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eldritchpuffin.bsky.social
big pond, little fish
@eldritchpuffin.bsky.social
150 followers 300 following 210 posts
“I don’t even want to come in out of the rain.”
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eldritchpuffin.bsky.social
big pond, little fish @eldritchpuffin.bsky.social · Feb 1
Belatedly: hello. I'm a public health infectious disease epidemiologist with a background in medical ethics. I mostly try not to play one on the internet, but here we are. Also hiking with dogs, telling stories with TTRPGs, and making sense of life through survival tales and other people's poetry.
eldritchpuffin.bsky.social
Today in Cattle Thing Can Help: “I know you’re working so I brought you my toy so we can play while you work.”
An adolescent blue heeler puppy stands on a dark-colored rug atop a linoleum floor and looks expectantly up at the camera. A neon yellow and purple braided fleece tug toy is on the floor just in front of her, next to a human’s sandaled foot.
November 20, 2025 at 2:12 AM
eldritchpuffin.bsky.social
The only problem with having switched to Tidal is that it seems to think, when I tell it to loop one single song, that I will at some point (after maybe an hour or so?) wish to stop looping that one single song.

No, Tidal. This is never true. Keep going.
November 14, 2025 at 1:10 PM
eldritchpuffin.bsky.social
Ruining the puppy’s life this morning by not letting her have the toilet brush for a toy. She says she NEEDS it. And still no.
November 13, 2025 at 1:24 PM
eldritchpuffin.bsky.social
A very happy six months of life to Wayout’s Gone Loud, called Gideon, and sibs. Apocalypse days call for apocalypse dogs, and it’s an honor and brings me such joy to watch this little one learn who she is.
Two dogs trot away from the camera along a trail though an open autumn plain. There are red-branched shrubs to either side, and a line of conifers in the distance meet the blue and clouded sky. The righthand dog is a blue heeler puppy; she is curved slightly in as if looking for guidance from the black and white husky mix. A blue heeler puppy gallops towards the camera with a big open-mouthed smile. In the background, a black and white husky mix stands and watches. They’re on a powerline trail through an open salt marsh. A blue heeler puppy with a half mask sits on a sandy beach and stares up attentively at the camera. There is a bit of sand on her nose as if she’s been digging. A blue heeler puppy lies on a rock-and-sand beach. The ocean stretches beyond, and in the foreground is a Kobo ereader being held by the human to whom the puppy appears to be leashed. The puppy is nibbling on a crab leg that she found and is industriously trying to figure out.
November 12, 2025 at 6:17 PM
eldritchpuffin.bsky.social
Been in meetings for nigh-on 100% of my working hours this week. Only chance of making it through the afternoon is one (1) very large Thai iced tea and “American Runs on Disco” on endless loop for 100% of lunch.

tidal.com/browse/track...
Ric Wilson & Nic Hanson - America Runs On Disco
Listen to America Runs On Disco on TIDAL
tidal.com
November 12, 2025 at 5:52 PM
eldritchpuffin.bsky.social
My favorite part of life with cattle things today is that every time I ask a dog, “What are you doing?” the answer is I HELP BETTER in the least helpful but most sincere way possible. Cleaning the yard? Chopping potatoes? Retrieving a ball from inside the temp fencing (again)? Cattle thing can help!
A blue heeler puppy with a half-mask looks up at the camera from between a standing person’s blue-jeaned legs and booted feet. The grass below her feet is autumnal dry and dotted with dead leaves. The puppy’s expression is alert and interested, and her mouth is open in a doggish smile.
November 6, 2025 at 10:43 PM
eldritchpuffin.bsky.social
Almost forgot to grab a sticker, but the poll workers had my back.
An “I voted” sticker held by a white person over a cream-colored tile floor. The sticker bears a drawing of a child’s(?) majestic moose atop a cliff with an autumn forest below and white-capped mountain in the background. “I voted” is written in green across the blue sky. The shape of New Hampshire stands in for the letter O.
November 4, 2025 at 6:04 PM
eldritchpuffin.bsky.social
“Every time we love we’re saying, / Let it ride / and what’s on the table / is the rent money. / And every time we stride again / out into the crisp desert night / our fists shoved deep into empty pockets / we know ourselves for losers.”

