Renée LaScala
@reneelascala.bsky.social
“She was not quite what you would call refined.
She was not quite what you would call unrefined.
She was the kind of person that keeps a parrot.” Mark Twain
INTJ, Pharm.D., reader, birder, gardener, avid cook. Sharing homelife with parrots and rats.
She was not quite what you would call unrefined.
She was the kind of person that keeps a parrot.” Mark Twain
INTJ, Pharm.D., reader, birder, gardener, avid cook. Sharing homelife with parrots and rats.
This book was a treat. Do get it as an audio, read by the author.
"A newly published history of the wind turns to sea gods and early wind turbines to show how today’s challenges to renewable energy repeat a centuries-old pattern." Uprooter @byjasonpdinh.bsky.social interviews Simon Winchester for @thexylom.com www.thexylom.com/post/simon-w...
Lessons on Climate Futures from Wind’s Tempestuous Past: An Interview with Author Simon Winchester
A newly published history of the wind turns to sea gods and early wind turbines to show how today’s challenges to renewable energy repeat a centuries-old pattern.
www.thexylom.com
December 3, 2025 at 8:03 PM
This book was a treat. Do get it as an audio, read by the author.
Reposted by Renée LaScala
Access to the internet is essential, not a luxury. It's crucial for jobs, education, healthcare, and housing. The absence of affordable broadband in many communities is not just a "tech gap," but a critical civil rights matter. #DigitalDivide #CivilRights #TruthBombTuesday
December 2, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Access to the internet is essential, not a luxury. It's crucial for jobs, education, healthcare, and housing. The absence of affordable broadband in many communities is not just a "tech gap," but a critical civil rights matter. #DigitalDivide #CivilRights #TruthBombTuesday
Reposted by Renée LaScala
Did you know? You can put festive squirrels outside your home to decorate for the whole holiday season, from December right to #SquirrelAppreciationDay on 21 January!
🎄🐿️❄️
#ChristmasNeedsSquirrels #SquirrelScrolling
🎄🐿️❄️
#ChristmasNeedsSquirrels #SquirrelScrolling
December 2, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Did you know? You can put festive squirrels outside your home to decorate for the whole holiday season, from December right to #SquirrelAppreciationDay on 21 January!
🎄🐿️❄️
#ChristmasNeedsSquirrels #SquirrelScrolling
🎄🐿️❄️
#ChristmasNeedsSquirrels #SquirrelScrolling
Reposted by Renée LaScala
96% of the highest-paid workers in the US have paid sick days.
Just 38% of the lowest-paid workers get them — including the thousands of retail workers working this holiday weekend.
Only in America do we call working people ‘essential’ but deny them paid sick leave.
Just 38% of the lowest-paid workers get them — including the thousands of retail workers working this holiday weekend.
Only in America do we call working people ‘essential’ but deny them paid sick leave.
The Hidden Costs of Denying Paid Sick Leave
Robert Reich
www.youtube.com
December 1, 2025 at 1:00 AM
96% of the highest-paid workers in the US have paid sick days.
Just 38% of the lowest-paid workers get them — including the thousands of retail workers working this holiday weekend.
Only in America do we call working people ‘essential’ but deny them paid sick leave.
Just 38% of the lowest-paid workers get them — including the thousands of retail workers working this holiday weekend.
Only in America do we call working people ‘essential’ but deny them paid sick leave.
Reposted by Renée LaScala
"Australia is the Land of the Parrot — few places in the world have such a dazzling array of colourful and clever members of the psittacine family.
There are 56 native species across the continent, including 42 varieties of true parrots along with 14 cockatoos."
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
There are 56 native species across the continent, including 42 varieties of true parrots along with 14 cockatoos."
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
Who's thriving? Who's barely surviving? A guide to Australia's native parrots
Australia is the land of the parrot — few places in the world have such a dazzling array of colourful and clever members of the psittacine family.
www.abc.net.au
November 30, 2025 at 12:59 AM
"Australia is the Land of the Parrot — few places in the world have such a dazzling array of colourful and clever members of the psittacine family.
There are 56 native species across the continent, including 42 varieties of true parrots along with 14 cockatoos."
