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Science Mom

@thesciencemom.bsky.social

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Live in SE Alaska Science educator Naturalist Also known as Jenny Ballif

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Science Mom @thesciencemom.bsky.social · Feb 27

My first time on the front page of a newspaper was after a 10-hour shift firefighting. I was so dirty, my own mom didn’t recognize me.

When I called her the next day she exclaimed, “That was YOU?!?”

A story about the federal firings. 1/

A very dirty firefighter wearing a yellow shirt holds a piece of watermelon. She is so intent on eating the watermelon, she has no idea her picture is being taken.

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Science Mom @thesciencemom.bsky.social · 13h

Today I found the cutest little mushrooms EVER! They only grow on spruce cones and are like something straight out of a fairy tale.

Strobilurus occidentalis, aka spruce cone mushroom or spruce conesprout.

6 tiny pale mushrooms are visible growing out of a Sitka spruce cone, which is laying in green moss

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Science Mom @thesciencemom.bsky.social · 3d

Do you pick bog cranberries and lingonberries before or after the first frost?

Haven’t had a frost here yet, but I found a great berry spot while enjoying the morning sunshine and they were too delicious to pass up!

A hand holds dozens of small red berries (bog cranberry and lingonberries)

Trees are reflected in the still waters of frog pond.

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Science Mom @thesciencemom.bsky.social · 5d

Highlight #2:

Mosaics of moss and lichens
Tiny fungi
Sculpted shore pines reflected in water

Reindeer lichen grows among brown and red sphagnum moss

Tiny Moss bell mushrooms grow at the base of a tree

A shore line with mostly bare trunk and branches and needles just near the top grows at an angle over a pool of water in a muskeg on a cloudy day. Tree covered mountains are visible in the background.

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Science Mom @thesciencemom.bsky.social · 5d

Sunday botany walk highlight #1:

Bog cranberries!

🌱They shine like ruby jewels in the muskeg.
🌱Crisp texture and wonderful flavor.
🌱A delightful ratio of plant to fruit.

If our blueberry bush adopted the same ratio, it would make berries the size of beach balls.

3 bog cranberries (Vaccinium oxycoccos) lay among orange and red sphagnum moss and grass. The small green leaves of the cranberries are barely visible among the moss.

A close up photo of a red cranberry against a backdrop of moss. The thin stem and green leaves lead diagonally to the right side of the photo.

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Science Mom @thesciencemom.bsky.social · 5d

I haven’t tried it, but from what I’ve read, it doesn’t have much flavor. Better to look at and photograph than to eat.

Science Mom @thesciencemom.bsky.social · 5d

That’s Apricot jelly! Super fun fungi to see.

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Science Mom @thesciencemom.bsky.social · 8d

Went out first thing this morning to try fishing from shore. Didn’t catch any fish, but a whale came by! Tossed the rod in the car and ran/watched along the highway for 20 minutes. What a great way to start the day 🥰

#AlaskaSky

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Science Mom @thesciencemom.bsky.social · 12d

Fabulous pictures!

Science Mom @thesciencemom.bsky.social · 12d

I loved these pictures! They were on the front page of our weekend newspaper.

There aren’t too many days of the year where surfing can happen— we have to get pretty good swell coming in thru Nichols passage.

Science Mom @thesciencemom.bsky.social · 13d

Today’s Sunday morning botany hike was magical. #AlaskaSky #Tongass

A small orange mushroom grows among green moss

A blue blueberry with red leaves is surrounded by evergreen heather.

A view of blue sky, blue ocean channels, and green islands. Hemlock branches frame the view on either side

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Shoshanah in Alaska @shanahstone.bsky.social · 15d

Public comment on the reorganization is open through Sep. 30.

www.usda.gov/about-usda/n...

www.usda.gov

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Science Mom @thesciencemom.bsky.social · 15d

😅 team “write papers immediately!” If civilization survives, you’ll get published for SURE, lol

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Shoshanah in Alaska @shanahstone.bsky.social · Jan 27

Get the facts. There’s no benefit to logging the Tongass. None.

