to photograph soup but believe me, this soup was SO GOOD. Beef broth with egg flowers and spinach (from my mama’s garden!), spicy pork, and sizzling rice. Seriously delicious. (And I made that bowl!)

A bowl of soup on a multicolored place mat. The soup has green vegetables and a pile of brown meat in the middle. Golden brown crispy rice clusters surround the meat. The soup bowl has drippy sage green glaze around the edge and pale brown glaze in the middle.

Closeup of pork and crispy rice bits in the middle of the soup.

Photo of the broth in the soup pot; because the egg flowers and spinach looked pretty.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

It had been forty-five minutes since I took the first photos. The big guys have changed location slightly but are still sunbathing together.

Two big fat fence lizards, now sunbathing on a different bit of the deck. The are facing each other now.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

When I walked by again later, the big chonkers were snuggling?!? Seriously the chillest I have ever seen fence lizards when in close company.

The same deck and the same two big fat fence lizards. This time they are roughly perpendicular, with one resting its head on the other’s midsection. They are still pancaked.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

There are four lizards in this photo.

Photo of a wooden deck. The two fence lizards from the previous photo are still hanging out, but in this wider shot you can see two more smaller lizards also sunbathing. The smaller ones are difficult to see.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

The lizards are pancaked. Usually when I see fence lizards together they’re chasing each other so it was pretty fun to see them just chilling like this.

Photo of two western fence lizards sunbathing on a wooden deck. They have made themselves as flat as possible, presumably to maximize sun absorption. They look a little like someone gently flattened them.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

Why print a boat or something else boring to make sure everything is working when you can print a minuscule howling coyote.

A tiny figure of a seated coyote with its head thrown back, howling. The figure was 3D printed in shimmery black filament and is held in the palm of a hand. It is very small.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

I love it when one looks at ancient ceramics and it’s identical to something we use today, like this thousand year old flower pot that would be at home in any garden center. (What en excellent octopus, by the way.)

A flower pot in a museum display case. The flower pot is maroon on the outside and blue on the inside, with a six-sided shape. It looks like something you would find in a vaguely Asian upscale garden center.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

We got a full rainbow this morning! 🤩 this was very exciting. There was even a bit of a second arc! We almost never see rainbows from our house because of the angle of the sun, so to get a full one like this was extra special.

The view out over a valley. The sky is blue with thin clouds, and a full rainbow arcs across it. There is a partial second rainbow on the right.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

And a western swallowtail butterfly!

A large yellow and black striped swallowtail butterfly on a lilac bush, its wings open wide.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

We have been visited by a California pipevine swallowtail! 🤩

A black swallowtail butterfly visiting lilac flowers. It has some yellowish spots along the edges of its wings and metallic teal patches on its hind wings.

Another shot of the same black swallowtail, wings now folded, showing a bit of its underwings.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

Ended up with two bowls of roughly the same size so I decorated them for the kids. Unfortunately the studio’s coral glaze is not pink enough and daughter told me she hated it. Alas. Maybe I should let her throw it off the porch 🤪

Two ceramic bowls. The insides are glazed in a speckled whitish-tan glaze and there is sage green glaze along their rims. The bowl on the left has blue stripes dripping down from the rim and the bowl on the right has pinkish-brown stripes dripping down from the rim.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Down at the end of the orchard there is a sea of forget me nots

An old apple tree surrounded by pale forget me nots. It the background there are tall narrow fir trees.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

I was getting worried because usually I see more of our native bumblebees around the apple blossoms, but this year it seemed to be only honey bees. And then I saw this absolute unit of a bumblefriend, bumbling about the apple blossoms with great determination.

A branch covered in clusters of apple blossoms with a HUGE black and yellow bumblebee in the cluster about halfway up the branch.

The same bee and branch from the previous photo, from a slightly different angle. The bumblebee is hovering.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

My father cleared out around my favorite apple tree! Everything year for close to a decade I’ve been thinking “man I really need to get out here and get rid of the blackberries and poison oak,” but I never did 😅 Now you can really see that it’s an old tree that fell over & re-rooted!

An old apple tree that fell over long ago. It is still growing, though rather more horizontally now. The dirt around it is churned up from using a tractor to drag out the vines that were choking the tree.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

I missed peak blossom time in the orchard but it is still a magical place.

Photo of an old apple orchard, looking down the rows of old trees. Everything is green.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

Went to my local No Kings protest today, which included a giant acorn woodpecker flying above the crowd (why? No idea) and a huge cat puppet with a “King of Clowns” crown. Big crowd, with speakers and music and a generally festive feeling.

A giant acorn woodpecker puppet “flying” (being carried) over a crowd of protestors. There are Palestinian flags and American flags flying around it. Someone holds a sign reading “are we great yet? ‘cause I just feel embarrassed”

A huge cat marionette wearing a suit with a crown that says “king of clowns” surrounded by protestors carrying signs. The puppet is about twice as tall as the surrounding people.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

B3 also makes a giant mess and stained my hands XD

Awkward photo of the side of my hand, showing where it has been stained orange.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

Did ceramics this morning. Glazed two bowls, trimmed the nicest bowl from my last session & ruined it (SIL is going to turn it into a planter,) decided two more bowls from last time were two wonky to save, and then threw three new bowls. A mixed bag of a day.

Bottom side of a thrown ceramic bowl partway through being trimmed. There is a hole all the way through the bowl.

