Kate Pennington

yep, she was the spotlight for the April WhaleTalesandGlitter

A fledgling crow: mostly black with bits of grey under plumage showing on their side, looks into a square-ish pond that is covered by a black, wide-mesh-cover. A light gray statue stands behind and to the left of the crow, green plants reach up to the cover from the water on the lower right side.

Our local crow's nest is very noisy today. Me thinks the family has a new fledgling. I wonder if the parents will use our yard as a day-care again? Though our yard is less crow baby friendly these days w/ more stuff. The adults were always near the baby, in the trees etc. #Crow #Corvid #Wildlife

The "problem" with being married to a software engineer is that they look at your cute little spreadsheet and a light bulb goes off in their eyes. 24 hours later they tell you they have a first start on a prototype thingee that will be super helpful. And might even be good for other people. wheee!

Another story submission done. Whhhhhhy is the processes so nerve wracking??? its just clicks on a screen. It's not like the end result will define my life or anything. *runs whimpering into the void* *the void is sleepy and overbooked* *sigh*

Sir Ian McKellen to open historic all-trans and nonbinary production of Twelfth Night Director Phoebe Kemp said: "Twelfth Night already toys with gender and performance – it feels like Shakespeare wrote it for us"

this sounds amazing! And there's a live stream for it as well. I'm hoping they'll also record it and make it available online afterwards.

"Sir Ian McKellen to open historic all-trans and nonbinary production of Twelfth Night"

www.attitude.co.uk/culture/sir-...

Really loving my first @wiscon.bsky.social even with low spoons. Good panels and tons of neat folks - many new and some old. And a good start to my "Conference season" lol it a season if you're only attending two? :)

I've been following his work for ages. We have his cookbook :D

I've officially typed zooplankton enough that my word processor now offers it to me when I type zoo. I feel like I just leveled up in marine science-y-ness.

why yes, I am (finally) finishing up my notes from April's adventure with 3 whale watching trips in three days.

#zooplankton #MarineScience

A mother and calf Humpback whales arch their backs, showing the tip of their dorsal fins. The calf, on the left and in front of mom, is light gray and very smooth. Mom is dark gray with some dips and bumps on her back. The water around them is gray-green merging with the gray sky at a barely perceptible line.

Me and the sweetie, both pink-cheeked from the wind, pose for a post-whale watch photo. Scott, on the right wears a black and red jacket, Kate on the right is in a blue windbreaker, we are standing at the back of the boat with thick fog and clouds behind us rolling toward dark tree-lined slopes leading to gray-green water.

Professor Bonnelly, an older woman with light brown skin and salt-n-pepper hair. She wears a white blazer, red blouse, a strand of pearls, and glasses. She is smiling at her desk, books and papers before her.

Issue No. 6 of Whale Tales and Glitter is out & all about my favorite thing: Whale Watching- the how, why, where, and when of it all! Also the May marine biology spotlight is Professor Idelisa Bonnelly, Mother of marine conservation in the Caribbean. www.whaletalesandglitter.com

#marinelife 🦑

two images stacked one a-top the other - both are of a swallowtail caterpillar on a fennel branch. Top is 1st stage. It's about an inch long, mostly black, with spikes, with a white patch in the middle. bottom photo: same caterpillar after molt, now stage 2. A bit larger, predominately light green, with black spikes and oranage spots among the spikes.

A bright green chrysalis hangs from a lavender branch. It's nestled near the base of the plant in the shade, surrounded by green lavender leaves. On the right side of the chrysalis, about 1/4 down from the anchor point is a row of tiny golden spots curving from the middle around to the back. Below this are faint vein lines in dark green - the butterfly-to-be forming, showing through the casing as the casing lightens.

Distracted by caterpillars and chrysalis' today... We have a Swallowtail caterpillar who just molted from spiky black with red to spiky light green and black. Our Monarch chrysalis is tucked in a lavender bush, starting to get a bit of translucence! Can see some of the lines of the wings now.

YouTube video by Union of Concerned Scientists You Need Science. Now Science Needs You.

The last 100 days have been an unprecedented assault on American science. Our scientists. Our institutions. And the people around the world who rely on it. We must stand united and speak up. Our collective future depends on it. #ScienceMatters www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPlu... savesciencenow.org

Thank you! BOWW leaves from Moss Landing and such a treat! Though it is HIGH season in the Bay right now. lots and lots of Humpbacks and even Orcas and Finn whales.