At a certain point it appears MAGA just wants to destroy stuff because they can.

#SaveRoadless #ProtectTheTongass
#akleg #akgov

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Science Mom @thesciencemom.bsky.social · 16d

To those who say SE Alaska doesn’t have fall colors, I present tomorrow’s weather forecast.

#AlaskaSky
#Autumn

A screenshot of the Windy app weather forecast for Ketchikan showing wind speed gusts increasing from 23 mph (yellow) to 57 mph (red).

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HELLody SchreiBOO @melodyschreiber.com · 17d

Fully 80% of the CDC's budget goes out to state and local health departments. Slashing the CDC's budget is going to be felt by "every person in every community across this country, whether they realize it or not.” my latest: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Trump’s CDC cuts could threaten chronic illness and national security, experts warn

Public health leaders worry proposed 53% CDC slash would weaken disease prevention and pose a national security risk

www.theguardian.com

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Cory Booker @corybooker.com · 21d

Mark is right, Trump is pushing costs up, and driving us toward a shut down.

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Tara Campbell @taracampbell.bsky.social · 25d

Hey, folks, there's still time to submit comments on the Roadless Rule. We have until Sept 19

Here's a great page I found that breaks it all down and provides the link at the end

nationalparkhistory.substack.com/p/let-me-tea...

Let me teach you how to defend the Roadless Rule

This is how I would explain it in my classroom

nationalparkhistory.substack.com

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Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR) @hcrichardson.bsky.social · 26d

1901, photograph by Dr. Allan Warner of two 13 year old boys both infected with smallpox on the same day, one vaccinated as an infant and one not.

Of the two boys with smallpox, the one who had been vaccinated has very few pox while the other is horribly disfigured.

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Science Mom @thesciencemom.bsky.social · 27d

Salal and red huckleberry turned out to be a fabulous combo in tonight’s muffin experiment. #AlaskaSky

Dark blue-black Salal berries hang in a line from fuzzy red stems

Muffins with red and dark purple berries

Red huckleberries are abundant among the leaves and branches of a bush

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Science Mom @thesciencemom.bsky.social · Sep 11

My daughter and I have a joint goal on the free Finch app. If she practices cello and I do yoga, then we both get to mark off our “celloga” goal. It’s fairly simple- but maintaining a streak there and saying hi to the cute birds and micropets each day has been very motivating!

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Science Mom @thesciencemom.bsky.social · Sep 11

Found solace and sore feet on a 13 mile hike in the #Tongass last weekend. So grateful to be able to spend a full day exploring the alpine.

Sunlight beams through mist in a spruce hemlock forest with an understory of blueberries and rusty menziesia

The shadow of Deer mountain falls on the top of clouds that blanket the valleys and inlets of Revillagigedo and Gravina islands

The wildflower broad-leaved gentian waits for the sun to shine before unfurling its blue petals.

Deer cabbage leaves glow orange red in the early morning light, surrounded by evergreen heather and mountain hemlock

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Science Mom @thesciencemom.bsky.social · Sep 11

I started doing yoga daily in May and it’s been really beneficial for both my mental and physical wellbeing.

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National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) @protectparks.bsky.social · Sep 5

USFS recently opened a public comment period around a reckless proposal to eliminate the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, commonly known as the “Roadless Rule,” which could impact over 45M acres of national forestland.

Learn more — and take action. www.npca.org/articles/104...

6 Reasons to Keep the 'Roadless Rule' in Place

NPCA supports continuation of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule to protect our nation’s forests — for national parks, wildlife, recreation and more.

www.npca.org

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Science Mom @thesciencemom.bsky.social · Aug 22

Amazing photos!

Science Mom @thesciencemom.bsky.social · Aug 22

The picture makes it look closer than we were because the whale is fairly close to shore and we’re behind it a ways. We were over 100 yds away- here’s the video I took when the picture was taken. This is zoomed in 7x.