It's been a down year locally for all kinds of insects. Very upsetting to think that our grandkids might think these exquisite creatures were as imaginary as unicorns... 🧪🐡🌿🌎
Husband & Dad. Native plant & pollinator enthusiast. Enviro lawyer in CT. Michigander. Too proud of our hellstrip garden. Native thistle stan. Sometimes climate, clean energy, democracy posts. Please, let’s all look out for each other.
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It's been a down year locally for all kinds of insects. Very upsetting to think that our grandkids might think these exquisite creatures were as imaginary as unicorns... 🧪🐡🌿🌎
Ugh, I hate stupid typos. It’s ShagBARK hickory. Bark!
Shagback hickory in early evening light. #nature #nativeplants
The question and its framing in this clip are just beyond naive and credulous. It is assinine by this reporter to give even one iota of credibility to the military occupation of American cities on no legal basis whatsoever. He should be ashamed!
This is the way!
Maybe? As much as I love native thistles I have a hard time telling them apart. I started both swamp thistle and tall thistle in our yard a few years ago and they spread like crazy after that! So now I don’t know what I have. Oops!
Yes! So fun to see! It’s the time when our little urban yard has the highest number of Monarch visitors.
Enjoy this Monarch feasting on native thistle. The bumbles love it too!
New, from me: America is no longer a functioning democracy. It is a competitive authoritarian system, hurtling rapidly toward authoritarianism. This was a hard piece to write but we can't move forward if we don’t acknowledge where we are. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-author...
A thought experiment. What if the world's climate policy for the next few years was: flood the planet with cheap or free solar panels? billmckibben.substack.com/p/a-modest-p...
A Snowberry Clearwing moth drinking from a Tall Thistle for #mothMonday. #lepidoptera #moth #gardening 🌱 #nativeplants
Solar Panels That Fit on Your Balcony or Deck Are Gaining Traction in the U.S. www.theenergymix.com/solar-panels...
Monarchs love native thistle. #bloomscrolling #flower #nativeplants #butterfly #nature
this is really weird. I wonder what's going on. wapo.st/4muawgS
FREE DC.
Grant and Eisenhower would like a word.
🌱 Plants shape river bends New research shows vegetation changes how rivers curve and shift over time. By stabilising banks, plants altered river migration, explaining why meandering rivers became common after plants evolved. 🔗 doi.org/10.1126/scie... #SciComm 🧪 #Rivers
And butterflies are just the bugs we notice. This is likely true for ALL kinds of insects and other invertebrates. The #InsectApocalyse marches on... www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025... 🧪🌿🌎🐡 #garden #bugsky #biodiversity #pollinators #insect #butterflies #macro #insects #flowers #InsectApocalyse
"The developers behind the project had said it was on track to produce enough electricity for more than 350,000 homes in Rhode Island and Connecticut by next spring."
Trump's order to keep old coal plants open could cost Ohio ratepayers $144 million - cleveland.com share.google/VsZpp6pj66nb... 🔌💡
Is this the crypt where they keep Miller’s coffin?
Glaciers in the Alps and Pyrenees have lost about 40% of their mass since 2000. www.nbcnews.com/science/clim...
Rule 78: Put Street Trees Almost Everywhere Street trees do it all, they... Cut crashes by 45% Raise home values 9% Boost retail sales 12% Clean air, cool streets, absorb stormwater, improve health, and make places more inviting Walkable City Rules www.amazon.com/Walkable-Cit...
Electricity bills rising 2x faster than inflation. We have cheap renewables but this administration is choosing expensive fossil fuels. This is a policy choice. www.npr.org/2025/08/16/n...
Love how funky it is!
Excellent photo! This species seems to really love the figwort in our garden.
Have to admit I’m completely enthralled by native thistle flowers. Look at this color! (I know thistles are not universally loved but they are amazing #nativeplants and #pollinator friends; started some from seed a few years ago and they just keep popping up in our yard bringing joy and life!)
Very sneaky! Also have one climbing up inside our beach plum.
