Laura M
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highlandlaura.bsky.social
Laura M
@highlandlaura.bsky.social
490 followers 290 following 95 posts
Scottish, neurodivergent, socially anxious introvert, feminist social historian by training, former yarn dyer, LGBTQIA+, bibliophile. Dabbles in a bit of crafting and photography sometimes. AKA leapylees in some other places.
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Laura M
katrafiy.bsky.social
One of my favorite things is getting to tell friends who are new to NYC that the subway "stand clear of the closing doors please" voice is a trans woman named Bernie Wagenblast and she's amazing.
November 24, 2025 at 6:19 PM
highlandlaura.bsky.social
This well-camouflaged beauty appeared on my walk today. They sniffed my fingers, made a flehmen face and backed off a little (presumably detected my own cats). Obviously cautious so I will try again for pets if I see them again. @thecatreviewer.bsky.social
A stripy cat looking over the top of a stone wall, with the stone wall of an old house in the background. Due to the dimming winter light and the colours of the stone, cat and walls are similar colours of grey-brown.
November 19, 2025 at 8:30 PM
highlandlaura.bsky.social
Another in an occasional series from my family photo archive. Initially I only saw one kitten, then realised there are two. My grandmother is on the left, but I don't know who the other people are. Date? 1920s I'd estimate.
A black and white photo showing three people standing up (two women and a man). My grandmother is on the left, wearing a spotted dress. The woman in the centre is wearing a dark coloured (black?) dress or coat and a brimmed hat. She is looking down and holding (or trying to control?) two kittens - one is possibly grey and white, the other black with a dot of white on its nose. The man on the right of the photo is wearing a suit, but he's clearly not important as only half of him is in the photo.
November 14, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Reposted by Laura M
zjayres.bsky.social
Given up on the concept of being "well-rounded". I'm more like a hexagon, and depending on what side I happen to accidently roll I get work, family, exercise, hobbies or a tidy house. None can co-exist.
October 17, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Reposted by Laura M
victoriaduncan.bsky.social
He looks like he owns a railroad company 🧐🧐
tammi.bsky.social Tammi, yeah, that one. 2.1 @tammi.bsky.social · Oct 12
I found a 19th century Cat Villain!
A huge chonk of a fluffy cat sitting on a table near an open fire. The cat is cream and grey and appears to be shaped like a barrel in a fur coat. They are scowling fiercely with their moustache and bewhiskered ears apparently flowing back into the cold wind. There's a definite vibe that this villainous cat twirls their moustache as they evict orphans into the aforementioned blizzard and think Scrooge was an easy-going lightweight. They are magnificent.
October 13, 2025 at 3:10 AM
highlandlaura.bsky.social
A sight that pleased me greatly this weekend was a father (I assume) teaching his daughter (I assume), maybe around 8-10 years old and wearing a hat with a strawberry print, how to climb trees. Not something you see often in this safety-conscious era, especially not on a riverbank.
September 7, 2025 at 9:16 AM
highlandlaura.bsky.social
I think I might have peaked too early by posting one of the best cat photos in my collection on Saturday. More to come and this one is more typical. Meet Samson, photo taken in Rye, NY in 1953.
A black and white photo taken at an angle of Samson, a stripy cat with white nose, bib and paws sitting on a stone wall outside a light-coloured door.
July 21, 2025 at 9:49 AM
Reposted by Laura M
wilmcmillen.bsky.social
Taking this sign personally.
Sign reading RIP To The Opportunities We Missed Because Of Shyness And Low Self Esteem
July 17, 2025 at 2:06 PM
highlandlaura.bsky.social
I'm a fan of @catsofyore.bsky.social and have family cat photos, so I might share a few. Many of them were taken by my grandmother, Elisabeth Phillips (nee Fritze) who was a professional photographer before she married in 1933. This is my mother, aged 12, in 1952 with Sylvester (taken in Rye, NY).
A black and white photo of a girl with bobbed, wavy hair (my mother) holding a black and white cat. The girl is wearing a plaid top or dress, and the cat looks displeased at being held and is trying to get away.
July 19, 2025 at 7:16 PM
highlandlaura.bsky.social
It's a Monday; whilst I came to terms with the fact I am completely useless on Mondays a long time ago, this is pretty much it every week.
June 30, 2025 at 8:43 AM
highlandlaura.bsky.social
10pm the other night was when these two decided it was a good time to do the photoshoot for their new album.
Two white and black cats sitting on a wall in a garden, one in front of the other. The front cat is looking to the left, the back cat is looking at the camera. They are surrounded by green vegetation. Two white and black cats sitting on a wall in a garden, one in front of the other. The front cat is looking to the left, the back cat is looking to the right. They are surrounded by green vegetation.
June 22, 2025 at 7:01 PM
highlandlaura.bsky.social
Woken up in the night by Dru rolling on my head. My partner thought this was amusing. It was not. Oh, cats!
June 10, 2025 at 7:56 AM
highlandlaura.bsky.social
Hello there fluffy pollinator!