Jack McCarthy, “The Spaces Between”
A black and white husky mix dog wearing an orange high-visibility blanket runs through an open forest. He’s focused on something ahead and out of frame. A black and white husky mix dog wearing an orange high-visibility blanket stands in a sun-drenched open forest. A black and white husky mix dog walks away from the camera along a trail that leads into a sunlit field. Tall trees stretch to the sky to either side.
November 2, 2025 at 2:23 AM
Reposted by big pond, little fish
nhmarf.bsky.social
Hi neighbors, as of the time that we are posting this, November SNAP benefits will not be dispensed due to the federal government shutdown. Though the state of NH will be funding additional mobile food pantries, and we're seeing many individuals, groups, and businesses step up and announce plans to
Did you hear that as of today, 10/31, SNAP will not be funded in November 2025? That means that 75,000+ NH residents will be left without funds to buy food for themselves and their families. Learn more NHMARF distributes food and other life saving resources to hundreds of shoppers across the state every week. We need your support to increase our weekly food budgets to help our shoppers meet their basic needs. Examples of Non-Perishable foods: Peanut butter and jelly Canned soup, fruit, veggies, beans, tuna, chicken, etc (with pull tabs or with can opener) Shelf-stable milk Cereal or oatmeal packets Instant mash potatoes Microwavable rice or pasta Trail mix or mixed nuts Protein bars Instant coffee/electrolyte mix Slim Jims or beef jerky Granola bars/pop tarts/crackers Spices Bottled water or Juice We know that we take care of us. We cannot wait for someone else to show up for our community members.
October 31, 2025 at 2:47 PM
eldritchpuffin.bsky.social
Baby’s first beach.
October 30, 2025 at 6:26 PM
eldritchpuffin.bsky.social
The first time I said, “It’s Dark City meets Disco Elysium meets @askamanager.org meets Pathfinder 2e,” I really thought I was kidding.

But I was not.
October 28, 2025 at 11:48 AM
eldritchpuffin.bsky.social
Keep finding myself spooky-season tempted to take another swing at finishing Darkwood but this is folly: I am constitutionally incapable of gittin’ gud.
October 28, 2025 at 11:32 AM
eldritchpuffin.bsky.social
T vibes so husky now that I have a houseful of cattle dogs, which is wild given that he’s really quite cattle doggy by comparison when hanging with literally anything else.
A black and white husky mix dog is turning at speed at the muddy edge of a wide bay. The sky is heavily clouded, which a strip of glowing sunrise between distant tree-lined shore and clouds.
October 28, 2025 at 11:28 AM
eldritchpuffin.bsky.social
When I talk about Gideon’s “you see this shit?” check-in face, is what I mean. Cracks me up every. Single. Time.
A lanky blue heeler puppy stands on the grass beside a wide pond. She’s looking across the water at something out of frame. The trees on the far side are green and yellow and orange and the water reflects the cotton-candy near-twilight clouds above. Same puppy in the same spot. She now looks back and directly at the camera with an alert, deeply judgmental expression.
October 28, 2025 at 11:26 AM
eldritchpuffin.bsky.social
Doing a lil’ editing this morning for @1000yearspath.bsky.social and remembered this poem that I sometimes think about when I think about Balsam and his lantern.
the lesson of the moth by Don Marquis | The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor
'the lesson of the moth' by Don Marquis, and the literary and historical notes for Tuesday, July 29, 2003.
writersalmanac.publicradio.org
October 11, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Reposted by big pond, little fish
nhmarf.bsky.social
Hey everyone! Summer is winding down and so is yard sale season. If you have things to clear out of your space, we want them!

