Pursuits of Nancy Moniz

In Flanders Fields poem. In Flanders fields, the poppies blow
     Between the crosses, row on row,
   That mark our place; and in the sky
   The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
   Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
                          In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
   The torch; be yours to hold it high.
   If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
                            In Flanders fields.

“The day before he wrote his famous poem, one of McCrae's closest friends was killed in the fighting and buried in a makeshift grave with a simple wooden cross. Wild poppies were already beginning to bloom between the crosses marking the many graves.”

Thank you for sharing the story behind the Sharpied 51 💙

An excerpt from my new piece for @thebulletin.org on Bill Gates' new climate missive:

Women Artists from Antwerp to Amsterdam, 1600-1750 | Exhibition | National Museum of Women in the Arts

Flower Piece, 1713, by #JosinaMargaretaWeenix is on view now in the exhibition "Women Artists from Antwerp to Amsterdam, 1600-1750" at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, nmwa.org/exhibitions/...

The museum is open throughout the US govt shutdown & is free for furloughed federal employees.

After a century in Vatican Museums, Indigenous sacred objects heading back to Canada | CBC News Sources tell CBC News the Vatican and the Canadian Catholic Church are making good progress toward an agreement to return Indigenous cultural objects before the end of the year, in a handoff facilitat...

www.cbc.ca/news/vatican...

Jewel Heist at the Musée du Louvre "A blog about art crimes, illicit trafficking, forgery, art theft and cultural heritage protection."

Today's theft from the Louvre (
art-crime.blogspot.com/2025/10/jewe...) is making me think about my favorite series of museum heists. Buckle up for a 🧵 on priceless porcelains, the Dead Zoo Gang, a Pekinese named Looty, and the unsolved mystery of who's stealing Chinese art from European museums.

Hunt continues for thieves after priceless jewels stolen in heist at Louvre museum in Paris - live updates France's Culture Minister Rachida Dati says the incident happened as the museum opened this morning.

www.bbc.com/news/live/c6...

The Science Of Fall Leaf Color Change And Detection From Space Why do leaves change color in the fall and how can we see the process from space? Our expert explains.

My explainer on why leaves change colors and how we detect it from space

www.forbes.com/sites/marsha...

As forests are cut down, butterflies are losing their colours The insects’ brilliant hues evolved in lush ecosystems to help them survive. Now they are becoming more muted to adapt to degraded landscapes – and they are not the only things dulling down

“A new research project suggests that as humans replace rich tropical forests with monochrome, the colour of other creatures is leaching away.”

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Indigenous-led protections spark Bali starling’s recovery in the wild NUSA PENIDA, Indonesia — Two young conservation workers rattle up on a motorbike and dismount at the edge of a coconut grove. Picking through husks, fallen fronds and stray plastic bottles, they scan…

An Indonesian songbird once nearly extinct in the wild, the Bali starling, is making a comeback through community-led conservation.

Villages embraced traditional awig-awig regulations to protect the starling, creating powerful cultural, social and financial deterrents to poaching.

🇨🇳 VIDEO: Hope and hardship along China's 'Great Green Wall'

Across the deserts of Inner Mongolia, China has been carrying out a colossal greening project for decades. Over 90 million hectares of the desert have been transformed into forest so far.

First treaty to protect marine life in high seas to take effect in January World’s first-ever pact aims to fight threats like climate change, over-fishing and deep-sea mining.

First treaty to protect marine life in high seas to take effect in January aje.io/rk0iuu

Rare butterfly spotted for 1st time in over a century at Toronto's High Park | CBC News A rare butterfly species — the zebra swallowtail — has been spotted in Toronto's High Park for the first time in over a century.

🦋🙌

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Capturing the melting of glaciers, with data and art For more than 40 years, glaciologist Mauri Pelto has been measuring shrinking glaciers in Washington State. He's been joined by his daughter, artist-scientist Jill Pelto, whose watercolors provide ano...

Wonderful coverage on the synergy between climate science & art. Congrats @jillpelto.bsky.social & @mauri-pelto.bsky.social & the rest of your team. I admire your long & connective work in the North Cascades!

www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/cap...

The secret to what makes colours pop on dazzling songbirds Hidden layers of colour in the plumage of tanagers and some other songbirds explain what makes them so eye-catching

Painters often prime a canvas with a layer of white to make it smoother, stronger and to enhance the colours they will later layer on, but it seems this is a mechanism that birds were using long before humans picked up paintbrushes.

Where Do Untraceable Fishing Fleets Go?

