iolanthe
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iolantherosa.bsky.social
iolanthe
@iolantherosa.bsky.social
900 followers 810 following 3.1K posts
Birder, artist, piano learner, cat lover. Veteran of 7 startups. California native, retired in Marin County. Atheist Jew.
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iolantherosa.bsky.social
Today's #BirdOfTheDay set by @robcrank68.bsky.social
is #Gannets. I went on a trip to #Orkney #Scotland in 2022 -- our first international trip after Covid -- and we saw so many wonderful birds, including this Gannet on Noup Head, giving me the classic "You lookin' at *me*?" face. 🪶
The neck and head of a gannet peering over a carpet of pink sea thrift with the blue-black sea in the background. It is looking directly at the camera with a challenging expression. A few black and white tail feathers peek above the sea thrift.
November 29, 2025 at 2:53 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
Just had gelato at the Calabasas Commons, and I swear that place has the most boob jobs per square foot of and location on earth!
November 28, 2025 at 9:21 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
Another sketchbook study for my California poppy series, this one autumn. I threw in some Madrone berries, not sure if they’re too out there. #Watercolor #Abstract #ArtYear.
An abstract with floral and berry figurative elements, set in an atmosphere of brown’s blues and greens.
November 28, 2025 at 7:02 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
A lovely hare in my sketchbook. #Watercolor #ArtYear
A hare sitting in a three-quarter pose, one bright eye facing the camera.
November 28, 2025 at 6:59 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
Mood:
oregonthedm.bsky.social Oregon 🕎🎲 @oregonthedm.bsky.social · 7d
Part 218 of 200 in historically interesting things to inspire your ttrpg dnd

Ceramic hedgehog dated to the Neolithic period found at the Hamin archaeological site near Shebotu Town in Inner Mongolia, China
Shocked Stone headgehog
November 27, 2025 at 4:00 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
Apple glow
pomological.xor.blue old fruit pictures @pomological.xor.blue · 2d
ben davis apples, painted by mary daisy arnold, 1933
ben davis apples, painted by mary daisy arnold, 1933
November 27, 2025 at 3:50 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
@robcrank68.bsky.social #BirdOfTheDay theme is #HeadShot. Here is a Great Blue Heron, looking very much like the in-house counsel at the last company I worked at. 🪶
A face-on head shot of a Great Blue Heron. He has a white head with gray hair tufts on either side, yellow eyes, and a pink bill. His breast is covered in long, luxuriant, puffy feathers.
November 27, 2025 at 2:43 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
For #WoodpeckerWednesday, I bring you a Pileated Woodpecker hard at work! 🪶
A photograph of a Pileated Woodpecker hammering away at a log that it is standing on. It's head is blurred so all you can see is the arcing curvature of the action.
November 26, 2025 at 3:45 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
I’m working on a series of abstract pieces based on California poppies through the seasons. This is a test run in my sketchbook for Summer. #Watercolor #WIP #ArtYear
Watercolor with abstracted flower petals in bright, swirling pinks, oranges and yellows, and cooler colors around the sides.
November 25, 2025 at 8:49 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
PSA 🪶
A frame from a vintage Batman and Robin comic. Batman is slapping someone (Robin? Sorry, I'm not an aficionado of comics). The slapee is saying "But it's the best shopping day of the..." Batman (the slapper) is saying "Stop it! We're going birding."
November 25, 2025 at 4:17 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
Barn Owl Four Ways: #Ink #Graphite, #Watercolor, #Photograph #ArtYear
4 depictions of a barn owl in flight, just coming in for a landing, with feet outstretched. From left to right: Ink countour drasing, graphite drawing, watercolor painting and photograph.
November 25, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Reposted by iolanthe
lbflyawayhome.bsky.social
Other work by the Ladybird artists.
Mallards over the Marshes
Artist: Roland Green
A dramatic scene in moonlight as the birds take flight against the dark sky and flat landscape
November 24, 2025 at 9:06 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
@alan678.bsky.social #BirdOfTheDay is #Warbler. I was surprised how many good warbler photos I have, because they are notoriously hard to photograph. California is not super-warbler-rich, but Wilson's Warbler is reliable, and this one is warbling its little heart out. 🪶
A small, bright yellow bird in a twiggy shrub on a grey day, with shiny black eye, its bill wide open as it loudly sings.
November 24, 2025 at 6:48 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
For #MacroMonday and #ColorADay #PinkMon, here's a lovely sweet pea. I can almost smell it through the screen!
A close-up of a bright pink sweet pea, its petals folded and layered in sinuous curves
November 24, 2025 at 6:15 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
For #MacroMonday, how about some Spanish Moss? Love how it swoops and flows.
An irregular netting pattern of light green strands, sometimes tightly woven and other times wide open.
November 24, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Reposted by iolanthe
mikemelton.bsky.social
One of Barry's descendants surveying the area at @tapirvalley.bsky.social #CostaRica

