Author | Lightnews

gray, spelled g r a y @grayherndon.bsky.social · Oct 2

#wheresfrancine #lowes #loweshomeimprovement #rva #cats #nc #northcarolina

Urgent Action to Recover Francine, the Missing Lowe’s Cat

Together, we can bring Francine home. We urge Lowe’s to act with transparency, compassion, and urgency. Please add your name below to show your support and help ensure every possible step is taken for...

action.bestfriends.org

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gray, spelled g r a y @grayherndon.bsky.social · Sep 29

#wheresfrancine #lowes #loweshomeimprovement #rva #cats #nc #northcarolina

VPM News @vpm.org · Sep 29

Francine — an iconic Richmond cat who lives at the West Broad Street Lowe’s — has gone missing.

According to a social media post, an employee said the last time that Francine had been seen in the store was on Sept. 18.

An Instagram account was set up to share up-to-date information in her search.

Francine, the famous Richmond Lowe’s cat, has gone missing

A community search from Virginia to North Carolina is underway.

www.vpm.org

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gray, spelled g r a y @grayherndon.bsky.social · Sep 29

#wheresfrancine #lowes #loweshomeimprovement #rva #cats #nc #northcarolina

www.wric.com

gray, spelled g r a y @grayherndon.bsky.social · Sep 29

Came home from getting coffee this morning to find a native Carolina mantis (Stagmomantis carolina) beside my front door. Not sure I’ve ever seen one before - we always have the Chinese mantises.

I might cry.

#nativewildlife #insects #friends #gardeningforwildlife

Side view of a native Carolina mantis climbing the brick wall of a house. The mantis is mottled brown and gray and its folded wings resemble decayed leaves. The brick is red and scored with vertical lines, and the mantis is about as long as one brick is high. Behind it is the white trim around a doorway. The mantis’s head is turned toward the camera.

Dorsal view of a native Carolina mantis climbing the brick wall of a house. The mantis is mottled brown and gray and its folded wings resemble decayed leaves. The brick is red and scored with vertical lines, and the mantis is about as long as one brick is high. Behind it is the white trim around a doorway. The mantis’s head is turned toward the camera.

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gray, spelled g r a y @grayherndon.bsky.social · Jul 8

This is in VA (I should’ve said) - seems they’re mainly around the mid-Atlantic, though I saw mention of them maybe being further north as well?

We’ve seen 2-3 now (all outside) in the 6 years we’ve been at this place. Inside we mainly get broad-faced sac spiders, which are harmless but bite HARD.

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gray, spelled g r a y @grayherndon.bsky.social · Jul 8

Accidentally disturbed this young lady, a northern black widow (Latrodectus variolus) according to Seek, while weeding this evening. She’s itty bitty (or itsy bitsy)! I think she’s too young to be married, let alone a widow.

#nativewildlife #spiders #friends

A tiny northern black widow spider sits on a green violet leaf, with green and dried grass stems crossing in the background. She is round and shiny black, with three red patches in a row down her back outlined in yellow/white and a pair of slanted white lines on either side. Her legs appear striped black and a lighter gray-brown.

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gray, spelled g r a y @grayherndon.bsky.social · Jul 4

Go outside. Try to make a dent in the spotted lanternflies that are harming my trees. Work on brush piles. Breathe fresh air. Watch the lightning bugs. One foot in front of the other.

gray, spelled g r a y @grayherndon.bsky.social · Jul 4

255 total #SpottedLanternflies killed in the last 3 days that I’ve gotten to focus on them. Overall count killed since 4/30, 2380+.

#SpottedLanternfly #invasivespecies

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gray, spelled g r a y @grayherndon.bsky.social · Jul 1

We started hearing them over the weekend.

Our city, however, is doing a drone show instead of fireworks for the first time this year.

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gray, spelled g r a y @grayherndon.bsky.social · Jul 1

~215 of those were yesterday, and ~140 the day before. They’re congregating thickly on my black walnuts now, which makes it easy to get a lot at once… from the branches I can reach, that is. (Also this doesn’t include today’s bunch, which I left outside & am too lazy to retrieve.)

gray, spelled g r a y @grayherndon.bsky.social · Jul 1

Quite some time since I updated my #SpottedLanternfly kill count. And really, I haven’t been great at getting out every day to kill them. Too many other garden tasks! But the last few times I’ve been out add up to 745 #SpottedLanternflies killed, so 2125+ since 4/30.

#invasivespecies

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gray, spelled g r a y @grayherndon.bsky.social · Jun 30

One of my goals for this year!