Where Do Untraceable Fishing Fleets Go? www.nytimes.com/2025/07/24/c...

Aptly named scarlet-rumped tanagers get their impressive red backsides because their pigmented feathers have a layer of white beneath, which enhances the rouge hue by backscattering light.

New research in #ScienceAdvances shows that some songbirds have such bright-looking feathers by having a backdrop of black or white plumage underneath their bright feathers—an illusionary tactic of color also used by painters.

Learn more in #ScienceAdviser: scim.ag/46ZaPeM

Indelible passion When it comes to stylophiles’ caches, only the write stuff will do

In 2010 a fountain pen manufactured by Italian company Tibaldi set a record amount paid for a writing instrument, fetching an astounding $8 million at an auction in Shanghai.

Let's get to know Canada's wildflowers - The Weather Network A wildflower is a flowering plant you can find growing naturally in an environment, without being planted by humans

Canada is home to 4,000 species of native flowering plants, and as many as 3,000 could be considered wildflowers.

A photograph of a blue porcelain brush rest. There are five peaks, and the design depicts three people at a temple in the mountains.

A photograph of a green porcelain brush rest. There are five peaks, and the design depicts a bird and a dragon flying together in the sky amongst the clouds.

A photograph of a purple porcelain brush rest.

These beautiful objects are Chinese brush rests, which were often made in the shape of a steep five-peak mountain range.

🖌️⛰️ Brush rest, China, 18th century. EAX.1360
🖌️⛰️ Brush rest, China, 16th century. EAX.1813
🖌️⛰️ Brush rest, China, 17th–18th century. EA2000.85

The Art Gallery of Ontario is celebrating 125 years by sharing insights into six iconic works.

www.thestar.com/entertainmen...

Earth’s Largest Camera Takes 3 Billion-Pixel Images of the Night Sky (Gift Article) At the heart of the new Vera C. Rubin Observatory is a digital camera that will create an unparalleled map of the cosmos.

Earth’s Largest Camera Takes 3 Billion-Pixel Images of the Night Sky

“At the heart of the new Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile is the world’s largest digital camera. About the size of a small car, it will create an unparalleled map of the night sky.”

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Art x Climate Gallery triumphs at the Smithsonian The 92 artists featured in Art x Climate Gallery by way of the Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5)—published in 2023 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP)—were selected from a pool ...

92 artists were featured at the Smithsonian’s Art x Climate Gallery

www.archpaper.com/2025/06/smit...

Dr Khan, Mehdi Hasan and Naomi Klein seated on stage.

Thank you for bringing the tour to Toronto and the chance to listen to and engage with two strong voices: Naomi Klein and Dr. Khan. We went through the full gamut of emotions that night. 🙏❤️💔

Opinion | I Love Finding Birds’ Nests, but What’s in Them Troubles Me

I Love Finding Birds’ Nests, but What’s in Them Troubles Me www.nytimes.com/2025/06/21/o...

Coral reefs face an uncertain recovery from the 4th global mass bleaching event – can climate refuges help? As baby corals float in the currents, they can expand their species’ range. But can they get to climate refuges fast enough to survive? A new study has good news and bad.

There is still hope to save irreplaceable coral ecosystems, but time is running out. Baby corals can ride ocean currents for hundreds of miles, but they can’t outrun climate change. And humans have a limited capacity to make new reefs in cooler waters. buff.ly/nY4jJs0 #WorldOceanDay

What is the UN Oceans Conference and why does it matter? More than 10,000 people will gather in France for largest ocean conference ever.

More than 10,000 people will gather in France for largest ocean conference ever.

Behind the D-Day Weather Forecast that Saved the World (Gift Article) Getting the troops to Normandy on D-Day was a tremendous logistical undertaking. And it almost didn’t happen.

Have you heard the story about the weather forecast that saved the world?

This was a joy to write & I hope you enjoying reading it just as much!
With thanks to the Stagg family for sharing their memories & photos & the UK Met Office for their time & use of wartime maps
@nytimes.com
nyti.ms/44aOJmP

'This is classic climate change': Sask. faces worst wildfire season in decades | CBC News Saskatchewan is battling the worst wildfire it's seen in decades and experts say it's largely caused by climate change.

Climate change is fueling devastating wildfires burning across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta through intensified heat, drought and atmospheric conditions. 🧵⬇️
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

'This is classic climate change': Sask. faces worst wildfire season in decades | CBC News Saskatchewan is battling the worst wildfire it's seen in decades and experts say it's largely caused by climate change.

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...