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Venus Bivar

@vbivar.bsky.social
13K followers 5.7K following 2K posts

🇨🇦 Historian of capitalism, pollution, Marseille, farming, land use, plastics, climate, and economic growth; misanthrope; hockey player; expert baker; amateur gardener; works at St Anne's College at Oxford; lives in York (the old one).

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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Join us for an excellent environmental humanities programme this term!
List of research seminar talks - for an accessible version see our website: https://torch.ox.ac.uk/environmental-humanities-research-hub?filter-4-event%20type-4780496=2#widget-id-4797456
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Loki and his buddy Fluegel will hopefully give you another.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Greetings from the Lake District and this 1200-year-old Yew tree. I love me some old trees. And apparently, Wordsworth was also a fan on this particular bad boy.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
For @cdanby.bsky.social : Pics from this evening's post-rain walk. Excellent sky. Excellent Loki.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Oh man. Apparently yesterday was International Dog Day and I had no idea. I *live* for excuses/reasons to share photos of my glorious Loki Bear. So here we are, a day late. Loki enjoying some homemade doggie ice cream in the front garden.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Learning how to make pâte de fruit has been one the greatest decisions of my life. Behold! Raspberries and plums from the garden. Sugar from Sainsburys. Pleasure ... all mine.
Two containers of sugared jellied fruit candy on a kitchen countertop.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Always. And hanging out with Loki. If I can combine the two, perfection.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
May you all move through the world with the extravagant confidence of Le Corbusier: "Let me assure you that a man like me, who has devoted 30 years to the study of these problems, who has traveled the entire world to understand the diseases of the city ... can offer you wise counsel…."
Black and white photo of Le Corbusier sitting on some sort of carpeted mound,  hand on his head looking pensive.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
I have recently become very interested in Assyriology. For anyone who might know: Everything I read talks about the 'discovery' of Gilgamesh, Ashurbanipal's palace, etc. I get that this was all new to Europeans, but was there no oral tradition that passed these stories down within Mesopotamia/Iraq?
Engraving from ancient Mesopotamia of Ashurbanipal fighting a lion
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Oh yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Welcome Rosie! Loki says 'Hi! Your new humans are wonderful - you'll feel settled in before you know it and will be kicking up your heels and loving your new life.'
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Breaking update: The internet tells me I might be able to graft the tree back together. Many zip ties later .... Thoughts and prayers to the gardening gods please!
Plum tree main branch held together with zip ties.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
My plum tree just snapped under the weight of its fruit. I was too greedy 😥 Meanwhile @agatafijalkow.bsky.social is posting about her plum jam. Clearly she had better sense when thinning the fruit.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Oh hi Marseille. 10 o'clock and it only *just* dipped below 90 degrees (32 celsius). It's going to be a tough few days ... Good thing this city is a beauty.
View of Marseille from the train station.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
So much for England's 'green and pleasant land'. Climate change has made it brown and crispy. Took this at the dog park last night.
Husky in a big open field of brown crispy grass.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
This is one of my biggest complaints about England. This is what our front looks like.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
This is for @johnmunro.bsky.social . Spotted on Cape Breton island, a fellow critic of car culture.
Sign on street lamp pole that reads 'Mort à la culture du char'.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Loki stands in solidarity.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
Loki's friend Fluegel came by for a visit today and within 5 minutes had pulled all of Loki's toys out and was having an absolute ball. May we all live with such joy and abandon.
Cockapoo in living room surrounded by half-destroyed stuffies.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
This is what the summer looks like. Loki is now a senior and likes to take park naps half way through his walk. Can't complain. There are worse ways to spend a summer afternoon.
Lying in the grass with my husky.Lying in the grass with my husky.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
Ha! I was there in April.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Really loving our wild flower patch out back.
Poppies and cornflowers in a clover lawn.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
Hanging with my pollinator friends in the front garden.
Butterfly on salviaBee on geumsBee on salvia
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Took Loki to the woods this weekend and the rhodos were just outstanding.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Perfect day here in Oxford, enjoying some sorbet while I watch the world go by on the High Street.
Waffle cone with two scoops of ice cream and streetscape in background.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Loki is beating the heat with some homemade ice cream.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
BLEAK HOUSE SPOILERS. Finished Bleak House. Gotta say. It pissed me off. Esther Summerson, the narrator, is a super annoying character and remains so until the end - I was hoping for some change there. The dad/husband equivalence is creepy. And Lady D was killed off. Boo. Read on for positives:
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
DOG! Loki says 'Hi!'
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Bleak House spoilers alert: I stayed up WAY too late last night to get to the end of a chapter so that I could find out what Dickens was going to do with Lady Dedlock, and I was absolutely not impressed. Bleak House will not unseat David Copperfield as my favourite Dickens. Not after this betrayal.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
We have a resident fox at @stannescollege.bsky.social . She got very close to me at dusk last week. It was thrilling.
A fox standing in front of grass and a library.Close up of fox
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Loki getting belly scritches at the park. This dude has taught me important lessons in the art of relaxation.
Husky dog rolled over in the grass, exposing chest, asking for pets.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
I don't mean to brag, but look at these geums! They will look like this until NOVEMBER. Truly one of the best plants.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
For all those looking for a good laugh. Best cat adoption advert I have ever read.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Did not anticipate wishing I had packed sunglasses for a trip to Ireland in April, but here we are. Just spectacular weather on Inis Mór today.
Irish cliffs with drop off to the ocean. Blue skies.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
AT LONG LAST. Nothing but sun in the forecast. If you need me, I’ll be in the garden.
Screenshot of weather forecast with sun all week.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Loki (oblivious to the world's woes) with hellebores.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Looking forward to celebrating the launch of this bad boy with @smidbob.bsky.social on Monday. Come join us at the IHR if you’re in London!
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Loki says be brave! He did it and it was all a-okay.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Too many non-academic posts. I'm forgetting what this account is for! To atone: Le Corbusier had 2 complaints about his brand new fancy building in Marseille: the 2nd was the poisonous smoke making everyone ill (ch 1 of my book), but the FIRST was that tourists were banging al fresco on the roof.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Honestly don't care if this is fool's spring or the real deal. I see blue sky and spring flowers. Darkest winter be gone!
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
Welcome to the fold. Soon you'll be taking selfies like this (full disclosure: this was taken before we got a dog and I still had time for beast mode).
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
Sunbathing with my dude.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
Not a morning person.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
Much needed sun arrived today, after weeks without it. Loki was oh so very happy - as was I.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
When I was younger I wanted dessert to be ridiculous: cookies topped with ice cream topped with caramel sauce topped with crunchy bits. Now I just want some quality sugary fruit. These pâte de fruits from Chapon are perfection.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
Agnès Varda pilgrimage.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
This is for @johnmunro.bsky.social . Believe the hype! The new bikeable Paris is truly amazing. I’ve been riding here for twenty-five years and the recent changes are incredible.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
I got a SAD lamp - now that milder UK winters mean interminable Vancouver-like grey. I was sceptical, but I gotta say, this thing R-O-C-K-S.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Just finished this banger from @greggmitman.bsky.social and while the book as a whole is fantastic, the tastiest morsel falls in the preface, where Mittman thanks PETE TOWNSHEND for allowing him to reprint song lyrics. Incredible.
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Venus Bivar @vbivar.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Loki says Bailey is a very very good girl and she will be dearly missed. What a wonderfully long life full of rescue love.
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