Sarah - ☮️🌙🌎💫🌈⛈️❄️
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glassyide.bsky.social
Sarah - ☮️🌙🌎💫🌈⛈️❄️
@glassyide.bsky.social
500 followers 990 following 470 posts
I am an amateur photographer mostly doing nature and architectural photography. I also enjoy painting, primarily abstracts in acrylic.

All photos are taken by me unless otherwise noted or a repost.
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glassyide.bsky.social
I don’t have an elf on a shelf but I I am certainly still being observed 😍

#cats #Xmas #lights #holidays #happy
Photo taken in the evening while I was putting up a holiday tree and decorating it. My hand is visible in the forefront, adjusting the star on top of the tree, and immediately behind that is my gray and white cat, peering through the stair spindles, and he is very happily watching me decorate the tree and make adjustments. He’s lit by the multicolored light strings and his whiskers are pushed forward in excitement, as he stretches towards me. His little nose is so pink and his head is tilted in curiosity as he observes. A photo that shows a star that is lit up on top of my Xmas tree that I was decorating and my cat is standing up on the stairs directly behind, plotting how he can reach some of those shiny lights and decorations.
December 7, 2025 at 3:43 PM
glassyide.bsky.social
Nice little autumn storm that came through Southern Illinois, USA, tonight.

#storm #wx #weather #autumn #lightning #clouds #night #photography #nature #longexposure #reflections
@bsky.app @stormhour.com
Night time photograph, looking across a lake towards the horizon where two massive cloud to ground lightning strikes are taking place. The lightning forks off into many branches, and is bright, bright white. The clouds are lit by the lightning and shades of blue and orange are visible. The clouds have a lot of texture with ridges and waves and in the area where the lightning is striking, it is possible to see the rain shafts. The lightning is reflected in the water and the water is rippling from the breeze that kicked up from the storm.
November 18, 2025 at 5:26 AM
glassyide.bsky.social
Pretty views from an airplane window as my flight left NYC and then arrived in Chicago.

#goldenhour #fall #NYC #clouds #flying #photography
View of NYC after departing from LaGuardia. This is a shot of the NYC skyline in silhouette with the sun shining from behind it, and golden light sparkling off of the river as a ship heads out to the open water. View from the airplane window looking down across a sky filled with clouds in each and swirling patterns. The light from the sun is orange and yellow towards the horizon as the sun goes down in the late afternoon. Very soft and gauzy looking clouds, reflecting yellow light as the plane flies above the clouds. View from the plane of the pastel colors of sunset reflected in the sky, as we descend towards O’Hare. The colorful fall foliage is especially pretty in the golden hour light.
November 5, 2025 at 4:26 AM
glassyide.bsky.social
Some bluebirds made a surprise visit to the birdbath and had themselves a good splash, though not without some arguing about who was allowed in the water.

#birds #birding #nature #photography
Three bluebirds are in a concrete bird bath. There are two male bluebirds on the edge of the birdbath, their feathers are bright blue on their heads, backs and tail feathers and their bellies are white with some rust colors. The females have the same colors but are not nearly as vivid, their colors are much more muted. There is a bird in the middle of the bath but it's barely visible amongst all of the water it is splashing around. Two bluebirds are in a bird bath but it's hard to make out two because one of them is splashing so much water everywhere that it obscures itself. A second bluebird is making it's move towards the water. A bluebird is splashing in the water in the birdbath and its beak is open because it was really letting the other two birds know that it wanted the water all to itself. A male bluebird is on the edge of the birdbath and it has twisted its head way around so it can keep an eye on the sky. There might have been a red-tailed hawk or a turkey vulture flying over, they are also frequent visitors to this area.
October 25, 2025 at 2:01 PM
glassyide.bsky.social
Storms rolled through Southern IL on 10/18 and the fall colors were popping in that light.

