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silversprite.bsky.social
Silversprite
@silversprite.bsky.social
3.4K followers 1.8K following 3.2K posts
📖Research: planetary boundaries, biodiversity, apple orchards
🌍Interests: climate change, European heatwaves, deep ecology, GCR and ER, impacts of novel chemicals, OA publishing
🚶‍♂️Outside: Stockholm, hiking, archipelagos, glaciers
🍰Food: lussekatter, tack
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silversprite.bsky.social
Video meets done for this week.

I have TV (for an 80s #totp shortly), half bottle of wine, chocolate biscuits, a cat lurking somewhere in this room, and the laptop for progressing the current university course.

Final assignment deadline is 80 days away; feel it'll go by quickly. Spring is near...
A laptop, which needs a good clean, a plate with 3 chocolate biscuits, a small bottle of red wine and glass, all on a blue blanket with a cat pawprint pattern.
January 23, 2026 at 8:00 PM
silversprite.bsky.social
A Tale of Two Birminghams (Brums?)

Unusually, the Alabama one is forecast to be colder than the UK one over the next weeks. Whispers of snow, even.

However, the UK one is faithfully adhering to stereotypical grey and rainy January English weather, while the Alabama one continues to out-sunshine.
The BBC weather online forecast for Alabama, USA, for the next few weeks, showing several days of sunshine, but also below freezing temperatures. The BBC weather online forecast for Birmingham UK, for the next few weeks, showing day after day of grey, rainy, weather.
January 22, 2026 at 9:18 PM
silversprite.bsky.social
Another season, another online course. Awaiting the first online seminar...
A dining table with a laptop, biscuits, tea and other items.
January 22, 2026 at 5:58 PM
silversprite.bsky.social
Visiting a goth-witch good friend. Always something new in this house.
A coat and bag hanging area in a house. Various bags and scarves are hanging for the horn of an animal head. A goth bag sits on a low table. A calendar, turned to January. The header text reads "Sometimes I wrestle with my demons ... sometimes we just cuddle". At the bottom of the page, text reads "Breathe in the good shit, exhale the bad shift."
January 20, 2026 at 6:41 PM
silversprite.bsky.social
reminder that locals have been making their own amusements (breeding, drinking, eating, burning things, sacrifices, singing) for an unknown number of millennia, and the apple remains the True King.

Happy Old Twelvey, and good health and quiet prosperity for your year ahead, if you've read this far.
A single, ripe, red Discovery apple, on a leafy branch in an apple tree on a sunny day. Behind is a blue sky. Five riple apples on a leafy branch, in Woodcroft community orchard, in Bristol, 2021. Several varieties of apples, each clustered onto a white paper plate with the variety name written underneath. These include Peasgood's Nowsuch, Pitmaston Pineapple, Catshead, Jones' Seedling, George Cave, and Laxton's Fortune. An apple tree in autumn, with a dense crop of ripe fruit on the branches.
January 17, 2026 at 10:22 AM
silversprite.bsky.social
Growing up in orchard country (Vale of Evesham, Worcestershire) in a village with some unusual history (pictured: family house between apple trees) there were several local variations on Wassailing.

We also made and sold scrumpy (strong cider), some of which was drunk on the night of old twelvey.
A detached rural house, with orchards behind and to the sides. It is next to a road, over which is a field with some newer and smaller apple trees. The picture was taken from a spotter plane in the early 1960s.
January 17, 2026 at 9:42 AM
silversprite.bsky.social
At the same time, day on day, the sun is a fraction of an inch higher in the sky, the shadows a fraction of an inch shorter.
A wet single track country lane, heading down a slight hill. On either side are banks of grass and mud, housing ivy covered trees. A fraction of the sun is peeking between a few of these trees ahead.
January 16, 2026 at 6:22 PM
silversprite.bsky.social
There was a cat.

But the cat took exception to being photographed, and left.

Hashtag #cat
An orange and white cat, sitting in some undergrowth. The orange and white cat (rear view) departing through the undergrowth.
January 16, 2026 at 2:59 PM
silversprite.bsky.social
"Walk underneath a blue sky, when you can, while you can" - Lucy, 2014.
A horizon of green fields and low hills, in rural Worcestershire, under a blue sky with a few clouds.
January 16, 2026 at 2:47 PM
silversprite.bsky.social
Yes, I take pictures of trees containing mistletoe. This is partially as I'm thinking two courses ahead, and potential projects within the parameters of a long term theme.