Bare-throated Tiger-Heron

#birds #herons #nature
Tall heron standing alert in wet grass, showing flared, finely barred neck feathers, a streaked chest, and a long sharp bill with a bright yellow eye.
November 23, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Reposted by iolanthe
alextomlinson.com
Flat illustration of a Pileated Woodpecker surrounded by colorful patterned tiles in red, blue, and yellow which include small drawings of stars, woodpeckers, and ants!
November 23, 2025 at 4:50 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
@robcrank68.bsky.social Some might object to the heteronormativity of the #MrAndMrs theme, so I also have a #MrAndMr photo. This pair of drakes hung out together all last year on the creek next to our condo, clearly enjoying each other's company. 🪶
November 23, 2025 at 2:36 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
@robcrank68.bsky.social #BirdOfTheDay theme is #MrAndMrs. I have an absolutely perfect pair of mallards, clearly enjoying the benefits of a long and stable partnership. I particularly like the Mona Lisa smile on the female 🪶
A male and female mallard perched on the edge o a creek. The male is in the background showing his emerald green head, looking right (his right) and the female is tucked next to him, showing her blue speculum feathers.
November 23, 2025 at 2:34 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
#Stunday scene just-post-sunrise on Rodeo Lagoon #GGNRA #MarinHeadlands with 2 cormorants. I like the golden green of the water and the reflection of the house. 🪶
Two double-crested cormorants posing on snags emerging from the water, which is greenish gold. In the foreground there is a mysterious reflection of a white structure. Behind the birds, mist rises gently from the water. A shrubby chapparal-covered hill rises gently in the back.
November 23, 2025 at 2:29 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
For best results, plant it next to a rose that kills 3 other roses saying “Because we are too many”
shellymak.bsky.social Shellymäk @shellymak.bsky.social · 7d
Rosa 'Jude the Obscure' is a pale apricot English shrub rose bred by David Austin, known for its large, chalice-shaped blooms and strong, fruity fragrance. It was introduced in 1995 and named after Thomas Hardy's novel. From the gardener Lee Douglas in New Zealand.
November 22, 2025 at 11:04 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
Today's #BirdOfTheDay alternative theme is #Silhouette. I wasn't going post anything, but I just got back from a hike at Rodeo Lagoon #MarinHeadlands, and snapped this portrait of two Double-crested Cormorants, and it fills the bill (so to speak) #Scape #Landscape 🪶
Two double-crested cormorants in silhouette in the middle of a large brackish lagoon, bright blue just before sunrise.
November 22, 2025 at 7:59 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
Today's #BirdOfTheDay is #BirdOnAWire. This European Starling is at Crissy Field #Presidio with the #SanFrancisco skyline at #sunrise. I mega-commuted from Santa Rosa to SOMA for 5 years (90 mins in, 2 hrs back!) and I would leave super-early to beat the traffic and stop to bird along the way.
A speckled European starling on thick wire along the shoreline. The sun is rising and the sky is yellow with the San Francisco skyline, dominated by the Salesforce tower, in the background. The bird is largely silver and black, with its speckles highlighted. There is a slight greenish opalescence on its breast.
November 22, 2025 at 2:30 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
This is Frankie, the other cat I painted for my friend Leslie's 70th. #Watercolor #Gouache #ArtYear #PetPortraits #BlackCat
A head of a black cat against a blue background. It has shiny black fur, pale yellow eyes, and a sweet expression.
November 22, 2025 at 2:22 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
Fascinating article. news.artnet.com/art-world/em...
This Empress Had the Most Famous Hair in the World—What Her Ravishing Portrait Reveals | Artnet News
A scene in Guillermo del Toro's new film 'Frankenstein' brought this portrait of Empress Sisi of Austria back into the spotlight.
news.artnet.com
November 22, 2025 at 2:04 PM