Author | Lightnews

cicada song

@cicadasongstl.bsky.social

380 followers 760 following 900 posts

nature. nonfiction. naps. have lived under a military dictatorship. have lived off grid. living in Inoka, Nutachi, & Wahzhazhe land (STL).

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cicada song @cicadasongstl.bsky.social · 1d

Share this with someone you love.

Jill Sapphire Goldberg @jilllsapphire.bsky.social · 5d

May others have the moral courage to hear the message and give it honest consideration

open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

My Last Day as an Accomplice of the Republican Party

Why I’m leaving the GOP and why I’m urging my former colleagues to do the same.

open.substack.com

cicada song @cicadasongstl.bsky.social · 3h

In Missouri, 360,000+ SNAP households - likely representing a million or more people - will struggle with food access in the weeks to come.

If you need help or you can offer help, here are some resources:

feedingmissouri.org/get-help/you...

stlfoodbank.org

caagkc.org/programs/foo...

#STL #MO

Food Bank Locations | Feeding Missouri

feedingmissouri.org

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Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 6h

The Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB) is actively helping federal employees and contractors impacted by the shutdown. We’ll be making a $5,000 donation to help. If you have anything extra to give, please consider donating to them or to a local food bank near you, every bit helps! 🙏

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Thomas Fortenberry @thomasfortenberry.bsky.social · 6h

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cicada song @cicadasongstl.bsky.social · 4h

I posted earlier today that just as Project 2025 was decades in the making, it's time for us to cultivate a new vision, consult our own think tanks, draft a new constitution & a path for ratification. The weaknesses in our system have been exploited & it will take 2+ generations to recover. #history

cicada song @cicadasongstl.bsky.social · 4h

Anti-Muslim hate spilled over on to South Asians in the U.S. post 9/11. I'm willing to bet Usha Vance experienced and/or witnessed some of this herself. And their kids are internalizing all of this racism. Horrifying.

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Alerts from NWS St Louis MO (UNOFFICIAL) @lsx.nws-bot.us · 5h

Child Abduction Emergency issued October 25 at 9:09AM CDT by NWS St Louis MO
Additional Details Here.

CAELSX

The following message is transmitted at the request of the
Illinois State Police.

At the request of the Riverdale police department, the Illinois
AMBER Alert notification system has been activated.

FOUR CHILDREN WERE ABDUCTED FROM 1 3 6 0 9 SOUTH LOWE AVENUE,
RIVERDALE, ILLINOIS AROUND 1:37 THIS MORNING.

NOLAN HILL IS A BLACK 7 YEAR OLD BOY, WHO WEIGHS 54 POUNDS AND
HAS BROWN EYES AND BLACK HAIR. NOLAN IS WEARING BLACK T SHIRT AND
JEANS.

NOVA HILL IS A BLACK 7 YEAR OLD GIRL, WHO WEIGHS 64 POUNDS
AND HAS BROWN EYES AND BLACK HAIR. NOVA IS WEARING A BLUE JACKET
AND BLUE JEANS.

NOAH HILL IS A BLACK 8 YEAR OLD BOY, WHO WEIGHS 60 POUNDS AND HAS
BROWN EYES AND BLACK HAIR. NOAH IS WEARING A GREEN HOODIE, BLACK
PANTS AND BLUE SHOES.

NIA HILL IS A BLACK 10 YEAR OLD GIRL, WHO WEIGHS 90 POUNDS AND
HAS BROWN EYES AND BLACK BRAIDED PONYTAIL HAIR. NIA IS WEARING AN
ORANGE T SHIRT AND BLACK JOGGERS.

THE CHILDREN WERE IN THE BACK SEAT WHEN AUSTIN BELL A 30 YEAR OLD
BLACK MALE WAS OBSERVED DRIVING OFF IN THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE
IS A SILVER 2010 ACURA M D X WITH ILLINOIS LICENSE F E 6 0 6 1 9.

ANYONE WITH INFORMATION SHOULD CALL 9 1 1.