#MistletoeNerd
Several trees under a mainly clear, blue sky. The trees nearest the camera contain prominent globes of mistletoe.
January 16, 2026 at 2:23 PM
silversprite.bsky.social
Off on the daily long(er) walk; 6.8 mile stroll this afternoon.

This morning was also (green) bin recycling day, so there are bins, bins everywhere. Favourite design so far:
A green wheelie bin for recycling product packaging, on a pavement and casting a shadow. On one side is a painting of sunflowers, beneath which sits a black and white cat.
January 16, 2026 at 2:05 PM
silversprite.bsky.social
(3/3) Back at base and working from bed. Where there is no mud, and no trees, but there is a hot mug of coffee spiralling tiny steam whisps, and a grey British shorthair cat who snores while I attempt to read academic research papers.

This will do for a while.
A duvet with stripes in different shades of grey. On the duvet is a British shorthair cat, also grey; behind it is a small stack of drawers and a wardrobe door. A laptop is nearer to the camera. On the screen is an academic paper, The state of global catastrophic risk research: a bibliometric review.
January 15, 2026 at 11:29 AM
silversprite.bsky.social
(2/3) Bare trees, excepting the ivy or the mistletoe. Trees which appear to be shrieking, or making a stand, or shirking away, or grieving.

Clearances, the scouring of wood and plant; stumps and piles of trunk, branch and twig. Brooks and streams, clear through to brown. Always the mud. January.
A wet country lane. A neat hedgerow on the right hand side leads to a bare tree with very angular branches and twigs. A cleared section of land, where large trees have been felled and the wood piled up for disposal or burning. A muddy brook meanders through the ground. A country lane, climbing a small hill, with steep hedgerows immediately on either side. Ahead, on top of the hill, some trees containing many mistletoe globes. A straight section of country lane, with neat hedgerows on either side, approaches the top of a small hill. Ahead are a few bare trees on either side.
January 15, 2026 at 10:59 AM
silversprite.bsky.social
(1/3) Morning 4 mile walk. Grey, damp, everything damp, but not cold through the many layers I've swaddled myself into.

Browns. In this season, browns dominate, nature throwing on a 1970s fashion aesthetic. Wood, soil (mud), churned verges, dead leaves, more mud, mud that gets everywhere, horses!
A country lane, wet with rain. Hedgerows on either side; bare trees nearby. Three horses standing around a tree, eating hay. The horses are wearing blankets. Side profile of a brown horse, wearing a horse blanket. The horse is standing in a nondescript grassy field. A straight section of country lane, with trees on either side.
January 15, 2026 at 10:35 AM
silversprite.bsky.social
Latte, and a sultana scone (rhymes with 'own' because Malvern), were achieved.

This concludes uphill walking for today.
A latte in a dark cup, on a wooden table. Also on the table is a pencil case, glasses and a plant. In the background are other cafe customers, and the scone display. A sultana scone, halved, on a plate with a knife and napkin. There's also two packets of butter, and a miniature jar of jam.
January 14, 2026 at 12:53 PM
silversprite.bsky.social
Still walking uphill. Malvern is an Escher picture. Ah another sign.

{reads sign}

That's good, persuasive, marketing. But I need caffeine. Moving on...
A sign for a pub (The Unicorn) saying "Massive Fxcking Hill" with an arrow pointing upwards and away, and "Nice pint" with an arrow pointing at the door.
January 14, 2026 at 11:24 AM
silversprite.bsky.social
Walking up, forever up, into Malvern. Ah an independent coffee place.

{reads sign}

Okay; bit weird. Moving on...
A sign advertising the services and products offered by "Henry's Coffee", including tea, coffee, cakes, sandwiches, toasties, panini's, omelettes,jacket potatoes, free WiFi, and "friendly harassment".
January 14, 2026 at 11:10 AM
silversprite.bsky.social
Post your favorite Star Trek Character. Wrong answers only!