#weather #wx #storm #photography #nature #fall #clouds
This is a view of storm clouds, taken from the vantage point of a view across a lake, and the trees around the shoreline are starting to get their fall colors. The sky is various shades of gray and white, and there is a rain shaft in the center, that has a slight green/teal tint to it. Another view from the same vantage point with a nice scud cloud forming as the storm comes together. Bright orange trees are visible in some areas The light is changing as the clouds become less dense and the contrast of the gray sky and water really makes the pretty fall colors, red, yellow and orange, stand out. As the storm continues to pass the colors in the sky are growing lighter, allowing for some bright reflections of light on the water in some places.
October 20, 2025 at 3:12 PM
glassyide.bsky.social
A few shots from the No Kings rally against governmental overreach, that I attended in Southern Illinois. It was wonderful to see the honks and waves of support from so many driving by. Proud of this little town with a turnout of 400 people or so.

#nokings #standup #democracy #resist
A group of people outside on a sunny day, holding American flags and various posters with protest messages written on them. A person wearing an inflatable baby Trump costume stands along a road where people are lined up with the protest signs and American flags. A woman standing outside holding a protest sign that says “REPLACING SCIENCE WITH IDEOLOGY - that is fascism” and a sign that spells out “NOPE” but uses a crown for the “E” in NOPE
October 18, 2025 at 10:56 PM
glassyide.bsky.social
Happy Caturday

He’s trying to figure out how to call Sarah McLachlan for help, because he’s not convincing me to give him his dinner, an hour early.

#caturday
October 4, 2025 at 9:30 PM
glassyide.bsky.social
Up close and personal with some pollinators and a spider that I have named "Charlotte".

#macrophotography #macro #photography #pollinators #nature #naturephotography #spider #insects
Macro (extremely close-up) photograph of a black and yellow bumblebee, feeding on red zinnia flower. The background is a blue sky and the green leaves of the zinnia plant. The bee's face and legs are covered in the yellow pollen grains and its proboscis (the part of its' mouth that it drinks the flower nectar through) is extended towards the flower. The bee is very fuzzy on its body and legs and it's evident that it's late in the season, by how beat-up its wings are. Macro (extremely close-up) photograph of a black and yellow bumblebee, feeding on red zinnia flower. The background is a blue sky and the green leaves of the zinnia plant. The bee's face and legs are covered in the yellow pollen grains and its proboscis (the part of its' mouth that it drinks the flower nectar through) is extended towards the flower. The bee is very fuzzy on its body and legs and it's evident that it's late in the season, by how beat-up its wings are. Macro shot of a green caterpillar on top of a tomato that it's eating. The caterpillar is green, with some white and black dots in symmetrical patterns along its body and hairs are visible sticking up all around its body. I don't know what kind of butterfly or moth it will become - please feel free to ID it in the comments, if you know. Macro shot of an orb-weaver spider in the center of her spiral web. Her abdomen has a mottled brown color and her legs have yellow and brown stripes. Her tiny little black eyes are visible. She has lived on my porch for a couple of weeks and reweaves her web every couple of days after it gets damaged. If I shut the door too hard when I come out, she will violently shake the web. I assume that it is a female spider because of it's huge abdomen which I'm guessing is filled with eggs.
September 25, 2025 at 9:42 PM
glassyide.bsky.social
Went to a nature preserve to "touch grass". The white streak in the sky is the International Space Station passing over. All of the small "dashes" are stars/star trails, because this was a long exposure.