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PJ.bsky.social ✌️🫶📎 @peacehopeubuntu.bsky.social · 5h

Monarch laying eggs on the Milkweed...
#Butterfly #Butterflies #InMyBackyard #MyEclecticGarden #Garden #Pollinators #Nature 🌱💚🌿 #Plants

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Julie the ok gardener @juliejam.bsky.social · 5h

I've already posted one with bees and wasps, so here's another #SixonSaturday with butterflies on American Asters. It's cool and rainy today and the forecast is getting colder this week. I hope I don't have to wait until Spring to see them again. #nativeplants #gardening #butterflies 🌱 🦋

Six butterflies on American Asters, Hairy Oldfield Aster and Panicled Aster, Symphyotrichum pilosum and S. lanceolatum. Clockwise from top left: Variegated Fritillary (Euptoieta claudia), American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis), Orange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme), Monarch (Danaus plexippus), Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos), Common Checkered-Skipper (Burnsius communis). Oklahoma Northern Crosstimbers ecoregion 29a.

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Eco Trekkie (he/him) @ecotrekkie.bsky.social · 15h

I hope this gains traction in the United States. We replaced all our outdoor lights a couple years ago with motion sensitive ones that are off except when motion is detected. Important for all sorts of wildlife. And I want a night sky filled with stars! 🌎

Bylines Network @bylinesnetwork.co.uk · 1d

Dark skies on the rise

Momentum for dark skies friendly communities builds as more residents flick the switch in North Yorkshire

By Louisa Merrick-White

@yorkshirebylines.co.uk

Dark skies on the rise

Momentum for dark skies friendly communities builds as more residents flick the switch in North Yorkshire

yorkshirebylines.co.uk

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The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation @xercessociety.bsky.social · 1d

Good news: the bugs that eat pests in your yard also use fallen leaves to survive the winter!
In general, leaving leaves where they fall is the right move. But there are a few situations where removing (or just moving) plant material from your yard is the right move ⤵️

Leave the Leaves for Natural Pest Control

Fallen leaves provide year-round habitat for all sorts of beneficial insects that eat pests in your yard!

xerces.org

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Concrete Botany @concretebotany.bsky.social · 1d

Tall #Goldenrod (Solidago altissima) shot yesterday.
#Wildflowers #UrbanWildflowers

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BirdyGrayBird @graybirdy.bsky.social · 1d

#FlyDay
We've in a heavy migration season for the monarchs. Pick an inland/beachside sit-to and watch them fly through one after another, searching opportunities for nourishment.

Now, I'm enthralled by a less familiar, the "COMMON BUCKHORN."
Want to learn more?
A copy/paste from my blog in Alt.🔽

While they don't migrate massively like monarchs, they do shift their range by moving southerly. They are smaller than a monarch, as long as 1.5 inches, but beautiful in their own way. Their eyespots resemble shoots of a buckeye, also known as horse chestnut, and with its showy eyespots, back and front basking its vulnerability to predators. Nothing is quite like them, as they are so variable in appearance, no two seem to look alike. They are like goggle-eyed monsters camouflaged, warding them from birds, ants and wasps.

The upperside of the wings display a rich tapestry of colors, including bold orange bars and yellow accents on a brown background. While their underwings feature a unique reddish tint in fall. Their grounding color symbolizes resilience, a natural wisdom and a deep sense of harmony.

So, with increased negative affects caused by deforestation or greedy political manuevers, there are strong indicators that migration and over-wintering are hampering many of the positives in pollination.

Common buckhorns are unusual in their love for red flowers, unlike other butterflies and also huge fans of cone flowers, foxglove, and long bract plantain in pollinator gardens. A reminder is something as simple as adding your own "puddling station," a small saucer with moist sand or compost, even an overripe fruit, especially in areas of drought when mud puddles can give back to their survival.

One can also sign the "Pollinator's Protection Pledge" through the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. Or join the movement to rebuild ecosystems and support a thriving planet at "Homegrown National Park."

Each time I see a common buckhorn, I'll be reminded to "Get down to Earth." Their transformation represents an endurance in overcoming obstacles and how beauty comes in unexpected places. And a sign of good luck!

Truly grateful I've come to know the common buckhorns more, nature gives so much and asks for nothing.

