Dave O’Hara
@davoh.bsky.social
Professor of Philosophy, Religion, Classics, and Environmental Studies. I study fish and forests, and the cultural ideas that connect them. Current home: South Dakota. Former homes: NY, VT, NM, PA, España. Canon for Creation Care, Episcopal Diocese of SD.
Killdeer. Finishing my day with another bird from our campus. Two different sketches from the same photo.
January 14, 2026 at 2:18 AM
Killdeer. Finishing my day with another bird from our campus. Two different sketches from the same photo.
#sciart friends, what apps do you recommend for making posters? I am making a birder’s guide to our campus using my paintings of birds and need some way to bring them together with text, background image, etc.
January 14, 2026 at 1:14 AM
#sciart friends, what apps do you recommend for making posters? I am making a birder’s guide to our campus using my paintings of birds and need some way to bring them together with text, background image, etc.
Reposted by Dave O’Hara
Very beautiful. And the post that goes with it is very sweet encouragement. :)
January 13, 2026 at 4:19 PM
Very beautiful. And the post that goes with it is very sweet encouragement. :)
Reposted by Dave O’Hara
I love this post! I've been that student. I decided last year, at 32, to finally listen when people said drawing is a skill anyone can learn. I've been amazing myself every day! I'm having so much fun experimenting and making mistakes. Here are some recent birds I've drawn.
January 13, 2026 at 4:21 PM
I love this post! I've been that student. I decided last year, at 32, to finally listen when people said drawing is a skill anyone can learn. I've been amazing myself every day! I'm having so much fun experimenting and making mistakes. Here are some recent birds I've drawn.
One bird at a time: https://davoh.org/2026/01/13/one-bird-at-a-time.html
January 13, 2026 at 4:14 PM
One bird at a time: https://davoh.org/2026/01/13/one-bird-at-a-time.html
Reposted by Dave O’Hara
Take a moment to lower your blood pressure with this one.
This bobtail squid burrowing into the sand is already adorable, but please watch till the very end!
It sticks out its little arms and earnestly sprinkles sand over itself 🦑𓂃◌𓈒𓐍
It sticks out its little arms and earnestly sprinkles sand over itself 🦑𓂃◌𓈒𓐍
January 12, 2026 at 11:43 PM
Take a moment to lower your blood pressure with this one.
“Do not force whatever is not beautiful to be ugly, or whatever is not good to be bad.”
Wisdom from Diotima of Mantinea
And good words for times of conflict.
The people we disagree with might not be evil. They might be able to grow.
So might we.
Wisdom from Diotima of Mantinea
And good words for times of conflict.
The people we disagree with might not be evil. They might be able to grow.
So might we.
January 12, 2026 at 7:51 PM
“Do not force whatever is not beautiful to be ugly, or whatever is not good to be bad.”
Wisdom from Diotima of Mantinea
And good words for times of conflict.
The people we disagree with might not be evil. They might be able to grow.
So might we.
Wisdom from Diotima of Mantinea
And good words for times of conflict.
The people we disagree with might not be evil. They might be able to grow.
So might we.
Xenophon, Memorabilia, I.v. (Loeb edition)
January 12, 2026 at 5:14 PM
Xenophon, Memorabilia, I.v. (Loeb edition)
It’s funny to think that “sleuth” is an anagram for “hustle,” since “sleuth” derives from slæwþ, which is related to “slow,” the opposite of “hustle.”
January 12, 2026 at 4:49 PM
It’s funny to think that “sleuth” is an anagram for “hustle,” since “sleuth” derives from slæwþ, which is related to “slow,” the opposite of “hustle.”
Long-billed curlew.
This one was from a grainy photo taken at long distance in poor light.
It was still fun to see the bird, wading in tall grass growing in a bison wallow.
This one was from a grainy photo taken at long distance in poor light.
It was still fun to see the bird, wading in tall grass growing in a bison wallow.
January 11, 2026 at 2:31 PM
Long-billed curlew.
This one was from a grainy photo taken at long distance in poor light.
It was still fun to see the bird, wading in tall grass growing in a bison wallow.
This one was from a grainy photo taken at long distance in poor light.
It was still fun to see the bird, wading in tall grass growing in a bison wallow.
