Xander's Skyscape
@wellmanneredxs.bsky.social
Wandering Egyptologist/writer/wildlife gardener. Openly Womble. Likes: conservation, archaeology, the natural world, beautiful words, art, and writing 18th Century fantasy.
Very unexpected little visitor to the ivy on Saturday morning - and seemed much larger than usual! The photobombing greenbottle is trying on butterfly-wings. A third generation this late in the year is apparently unusual, but could be a sign of our changing times.
November 10, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Very unexpected little visitor to the ivy on Saturday morning - and seemed much larger than usual! The photobombing greenbottle is trying on butterfly-wings. A third generation this late in the year is apparently unusual, but could be a sign of our changing times.
The extraordinary benefits to which human ingenuity and inquiry can be put - probiotic treatment boosts bat survival from white-nose syndrome, a catastrophic fungal infection. Just as pro-biotics balance your tum, so they balance a bat's chance at life. Thanks for this incredible work, WCS!
🦇ICYMI: a great video on our work developing a "probiotic" to help bats survive white-nose syndrome infections. This beautifully shot video also gives a good primer on what the probiotic is all about. This was 2yrs ago -good news...our studies show the probiotic is working!
youtu.be/VOtuiB6aiLE?...
youtu.be/VOtuiB6aiLE?...
WCS Bat Probiotics YouTube
YouTube video by WCSCanada Western Bat Program
youtu.be
November 5, 2025 at 10:23 PM
The extraordinary benefits to which human ingenuity and inquiry can be put - probiotic treatment boosts bat survival from white-nose syndrome, a catastrophic fungal infection. Just as pro-biotics balance your tum, so they balance a bat's chance at life. Thanks for this incredible work, WCS!
Yes, gardens can save the world. 😊💚 At least, our little part of it where we personally can make change. Even containers, if you have extremely limited outside space, can bring insects and birds to you through colourful, nectar-/seed-producing plants. And if you have a garden, scale up from there.
November 3, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Yes, gardens can save the world. 😊💚 At least, our little part of it where we personally can make change. Even containers, if you have extremely limited outside space, can bring insects and birds to you through colourful, nectar-/seed-producing plants. And if you have a garden, scale up from there.
The wheel is turning, and around we go again. Into a tree canopy's withering, ivy springs up to give shelter in its place, offering the last sweet nectar before the flowerless dark, and berries to fill out the thin times. Light the fires. Broach the barrel. Life is too brief, and the winter cold.
October 31, 2025 at 8:17 PM
The wheel is turning, and around we go again. Into a tree canopy's withering, ivy springs up to give shelter in its place, offering the last sweet nectar before the flowerless dark, and berries to fill out the thin times. Light the fires. Broach the barrel. Life is too brief, and the winter cold.
Part II of the Wild Service adventures. I basically spend most of this short eating delicious fruit - it tastes unlike anything else I've tried, and nibbling it is the best way to extract the seeds for propagation!
Wild Service Tree - No trick, all treat! Rare Tree was historical sweet! #wildlifegardening #fruits
YouTube video by Selqet's Gardener
youtube.com
October 31, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Part II of the Wild Service adventures. I basically spend most of this short eating delicious fruit - it tastes unlike anything else I've tried, and nibbling it is the best way to extract the seeds for propagation!
Incredible creatures stomping along in a remote swampy area of America. Beautifully written encounter, and phenomenal image - worth a click of your morning. Thanks to McAulay Jaunsen, and to @oriannesociety.bsky.social for this surprising treat.
Step into a swamp where time stands still... McAulay Jaunsen’s Photo of the Month captures a living relic of America’s ancient past. You won’t believe the size of this primordial giant or the wild place it calls home.
See the full image: www.oriannesociety.org/photo-of-the...
See the full image: www.oriannesociety.org/photo-of-the...
October 31, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Incredible creatures stomping along in a remote swampy area of America. Beautifully written encounter, and phenomenal image - worth a click of your morning. Thanks to McAulay Jaunsen, and to @oriannesociety.bsky.social for this surprising treat.
Extraordinary - thanks for sharing that! 😍
October 31, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Extraordinary - thanks for sharing that! 😍
There's a fine Wild Service tree near here, and I've got some seeds cold-stratifying in the fridge as I type! I'm not sure I'd ever seen one in the wild before finding this huge stunner, thanks to a tip-off from a kind local farmer. He's keen to have more on the farm, so fingers crossed...
