J. Raasch

Photo of tiny celery seedlings, barely emerging from soil.

Celery is germinating!

Requires light. Gently press seed into soil. Do not bury.

You do NOT want to pre-soak the seed. Packets and websites tell you to do this. It is bad advice.

Start with moist soil, bottom water, cover with plastic dome. I used a heat mat.

Photo of partly cloudy sky. Sun appears slightly above “horizon”. There’s grass in the foreground.

Hello. I hope this week goes better for you.

Reminder … resilience grows from diversity.

Image of glassy trichomes -- wispy fibers and a few tiny spheres -- partially concealing a green background.

Final image for today ...

Attempted stack of 14 iPhone images.

Sage leaf, upper surface. 8x ocular, 3.5x objective. Combined upper and lower illumination. Captured using iPhone. Stacked using Zerene Stacker, non-professional version, default settings.

#afocal, very amateur #microscopy

Closer ...

Sage leaf, upper leaf surface. 8x ocular, 10x objective. Combining upper and lower illumination.

The tiny sphere is another sort of trichome found on leaves.

#afocal, iPhone, vintage Leitz SM-POL, very amateur #microscopy

Photograph of a tangle of colorless trichomes on green (barely visible beneath glassy hairs) leaf.

Trying the vintage Leitz SM-POL ...

Sage leaf, upper leaf surface. 8x ocular, 3.5x objective. Combining upper and lower illumination.

#afocal, iPhone, very amateur #microscopy

Sometimes I briefly sit down while waiting for say cauliflower to cook. And I heart a post only 46 second seconds old. Then worry you think I’m just sitting here all day looking at Bluesky.

White "fuzz" on green Sage leaf. Upper surface. Total magnification 10x.

White "fuzz" on green Sage leaf. Upper surface. Total magnification 23x.

White "fuzz" on green Sage leaf. Lower surface. Total magnification 10x.

White "fuzz" on green Sage leaf. Upper surface. Total magnification 23x.

Looking at Sage (Salvia officinalis) leaf today. Low magnification. A bazillion trichomes on upper and lower surfaces.

#afocal, iPhone, vintage Spencer Junior stereo microscope, very amateur #microscopy

Part of a sketch map for the public land survey in 1834, showing the 4th Lake (now Lake Mendota) and area along its shoreline. Features included are wetlands and an area labeled "sugar grove."

While I'm think about maple syrup, I always like to point out that the land surveyor's 1834 sketch map (two years after the forced cession of Teejop and surrounding Ho-Chunk lands) includes a "sugar grove" in present-day Maple Bluff, location of the Wisconsin governor's mansion.

Rolling dormant grassland and shrub landscape. Partly cloud blue sky above.

Prairie remnant foreground.

Primrose Unit, Southwest Wisconsin Grassland and Stream Conservation Area beyond.

sounds optimistic

Does the city hire contractors or have their own burn crews?

When is a Pancake Not a Pancake? Podcast Episode · Gastropod · February 24 · 45m

Is a latke a fritter or a pancake?

You’ll love this episode if you love this question.

Also, now I really really really want a stack of pancakes drenched with real maple syrup, not “pancake syrup”.

Listen and learn …

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/g...

Photo of grassy shrubby landscape. Dusted with snow. Clear deep blue sky above.

Primrose Unit, Southwest Wisconsin Grassland and Stream Conservation Area.

West Blue Mound barely visible on horizon.

👍🏻

A pink sky after sunset is reflected in the calm water below. Tall reeds are silhouetted against the water in the foreground.

This is a reminder to step away from the news if you haven’t taken a break in a bit. Maybe look at the sky or a tree or a bird

#SkySky 🌿

close- up of simple trichomes on upper surface of senescent leaf

close- up of simple trichomes on upper surface of senescent leaf

close- up of simple trichomes on upper surface of senescent leaf

close- up of simple trichomes on upper surface of senescent leaf

I’ve resorted to checking houseplants for trichomes while waiting for Spring to arrive.

Learning to hold phone steady. Bluetooth remote is helping immensely.

iPhone
#afocal
vintage Spencer Junior stereo microscope
#Alocasia

Vernal witchhazel blooming, UIUC Arboretum this afternoon.

quite hard

It’s very pretty, especially dusting fur of The Border Collie.

But is it important to walk like a penguin on trampled grass paths. 😬

Im always telling people who assure me they have "no flowers" in am English Ivy'cocrred area, to clear it out and give it a whole season. Whether previously planted or wild, SOMEthing was there before the Ivy, and its a worth gamble. Worst case- new planting space lol

A photography or microscopy club could split a case among members.

Warning on that estimated ship date of June 30 … that will likely turn into a rolling estimate updated monthly. Could require over a year to see delivered.

An historic black and white illustration of a paper nautilus floating on the ocean. There are boats, a city and hills in the background.

🎉 Huge news for BHL: The Field Museum is taking over the hosting of BHL’s website, servers & infrastructure, ensuring long-term stability and access for its 63+ million pages of open biodiversity literature. Learn more:
blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2026/02/tran...
#BHLTransition #ILoveBHL 🌍 📚 🧪

Photo of tiny seedlings—just cotyledons—in pots.

Lavender germinating. 🥰

Culver’s sticky note on car mirror. Number 13.

walleye

I’m thinking a small rubber band to hold the tips together during storage might help, but I’ve not tried it yet. It should block the auto on.

European bison arrive in the Iberian Highlands for the first time | Rewilding Europe In a historic step for rewilding in Spain, nine European bison have been released for the first time in the Iberian Highlands. As part of an international study, they will help unlock vital insights…

European bison arrive in Spain’s Iberian Highlands. Nine European bison have been released in El Recuenco, Guadalajara, launching a scientific study into how Europe’s largest land mammal can restore Mediterranean woodlands and reduce wildfire risk through grazing. buff.ly/CWTIpmt #ShareGoodNewsToo

And I thought I was hard on lawn mowers, pushing them through tall grass, goldenrod, and small honeysuckle. Never seen a metal blade chipped like that. 😱

Medioctrity loves arrogance.

Two possibilities you might have already ruled out:

I discovered the lid of the case pressed the on button for a similar calipers when I closed it. ☹️

And last night I realized the “auto on”feature worked when I barely touched the calipers to move it.

I must remove the battery when not using it.

Photograph of Butterfly Milkweed. There’s a background of blurred purple flowers and green vegetation.

😍