#astrophotography #photography #nightsky #nature #Wisconsin #peace @thephotohour.bsky.social
This is a photo taken in a nature preserve at night. There is a long streak of light in the sky that is the International Space Station passing over. The stars have left "trails" because it was a long exposure so the movement of the Earth and the stars is captured. In the foreground there is a road that leads to a vanishing point. On the right is the silhouette of a ridge of trees in the distance. On the left there are also silhouettes of trees. The light on the horizon is light pollution.
September 12, 2025 at 3:43 PM
glassyide.bsky.social
Storms that came through northern IL on 8/18 - with @ninabrady.bsky.social

#weather #wxbsky #storms #photography #LakeMichigan
Photo was taken looking southeast at dusk, looking across Lake Michigan during a thunderstorm. There is a very large lightning strike hitting the lake in the distance. The lightning bolt is a bright, white/purple with many little tentacles faintly visible. The lightning is centered within a rain shaft visible with the storm clouds defined on either side of it. Building are visible on the shore, to the right. Roll cloud that was forming over Lake Michigan as thunderstorms moved through on all sides. Photo was taken at dusk so the sky and the water are all various shakes of gray. The clouds almost resemble lenticular clouds. Storm arrives over the northwest suburbs of Chicago, creating a surreal sky that looked like something from a Steven Spielberg movie. Dramatic shelf cloud that suddenly turned the sky quite dark and created some light turquoise colors within the clouds as they filtered the sunlight. Storm clouds move out over Lake Michigan at dusk, creating a dramatic scene with a high contrast of light and dark between more open areas of the sky or the areas with heavier cloud cover.
August 19, 2025 at 9:35 PM
glassyide.bsky.social
Beautiful nature in action!

#insects #spiders #nature #beauty
Large, black and yellow garden spider waiting in its web to catch some prey. These are very large spiders, not venomous to humans. All garden spiders make that zig zag pattern in the middle of their webs, I think it’s for extra stability. A clearwing moth drinking nectar from a zinnia. These are large moths also called hummingbird moths. Gentle and beautiful little creatures that just flit around the flowers delicately. Different view of the clearwing moth that shows how they get their names. Their beautiful wings look like leaded glass windows, with the intricate lines and patterns. A freshly made orb web that is perfection in its spirals. This might be a crab spider but not sure. These are not venomous to humans and are great pest control around our homes.
August 8, 2025 at 6:08 AM
glassyide.bsky.social
I have a couple of very, very silly, rescue pets. They are the light of my life.

#adoptnotshop #rescue #pets #animals #cats #dogs #silly #humor
August 1, 2025 at 12:41 AM
glassyide.bsky.social
Storms moving through Wisconsin on 7/16/25 - with @ninabrady.bsky.social

#wx #weather #storms #Wisconsin #photography @stormhour.com
Photo of a road in a rural, farm area in Wisconsin, with a green field on the left, a corn field on the right and a storm with a rain shaft on the horizon. Photo showing a corn field bordered by grass, with a stormy sky above it. Two trees are rising up above the corn. The clouds look ominous and are varying shades of gray and white. Photo of a road in a rural, farm area in Wisconsin, with a green field on the left, a corn field on the right and a storm with a rain shaft on the horizon. The sky is various shades of gray where the clouds are heavier and on the left of the horizon the sky is light at the edge of the storm.
July 17, 2025 at 11:07 PM
glassyide.bsky.social
Sunset trip to the forest preserve provided plenty of opportunities to enjoy flora and fauna.

#sunset #insects #nature #photography #macrophotography @thephotohour.bsky.social
Close-up shot of a blue dasher dragonfly that has perched on a dried up flower. Its eyes are multicolored blue and green, the abdomen has stripes has and its thorax is a blue/gray shade that is segmented. Purple bee balm flowers are vaguely visible in the background. A garter snake that had climbed a milkweed plant and was presumably looking for a meal from its vantage point. Its scales are black on top of its back and head and the sides have yellow and black bands. It was probably at least a foot long. Close-up shot of a honey bee on milkweed flowers. The mottled coloration of its eye is visible. The abdomen is fuzzy and is a very pale yellow. The thorax is a brighter, orangish yellow with some black bands. These milkweed blossoms are very fragrant. It’s late in the day so the sun is low on the horizon and there are dramatic clouds. This is a close-up of a yellow flower with the sun shining through it and sharply illuminating the silhouette. The rainbow circle at the bad if the flower is a lens flare from the camera being pointed towards the sun.
July 16, 2025 at 6:25 PM
glassyide.bsky.social
A little storm that passed through Northern IL, USA, on 7/10 and after the storm there was a very vivid rainbow.

