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Kelly Winters

@ktwinters.bsky.social

1.1K followers 570 following 600 posts

Former Minnesota farm kid and higher ed researcher now living in Northern New Mexico. Gardening with native, waterwise, pollinator- and bird-migration friendly, high-desert perennial plants.

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Kelly Winters @ktwinters.bsky.social · Jan 10

Welcome new followers! Look forward to learning about my life in remote northern New Mexico and the quirky high-desert, artsy, and culturally diverse region around Taos. There will be mentions of cats, native plants, romancelandia, healthcare and education policy inequities, and climate change.

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Reposted by Kelly Winters

LoriPerkinsRAB @loriperkinsrab.bsky.social · 1d

The cruelty is the point.

Trump moves to block public servants from loan forgiveness based on ideology wapo.st/3JC1wbp

Trump moves to block public servants from loan forgiveness based on ideology

Those who work with undocumented immigrants, provide gender transition care for minors or publicly protest could be blocked from student loan forgiveness under a new rule.

wapo.st

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Reposted by Kelly Winters

Saving Country Music @savingcountrymusic.bsky.social · 1d

It's Indian. It's Country. It's Blaine Bailey, who was the first to get booted off that Keith Urban talent show, so you know he's good.
savingcountrymusic.com/album-review...

Album Review – Blaine Bailey’s “Indian Country” - Saving Country Music

On the new album "Indian Country," the music lives up to the name. Country is exactly what you get from Blaine Bailey, and in heavy doses, only the stories are told from the Native American perspectiv...

savingcountrymusic.com

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Kelly Winters @ktwinters.bsky.social · 2d

Reminds me of the observations in Low's excellent song Death of a Salesman in which the speaker gets redirected from his dream of writing and performing music: "They said music's for fools/ You should go back to school/ The future's in prison and math." youtu.be/8wAfl1YY9s0?...

Low - Death of a Salesman (Official Video)

YouTube video by Low

youtu.be

Kelly Winters @ktwinters.bsky.social · 2d

My "pawsome floofs" want to wish a very happy National Cat Day to our feline friends, companions, and situationships.

Two very fluffy adult cats on a bright colored rug with geometric shapes. The calico cat has her ears flat against her head and is making eye contact with the camera in a posture of calico attitude that says, "Aw hell no." Her litter mate brother, a diluted orange with all the orange cat vibes, has his front paws tucked in and is rolled over to expose his ridiculously fluffy white belly to his grumpy calico sister.

Kelly Winters @ktwinters.bsky.social · 2d

The Food Depot #foodbank serves many communities in Northern New Mexico, including several k-12 schools in the Taos area.

The "Find Food Map" tool shows several additional non-profit food pantries directly serving northern New Mexico.

thefooddepot.org/food-assista...

Kelly Winters @ktwinters.bsky.social · 9d

Is this what we will all soon be prompted to use for our serious chronic health conditions if we wish to "keep costs down"? Some herbal tea and a telephone call to an anonymous phone number that might be staffed by AI nurse bots?

The cover of the health brochure from UHC is a blue tea cup on a navy blue background with the words "The only thing better than a cup of tea..."

Inner part of the folded brochure. Left hand side has two tea mugs clinking in a "cheers!" motion with the following text that continues over from the front of the brochure. That text says "...is a cup of tea with a friend".

The right hand fold is white text on blue background that says, "You're not alone. If you or a loved one has recently received a cancer diagnosis, know that support is here. The Cancer Support Program available through UnitedHealthcare offers resources, guidance and more for navigating the road ahead--all provided at no extra cost as part of your benefits.

Final part of the folded brochure is the inner part. Top fold includes two Twinings Lemon and Ginger tea bags that have been affixed with adhesive dots to the paper. Under the tea bags is the text "Share a cup of tea with a friend or loved one as you review your Cancer Support resources together.

Below the tea bags is a final fold with contact information. Text includes: "Enroll in the Cancer Support Program-- Call to learn more and enroll in the program today." I have blacked out the email address, web address, and phone number for privacy.

Kelly Winters @ktwinters.bsky.social · 9d

Yesterday UHC sent me this unsolicited advertising brochure directing me to their in-house, tele-health cancer care options. The theme of the brochure was relaxation, and it included two packets of Twinings herbal tea which had been glued onto the inner flap of the multi-fold flyer.

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Kelly Winters @ktwinters.bsky.social · 9d

I have a form of cancer that is in remission and has been managed for the past 5 years through conservative, minimally-invasive care and watchful waiting.

Every year, I have had to fight my insurer, UnitedHealthcare, for pre-approvals for the routine imaging scans (MRI) used to monitor my cancer.

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Kelly Winters @ktwinters.bsky.social · 10d

I have MCAS and try to eat low-histamine foods as much as possible. I can do eggs, fresh (not aged) cheeses, and flash frozen salmon without flares…

Kelly Winters @ktwinters.bsky.social · 11d

Head shots of Scottish Wildcats auditioning for Trainspotting 3.

