Silvia Secchi
@profsecchi.bsky.social
Natural resource economist, geographer, meanderer, informed agitator, immigrant.
Trans rights are human rights.
💧Dall’acqua salata a quella dolce e zozza💧
My views are my own and do not represent my employer.
I don't consent to AI use of anything of mine.
Trans rights are human rights.
💧Dall’acqua salata a quella dolce e zozza💧
My views are my own and do not represent my employer.
I don't consent to AI use of anything of mine.
It's gonna get super cold in the Twin Cities this weekend so of course I am thinking about Minard's map of Napoleon's Russian campaign. Sending good thoughts to our Northern neighbors, always.
If you want to learn more about the map: www.esri.com/content/dam/...
If you want to learn more about the map: www.esri.com/content/dam/...
January 17, 2026 at 4:47 AM
It's gonna get super cold in the Twin Cities this weekend so of course I am thinking about Minard's map of Napoleon's Russian campaign. Sending good thoughts to our Northern neighbors, always.
If you want to learn more about the map: www.esri.com/content/dam/...
If you want to learn more about the map: www.esri.com/content/dam/...
This is the kind of outcome that “ending the war on protein” is producing.
More meat consumption plus agribusinesses that were reducing antibiotic use are stopping in this regulatory climate.
Not out of question that this report will disappear so as to make it impossible to assess the impacts too.
More meat consumption plus agribusinesses that were reducing antibiotic use are stopping in this regulatory climate.
Not out of question that this report will disappear so as to make it impossible to assess the impacts too.
January 12, 2026 at 5:03 PM
This is the kind of outcome that “ending the war on protein” is producing.
More meat consumption plus agribusinesses that were reducing antibiotic use are stopping in this regulatory climate.
Not out of question that this report will disappear so as to make it impossible to assess the impacts too.
More meat consumption plus agribusinesses that were reducing antibiotic use are stopping in this regulatory climate.
Not out of question that this report will disappear so as to make it impossible to assess the impacts too.
About two dozen bald eagles 🦅 by the Iowa River in Iowa City today. Noisy too.
January 11, 2026 at 5:47 PM
About two dozen bald eagles 🦅 by the Iowa River in Iowa City today. Noisy too.
I’m not linking to the piece for obvious reasons.
This country’s foundational institutions are so lost to reality.
This country’s foundational institutions are so lost to reality.
January 6, 2026 at 6:35 AM
I’m not linking to the piece for obvious reasons.
This country’s foundational institutions are so lost to reality.
This country’s foundational institutions are so lost to reality.
On the tail end of this really good book, my new year’s resolution is to read or re-read all the Moomin novels and comic books.
Seems like a reasonable way to keep some sanity these days.
Seems like a reasonable way to keep some sanity these days.
January 6, 2026 at 1:44 AM
On the tail end of this really good book, my new year’s resolution is to read or re-read all the Moomin novels and comic books.
Seems like a reasonable way to keep some sanity these days.
Seems like a reasonable way to keep some sanity these days.
My favorite Miyazaki is not a film - it is the Future Boy Conan series. I saw it in Italy as a teenager and I absolutely loved it. I got the DVDs in Italian for my kids years ago, now it is available for streaming in a few places
January 5, 2026 at 10:37 PM
My favorite Miyazaki is not a film - it is the Future Boy Conan series. I saw it in Italy as a teenager and I absolutely loved it. I got the DVDs in Italian for my kids years ago, now it is available for streaming in a few places
Hardest and last puzzle of the year (the eight of the season). From the Lost Words by Robert MacFarlane and Jackie Morris, 1000 pieces.
🦦 🦦 ♾️
🦦 🦦 ♾️
January 1, 2026 at 3:01 AM
Hardest and last puzzle of the year (the eight of the season). From the Lost Words by Robert MacFarlane and Jackie Morris, 1000 pieces.
🦦 🦦 ♾️
🦦 🦦 ♾️
Seventh puzzle of the holiday season. Probably the most beautiful one we’ve ever made, Steve Coffey’s Morning by StumpCraft, 595 wooden pieces. The whimsies are just amazing. Single and multiple pieces.
December 27, 2025 at 2:35 AM
Seventh puzzle of the holiday season. Probably the most beautiful one we’ve ever made, Steve Coffey’s Morning by StumpCraft, 595 wooden pieces. The whimsies are just amazing. Single and multiple pieces.
Next puzzle has a flying pig so it’s all good
December 25, 2025 at 11:57 PM
Next puzzle has a flying pig so it’s all good
Sixth puzzle of the season - this one was a 🫎 present with a twist, as you can see the photo on the box has a different placement of the parks than the actual puzzle.
December 25, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Sixth puzzle of the season - this one was a 🫎 present with a twist, as you can see the photo on the box has a different placement of the parks than the actual puzzle.