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Jon Wallace🇨🇦 @dunrobinontario.bsky.social · 1d

Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra) has finally joined the autumn colour party 🍂🍁👀

#Trees #NativePlants #Ontario #Canada

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Benoit Blanc @factsnotfiction.bsky.social · 18h

My spring wildflowers reseeded and are sprouting in fall to get ready for spring.

#CaliforniaNativePlants

Birds-eye Gillia, Lacy Phacellia, Elegant Clarkia, and California Poppy

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cicada song @cicadasongstl.bsky.social · 5h

Using a mix of low growing perennials with no more than 40% legumes can enrich your soil, crowd out weeds, and hold in moisture.

cicada song @cicadasongstl.bsky.social · 5h

It takes 6+ years for a garden to mature.

Plant selection & placement largely determine your trajectory.

If you install trees and shrubs first, birds and mammals can save you money by seeding other native plants.

Filling in the beds with living mulches can save you time & labor.

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Elsa 🌻 @naturalbeautyandwonder @beautyandwonder.bsky.social · 21h

Anyone else in awe with native seed pods every year? They're just the coolest and it makes me want to save EVERY seed. I dont have that much room in my house!
#echinaceapurpurea #nativeplants #seedsaving #savenativeseeds #crazyseedlady #biodiversityconservation

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Eco Trekkie (he/him) @ecotrekkie.bsky.social · 20h

This shows part of our property from the air. The left side is winter 2009 and the right is winter 2024-2025. All the dark areas are water. This shows the new wetland areas that I have been working on since 2017. There are no fish in this area but lots of amphibians and other critters now! 🌱 🌎

Two side by side images showing changes to the land since 2009. I'm the 2009 image, a small seasonal stream is flowing through the middle of the property. Mostly straight with no meanders. The 2024-2025 winter image shows a series of ponds, multiple stream channels, some small islands and native plants and woody debris. The changes resulted in a lot of diverse habitats with a lot more water on the land.

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Dr Alex Wodak AM @alexwodak.bsky.social · 13h

>100 years bans Indigenous burning, California tribes restore ‘good fire’.New laws recognise tribal sovereignty to conduct cultural burns - small, intentional fires nourishing native plants, strengthen biodiversity & reduce megafire risk.Fire practitioners now teach new generations read landscapes

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Georgia Native Plant Society @ganativeplants.bsky.social · 7h

Let’s spend some time admiring Georgia’s native plants in their fall finery. We’ll start with persimmon (Diospyros virginiana), nature’s original sour patch kid! Persimmon is found throughout the state as a medium sized deciduous tree whose female flowers produce small fruits. (1/2) #nativeplants

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Elsa 🌻 @naturalbeautyandwonder @beautyandwonder.bsky.social · 6h

Frosty garden morning❄️
Canada goldenrod, late thoroughwort & brown eyed susan seed pod
#nativeplants #bloomscrolling #Michigangardening 🌱 #biodiversityconservation #homegrownnationalpark #elsasallnativeyard

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cicada song @cicadasongstl.bsky.social · 5h

The realization of Project 2025 is the fruit of decades of work. Weaknesses in our Constitutional system have been leveraged to actualize it.

We need a new vision. We need to consult our own think tanks.

We need a new Constitution & a pathway to ratification.

There's no shame in beginning again.

cicada song @cicadasongstl.bsky.social · 5h

"How do we make art in uncivilised times? For me this has to start with slowing down and paying attention. The single track roads I travel along every day admonish me to go SLOW...So, slow, but also soft, can my drawing practice be an act of soft rebellion?" Cally Yeatman, In Praise of Drawing

cicada song @cicadasongstl.bsky.social · 17h

Good night, Bluesky. Stay safe. Stay kind.

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Lit Hub @literaryhub.bsky.social · 1d

“Nonfiction is, at its core, about how one chooses to live and observe life.” Julian Brave NoiseCat explores the relationship between documentary filmmaking and memoir.

Julian Brave NoiseCat on How Directing a Documentary Shaped His Memoir

This first appeared in Lit Hub’s Craft of Writing newsletter—sign up here. A couple months after I signed the contract for my first book, We Survived the Night, I took a call from my friend and col…

buff.ly

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