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
There are 56 native species across the continent, including 42 varieties of true parrots along with 14 cockatoos."
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
Recommend also
This book has been so soothing. I have probably learned more about the foreign policies that shape the world just in the first three chapters than I have in at least the last 15 years of news media. 🙃 It's helped clarify a lot of the absolutely batshit nonsense of the current timeline. COMFORT READ
November 29, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Recommend also
Reposted by Renée LaScala
The Boston Globe identified the companies in Massachusetts that employ the most SNAP recipients. A key stat: "In Massachusetts, 74% of working-age recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are employed, half of them full-time."
Full article: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/28/m...
Full article: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/28/m...
November 29, 2025 at 3:55 PM
The Boston Globe identified the companies in Massachusetts that employ the most SNAP recipients. A key stat: "In Massachusetts, 74% of working-age recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are employed, half of them full-time."
Full article: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/28/m...
Full article: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/28/m...
Reposted by Renée LaScala
The word "remigration" is xenophobic and christofascist AF. It's a racist expression of ethnic cleansing and hate. Do not let it become normalized.
November 29, 2025 at 8:11 PM
The word "remigration" is xenophobic and christofascist AF. It's a racist expression of ethnic cleansing and hate. Do not let it become normalized.
Reposted by Renée LaScala
Turkeys are flavorless and dry, and they want to live. This Thanksgiving, @mbolotnikova.bsky.social encourages you to challenge the status quo and embrace plant-based alternatives, have conversations about ethical food choices, and create more sustainable and compassionate traditions.
8 million turkeys will be thrown in the trash this Thanksgiving
We don’t have to accept all that death and waste for a dry, flavorless bird no one likes.
www.vox.com
November 23, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Turkeys are flavorless and dry, and they want to live. This Thanksgiving, @mbolotnikova.bsky.social encourages you to challenge the status quo and embrace plant-based alternatives, have conversations about ethical food choices, and create more sustainable and compassionate traditions.
Reposted by Renée LaScala
My fav bird, there's just something quite magnificent about Flickers. Female red-shafted Northern flicker with take off in slow motion to see the red areas of her wings/tail feathers better.
#birds
#birds
November 22, 2025 at 8:53 PM
My fav bird, there's just something quite magnificent about Flickers. Female red-shafted Northern flicker with take off in slow motion to see the red areas of her wings/tail feathers better.
#birds
#birds
Pecans are glorious.
Throughout history, pecans have been overlooked, poached, cultivated and improved. Today, American trees produce hundreds of million of pounds of pecans – 80% of the world’s pecan crop. (via @us.theconversation.com)
https://to.pbs.org/4rbKTV7
https://to.pbs.org/4rbKTV7
How pecans went from ignored trees to a holiday staple — an expert explains the 8,000-year history
Pecans are a truly American nut: They grew on George Washington’s estate, and they flew to space on an Apollo mission.
www.pbs.org
November 22, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Pecans are glorious.
Reposted by Renée LaScala
Great story about my state's premier annual apple and cider event! cider-review.com/2025/11/22/f...
Franklin County Cider Days
New contributor Kris Kazaks reports on the Franklin County Cider Days festival in Massachusetts (and neighbouring States), a celebration of cider and community.
cider-review.com
November 22, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Great story about my state's premier annual apple and cider event! cider-review.com/2025/11/22/f...
Reposted by Renée LaScala
Pond hope!!! Thanks to the @freshwaterbio.bsky.social for some great coverage of our work resurrecting #ghostponds. www.fba.org.uk/fba-voice/gh...
Ghost pond resurrection – the most successful ecological restoration ever known? — Freshwater Biological Association
Carl Sayer is Professor of Limnology & Freshwater Ecology at UCL. We were delighted that Carl was able to attend the FBA ASM to deliver a keynote talk on ghost ponds. These pond resurrections are ...
www.fba.org.uk
November 21, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Pond hope!!! Thanks to the @freshwaterbio.bsky.social for some great coverage of our work resurrecting #ghostponds. www.fba.org.uk/fba-voice/gh...