Wild Service - get to know this UK Ancient Woodland Tree! #wildlifeconservation #wildlifegarden
YouTube video by Selqet's Gardener
youtu.be
October 30, 2025 at 6:19 PM
There's a fine Wild Service tree near here, and I've got some seeds cold-stratifying in the fridge as I type! I'm not sure I'd ever seen one in the wild before finding this huge stunner, thanks to a tip-off from a kind local farmer. He's keen to have more on the farm, so fingers crossed...
£8mill raised so far - one year left to raise the rest.* This is truly the project to rattle the bucket for - a real chance for positive change for UK Wildlife.
*£22mill's a single night's TV fund-raising - IT CAN BE DONE. @patrickbarkham.bsky.social's great action on similar projects prove it.
*£22mill's a single night's TV fund-raising - IT CAN BE DONE. @patrickbarkham.bsky.social's great action on similar projects prove it.
Where are those for whom £30m is small change? Anyway, here in the real world, please donate if you can. @the-wildlifetrusts.bsky.social
BBC News - Sir David Attenborough backs bid to buy Rothbury Estate - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
BBC News - Sir David Attenborough backs bid to buy Rothbury Estate - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Sir David Attenborough backs bid to buy Rothbury Estate
Wildlife trusts attempt to raise £30m to keep Northumberland's Rothbury Estate from being split up.
www.bbc.co.uk
October 30, 2025 at 2:34 PM
£8mill raised so far - one year left to raise the rest.* This is truly the project to rattle the bucket for - a real chance for positive change for UK Wildlife.
*£22mill's a single night's TV fund-raising - IT CAN BE DONE. @patrickbarkham.bsky.social's great action on similar projects prove it.
*£22mill's a single night's TV fund-raising - IT CAN BE DONE. @patrickbarkham.bsky.social's great action on similar projects prove it.
This... challenges me. I only buy beautiful books, as my budget is very small - I'd kick anyone who marked them, including myself. And a dear old friend of mine gave his *200 yr old books* to an artist-friend to dismember and reuse, and I did not know how to respond to that. 😨1/
The veneration of Books As Objects misses the point entirely. If you're reading a book, turn the corners down, break the spine, spill soup on it. It's your book, go nuts. A pristine, unread book is a tragedy in a way that a beloved, much-read book that looks like the dog's been at it could never be.
Tell me your most unhinged literary opinion, as a little treat
October 29, 2025 at 10:35 AM
This... challenges me. I only buy beautiful books, as my budget is very small - I'd kick anyone who marked them, including myself. And a dear old friend of mine gave his *200 yr old books* to an artist-friend to dismember and reuse, and I did not know how to respond to that. 😨1/
Ooh, I'm sure this is on the tip of my brain - another clue - smells like parsley. Any guesses, folks? 🥕
Guess what we’re having for supper this evening?
If you’re thinking parsnips… think again!
#vegetables
If you’re thinking parsnips… think again!
#vegetables
October 27, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Ooh, I'm sure this is on the tip of my brain - another clue - smells like parsley. Any guesses, folks? 🥕
Planting bulbs,
a yearly recitation of hope,
half the wheel wished away.
Cheerfulness timebombs,
fuses unpredictable
as luck.
a yearly recitation of hope,
half the wheel wished away.
Cheerfulness timebombs,
fuses unpredictable
as luck.
October 27, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Planting bulbs,
a yearly recitation of hope,
half the wheel wished away.
Cheerfulness timebombs,
fuses unpredictable
as luck.
a yearly recitation of hope,
half the wheel wished away.
Cheerfulness timebombs,
fuses unpredictable
as luck.
Reposted by Xander's Skyscape
Reposted by Xander's Skyscape
Call out for scientists! 👇🚨
We are still looking for scientists who would like to work on a deep sea art project.
A view artists are still looking for a teammate to create gorgous art and to celebrate the deep sea.
🦑 🐟 🐡 🐙 🦀 #SundayFishSketch
We are still looking for scientists who would like to work on a deep sea art project.
A view artists are still looking for a teammate to create gorgous art and to celebrate the deep sea.
🦑 🐟 🐡 🐙 🦀 #SundayFishSketch
🎨🔬 CALLING ALL ARTISTS & DEEP-SEA SCIENTISTS!
💡 Open to ALL artists & scientists
🗓 Deadline: August 31
📍 Apply via the short form in our bio / link below!