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation @xercessociety.bsky.social · Jun 23

Help your local bugs beat the heat and give them a drink! Access to water can help bees, butterflies, and other pollinators survive the summer heat. Adding a water feature to your yard, garden, or balcony is an easy way to create much-needed habitat for wildlife.
xerces.org/blog/if-your...

If You’re Thirsty, They’re Thirsty: Make a Simple Water Source To Support Pollinators

Even a humble puddle can make a big impact for your backyard wildlife. Learn how to make one that fits your space.

xerces.org

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gray, spelled g r a y @grayherndon.bsky.social · Jun 28

I love these guys! So pretty.

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gray, spelled g r a y @grayherndon.bsky.social · Jun 27

I feel sick.

The New York Times @nytimes.com · Jun 27

Breaking News: The University of Virginia president, James E. Ryan, is said to have resigned under pressure from the Trump administration over DEI. nyti.ms/4npkLUK

Text reads: "University of Virginia President Resigns Under Pressure From Trump." Photo of James E. Ryan by Win Mcnamee/Getty Images

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gray, spelled g r a y @grayherndon.bsky.social · Jun 12

Oh I am so very sorry. ❤️

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gray, spelled g r a y @grayherndon.bsky.social · Jun 7

Oh, this is helpful, thank you!

gray, spelled g r a y @grayherndon.bsky.social · Jun 6

Had a similar experience last week after emergency & regular vet. But regular vet got her back on track after a second visit. Hope your kitty gets better quickly!

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gray, spelled g r a y @grayherndon.bsky.social · Jun 3

If I ever again say I plan to glove up and pull poison ivy for two hours on an 80 degree day someone tell me to drag my behind out of bed *early* to do it and not wait till noon to get started.

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gray, spelled g r a y @grayherndon.bsky.social · Jun 2

Our little squirrel-planted black walnut (Juglans nigra) in the front yard has walnuts growing on it for the first time this year! 😍

#nativeplants #virginianativeplants

A closeup of five small walnuts growing in a cluster on a black walnut tree. They are not fully grown and at this time are shaped almost like pears or lemons, and their skin is light green and knobby. Around them are several green stems with a reddish tint on one side each, and behind and out of focus are the tree’s leaves against the sky.

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gray, spelled g r a y @grayherndon.bsky.social · Jun 1

This does look very cozy, and I’m sure the kitty agrees!

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gray, spelled g r a y @grayherndon.bsky.social · Jun 1

Why will no one save me from myself? 😬😬😬

#nativeplants #virginianativeplants

The back hatch of a red Honda Element is open, showing the interior filled to bursting with a selection of plants, including various small trees, shrubs, vines, tall and short perennials, and sedges. The stems of some plants reach to the ceiling of the car.

A variety of small plants are arranged in plastic flats and a long cardboard box on grass in front of a decomposing log, with taller plants such as trees and shrubs in larger pots ranged behind the log and wedged together to stay upright. Behind them are boxwoods, an unkempt planting bed, and the foundation and wall of a brick house.

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gray, spelled g r a y @grayherndon.bsky.social · May 31

Is it bad when the lady at the nursery gives you a free t-shirt due to the size of your purchase?

😬😬😬

#nativeplants #virginianativeplants

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gray, spelled g r a y @grayherndon.bsky.social · May 31

“If the idea of a river bearing rights seems radical to the point of being absurd, remember that corporations, under U.S. and British law, are nonhuman entities with a wide suite of rights, including the right to a fair trial and rights to certain privacies.”

Opinion | Trump’s War on Nature Is Up Against a Powerful New Resistance Movement

www.nytimes.com

gray, spelled g r a y @grayherndon.bsky.social · May 26

Thank you for this reminder that I need to order my partner to clean out the Element *entirely* ahead of my birthday native plant nursery trip next weekend!

(The truck would fit more but I worry about things whipping in the wind all the way home.. and we can still get a *lot* into the Element!)

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Reposted by gray, spelled g r a y

The Associated Press @apnews.com · May 24

Whether it's No Mow May or Let It Bloom June or Leave The Leaves, homeowners are finding more ways to adopt a low mow lifestyle instead of keeping up with short, manicured lawns.

Bored with manicured lawns, some homeowners adopt No Mow May all year long

Whether it's No Mow May or Let It Bloom June or Leave The Leaves, homeowners are finding more ways to adopt a low mow lifestyle instead of keeping up with short, manicured lawns.

bit.ly

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