No, we didnt make it to that one.

A very small black motor boat with a few people on board has a front row seat to a breaching Humpback whale. the whale is dark gray, in mid rotation from front to its back, rising up from the gray-green water only a few feet from the bow of the boat.

Same boat, same whale - seconds later as the whale completes its rotation with a massive splash. The end of the whale's dark tail flukes can be seen in the midst of the large and explosive back wash of white water moving toward the boat and her passengers.

Part of why I love going whale watching is for the moments you can't predict. We know that Humpbacks breach but never when or where. Yes, the passengers got SOAKed and laughed alot in amazement, as did those of us watching.
Photos by C. Pennington April 17, 2025
#Humpback #Whale #MarineMammals

The moment in office cleaning when you realize you CANNOT find the notebook with the sketches for your Space Whales. ... well shit.... "it has to be here somewhere" ... "Nope, not there" "Do not pull your hair out."

Clearly I have put them somewhere *SMART* and will now pay dearly for my choices.

Are possibly-expired copyrights on 78rpm vinyl records worth destroying THE source for information that’s rapidly disappearing as this administration rampages through the Internet?

Gotta wonder if supporting that #censorship is the real motivation behind this lawsuit.

#Disinformation
#RightToRead

Dear Climate Movement: They've Come for Our Climate Science. We Have to Stop Them. They can't take it from us if we refuse to let it go.

We don’t feel much like a “climate” movement right now and that’s as it should be, too many urgent fronts to fight on. But we’re still here. And this assault on climate science needs the greatest response we can marshal.
Thanks @marc-alessi.bsky.social & Rachel Cleetus blog.ucs.org/erika-spange...

Indian Point, NY has two fault lines, with estimates of potential 6.0 to 7.0 quake. For added *fun* There is a defunct nuclear power plant there.

On the road to Monterey, CA and Hotel California comes on the radio. - why thank you i think we will sing at the top of our lungs. Mini vacation activated!

good gods. meanwhile they miss the radiant joy on you face at being YOU.

Oh i think I might! that’s very pretty and kind of amazing.

Very nice! any chance you’ll be test driving this beauty on a boat? I’d love to know how it copes with large and small moving marine mammals!

Me, a pale beige woman with short dark hair, and blue eyes, wearing purple glasses - showing off one of her new Rainbow colored Guillotine earrings.

Me, a pale beige woman with short dark hair, and blue eyes, wearing purple glasses - my sort-of smile hints that I am contemplating coming out into the light of Spring.

I'm having a very Aries moment. For daaaays I've been blah about my birthday. Today the weather has gone all Spring! &lovely and lo - my whole being also went SPRING! and awake and Weeee! Birthday! lol Be kind to your Aries', we're finally waking up! Also new stuff from WoodlandsCustomCraft on Etsy

Hello everyone! Just here to say that Flights of Foundry @flightsoffoundry.bsky.social is precious and should be protected at any cost! It's a virtual-first con and it's a labor of love. Please participate or donate/sponsor them if you can! They have all their videos online for free on YouTube!

Thank you, I love it. I'm going whale watching in Monterey Bay for my birthday, so yeah, :) I think it's going to be lovely. Thanks!

I remembering hearing about Ken Balcomb years ago and being deeply inspired by his work. Looking forward to this film.

Thank you!

Dark blue T-shirt with a variety of large and small marine life in silhouette in blues, pinks and yellows against. They form a circle around the words SAVE OUT SEAS. At the top right of the shirt is book with an orange and yellow book cover with a two people in black on a ledge in space gear. Pale letters within the cliff read: A Lady Astronaut Novel. The book's title: the Martian Contingency is in black above the figures, with author's name above: Mary Robinette Kowal. Below the title is a quote: "Kowal masters both science and historical accuracy in this alternate history adventure." - Andy Weir Author of the Martian.

Yesterday was a good mail day! My (early) Birthday present from my Mum @saaremartha.bsky.social - a Save our Seas T-shirt from @mcsuk.bsky.social and the Hard cover of Martian Contingency from @maryrobinettekowal.com

Red Tara says hi. I'm going to be shaking things up in my art business ASAP. It's time for change. Find me in Redlands on State St. at 6th on March 30th for the beginning of my "Life is Short" sale. It's the Redlands Art Walk. Let's gooooo! #art

Thank you for this amazing and heartening thread.