🔗 forms.gle/SftLbez3ML2j...
💡 Open to ALL artists & scientists
🗓 Deadline: August 31
📍 Apply via the short form in our bio / link below!
🔗 forms.gle/SftLbez3ML2j...
October 13, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Call out for scientists! 👇🚨
We are still looking for scientists who would like to work on a deep sea art project.
A view artists are still looking for a teammate to create gorgous art and to celebrate the deep sea.
🦑 🐟 🐡 🐙 🦀 #SundayFishSketch
We are still looking for scientists who would like to work on a deep sea art project.
A view artists are still looking for a teammate to create gorgous art and to celebrate the deep sea.
🦑 🐟 🐡 🐙 🦀 #SundayFishSketch
When you hear how a young person starts a bat club at school because she loves bats and has learned how important they are in nature and to us... you realise the world might just stand a chance after all. (Also, great pet choice.) #GoodGreenNews. Go Talia, go, and thanks @wcscanada.org 🦇
What can an 8-year-old teach us about bats? That they’re fascinating creatures and essential for healthy ecosystems🦇
Meet Talia, a fourth-grader who donated her birthday money to protect bats (Artwork by AE Bowers’ Grade 4 class, Airdrie AB)
Meet Talia, a fourth-grader who donated her birthday money to protect bats (Artwork by AE Bowers’ Grade 4 class, Airdrie AB)
October 24, 2025 at 7:02 PM
When you hear how a young person starts a bat club at school because she loves bats and has learned how important they are in nature and to us... you realise the world might just stand a chance after all. (Also, great pet choice.) #GoodGreenNews. Go Talia, go, and thanks @wcscanada.org 🦇
This is so true. She says, gawping at a pristine red admiral on the sunlit ivy. 🦋
October 24, 2025 at 10:29 AM
This is so true. She says, gawping at a pristine red admiral on the sunlit ivy. 🦋
The Rosetta stoned? #Egyptology #AncientBluesky #Archaeology 🏺 #pharmacology #medicine #trade #commodities
Alabaster Vase Inscribed in Four Ancient Languages Reveals the Use of Opiates in Egypt
#Egypt #archaeology #science #Egyptology
greekreporter.com/2025/10/23/a...
#Egypt #archaeology #science #Egyptology
greekreporter.com/2025/10/23/a...
Alabaster Vase Inscribed in Four Ancient Languages Reveals the Use of Opiates in Egypt - GreekReporter.com
An Alabaster vase inscribed in four ancient languages reveals use of opiates in Egypt, offering new insight into ancient pharmacology.
greekreporter.com
October 23, 2025 at 8:43 AM
The Rosetta stoned? #Egyptology #AncientBluesky #Archaeology 🏺 #pharmacology #medicine #trade #commodities
Vizier Pepy-Ankh wanted to have his cake and eat it!
Specifically, a delicious-sounding creamy honey-sesame stuffed pancake, preserved by ingenious vacuum-inducing cookware for 4000 years since the reign of Pepi II.
Discovered at Meir, Egypt, in 1913, it's officially the world's oldest cake. 1/
Specifically, a delicious-sounding creamy honey-sesame stuffed pancake, preserved by ingenious vacuum-inducing cookware for 4000 years since the reign of Pepi II.
Discovered at Meir, Egypt, in 1913, it's officially the world's oldest cake. 1/
October 22, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Vizier Pepy-Ankh wanted to have his cake and eat it!
Specifically, a delicious-sounding creamy honey-sesame stuffed pancake, preserved by ingenious vacuum-inducing cookware for 4000 years since the reign of Pepi II.
Discovered at Meir, Egypt, in 1913, it's officially the world's oldest cake. 1/
Specifically, a delicious-sounding creamy honey-sesame stuffed pancake, preserved by ingenious vacuum-inducing cookware for 4000 years since the reign of Pepi II.
Discovered at Meir, Egypt, in 1913, it's officially the world's oldest cake. 1/
Reposted by Xander's Skyscape
“Anything can happen, the tallest towers
Be overturned, those in high places daunted,
Those overlooked regarded.”
— Seamus Heaney
training.poems.com/poem/anythin...
Be overturned, those in high places daunted,
Those overlooked regarded.”
— Seamus Heaney
training.poems.com/poem/anythin...
October 17, 2025 at 7:38 AM
“Anything can happen, the tallest towers
Be overturned, those in high places daunted,
Those overlooked regarded.”