#wx #wxbsky #weather #storm #rainbow
Photo of a storm that was approaching with dramatic gray clouds, and the rain can be seen falling heavily in the distance. It’s a pretty contrast of wavy lines that are vertical, next to the puffy, swirling clouds. Photo of a storm that was approaching with dramatic gray clouds, and the rain can be seen falling heavily in the distance. It’s a pretty contrast of wavy lines that are vertical, next to the puffy, swirling clouds. Photo of a house with a utility pole and wires in front of it. The Sunnis shining brightly on the house and the bright green trees surrounding it, and the sky behind the house is gray from a passing storm and there is an extremely vivid rainbow behind the house, arcing from the top of the frame to the bottom.
July 11, 2025 at 3:42 PM
glassyide.bsky.social
A stag beetle that I rescued from my bird bath. Such cool little critters, I was excited to find it in my yard and it was relocated to a flower bed.

#insects #nature #outdoors
Photo of a stag beetle, which is a large insect, this one was probably about 2.5”. It is a reddish/brown color, more red on its head. The legs are covered in little grippers (I’m sure there’s a technical name but I don’t know it) and it was two very large pincers on its head. It looks quite intimidating. I was holding a half of a geode that I let it crawl onto so I could remove it from the bird bath. Photo of a stag beetle, which is a large insect, this one was probably about 2.5”. It is a reddish/brown color, more red on its head. The legs are covered in little grippers (I’m sure there’s a technical name but I don’t know it) and it was two very large pincers on its head. This view shows that where its legs attach to its body, they are bright orange. It looks quite intimidating. I was holding a half of a geode that I let it crawl onto so I could remove it from the bird bath. Photo of a stag beetle, which is a large insect, this one was probably about 2.5”. It is a reddish/brown color, more red on its head. The legs are covered in little grippers (I’m sure there’s a technical name but I don’t know it) and it was two very large pincers on its head. It looks quite intimidating. I was holding a half of a geode that I let it crawl onto so I could remove it from the bird bath.
July 11, 2025 at 3:34 PM
glassyide.bsky.social
A beautiful evening to be in the South Loop on Thursday night, as storms moved through the area.

#wx #wxbluesky #weather #photography #city #skyline #Chicago #windycity
Black and white photo of downtown Chicago at night, looking north from the South Loop. The only portions of the photo that are in color show the top of the Prudential Building (I think that's the name for it, might have changed), and an "L" track that can be seen in the lower portion of the shot, with a train moving through a curve. The sky has dramatic clouds because storms were moving around the city. Photo of downtown Chicago, taking from the South Loop, during the "blue hour" when blues and golds are in high contrast and prominent, as the sun sets. The sky has very dramatic clouds as a result of all of the storms that were popping off.
June 28, 2025 at 12:40 AM
glassyide.bsky.social
Cover in Central Park, NYC

#manholecovermonday #manhole #ironworks #NYC #CentralPark
Iron manhole cover located in Central Park, NYC, USA The lettering on it spells out “Manhattan” but I can’t make out the other 3 letters. They look like the spell “Bob” but the “Bs” are backwards so it must mean something, I just don’t know what.
June 16, 2025 at 7:49 PM
glassyide.bsky.social
My sign for today. For once, my poor drawing skills kind of worked out 😂 #protest #nokings
Poster board with a poorly hand-drawn silhouette of Trump. Orange pencil was used for the silhouette, and other colored pencils and a metallic gold marker for a crown. A red marker was used to draw a circle with a slash through it, over the silhouette and the text on the sign says “NO KINGS!”
June 14, 2025 at 8:37 PM
glassyide.bsky.social
Please enjoy some nature - there was a red-winged blackbird harassing the Sandhill cranes who had wandered into its territory on a recent walk at my local forest preserve. I thought the one was going to twist its neck into a pretzel.