#Servalan #Blakes7 #MaximumThrust
The character of Servalan (played by Jacqueline Pearce), pointing a gun-like weapon to someone out of shot. Servalan is wearing a white busy gown-like outfit.
January 14, 2026 at 7:50 AM
silversprite.bsky.social
I'M A BARISTA!
A boxed coffee machine play set, for ages 2+. Made of wooden blocks; there'a a simplified (non-working) machine, cups, filters and other vague shapes which resemble coffee apparatus.
January 13, 2026 at 9:33 PM
silversprite.bsky.social
Reskeet this with your home river.

Badsey Brook, which ambles through Murcot and Wickhamford in the Vale of Evesham, Worcestershire, connecting several brooks and streams before flowing into the River Avon, itself into the Severn.

Map published in 1955.
Part of a 1955 map, showing parts of Wickhamford, Badsey Brook, Longdon Hill, and a few of the orchards to the south east of Evesham.
January 12, 2026 at 9:22 PM
silversprite.bsky.social
Good luck anyone trying this with the cat here. I'll come and visit you in hospital after surgeons have re-attached your arm.
A screenshot from a product on Amazon, showing a British Shorthair (all grey) cat wearing a miniature Mexican-style hat. The cat is sitting on an orange chair, and the hat has been rather obviously photoshopped on. Behind is a Christmas tree. The hat is priced at £9.99, and is labelled as "Amazon's Choice".
January 12, 2026 at 7:14 PM
silversprite.bsky.social
Is the summer coming? Apparently so. Things spotted for sale today include suntan lotion, big sun hats, handheld fans, picnic baskets with chiller sections for salads and prosecco, and:
A boxed dog bed with sun shade. A boxed dog bed with sun shade, with a picture of a dog lounging on a small square of plastic-looking material, which is covered by a canopy of a fragile looking piece of material.
January 11, 2026 at 8:12 PM
silversprite.bsky.social
Oh I somehow (how?) forgot cheese in its many delicious, essential, forms. Yes, cheese. Add cheese to the list of things which may appear on this Bluesky account. Because cheese.
Quality marmalade, and thick cut cheese, on rye and walnut bread; a close-up isometric picture I took in Stockholm where my barista taught me to make this traditional Swedish breakfast. Never looked back. A thin slice of cheesecake, with a generous pouring of black raspberry sauce over it, on a plate. This was eaten in Grinnell, Iowa, USA, on 9th June 2015. A plate of slices and bits and pieces of various varieties of cheese, on a busy table with pickles, bread, vegetables, crackers, and other things people eat with cheese. Taken at a harvest festival in Leicestershire in 2016. Several wheels of Swiss cheese, either cut into two or four, and stacked so the cut surfaces are facing the camera. This is inside an upmarket store.
January 11, 2026 at 6:11 PM
silversprite.bsky.social
Hi, wave of new people (exodus from Twitter / X?). Academic and research interests in the bio.

Warning: this is the least exciting account on Bluesky. Cakes and pastries, rural walks, exploring Sweden & Norway, apple and orchard observations, weird stuff the cat does, text adventures, um that's it?
A table filled with whole cakes e.g. coffee and walnut, victoria sponge, each different and on an individual large plate. There is a stack of paper plates, and a childs hand is visible. A single track lane, with no markings. There is a high hedge on either side, and a tree to the right. The lane curves round ahead. Two large ferries in the Stockholm archipelago in Sweden. Both are docked at an island pier, which is covered in snow. It's twilight; the sky is clear, and the sea is a dark blue. A very long display table, in a marquee. There are several rows of clusters of apples stretching the length of the table. Each cluster is a different variety. This was the main display at the annual Tenbury Wells apple day, in 2024.
January 11, 2026 at 5:45 PM
silversprite.bsky.social
(2/2) Taking the opportunity of this walk to try and mentally shift towards starting this next course.

14 weeks of reading papers in a subject I'm not (primarily) familiar with, plus weekly participation seminars, two assignments, and additional background reading. It's going to be a busy winter.
Across a frost-covered hedge and field stands a thin, long, line of tall trees, some with clumps of mistletoe. The sky is light blue and clear. A road with markings down the middle. Hedges, with large, gnarly, ivy-covered trees, border either side. A small piece of electricity grid infrastructure, on wooden poles, in a frosty field under a clear and light blue sky. A country lane, mainly in shadow as the early morning sun is still low. Small trees and bare hedge shrubbery border either side.
January 10, 2026 at 12:32 PM