I just thought I'd let you know that you've got something on your face.
A creamy-white foxglove flower with a fluffy bumblebee (or possibly a bumblebee mimic) inside one of the flower tubes. The bee has pollen on its face.
June 8, 2025 at 5:04 PM
highlandlaura.bsky.social
Every morning... These two, in my face, clambering all over me and providing a Crystal Maze level puzzle experience just getting out of bed. Get one leg out of bed, nope, there's now a cat sitting on the other leg, and on my chest. (Of course the photo is blurry with this level of intimacy).
A blurry, close-up photo of two white and black cats on a bed in a semi-darkened room, too close to the camera.
June 1, 2025 at 8:27 AM
highlandlaura.bsky.social
A short thread of highlights from today. I discovered a T-shirt in my camera bag. I sometimes carry an emergency T-shirt in case of sweatiness or sensory issue and figured this one must've been in there since last August (surprisingly unwrinkled due to being in the laptop pocket, also well-traveled)
May 23, 2025 at 8:58 PM
highlandlaura.bsky.social
I assume this scene in my local M&S is due to the aftermath of the cyber attack and not the locals getting absolutely hammered because the sun is out. This is worse than a couple of days ago when they'd spread a few bottles out to make those shelves look better stocked.
Almost completely empty wine shelves in a branch of Marks and Spencer.
May 18, 2025 at 2:43 PM
highlandlaura.bsky.social
Last summer the weather was so awful I sat outside only once. It's good for my mental health so I am determined to make the most of the good weather. So, it seems, is Finn.
A white and black cat sitting on a wall under a grey sunshade mounted on a pole. There is vegetation in the background and the sky is mostly blue with a little cloud.
May 17, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Reposted by Laura M
littlemacha.bsky.social
Megathread of pro-trans petitions on Parliament’s petition website. If Labour suddenly gets hit with debates for a bunch of pro-trans petitions, maybe they’ll realise this issue isn’t going away and they’ve fucked up.

I’ll add more as I find them.

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70...
April 18, 2025 at 7:52 AM
highlandlaura.bsky.social
Finn is confused about tariffs and the methodology used to calculate them.
A white and black cat sitting upright in a doorway on a blue stripy rug. The cat has an expression that could be interpreted as quizzical.
April 4, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Reposted by Laura M
paulsinha.bsky.social
Turns out Le Pen is not mightier than the fraud.
March 31, 2025 at 7:14 PM
highlandlaura.bsky.social
A glorious spring day for a good walk. I was amused by this fence post's mossy hat and the clichéd cherry blossom pic had to be done.
A fence post wearing a fluffy "hat" of moss. Branches of pink cherry blossom against a cloudless blue sky.
March 30, 2025 at 7:09 PM
highlandlaura.bsky.social
Whaddya mean it's not a word?
Screenshot from the New York Times Letter Boxed game insisting that 'shite' is not a word.
March 20, 2025 at 8:45 AM
highlandlaura.bsky.social
I enjoyed doing my second-favourite local walk today, which I haven't done for a while. This is an old pic from the same walk - it was lovely today, but hazy, this obscuring the mountains in the distance.
A view looking west over grassy fields with trees beyond and mountains visible in the distance taken on a beautiful sunny day.
March 9, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Reposted by Laura M
sallyhines.bsky.social
My paper is now published with Open Access in @Gender_Journal

“Hands towards the right: UK gender critical feminism and right-wing coalitions”

url6649.tandfonline.com/ls/click?upn...
Hands towards the right: UK gender critical feminism and right-wing coalitions
This paper examines the link between UK gender critical feminism and the right-wing political ideas and organizations that constitute as ‘anti-gender’. The paper first reflects on the origins of an...
url6649.tandfonline.com
March 6, 2025 at 8:07 AM
highlandlaura.bsky.social
Is there a national bean shortage, or is just my local branch of Tesco? No bananas either.
Mostly empty supermarket shelves in a branch of Tesco. The shelves usually have a selection of canned beans such as butter beans, kidney beans, haricot beans and cannellini beans.
March 5, 2025 at 8:10 PM