Colton the fish squeezerπŸŸπŸŒ»πŸ“šπŸ•οΈπŸ¦Ÿ's Avatar

Colton the fish squeezerπŸŸπŸŒ»πŸ“šπŸ•οΈπŸ¦Ÿ

@fishsqueezer.bsky.social

Biologist in Idaho, lover of nature, taking pictures, books, family, art. Politically active & outraged, but that's not why I'm on Bluesky. Views my own. Profile photos ALT text: pfp: 4-frame collage with spouse, horse, Monstera, fish banner: beaver pond

2,746 Followers  |  1,140 Following  |  4,469 Posts  |  Joined: 08.09.2023  |  1.8858

Latest posts by fishsqueezer.bsky.social on Bluesky

They are pretty adept at creating an illusion of cleaning just long enough to activate their camouflage and then disappear into the complex environmental niches they have created as ecosystem engineers.

04.08.2025 17:11 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
A carpeted floor covered in hundreds of pieces of Styrofoam.

A carpeted floor covered in hundreds of pieces of Styrofoam.

Guess who made the mistake of not immediately cleaning up the Styrofoam packing material from the new freezer despite occupying the same habitat as a population of children?

04.08.2025 16:44 β€” πŸ‘ 17    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0

Oh yeah, that's a good idea, I'll suggest that to her.

04.08.2025 04:32 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
A bouquet of roses, lavender, and baby's breath graces the corner of a bathroom countertop next to a mirror.

A bouquet of roses, lavender, and baby's breath graces the corner of a bathroom countertop next to a mirror.

My mother just casually grew these fresh flowers in her garden and made this arrangement for her lowly guest bathroom. She also took four full bouquets to the food bank because she didn't know what else to do with them. 🌱

04.08.2025 04:13 β€” πŸ‘ 142    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 6    πŸ“Œ 0
An orchid with two flowers that each have five high petals and sepals like a crown over a large lip. In the center is a purple column. The mess of the greenhouse is in the background.

An orchid with two flowers that each have five high petals and sepals like a crown over a large lip. In the center is a purple column. The mess of the greenhouse is in the background.

One more orchid currently in bloom: the amazingly fragrant Zygopetalum. Such an easy grower and bloomer, something from this genus should be in every orchid fan's house. πŸͺ΄

03.08.2025 23:33 β€” πŸ‘ 30    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

My family would eat literally 50 of these. The craftsmanship is far too intricate to be food, it's art.

03.08.2025 23:31 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I suspect I can mulch it heavily and it will come back. I just thought maybe a little bit of trunk could survive, but that seems unlikely.

03.08.2025 18:29 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
An orchid with very long, cylindrical leaves grows from the top of a skinny board. The base of the plant is obscured by a blob of Spanish moss, and one wispy, creamy flower is growing off a leaf on the lower right.

An orchid with very long, cylindrical leaves grows from the top of a skinny board. The base of the plant is obscured by a blob of Spanish moss, and one wispy, creamy flower is growing off a leaf on the lower right.

Full plant so you can see all the pencil-shaped leaves. It's pretty weird and somewhat of an anatomical outlier for the genus. Makes for a funny type species, but nobody asked me.

03.08.2025 15:48 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
A flower with a white, funnel shaped lip with tiny frilly hairs on the edge emerging from the center of five extremely long petals and sepals.

A flower with a white, funnel shaped lip with tiny frilly hairs on the edge emerging from the center of five extremely long petals and sepals.

Another one blooming right now: Brassavola cucullata, aka the daddy long-legs orchid. It has a very elongated frilly lip surrounded by even longer petals & sepals like the legs of a spider. Native from northern South America through Central America to Mexico, it is the type species of the genus. πŸͺ΄πŸŒ±

03.08.2025 15:48 β€” πŸ‘ 33    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Almost thou persuadest me to grow Passiflora.

03.08.2025 15:28 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

What I'm gathering is that it's mostly lavender, haha.

03.08.2025 14:15 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Holy crap, that is gorgeous!

03.08.2025 14:14 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
A full frontal shot of the Vanda nana showing the pink inflorescence on the left while the green bean sized leaves fan out from a chunk of bark.

A full frontal shot of the Vanda nana showing the pink inflorescence on the left while the green bean sized leaves fan out from a chunk of bark.