Reposted by Kelly Winters

Tim Onion @bencollins.bsky.social · 13d

MSNBC Grandmas in Skechers seamlessly reclaiming the frog from 4chan Nazis in about six weeks has gotta be the political upset of the century.

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Kelly Winters @ktwinters.bsky.social · 18d

In the late 1990s, my college choir got to sing on the Holidazzle float. We all wore parade-supplied star-shaped light collars while singing carols on a slow-moving float in Minneapolis in December.

Kelly Winters @ktwinters.bsky.social · 21d

My favorite time to do this drive is late July/early August to see the alpine wildflowers, but you need to watch out for afternoon monsoons because road washouts and flash floods are possible. There is limited cellphone service throughout the entire drive so plan accordingly.

Kelly Winters @ktwinters.bsky.social · 21d

I’ve done a loooong day driving tour through from Cabresto Lake all the way to Cimarron with loop back to Taos via 64/ Cimarron Canyon in an Outback in the summer. If you’re doing it as a day trip, you won’t have a lot of non-driving time to explore. In the summer the road is usually passable.

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Kelly Winters @ktwinters.bsky.social · 25d

I’d like to see this information disaggregated by degree progress/ credit status. My suspicion is that the drop off is NEW international students (grad and undergrad) which would replace int’l students who graduated in the spring. Not having incoming cohorts of students will devastate higher ed.

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 25d

The number of international students arriving in the U.S. in August fell by 19% this year compared with last year — the largest decline on record outside of the pandemic.

Nearly 20 Percent Fewer International Students Traveled to the U.S. in August

The data shows the steepest decline in August international student arrivals since the pandemic.

nyti.ms

Kelly Winters @ktwinters.bsky.social · 26d

Sangre de Christo Mountains outside Taos in a sunset color festival of pinks, oranges, and purples as a thunderstorm moves through. Large rainbow visible against the mountains with thunder and lightning overhead. Heavy rain and wind starting just as I took this photo. No filters.

#NMWx

Picture of Pueblo Peak outside of Taos, NM tonight as a thunderstorm collides with sunset against the mountains, turning the landscape into a swarm of yellows, oranges, pinks, blues, and purples. Virga, rain that evaporates before falling to the ground, is visible. There is also a bright rainbow on the side of the mountain that my phone's camera can't adequately capture.

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Kelly Winters @ktwinters.bsky.social · Sep 23

Woke up to thick, dense, heavenly fog this morning, and wondered if I had been Raptured. Asked spouse his opinion, and he thought not since we still had our cats and earthly possessions. Rapture or no, the blooming yellow chamisa looks stunning in this fog.

#nativeplants
#rapture
#NewMexico

Chamisa in bloom with bright yellow flowers set against the backdrop of dying annual sunflowers and a mesa in thick fog in the distance.

Picture of mist-soaked wooden fencepost with view of yellow chamisa in bloom and fog-drenched mesa behind.

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Kelly Winters @ktwinters.bsky.social · Sep 13

So many times I sat in bumper to bumper, stop and go traffic on River Road only to learn that it was the turkeys standing in the middle of the road that had caused the backup.

Kelly Winters @ktwinters.bsky.social · Sep 11

I saved my NYT from that day too (as well as the one from the 12th), but mine are debagged.

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Reposted by Kelly Winters

Michael Stipe @michaelstipe.bsky.social · Sep 5

Ok its ‘feed it off an aux, speak, grunt no strength, the ladder start to clatter with fear fight down height, wire in a fire representing seven games, a government for hire and a combat site’.

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Kelly Winters @ktwinters.bsky.social · Aug 25

But intersectional feminism is soooo haaarrrddd!

Kelly Winters @ktwinters.bsky.social · Aug 25

Dang it! I just got into the anti-seed movement because I thought that was going to cure the diabetes and the measles. Now the woke media is telling me to eat olive oil and steamed vegetables! What am I gonna do with the vat of beef tallow I’ve got in the garage?

Kelly Winters @ktwinters.bsky.social · Aug 25

I didn’t realize we were back in the 1990s and trying to rank oppressions again. That’s something one learned in a 1000-level women’s studies class circa 1995.

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Kelly Winters @ktwinters.bsky.social · Aug 24

What big paws she has to grow into! Sweet baby

Reposted by Kelly Winters

The Associated Press @apnews.com · Aug 20

Tre Little's viral “Boots on the Ground” moves have introduced trail ride line dancing to many Americans outside of the Southeast, even being incorporated into Beyoncé's “Cowboy Carter” tour.

Black Cowboy joy is spread by 'Boots on the Ground' viral line dance

The “Boots on the Ground” line dance has quickly become an anticipated moment at African American gatherings, like family reunions, weddings, graduations, parties and cookouts.

bit.ly

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