#nature #photography #birds #preserve @thephotohour.bsky.social
A photo of a Sandhill crane in a forest preserve. The crane is looking up at the black blur attacking it which is a red-winged black bird. The blackbird must have a nest near by. The photo is filled with the lush green colors of the forest preserve and the crane is a large bird with multicolored brown feathers and a deep crimson blaze on its forehead. A photo of a Sandhill crane in a forest preserve. The crane is looking up at the black blur attacking it which is a red-winged black bird. The blackbird must have a nest near by. The photo is filled with the lush green colors of the forest preserve and the crane is a large bird with multicolored brown feathers and a deep crimson blaze on its forehead. Photo of a pair of Sandhill cranes, foraging through the plants if the forest preserve in search of food. They have long beaks/bills that they poke into the ground for bugs and whatever goodies they can find.
June 2, 2025 at 4:25 PM
glassyide.bsky.social
Massive storm system that caused a destructive tornado in Williamson Co, IL on 5/16/25, as seen from about 50 miles away.

#wx #wxbsky #weather #storm #Illinois #photography #nature @stormhour.com @thephotohour.bsky.social
Towering clouds including some mammatus, from a storm complex that created a tornado. The clouds are rising in layers that contain various colors from bright white to gray to buff colors. Towering clouds including some mammatus, from a storm complex that created a tornado. The clouds are rising in layers that contain various colors from bright white to gray to buff colors. Towering clouds including some mammatus, from a storm complex that created a tornado. The clouds are rising in layers that contain various colors from bright white to gray to buff colors. The foreground is a bright, yellow green color from a recently planted field and there is a line of trees between the field and the view of the towering clouds in the distance.
May 17, 2025 at 11:36 AM
glassyide.bsky.social
Interesting clouds in Southern Illinois, USA, earlier today. Severe weather is on tap for later.

#wxbsky #wx #weather @stormhour.com
Photo of clouds forming in a very warm and humid atmosphere as things start coming together for severe weather. The clouds look like cells. Photo of clouds forming in a very warm and humid atmosphere as things start coming together for severe weather. The clouds look like cells.
May 16, 2025 at 12:37 AM
glassyide.bsky.social
Absolutely gorgeous views in Southern IL on 5/8, as storm clouds passed through. Not sure what the yellow flowers are, maybe wild mustard.

#wxbsky #wx #weather #storm #photography #flowers #sky @thephotohour.bsky.social
Photo taken in a rural area in Southern IL, USA, that shows dramatic gray clouds rolling through with a field covered in bright yellow wildflowers. Photo taken in a rural area in Southern IL, USA, that shows dramatic gray clouds rolling through with a field covered in bright yellow wildflowers. Heavy rains had come through earlier in the day which created a temporary creek. Photo taken in a rural area in Southern IL, USA, that shows dramatic gray clouds rolling through with a field covered in bright yellow wildflowers.
May 9, 2025 at 11:34 PM
glassyide.bsky.social
Just a dumb timeline cleanser but it made me smile. Found my cat tucked in with my silly pillows.

#cats #pets #silly #timelinecleanser
Photo of a gray and white cat on a dark blanket, which is on top of a black and white striped pillow,. He is surrounded by pillows that look like cartoonish cats, digs, and a smiling 💩 emoji pillow. They are all on a white couch.
April 27, 2025 at 2:44 AM
glassyide.bsky.social
Happy Earth Day!

#earthday #nature #earth #photography @thephotohour.bsky.social
Native woodland wildflowers that are very small with white petals with purple/pink stripes Baby great horned owl in a hollow in a tree Clouds move out as drier air moves in and it made a strange divide in the sky between the wall of clouds and the blue skies, with crepuscular rays showing in the area between the heavier cloud cover Garter snake out sunning itself on a nice spring day.
April 22, 2025 at 10:14 PM