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Andrea Smart

@spicynoodlez11.bsky.social

1.4K followers 600 following 900 posts

Copywriter, amateur photographer, lifetime ESL teacher, nature lover, dark chocolate and Appenzeller cheese enthusiast. The brains behind Puddle & Moss Photography. All pictures I post are mine. Join me in the Alt Text. :-)

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Andrea Smart @spicynoodlez11.bsky.social · 1h

A lovely lichen collection for #ThickTrunkTuesday. #Lichen #Fungi #FungiFriends #Macro #Nature #Photography #PNW #GoOutside #Breathe #Notice #YouMatter

An interesting collection of lichen on the side of a tree trunk. The lower half is dominated by a crusty white-rimmed collection of irregular discs with rusty orange centers. A swath of bright yellow, amoeba-like sunburst lichen with some of its alien-like discs stretches across the top of the bark.

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Andrea Smart @spicynoodlez11.bsky.social · 12h

What a long, long day. I just want to float in the water. #Mono #ManicMonday #Water #Texture #Fluid #Nature #Photography #PNW #GoOutside #Breathe #Notice #Don’tGiveUp

A naturally monochromatic shot of ripples on a stream on a cloudy day. The black and gray squiggly ripples are tree branches reflected on the water and the white is the reflected light from the clouds. The ripples are being caused by a water skipper insect off screen to the lower left, so the ripples spread from there out to the right, where they get progressively darker.

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Andrea Smart @spicynoodlez11.bsky.social · 1d

Me toooo! It’s one of my favorite things!

Andrea Smart @spicynoodlez11.bsky.social · 2d

These crazy dahlias! #Sunday #StunDay #Dahlias #Flowers #BloomScrolling #GoOutside #PNW #Breathe #Notice

Two big, bright pink, chaotically petaled dahlias that look like big pom-poms. The petals kind of swirl around in a clockwise direction. They’re each about 7 inches across.

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Andrea Smart @spicynoodlez11.bsky.social · 2d

It’s just barely still Saturday here and I finally got to look through some of my lichen pictures. Look at all the different species on this little 4 cm. wide space! #HotStickSaturday #Lichen #Fungi #FungiFriends #Trees #PNW #Nature #Photography #GoOutside #Breathe #Notice

Closeup of forked twig on a tree - about 4 centimeters wide with the main branch heading diagonally up from left to right, and a thinner twig growing out towards the bottom right. It’s covered in at least 6, maybe 7 different types of lichen - some olive green foliose, some black nodes, some gray rim-disc varieties with white rims, some branchy, disc-y yellow candle flame lichen, maybe. The diversity in such a small space is crazy!

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Andrea Smart @spicynoodlez11.bsky.social · 2d

Thanks! What an experience it was!

Andrea Smart @spicynoodlez11.bsky.social · 2d

When I heard that today’s #BlueSkyArtShow was #Glow, this immediately came to mind. The May 2024 auroras made me cry, they were so beautiful.

The spectacular May 2024 auroras as seen over the western hills of the Willamette Valley. Glowing purples at the top of the frame give way to a bright, wide swath of magenta that blends into streaky swirls of lime green near the dark silhouette of the hills and the fir trees on the right. Neighborhood lights shine on the center hill.

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Andrea Smart @spicynoodlez11.bsky.social · 3d

Roses are still blooming, even now. Hang in there. #FlowersOnFriday #BloomScrolling #Roses #PNW #Nature #Photography #GoOutside #Breathe #Notice

Closeup of an unfurling lavender rose at twilight. The center is still somewhat tightly packed with petals wrapped around each other.

Andrea Smart @spicynoodlez11.bsky.social · 4d

No words.

The Daily Show @thedailyshow.com · 4d

The following is REAL footage from Portland, 2025. Viewer discretion is advised.

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Andrea Smart @spicynoodlez11.bsky.social · 4d

Sudden thunderstorm! ⛈️ Waiting at the bus stop to pick up my kids because lightning. ⚡️ #Raindrops #window #Nature #Photography #PNW #GoOutside #Breathe #Notice #Don’tGiveUp

Raindrops fall on the car window, making the trees look upside down in each of the drops. The trees in the background are blurry, but they’re now a mix of dark and light green, as well as some autumn yellow and brown.

Andrea Smart @spicynoodlez11.bsky.social · 6d

Some Douglas fir trees for #ThickTrunkTuesday. Hang in there, everyone. #Forests #Sunbeams #Trees #Nature #Photography #PNW #GoOutside #Breathe #Notice #YouMatter #AndDon’tLetAnyoneTellYouOtherwise

Bright, late afternoon sunbeams stream through the Douglas fir trunks in a forest near the Oregon Coast.

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Andrea Smart @spicynoodlez11.bsky.social · 7d

Last night’s moon… not quite full. Still room for a slice of pie. #Moon #MinimalMonday #GoOutside #LookUp #Breathe #Notice

A picture of the moon in dark space. It’s about 2 days away from being full here.