03.08.2025 03:10 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

The Vanda nana bloomed! They are so tiny and adorable and PINK! Or maybe a little purple? Mauve? I don't know, I'm colorblind, but I still love them.

bsky.app/profile/fish... πŸͺ΄ 🌱 #orchids

03.08.2025 03:10 β€” πŸ‘ 49    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

There was no silence involved; the library was closed to the public. The kids were screaming and laughing continuously, and some of them were literally climbing the bookshelves. It was hilarious mayhem.

02.08.2025 23:21 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

I'm in zone 6, so the average winter is -5 to -10 F. Only once in 8 years has it gotten as cold as -15 (last January on my birthday).

02.08.2025 22:33 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

That's fascinating. I'm from Northern Arizona, and that same color of blue denotes a crapload of rain there in August. But I guess the much higher elevation areas of monsoon country have significantly lower temperatures and dew points, so that precipitable water actually condenses as rain.

02.08.2025 19:45 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
A more elegant native bee with subtle abdominal stripes perched on some goldenrod flowers.

A more elegant native bee with subtle abdominal stripes perched on some goldenrod flowers.

02.08.2025 19:41 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Some kind of native bee that looks a lot like a honey bee, but darker black and boxier.

Some kind of native bee that looks a lot like a honey bee, but darker black and boxier.

02.08.2025 19:41 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
A tiny butterfly perched on a bright yellow sprig of goldenrod flowers. It has dotted black lines on the underside of each wing, and a zipper-like antenna ending in an orange dot. There are also a couple of orange dots on the bottom of its hindwing. I don't know anything about butterflies, it's probably like... a skipper or something? The inside of its wings were blue, but I couldn't get a photo.

A tiny butterfly perched on a bright yellow sprig of goldenrod flowers. It has dotted black lines on the underside of each wing, and a zipper-like antenna ending in an orange dot. There are also a couple of orange dots on the bottom of its hindwing. I don't know anything about butterflies, it's probably like... a skipper or something? The inside of its wings were blue, but I couldn't get a photo.

Pleased to report that the fireweed was successfully able to bridge the gap between the spring wildflowers and the goldenrod, which just started blooming. Solidago should see the pollinators through till frost.

#nativeplants #invert 🌱

02.08.2025 19:41 β€” πŸ‘ 62    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

That sounds lovely. My greenhouse is only 6' x 8' and it's on a concrete patio, hahaha. But my parents have more space so maybe I'll plant it there somewhere.

02.08.2025 18:27 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Oh, huh. Mine is in a container, but this is the first year I've gotten much fruit and even after all that time I'm like...this was an interesting experiment, but meh.

02.08.2025 17:48 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I seem to remember that you're a cactus nerd from California, surely your climate would be amenable to planting it outside somewhere? If you don't have space outside you should guerilla garden it into an irrigated median somewhere, hahaha.

02.08.2025 17:46 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

There are actually two Ficus carica trees sharing this pot. One is 'Ischia' and one is 'Olympian'. They're supposedly cold hardy to zone 7 and 6 (my zone) respectively, but they're in a container so I've been overwintering them in a garage.

02.08.2025 17:41 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
A hand full of plump yellow figs in front of a leafy green potted fig plant.

A hand full of plump yellow figs in front of a leafy green potted fig plant.

More than doubled my previous record fig harvest - all the way up to FIVE! Probably time to get rid of the fig tree, honestly. They're...fine. Not as good as peaches or berries or lots of other fruit that take less space, effort, or both. Maybe I'll plant it outside & see if the roots overwinter. 🌱

02.08.2025 17:08 β€” πŸ‘ 33    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 5    πŸ“Œ 0
A black chinned hummingbird in a rare moment, perched on a branch. It has a slightly barred tan chest and gray wings and back along with the black bib.

A black chinned hummingbird in a rare moment, perched on a branch. It has a slightly barred tan chest and gray wings and back along with the black bib.

I will aerially joust anyone who doesn't like hummingbirds. πŸͺΆ

02.08.2025 17:02 β€” πŸ‘ 17    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I guess this is because it's temperate Mediterranean? In summer the dew points are highest because warm air holds more moisture, but the temperatures are so much higher that it still never rains? & winter dew points are relatively lower, but it's so cold compared to summer that it still rains more?

02.08.2025 16:38 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

I admit I'm not a meteorologist or climatologist, but I figured the month with the highest precipitable water wouldn't be one of the driest months, with central Washington averaging like 0.25" of precipitation in August (one quarter as much precipitation as December/January). 1/2

02.08.2025 16:38 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

I would also happily shoot you with a Nerf gun.

02.08.2025 15:13 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

We froze the blackberries, dried the plums as leather or prunes, and ate the rest.

02.08.2025 14:50 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

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