Reposted by Dave O’Hara
January 11, 1897: After finding little, 70 Egyptian workers are sent by Grenfell & Hunt to excavate a trash heap near Oxyrhynchus. They immediately found a fragment of the Gospel of Thomas & 1000s more papyri, proving trash heaps are archaeological treasures. oxyrhynchus.web.ox.ac.uk/waste-paper-...
January 11, 2026 at 12:32 PM
January 11, 1897: After finding little, 70 Egyptian workers are sent by Grenfell & Hunt to excavate a trash heap near Oxyrhynchus. They immediately found a fragment of the Gospel of Thomas & 1000s more papyri, proving trash heaps are archaeological treasures. oxyrhynchus.web.ox.ac.uk/waste-paper-...
If you appreciate my sketches and nature writing, feel free to click the link and subscribe to a weekly newsletter. I won’t track you, there are no ads, and no likes possible on my micro blog.
January 11, 2026 at 1:57 PM
If you appreciate my sketches and nature writing, feel free to click the link and subscribe to a weekly newsletter. I won’t track you, there are no ads, and no likes possible on my micro blog.
All Flourishing Is Mutual: https://davoh.org/2026/01/11/all-flourishing-is-mutual.html
January 11, 2026 at 1:55 PM
All Flourishing Is Mutual: https://davoh.org/2026/01/11/all-flourishing-is-mutual.html
Pronghorn: https://davoh.org/2026/01/11/pronghorn.html
January 11, 2026 at 1:26 PM
Pronghorn: https://davoh.org/2026/01/11/pronghorn.html
Woodpecker sketches: https://davoh.org/2026/01/10/woodpecker-sketches.html
January 11, 2026 at 2:32 AM
Woodpecker sketches: https://davoh.org/2026/01/10/woodpecker-sketches.html
Not the chickadee I think I see: https://davoh.org/2026/01/10/not-the-chickadee-i-think.html
January 10, 2026 at 2:10 PM
Not the chickadee I think I see: https://davoh.org/2026/01/10/not-the-chickadee-i-think.html
Reposted by Dave O’Hara
“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier
world.”
-- JRRT
world.”
-- JRRT
January 8, 2026 at 10:14 PM
“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier
world.”
-- JRRT
world.”
-- JRRT
Short version: don’t just study business.
January 8, 2026 at 2:45 PM
Short version: don’t just study business.
Go ahead. Keep a wonder journal. Slow down to sketch what you see, even if you don’t think you’re an artist. And write questions down. Slowly. Allow yourself time to wonder.
It begins in wonder: https://davoh.org/2026/01/05/it-begins-in-wonder.html
January 8, 2026 at 2:44 PM
Go ahead. Keep a wonder journal. Slow down to sketch what you see, even if you don’t think you’re an artist. And write questions down. Slowly. Allow yourself time to wonder.
Next week I will be leading an online discussion of Plato’s Symposium.
I had this planned for several months. Didn’t expect the Texas legislature to make it so timely!
I had this planned for several months. Didn’t expect the Texas legislature to make it so timely!
January 8, 2026 at 12:43 PM
Next week I will be leading an online discussion of Plato’s Symposium.
I had this planned for several months. Didn’t expect the Texas legislature to make it so timely!
I had this planned for several months. Didn’t expect the Texas legislature to make it so timely!
What Art Makes: https://davoh.org/2026/01/08/what-art-makes.html
January 8, 2026 at 12:33 PM
What Art Makes: https://davoh.org/2026/01/08/what-art-makes.html
Reposted by Dave O’Hara
Morning sketch of a unionid mussel I found on the bank of the Big Sioux River earlier this year.
First the sketch, then the questions that the sketch brought to mind.
First the sketch, then the questions that the sketch brought to mind.
August 22, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Morning sketch of a unionid mussel I found on the bank of the Big Sioux River earlier this year.
First the sketch, then the questions that the sketch brought to mind.
First the sketch, then the questions that the sketch brought to mind.
Reposted by Dave O’Hara
Shout out to old comic by Joe Havasy re: unionid mussels. c.2007
December 6, 2024 at 2:29 AM
Shout out to old comic by Joe Havasy re: unionid mussels. c.2007
Reposted by Dave O’Hara
Just came across the 2021 museum display piece I made - a bar graph on mussel declines made out of declining mussels ;)
January 11, 2025 at 3:25 AM
Just came across the 2021 museum display piece I made - a bar graph on mussel declines made out of declining mussels ;)