Fifth puzzle of the season - 1000 pieces Moominvalley’s celebration.
December 25, 2025 at 12:35 AM
Fifth puzzle of the season - 1000 pieces Moominvalley’s celebration.
And who can forget this still very very au courant Orr Fisher mural, The Corn Parade, in the lobby of the Mount Ayr Post Office! Absolutely amazing stuff, and there are several great murals in other Iowa post offices.
December 19, 2025 at 6:11 AM
And who can forget this still very very au courant Orr Fisher mural, The Corn Parade, in the lobby of the Mount Ayr Post Office! Absolutely amazing stuff, and there are several great murals in other Iowa post offices.
I 💯 agree!
In Iowa, Grant Wood was director of the Public Works of Art Program, part of the Works Progress Administration. The Iowa State University murals are an outcome of that. They help me think critically about the history of US farming, plus are amazing teaching aids.
whitney.org/media/36821
In Iowa, Grant Wood was director of the Public Works of Art Program, part of the Works Progress Administration. The Iowa State University murals are an outcome of that. They help me think critically about the history of US farming, plus are amazing teaching aids.
whitney.org/media/36821
December 19, 2025 at 6:07 AM
I 💯 agree!
In Iowa, Grant Wood was director of the Public Works of Art Program, part of the Works Progress Administration. The Iowa State University murals are an outcome of that. They help me think critically about the history of US farming, plus are amazing teaching aids.
whitney.org/media/36821
In Iowa, Grant Wood was director of the Public Works of Art Program, part of the Works Progress Administration. The Iowa State University murals are an outcome of that. They help me think critically about the history of US farming, plus are amazing teaching aids.
whitney.org/media/36821
It’s 5 degrees (Fahrenheit) and snowing in Iowa City rn
December 13, 2025 at 4:39 PM
It’s 5 degrees (Fahrenheit) and snowing in Iowa City rn
Fourth puzzle of the holiday season - Merriam Tailspin by Artifact Puzzles
December 12, 2025 at 3:59 AM
Fourth puzzle of the holiday season - Merriam Tailspin by Artifact Puzzles
500 of new puzzle done in an afternoon… we need to get at least 1000 ones. Third puzzle of the holiday season.
December 10, 2025 at 1:38 AM
500 of new puzzle done in an afternoon… we need to get at least 1000 ones. Third puzzle of the holiday season.
Super stoked about this book! The perfect winter holiday reading.
December 9, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Super stoked about this book! The perfect winter holiday reading.
So anyway: myths of family farms and a golden age of farming at any point since white settlement are just that: myths. And Grant Wood knew it too. Farming was based on land expropriation, Native American genocide, slavery and then exploitation of Black people. It's never been environmentally OK.
December 9, 2025 at 5:37 AM
So anyway: myths of family farms and a golden age of farming at any point since white settlement are just that: myths. And Grant Wood knew it too. Farming was based on land expropriation, Native American genocide, slavery and then exploitation of Black people. It's never been environmentally OK.
Alas this policy did nothing to curb the rise in Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) and the nutrient crisis that is now fully upon us. And we cut down CRP acres after 2007 as a result of the ethanol mandate. So actually recently sediment losses have gone up again, and still 🦗🦗on CAFO action.
December 9, 2025 at 5:27 AM
Alas this policy did nothing to curb the rise in Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) and the nutrient crisis that is now fully upon us. And we cut down CRP acres after 2007 as a result of the ethanol mandate. So actually recently sediment losses have gone up again, and still 🦗🦗on CAFO action.
White farmers planted on slopes and didn't farm on the contour to reduce erosion (as this Grant Wood painting shows). They also were not used to North American precipitation patterns and cut down forests to both get wood and grow crops: forestland was presumed to be better than prairies for farming.
December 9, 2025 at 5:07 AM
White farmers planted on slopes and didn't farm on the contour to reduce erosion (as this Grant Wood painting shows). They also were not used to North American precipitation patterns and cut down forests to both get wood and grow crops: forestland was presumed to be better than prairies for farming.
you will be visited by three spirits
December 9, 2025 at 3:17 AM
you will be visited by three spirits
Well it’s snowing again which for Gilda means it’s ok to pee on the porch (this is after I shoveled it).
December 7, 2025 at 2:55 AM
Well it’s snowing again which for Gilda means it’s ok to pee on the porch (this is after I shoveled it).
These two REALLY do not get along so this is kind of a miracle - first time it’s happened in a decade (and it didn’t last long).
December 4, 2025 at 6:55 PM
These two REALLY do not get along so this is kind of a miracle - first time it’s happened in a decade (and it didn’t last long).
Second puzzle of the holiday season - Erin Hanson’s Sunset Reflections by Artifact Puzzles.
December 4, 2025 at 4:24 AM
Second puzzle of the holiday season - Erin Hanson’s Sunset Reflections by Artifact Puzzles.