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Andrea Smart @spicynoodlez11.bsky.social · 8d

A honeybee visiting a partially opened sunflower. Nature is stunning. #Sunday #StunDay #Sunflower #BloomScrolling #Flowers #Honeybee #Pollinators #Autumn #GoOutside #Breathe #Notice #Don’tGiveUp

Closeup of a partially opened sunflower. The center is brown and bumpy, and a honeybee is rooting around on it. The petals are yellowing at the center, but quickly turn orange. They become bright yellow again at the ends. On the lower left side, the spiky green leaves are still unfolding and a cluster of unopened petals is still curled toward the center of the flower.

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Andrea Smart @spicynoodlez11.bsky.social · 9d

Enjoyed some rain this week. The moss and lichen enjoyed it too: #HotStickSaturday #Moss #ISeeMoss #Lichen #Fungi #FungiFriends #Fall #Nature #Photography #PNW #GoOutside #Breathe #Notice

A scraggly, four-pronged lilac branch covered in different types of lichen and a central ball of moss. Lovely.

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Andrea Smart @spicynoodlez11.bsky.social · 10d

After a long day, an enchanting and unexpected #Sunset helps me #Relax. #BlueSkyArtShow #Nature #Photography #LookForTheLight #Trees #PNW

A sunset sky dotted with pink, cotton candy clouds surrounds an amoeba-shaped portal of blue sky that goes from light to darker as you move from the horizon of silhouetted evergreen trees. This was 2 nights ago, and it was delightfully relaxing.

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Andrea Smart @spicynoodlez11.bsky.social · 10d

Fog collecting on cedar needles gives me joy. Here’s some for you too: #Evergreen #Cedar #Fog #Water #Nature #Photography #PNW #GoOutside #Breathe #Notice #Don’tGiveUp

A silhouetted cedar bough stretches across the frame, its needles covered in tiny, crystal fog droplet orbs. Spiderwebs also dotted with fog droplets stretch from some of the needles to other needles.

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Andrea Smart @spicynoodlez11.bsky.social · 11d

The sunset in Portland, Oregon tonight. Dark clouds on the far left billow out and turn into feathers of salmon pink and lavender with a wispy periwinkle sky above and shades of honey closer to the horizon and tree line.

Andrea Smart @spicynoodlez11.bsky.social · 11d

Went for a lovely dinner and walk with @smartone.bsky.social in #Peaceful #rainy #PortlandOregon (AKA #PDX) this evening. Enjoyed the nature and contemplation at #TheGrotto. The only thing on fire in PDX tonight was the sunset about 45 minutes after this video was filmed 1/2

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Andrea Smart @spicynoodlez11.bsky.social · 11d

Is #ThistlesOnThursday a thing? I’m not sure it even should be, but it sounds fun.

Andrea Smart @spicynoodlez11.bsky.social · 11d

Participated in a habitat restoration project last weekend and was about to pull this thistle when a butterfly landed. Supervisor said to leave it b/c “Pollinators need all the help they can get.” #Butterfly #Invertebrates #Insects #PNW #Nature #JustServe #GoOutside #pollinators

An American Lady butterfly (if my iNaturalist choice is correct) sits atop fuzzy magenta thistle flowers to drink nectar. The butterfly has a lovely orange and black pattern with some white markings at the tips. Spiky green thistles poke out all around, and blurry brown mulch makes the background.

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Andrea Smart @spicynoodlez11.bsky.social · 12d

My kids introduced me to stalked jellyfish this summer. #TidesOutTuesday #TidePools #Beach #PacificOcean #PNW #Nature #Photography #GoOutside #Breathe #Notice #Don’tGiveUp

A stalked jellyfish attached to the rock on the upper left side of a tide pool. It kind of looks like a brownish red lily flower with darker stripes on the sides and then pom-pom tentacle collections on the edges of the “petals”. Golden sand lines the bottom of the tide pool, and bits of seaweed are scattered here and there.

Andrea Smart @spicynoodlez11.bsky.social · 13d

This plump little squirrel was noshing in the big leaf maple out back. #ThickTrunkTuesday #Squirrel #Trees #Nature #Photography #PNW #GoOutside #Breathe #Notice #Fall #Don’tGiveUp

The right side of the picture features a fat, fuzzy, gray squirrel with its paws to its mouth, nibbling on maple seeds. Green big-leaf maple leaves in the lower foreground, blurry, but sunlit evergreen boughs behind the squirrel and to the left.

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Andrea Smart @spicynoodlez11.bsky.social · 14d

I feel this in my bones.

Andrea Smart @spicynoodlez11.bsky.social · 14d

A cosmos unfolds as a fellow bud waits its turn. #BloomScrolling #Flowers #Cosmos #Nature #Photography #PNW #GoOutside #Breathe #Notice #KeepGoing

A deep magenta cosmos flower’s upper petals are open while the lower ones are still partially closed around its bright yellow center. The petals go from a brighter magenta at the edges to a deep, dark magenta toward the center. A shiny, dark magenta bud to the upper left bulges, awaiting its blooming time while the green leaves around it are shaped like a green sunburst. Other buds and a lot of shaggy greenery are blurred out in the background.

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Andrea Smart @spicynoodlez11.bsky.social · 15d

Lovely!