— Seamus Heaney
training.poems.com/poem/anythin...
Be overturned, those in high places daunted,
Those overlooked regarded.”
— Seamus Heaney
training.poems.com/poem/anythin...
That CCTV footage. 'C'est une boucle.'
Clever, actually, breaking in in the midst of restoration works. Always respect an 'in plain sight' trick. Hope to blazes they get the missing pieces back, though they'll have been faked by now. 😢
(Swear to God it wasn't me, I left on Friday.)
Clever, actually, breaking in in the midst of restoration works. Always respect an 'in plain sight' trick. Hope to blazes they get the missing pieces back, though they'll have been faked by now. 😢
(Swear to God it wasn't me, I left on Friday.)
‘Priceless’ jewellery stolen from Louvre in raid by ‘experienced’ thieves
French minister says highly professional criminals used angle grinder to access one of museum’s most ornate rooms
www.theguardian.com
October 19, 2025 at 2:57 PM
That CCTV footage. 'C'est une boucle.'
Clever, actually, breaking in in the midst of restoration works. Always respect an 'in plain sight' trick. Hope to blazes they get the missing pieces back, though they'll have been faked by now. 😢
(Swear to God it wasn't me, I left on Friday.)
Clever, actually, breaking in in the midst of restoration works. Always respect an 'in plain sight' trick. Hope to blazes they get the missing pieces back, though they'll have been faked by now. 😢
(Swear to God it wasn't me, I left on Friday.)
I'd never seen so many whaups as I did in Orkney, a place whose beauty gets into the mind, and lingers. Stoats there are down to their final round-up, thanks to hard work and tech. Eradications *work*, people. Of course killing is unsavoury, but saving is everything in biodiversity crisis.
‘There were stoats in kitchen cupboards’: AI deployed to help save Orkney’s birds
Stoats have been an existential threat to Orkney’s rare birds but technology is helping to eradicate them
www.theguardian.com
October 18, 2025 at 7:54 PM
I'd never seen so many whaups as I did in Orkney, a place whose beauty gets into the mind, and lingers. Stoats there are down to their final round-up, thanks to hard work and tech. Eradications *work*, people. Of course killing is unsavoury, but saving is everything in biodiversity crisis.
Here's a lovely thing! Become a Bat Conservation member and win a bat box! #conservation #wildlifegardening #gardening #ukwildlife #gardens
🦇 October Giveaway!! Any new members joining this month will be entered in a prize draw for the chance to win this Beaumaris bat box from CJ Wildlife ! This would make an amazing Christmas gift or a treat for yourself.
Join today: www.bats.org.uk/membership/s...
Join today: www.bats.org.uk/membership/s...
October 17, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Here's a lovely thing! Become a Bat Conservation member and win a bat box! #conservation #wildlifegardening #gardening #ukwildlife #gardens
What a lovely post trip perk-up to be shortlisted in the @newwritersuk.bsky.social Sense of Place Competition! At 100 words, 'Derrible Caves, Sark' was the shortest short prose I've ever done. Huge congrats to the winners, and very many thanks to everyone on the competition team. 🌊
Sense of Place Competition 2025 - Results - NewWriters.org.uk
The results of the New Writers Sense of Place Competition 2025 with the winning entry details of the shortlisted entries.
newwriters.org.uk
October 17, 2025 at 6:13 PM
What a lovely post trip perk-up to be shortlisted in the @newwritersuk.bsky.social Sense of Place Competition! At 100 words, 'Derrible Caves, Sark' was the shortest short prose I've ever done. Huge congrats to the winners, and very many thanks to everyone on the competition team. 🌊
One of the loveliest bookshops, especially the library up beneath the 1600s beams, with an antique typewriter in a cubby for folks to play on and a table to sit and scrawl a few lines. Open windows looked out over the Seine. Interesting selections, inc @damianbarr.bsky.social's recent release. 😊
October 14, 2025 at 8:23 PM
One of the loveliest bookshops, especially the library up beneath the 1600s beams, with an antique typewriter in a cubby for folks to play on and a table to sit and scrawl a few lines. Open windows looked out over the Seine. Interesting selections, inc @damianbarr.bsky.social's recent release. 😊
'like musical leaves' - perfect capture by @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social
from thinning trees
goldfinches billow & drift
like musical leaves
goldfinches billow & drift
like musical leaves
October 8, 2025 at 7:22 PM
'like musical leaves' - perfect capture by @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social