Reposted by Renée LaScala
New paper from my former PhD student Raffaela Lesch's lab used a citizen science database to show that urban racoons, who arerapidly becoming less afraid of humans, also have shorter snouts than wild-type rural racoons.
Link: rdcu.be/eRcpT
Link: rdcu.be/eRcpT
November 22, 2025 at 10:57 AM
New paper from my former PhD student Raffaela Lesch's lab used a citizen science database to show that urban racoons, who arerapidly becoming less afraid of humans, also have shorter snouts than wild-type rural racoons.
Link: rdcu.be/eRcpT
Link: rdcu.be/eRcpT
It’s a must watch⭐️
Burns' six-part documentary uses voiceover, reenactors and drone footage to tell the story of America's founding. And it reminds viewers that the quest for a more perfect union is far from over.
Ken Burns' 'American Revolution' will make you think differently about U.S. history
Burns' six-part documentary uses voiceover, reenactors and drone footage to tell the story of America's founding. And it reminds viewers that the quest for a more perfect union is far from over.
n.pr
November 22, 2025 at 1:26 PM
It’s a must watch⭐️
MSPCA is having a Pay-what-You-can ADOPTATHON this Friday and Saturday!
All 4 adoption centers will help #Boston #Massachusetts folks who would like to give forever homes to these 100+pups.
You will be sooooo thankful 🧡for the best new friend and $AVE MONEY too.
youtu.be/Zoprz0EYgz4?...
All 4 adoption centers will help #Boston #Massachusetts folks who would like to give forever homes to these 100+pups.
You will be sooooo thankful 🧡for the best new friend and $AVE MONEY too.
youtu.be/Zoprz0EYgz4?...
MSPCA holding "pay what you can" adoption event
YouTube video by CBS Boston
youtu.be
November 20, 2025 at 10:01 PM
MSPCA is having a Pay-what-You-can ADOPTATHON this Friday and Saturday!
All 4 adoption centers will help #Boston #Massachusetts folks who would like to give forever homes to these 100+pups.
You will be sooooo thankful 🧡for the best new friend and $AVE MONEY too.
youtu.be/Zoprz0EYgz4?...
All 4 adoption centers will help #Boston #Massachusetts folks who would like to give forever homes to these 100+pups.
You will be sooooo thankful 🧡for the best new friend and $AVE MONEY too.
youtu.be/Zoprz0EYgz4?...
Reposted by Renée LaScala
I choose to be a positive
voice. To lift others when the
world feels heavy, to offer hope
when it’s hard to see, to remind
people that kindness matters.
Because even one encouraging
word can change a day maybe
even a life. #NeverGiveUp
voice. To lift others when the
world feels heavy, to offer hope
when it’s hard to see, to remind
people that kindness matters.
Because even one encouraging
word can change a day maybe
even a life. #NeverGiveUp
November 20, 2025 at 4:18 AM
I choose to be a positive
voice. To lift others when the
world feels heavy, to offer hope
when it’s hard to see, to remind
people that kindness matters.
Because even one encouraging
word can change a day maybe
even a life. #NeverGiveUp
voice. To lift others when the
world feels heavy, to offer hope
when it’s hard to see, to remind
people that kindness matters.
Because even one encouraging
word can change a day maybe
even a life. #NeverGiveUp
Reposted by Renée LaScala
Important new analysis identifying the scope of clinical trials disrupted because of NIH shenanigans.
> 74 thousand trial participants affected
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
1/4
> 74 thousand trial participants affected
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
1/4
Clinical Trials Affected by Research Grant Terminations at the National Institutes of Health
This cross-sectional study summarizes the number of trials with terminated grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and calculates the proportion of affected trials among those with previou...
jamanetwork.com
November 17, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Important new analysis identifying the scope of clinical trials disrupted because of NIH shenanigans.
> 74 thousand trial participants affected
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
1/4
> 74 thousand trial participants affected
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
1/4
Reposted by Renée LaScala
Wanna read the first pages of Considering Sparrows? PRH is granting a sneak peek that includes Joni Eareckson Tada's foreward, the prologue, chapter one, and some other introductory tidbits. The link is here: ornitheology.com/book.