One of these things is not like the others. #nativeplants
Brown-eyed susan flower bud with stunning pattern #nativeplants #bloomscrolling
Bumblebee tucking in for the night under some swamp milkweed flower buds. #nativebee #pollinator #nativeplants #nature
"Our local star already provides us with warmth and light and photosynthesis, and now it would like to give us all the power we need, and then do the same tomorrow, ad infinitum." — @billmckibben.bsky.social 🌞
Off-grid solar can power homes through a smart battery without needing to permit or deal with rules feeding power back to the grid. @ryanlcooper.com explains how. prospect.org/environment/...
This was a thrill to find. Dune slope dotted with numerous clumps of wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) in full flower. This is just a small sample. Lake Michigan in background. #nativeplants #nature #bloomscrolling
Squash bees sure are darn photogenic! #nativebees #pollinators
Thank you!
Thank you!
Food & pretty are not mutually exclusive and we are never short on native #pollinators working hard for us as a result. #gardening #bloomscrolling #KitchenGarden #GrowFood #UrbsInHorto #Chicago #NoSpray #organic-gardening 🌱
Why are public lands worth fighting for? They help everyone! 🏞️🐝🦋🪲 A massive public outcry helped stop a recent attempt to sell off public lands. But there are other less-publicized changes that need the same attention. Read on to learn what's going on and what you can do ⤵️ xerces.org/blog/why-pol...
Mr. CMG saw Monarch this AM. Multiple Black Swallowtail #butterflies visiting all day. Measured our Scrophularia which is up to 9ft tall now. Chimney Swifts & #Dragonflies at cruising altitude nabbing sky bugs above our yard. 12+ native #bees zooming Veronicastrum. #gardening #inverts #UrbsInHorto 🌱
Thank you!
Thanks!
Great! We’ve been doing it in parts too.
that's excellent!
front yard garden hitting mid-summer form! mainly native plants. going into year four for the right-hand side (the hellstrip) and year three for the left-hand side (a small berm). #nativeplants #bloomscrolling
Yes! A thousand times this!
June 2025 was the third warmest June on record after 2024 and 2023 in the ERA5 dataset. It was approximately 1.3C above preindustrial (1850-1900) levels.
Thank you for this. I’m struggling with similar thoughts and keep coming back to the intuition that this will be a long fight. Like definitely past my lifetime. I don’t want to lock my kids into my choices, if that makes any sense. So I want to prepare them but also keep their futures open.
That’s the game that hooked my 11 yo on Michigan football. She also still asserts it was the real national championship game.
I cannot overemphasize how mind-bogglingly, brain-meltingly, galactically stupid it is to burn coal for electricity
It’s a fascinating feature of this plant! From what I’ve seen, ants and wasps love the extrafloral nectaries while bumblebees love the flower pollen.
So perfect
Yes! It’s amazing! About two years into our native gardening journey, we started seeing fireflies. And that’s just one example!
Thankfully no, not mimosa. Been growing Partridge pea for several years now in this garden. Moves around to bare spots on its own, like this patch.
That approach works great with natives!
You’re welcome!
Native plants are full of surprises!
Thanks!
You’re welcome!
Yes! The compound leaves are fascinating and beautiful.
Eh, it’s really only one side.
Just really loving this unplanned patch of native Partridge pea that popped up in the front yard garden. #nativeplants #gardening
Climate change doesn’t exist in MAGA world so say goodbye to a dedicated govt website with important data, useful mitigation info & more. Here’s one of the last analysis pieces on our broiling planet: www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/nationa...
Absolutely. Time for blue states to get smart on longterm electoral thinking and open their doors WIDE to any and all. It starts with urgent housing reform but also covers a whole slate of actions they can take right now. We want everyone moving to blue (and purple) states as fast as possible.
It’s really the only way left - at least under current electoral limitations- to end a rogue court devoted to undoing our Constitution. They are not above the people.
Great piece in today's NYTimes on the recent acceleration of global warming (and its impacts), featuring comments from Kate Marvel, Daniel Swain, Cecilia Bitz, and me: www.nytimes.com/2025...
For #PollinatorWeek, we’ve put together all the information you’ll need to make your own pollinator garden into one place. Learn how to pick the right plants, manage issues without pesticides, and provide the nesting habitat that bees & butterflies need to thrive! 🌻🐝🎓
We will never accept a king here. #NoKings
Hartford CT says No Kings!
They’re amazing! The color is quite vivid.