These items are our biggest needs right now; clothing is a top priority for our stores in the valley! Check out our website to find your nearest drop box location.
October 9, 2025 at 1:23 PM
eldritchpuffin.bsky.social
How it started / how it’s going.
A blue heeler puppy with a half-mask stands with her front paws up on a standing person’s denim shorts. She is smiling and quite young, with ears just starting to stand upright, and the person is stretching an arm down into the frame to help support her. Same puppy is now growing into a lanky near-adolescent and stands with front paws up on a standing person’s black and white plaid pants. She is coiled and ready to leap skyward. Same puppy has flung herself up so her face is exiting the top of the frame; she is a motion blur.
October 9, 2025 at 1:02 PM
eldritchpuffin.bsky.social
“And I feel terrible about the whole argument between / free will and destiny. All that I want is everything I want. / Music and rain and slight variations between the two.”

Clay Matthews, “Poem in Which I Sort of Break Down”
A blue heeler puppy stands on a mossy stump in an open forest. The trees are mostly still green but there are dry brown leaves on the ground. The puppy is looking over her shoulder at something out of frame.
October 2, 2025 at 4:43 PM
eldritchpuffin.bsky.social
Best thing since sticky notes, tbh.
retrotechdreams.bsky.social Retro Tech Dreams @retrotechdreams.bsky.social · Sep 26
Looking back, Notepad was all we needed.
September 26, 2025 at 4:16 PM
eldritchpuffin.bsky.social
A very happy Stanislav Petrov saves the world day to us all.
September 26, 2025 at 12:21 PM
eldritchpuffin.bsky.social
“There is more and more I tell no one, / strangers nor loves. / This slips into the heart / without hurry, as if it had never been. / And yet, among the trees, something has changed. / Something looks back from the trees, / and knows me for who I am.”
A blue heeler puppy wearing a teal collar stands amid tall grass and goldenrod in front of an open forest. She is looking away from the camera into the trees; her posture is alert and curious.
September 24, 2025 at 4:54 PM
eldritchpuffin.bsky.social
“I want someone / to have a crush on me / for a change”

R. Eirik Ott, “Crushworthy”

(The puppy is steadfast in her quest to convince Titus that she is Very Grown Up and Extremely Cool. Gettin’ there!)

#apocalypsedogs #dogwalking #morningwalk #touchgrass #dogs #poetry #theyregooddogsbrent
Two dogs stand between a treeline to the right and a salt marsh at low tide to the left. One is a blue heeler puppy, trundling industriously through the tall grass in front of a black and white dog who watches with curiosity. A black and white dog walks a trail through an open forest. A blue heeler puppy tags along very close at his side. The black and white dog walks away from the camera along a trail through an open forest. The blue heeler puppy stands a bit behind him and off to the left, looking back at the camera to make sure the photographer is still there. The black and white dog continues through the forest, enjoying this casual hike in nature. The blue heeler puppy, now reassured that her person is still following, runs to catch up to the adult dog.
September 24, 2025 at 3:21 AM
eldritchpuffin.bsky.social
“That’s me, looking for a chance to call / home and say, I have not abandoned you, / Hope.”
.
-Bruce Bond, “Circle”

#morningwalk #touchgrass #dogwalking #otherpeoplespoetry #morelight
Two dogs stand in an open forest in morning light. A blue heeler puppy is upright with front feet on a fallen log. She looks up the trail at a black and white dog who is looking back at her. Both dogs are attentive, each waiting for the other to resume a game of chase.
September 23, 2025 at 4:03 AM
eldritchpuffin.bsky.social
Truly a wild time to work in HIV/STI/viral hepatitis.

Me: (all year) Sure do miss my job security. Sure would like that back.

Me: (this week pending ACIP) …no, wait, not like that.
September 20, 2025 at 7:58 PM
eldritchpuffin.bsky.social
“All of us are made of flesh and blood and there’s a built-in fragility to the human body, but that’s no more true this week than it was two weeks ago. When I look at the trans people in my life, I see the toughest motherfuckers I’ve ever met.”

margaretkilljoy.substack.com/p/i-cant-tel...
I Can't Tell You What's Coming
or: how to face the news
margaretkilljoy.substack.com
September 17, 2025 at 8:31 PM