Notices by Bryan Wright (catselbow@fosstodon.org)

I forgot to mention that the most brilliant sign at the No Kings protest was simply the flag of the state of Virginia, which depicts a bare-breasted Amazon warrior standing with one foot triumphantly on the chest of a defeated king, whose crown has rolled to the side. Underneath are the words "Sic semper tyrannis" (Thus always to tyrants).

#NoKings #NoKingsDay

https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Virginia.svg

We went to the No Kings protest in the small town of Orange, VA today. This is a rural, conservative place, but the crowd was much bigger than I expected and the people driving by were mostly supportive. We got several semis to honk and wave! I got to meet a bunch of nice people and see some friends.

One counter-protesting truck kept driving by, and a couple of guys walked up and tried to start an argument, but everybody kept their cool there were no problems.

#NoKings #NoKingsDay

I would never have seen this fellow if he hadn't moved. He's tiny and the color of the sand in this creekside sandbar.

#beetles #coleoptera #insects #InverteFest #Photography

Medusa.

#plants #flowers #bloomscrolling #photography

A nest full of mushroom hatchlings.

#mushtodon #fungus #sporespondence #Photography

UVa is currently on lockdown. The police are searching for a suspect who fled from a hit-and-run. Classes have been canceled for now. When I got here this morning, a helicopter was circling overhead and roads were being closed.

The buildings have all been locked up. I'm sitting in my office, posting on Mastodon. My son is in the classroom where his first class of the day was held.

No reports that the guy is armed, but the local paper says he has a history with guns
https://dailyprogress.com/news/local/crime-courts/article_34193388-f385-11ef-9643-a7cc491fc088.html

I followed an intermittent stream through the woods to the point where it vanished underground. Its margins were inch-thick mats of dry beech leaves. Where the stream vanished, it became a path of wet, dark brown earth.

If I were still a child, and time still thick and chewy, I'd have sat down there and used a stick to find the vanished water. I'd have made a little pond, a foot across. I'd have watched the sun sparkle on the water while the tree shadows shifted.

Someone should start a hashtag for ants in fine art. #AntIFA, if you will.

A crooked little mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) and the shadows it casts on the snow.

#plants #trees #photography

Whose doorstep is this? The hole is about the diameter of a soft drink can. It's in the bank of a small creek. The hole is half-filled with water. Come out so I can see you!

Two cats with opposite spins, resting in the lowest energy state.

#cats

@futurebird @keefeglise

Why are they leaving? What needs to change?

@futurebird @keefeglise

Are they looking for specific people (friends, relatives, etc.) or just people who share their interests?

@futurebird @keefeglise

Thanks. Sorry for all the questions. Are there things I can do, as an average nerdy mastodon user, to make things better? I don't know where my blind spots are. I'll try to help if I can.

@futurebird

It might seem like a small thing, but I think we need to start with openness and honesty. Secrecy and lies are a cancer that eats at the fabric of society, no matter how well-intended. Are back-room deals, secret negotiations, or covert operations ever really necessary, or are they just expedient?

An asiatic dayflower (Commelina communis).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commelina_communis

A "white-margined burrower bug" nymph (Sehirus cinctus) on boxwood (Buxus sempervirens). There were bunches of these huddled together among the leaves. From a distance, I thought they were ladybugs. Handsome creatures!

#bugs #Hemiptera #insects #photography

If you're over 45, get a colonoscopy.

I know someone in her 60s who recently had her first colonoscopy. They found a tumor, requiring surgery to remove a section of her colon. She had no symptoms before, and is an otherwise healthy and active person.

The pathology report showed that the tumor had just penetrated the outer wall of her colon. If she'd waited longer, it would have metastasized. An earlier colonoscopy could have nipped it as a polyp.

Just do it. It could save your life.

The passion flowers are in bloom, looking like a merry-go-round jointly designed by Dr. Seuss and H.P. Lovecraft.

#plants #flowers #florespondence

A handsome broad-snouted weevil.

#Weevils #beetles #coleoptera #insects #photography