Three freshly thrown bowls of dark brown clay lined up on a table, with a ceramic studio and half-used bags of clay behind them.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

I have acquired a NEMESIS BIRD. I keep hearing the blasted creature but it’s never loud enough for Merlin to ID it. If there are any birders out there familiar with nightcalling birds of Northern California, you can hear it at around the 7 and 14 second mark in this video.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

The magnolia syrup is done! It is interesting - gingery, floral, and a bit plant-y. The syrup turned out pretty watery, which I think is because the water in the petals diluted the 1:1 sugar syrup in which the recipe had me steep the petals.

A hand holding a mason jar up to the light. The mason jar is full of reddish-brown liquid

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

Lizard was cornered, caught, and gently relocated outside. It was SO fat - I really hope it’s a gravid female and will lay many lizard eggs. (Is it even the right season for lizards to be laying eggs? No idea.)

A disgruntled western fence lizard being held in a hand. The lizard is brownish-grey, with blue-green scales speckled across its body. There are green plants in the background.

The base of some calla lilies - thick green stems growing out of dirt - with a lizard tail just visible between them.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

Went to the ceramics studio this morning to get some fancy mud time in before the kids have spring break. I carefully weighed my clay into 4lb lumps with the aim of consistency, and then proceeded to throw three bowls of wildly different size. Consistency whomst? 🤣

Photo of three freshly-thrown ceramic bowls lined up on a board on a table. There are two more lumps of clay on the table to the left of the bowls.

Photo of the three bowls from the side, with a ceramic studio in the background.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

These calla lilies came with the house and they only grow more glorious every year.

Photo of a lush clump of calla lilies. The deep green leaves support four fully open white blooms surrounding one partially-opened bloom. The leaves are dotted with rain water.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

It rained a bit last night.

Photo of a single calla lily seen from the side, framed with the intention of highlighting the single drop of water hanging off the edge of the lily.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

The daffodils are blooming! 🤩

Photo of some daffodils in the morning sun. The flowers have light yellow petals, and the trumpet-like centers are edged in bright orange.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

@americanbeetles.bsky.social this is a long shot: my sister found a beetle she described as “ladybug size with boots & a dark jacket” and I think I remember you talking about beetles with boots before - so do you happen to know generally what sort of beetle this is? Near Turlock, California.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

I think I’m going to keep this bowl. I really like the way the glaze turned out, and even though it’s shallower than I was aiming for I like the shape too. I wish I had trimmed it slightly more, but alas. Also it’s impossible to photograph ceramics.

Photo of a ceramic bowl balanced on a fence rail outside. The bowl is speckled beige inside and greenish outside.

Photo of the same bowl as previous, seen from top down. The colors are easier to see - a speckled oatmeal beige inside with a drippy sage green rim.

Photo of a hand holding the same bowl, now see from the side. It has a shallow curved cross section. The outside is glazed a speckled sage green.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

They’re cactuses, so they look pretty cool!

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

We saw one of those guys down the street from our house this morning!

A red fox standing over part of an animal carcass, looking stressed. The fox is in the middle of an empty suburban street.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

We went for a walk over the weekend and saw some pretty wildflowers :) it was nice getting out in the sunshine!

Photo of a pink California native wildflower called a shooting star. The flowers are buds are borne on a tall reddish stalk. The flower is bright pink, with the petals flaring back from a pointed black center.

Photo of Pacific houndstongue, a California native wildflower. The flowers are small and five-petaled, borne in little clusters a coming off of a tall central stalk that rises out of the center of long, dark green leaves. Usually the flowers are a deep blue, but this plant has variegated pink and blue flowers.

Photo of small, white California native wildflowers called milkmaids. They have four white petals arranged in a cross shape, and are fairly nondescript.

Landscape photo looking out across a valley. The grass has just started to turn green, and there are dull green oaks scattered across low hills. In the distance there are more hills. The sky is blue, with pale white clouds partially obscuring it.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

This is who runs this account.

A grainy photo of a brown and white spotted rabbit with its forepaws on a laptop keyboard, peering at the screen. The laptop displays a word document with an unintelligible line of characters across it.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

@mynwexperience.bsky.social I am paging through Mooncakes and Milk Bread by Kristina Cho and this recipe seems like something that you and Ayako would make. Also something that I need to make because they sound so tasty.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

The news is horrible but the sky is beautiful.

Photo of the sky just after sunset. The photo is looking out across a valley. In the foreground, a few trees are silhouetted against the sky, and a city is dimly visible in the valley. In the distance, a low line of hills, and beyond that a line of clouds. The sky is pale, pale blue, the clouds scattered across is washing from gold to pink to grey.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

CAT BREAD!!! The kids cheered when I opened the pan and tipped the bread out, it was great.

Photo of a golden broad loaf in which the viewer is looking directly at the heel of the loaf, which is the shape of a cartoon cat head - roundish with triangular ears.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 28/12/2025

And then I got back from wandering through the underbrush, realized I had a leaf in my hair, and the leaf had an empty chrysalis on it! What are the odds?

A hand holding a curled green live oak leaf with a pale translucent chrysalis husk still attached to it.

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Ruth @teapotrabbit.bsky.social · 28/12/2025

I FINALLY FOUND GOOD MUSHROOMS AT MY PARENTS HOUSE!!! It drives me crazy, they have a bunch of wooded property but I can never find edible mushrooms there. But finally! I found hedgehog mushrooms! Big old ones, too! So now I know where to keep an eye on.

Two pale golden brown mushrooms among leaf little and small green plants.

Hand holding a mushroom tilted to show the “toothed” underside of the mushroom, one of the identifying characteristics of hedgehog mushrooms.

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