New blog post too, with some of the story behind the book. #birds
New blog post too, with some of the story behind the book. #birds
Considering Sparrows | Ornitheology
Pastor and birder Kevin Burrell takes readers on a one-of-a-kind journey of theology, nature, and wonder that reveals God’s truth through the lives of birds.
ornitheology.com
November 14, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Wanna read the first pages of Considering Sparrows? PRH is granting a sneak peek that includes Joni Eareckson Tada's foreward, the prologue, chapter one, and some other introductory tidbits. The link is here: ornitheology.com/book.
New blog post too, with some of the story behind the book. #birds
New blog post too, with some of the story behind the book. #birds
Reposted by Renée LaScala
If you see this Kingfisher photo, please leave a comment! 🙏♥️
Have you ever seen a Kingfisher? 🐦
I think more people have not seen them than those who have! 😊
You can buy my my 2026 Birds calendars here;
www.carlbovis.com/2026-birds-c...
Have you ever seen a Kingfisher? 🐦
I think more people have not seen them than those who have! 😊
You can buy my my 2026 Birds calendars here;
www.carlbovis.com/2026-birds-c...
November 14, 2025 at 6:06 PM
If you see this Kingfisher photo, please leave a comment! 🙏♥️
Have you ever seen a Kingfisher? 🐦
I think more people have not seen them than those who have! 😊
You can buy my my 2026 Birds calendars here;
www.carlbovis.com/2026-birds-c...
Have you ever seen a Kingfisher? 🐦
I think more people have not seen them than those who have! 😊
You can buy my my 2026 Birds calendars here;
www.carlbovis.com/2026-birds-c...
Reposted by Renée LaScala
It's been 70 years since griffon vultures disappeared from the skies over Romania. They're coming back, starting with relocated birds from Spain.
Vulture releases are some of the most important rewilding projects out there. More please.
#birds #vultures
www.romaniajournal.ro/society-peop...
Vulture releases are some of the most important rewilding projects out there. More please.
#birds #vultures
www.romaniajournal.ro/society-peop...
Griffon Vultures return to the Fagaras Mountains - The Romania Journal
Griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus), a species extinct in our country for over 70 years will be reintroduced in the Fagaras Mountains
www.romaniajournal.ro
November 14, 2025 at 11:48 PM
It's been 70 years since griffon vultures disappeared from the skies over Romania. They're coming back, starting with relocated birds from Spain.
Vulture releases are some of the most important rewilding projects out there. More please.
#birds #vultures
www.romaniajournal.ro/society-peop...
Vulture releases are some of the most important rewilding projects out there. More please.
#birds #vultures
www.romaniajournal.ro/society-peop...
Reposted by Renée LaScala
Grandview Barn in Stowe Vermont
📸Ken Rachlis
📸Ken Rachlis
November 14, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Grandview Barn in Stowe Vermont
📸Ken Rachlis
📸Ken Rachlis
See how they blend into surroundings?
Here in New England, they’re elusive and skilled at avoiding hooms.
Thanks Janet for this ⭐️photo
Here in New England, they’re elusive and skilled at avoiding hooms.
Thanks Janet for this ⭐️photo
Looking forward to sharing photos from our Prince Albert National Park getaway. There were so many Ruffed Grouse and yet they never make things easy for a photographer! #birds 🌿
November 12, 2025 at 2:02 AM
See how they blend into surroundings?
Here in New England, they’re elusive and skilled at avoiding hooms.
Thanks Janet for this ⭐️photo
Here in New England, they’re elusive and skilled at avoiding hooms.
Thanks Janet for this ⭐️photo
Reposted by Renée LaScala
Message to our friends from our hoomom. If able plz consider donating to a group that provides food for the beloved pets of people struggling right now. Our mum grew up very poor & remembers how hard it was to feed the family & their pet. Share some kindness. Love you all 🩷
November 11, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Message to our friends from our hoomom. If able plz consider donating to a group that provides food for the beloved pets of people struggling right now. Our mum grew up very poor & remembers how hard it was to feed the family & their pet. Share some kindness. Love you all 🩷