BUZZ pollination has been turned up to 11 on this native purple-flowering raspberry (Rubus odoratus). Bumblebees love its pollen! #nativebees #nativeplants #bloomscrolling #pollinators
Ugh, he's such an idiot. We don't have windmills, we have wind turbines! Windmills are for milling grain. I know this is a minor minor point, but I can't let it pass. (And never mind that wind power is a no brainer add right now to our generation mix.)
Today is World Bee Day. There are around 20,000 species of bees in the world, yet honey bees gets most of the fanfare. Here’s to the sweat bees, the leafcutter bees, the mason bees, the longhorn bees, the bumble bees, the carpenter bees, the squash bees, and all the rest of our unsung bee heroes!
Tired of mowing your lawn? You don't have to! But there is more to #NoMowMay than just that. Whether it’s your first time putting away the mower, or you’re ready to take your pollinator-friendly yard to the next level, we have resources to help! ⤵️ xerces.org/blog/no-mow-...
Random selection of native flowers from a southern New England yard this past week - wild strawberry, spring beauties, wild violet (cool blue-white color mix), and pussytoes (can't remember if field or plaintain). #nativeplants #bloomscrolling #flowers
Love native thistles! Xerces has an excellent free guide to help with IDing, growing, etc.: xerces.org/publications...
Time to celebrate native bees for #InverteFest! They're vital pollinators who need our help. Big, small, fuzzy, metallic green and more. #invertebrates 🌿 🐝 🧪
Let's celebrate Earth Day! Go for a walk in our living world. Touch trees. Be proud about your love for our Earth. Speak up about ending climate change. Speak up about conserving our world. Speak up against the oligarchs who are pushing fossil fuels and pillaging our planet. Make a joyful noise!
Ugh ice storms in spring are the worst!
Native bee party! Warm sunny afternoon and pussy willow flowers brought them out yesterday. Sweat bees mainly, but also unequal cellophane bees and eastern carpenter bees. Love the frenzy! #nativebees #pollinators #nativeplants #bloomscrolling
With climate change accelerating and biodiversity declining, it’s easy to feel powerless. However, just beyond your doorstep lies an opportunity to make a real difference—your yard. Here's how to get started.
This is cool. The Guardian recreated a searchable climate future risk tool (wildfire, extreme heat, drought, hurricane, and coastal flood) for the US that was developed by FEMA but deleted by the Trump administration’s ‘climate’ purge.
Oh I derive great joy from it LOL!
Shame! Shame! Shame!
'Daisy' comes from the Old English for 'day's eye' as the flowers open during the day and shut again at night.
Cowards! These surrender firms should be shunned from the legal profession for all time.
Haha, so true!
FINALLY! the first catkins have opened! our pussy willow (Salix discolor) has begun to flower. a true sign of spring. now hoping for sunny days to bring on the #nativebees - they love this early food source. #bloomscrolling #nativeplants #nature #pollinators
Changing from gas to climate-friendly electric appliances often involves expensive retrofits, but companies now offer appliances that plug into a standard outlet. My latest for @npr.org www.npr.org/2025/03/19/n...
It speaks to so much, especially now. I have a copy on the wall of my office as a constant reminder of what matters.
Nope, we’re going to need to do both - save the Dem party from its failed leadership & then save the country. Was hoping we only needed to do the second, but Schumer’s lying to us - the base! - then caving (with op-ed already in the can) was the revealing moment. Trust forever broken. It’s done.
So much to hate in what he says here but it’s the casual remove from it all, the callous disregard, that bothers me a lot. The whole “I guess we’ll find out if there are any problems here” - like it’s completely unconcerning to him, something happening in a foreign land. He’s needs to retire now.
Excellent. Keep the pressure on. We need a full leadership change for the Senate Dems. That means no roles for the Traitorous Ten.
the traitorous ten
Will just note for the record that I’m 53 years old and I too hate Schumer’s Surrender. It’s not generational! We want Fighting Dems!!!
What the hell is up with Hawaii?
Better talk to Durbin! He’s in on the betrayal apparently
Feels like the answer is something like: we must rid the republic of oligarchs to stop their destruction and perversion of our Constitution. So some kind of rebirth of true equality under the law and Lincoln’s government of the people Gettysburg Address. A return to a fair and real nation of laws.
False! You need to fight now. A vote for the Musk Trump dirty CR is acquiescence. It only makes things worse. You need to resign!
Amen, brother!