Amber Capron
@acapron.bsky.social
Mother *Gardener* Event planner *Naturalist* Over-thinker *Animal lover* Fungi, moss, lichen enthusiast *Beach & Mountains*
Last tomato of the season.
November 8, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Last tomato of the season.
The family at Charlottesville’s No Kings Day.
October 18, 2025 at 5:58 PM
The family at Charlottesville’s No Kings Day.
Two great finds on the AT near Ravens Roost. A white-spotted slimy salamander and a glowworm! Glowworm beetle larvae are bioluminescent. The side spots glow like lighted windows on a passenger train giving them the nickname “railroad worm.”
September 27, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Two great finds on the AT near Ravens Roost. A white-spotted slimy salamander and a glowworm! Glowworm beetle larvae are bioluminescent. The side spots glow like lighted windows on a passenger train giving them the nickname “railroad worm.”
The students who planted tomatoes and basil in their school garden in May got to enjoy mini Caprese skewers at lunch today. A bright spot on an otherwise bland lunch tray.
September 26, 2025 at 1:14 AM
The students who planted tomatoes and basil in their school garden in May got to enjoy mini Caprese skewers at lunch today. A bright spot on an otherwise bland lunch tray.
Spending the morning with some of my least favorite caterpillars. The oh so painful saddleback and the oh so destructive hornworm.
September 23, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Spending the morning with some of my least favorite caterpillars. The oh so painful saddleback and the oh so destructive hornworm.
These tiny, fluffy tufts are beech blight aphids feeding on the sap of beech tree branch. They're also know as boogie-woogie aphids because they dance as they eat. The spongy orange fungus is called a honeydew eater which grows on the excrement of the aphids, and eventually turns black.
September 22, 2025 at 7:24 PM
These tiny, fluffy tufts are beech blight aphids feeding on the sap of beech tree branch. They're also know as boogie-woogie aphids because they dance as they eat. The spongy orange fungus is called a honeydew eater which grows on the excrement of the aphids, and eventually turns black.
Roses, Late Summer
September 21, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Roses, Late Summer
The monarchs are here!
September 2, 2025 at 12:16 AM
The monarchs are here!
Same vibe with The Christmas Crocodile. He doesn’t mean to be bad, not really.
August 29, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Same vibe with The Christmas Crocodile. He doesn’t mean to be bad, not really.
That large yellow dot is a very full pollen basket. She’s packed pollen and saliva onto the hairs of her leg to carry it back to the nest.
June 26, 2025 at 8:06 PM
That large yellow dot is a very full pollen basket. She’s packed pollen and saliva onto the hairs of her leg to carry it back to the nest.
It seems there thunderstorms everywhere but the ball field. Tom Sox win 4-3.
June 20, 2025 at 11:16 AM
It seems there thunderstorms everywhere but the ball field. Tom Sox win 4-3.
Every year, I start tomatoes from seed and fuss over the timing and the transplanting and the spacing. Did I get it all just right? And every year, some rando volunteers pop up and take off without a care in the world, leaping ahead of everything I started.
June 18, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Every year, I start tomatoes from seed and fuss over the timing and the transplanting and the spacing. Did I get it all just right? And every year, some rando volunteers pop up and take off without a care in the world, leaping ahead of everything I started.
Mushroom Monday along the Rivanna River.
June 17, 2025 at 12:49 AM
Mushroom Monday along the Rivanna River.
Our son held a protest in our front yard. Gotta love the rainbow stormtrooper.
June 15, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Our son held a protest in our front yard. Gotta love the rainbow stormtrooper.
24hrs later and the chick can stand on her own and walk. It’s wobbly and one leg still tends to splay, but I think it will be okay with continued therapy. The kids have named it Simone, as in Biles, for her super splits.
June 4, 2025 at 2:00 AM
24hrs later and the chick can stand on her own and walk. It’s wobbly and one leg still tends to splay, but I think it will be okay with continued therapy. The kids have named it Simone, as in Biles, for her super splits.
A class at my kid’s school hatched chicks. One of them has splayed leg. The teacher hasn’t had any luck with taping and the kids are devastated. So, it came home with us for intensive rehab—standing in a mason jar so that its body is supported and its legs can be in the correct position. 24-48hrs 🤞🏼
June 2, 2025 at 10:48 PM
A class at my kid’s school hatched chicks. One of them has splayed leg. The teacher hasn’t had any luck with taping and the kids are devastated. So, it came home with us for intensive rehab—standing in a mason jar so that its body is supported and its legs can be in the correct position. 24-48hrs 🤞🏼
Ron Finley said, “Kids who grow kale eat kale.” Indeed. Making kale chips at Stony Point Elementary.
June 2, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Ron Finley said, “Kids who grow kale eat kale.” Indeed. Making kale chips at Stony Point Elementary.
Our beloved cherry suffered from a bacterial attack and gummosis last year. I winced as I pruned away large portions of the tree, hoping to save it and not kill it in the process. It survived and rewarded us. We picked as many as we could before the incoming rain splits them.
May 27, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Our beloved cherry suffered from a bacterial attack and gummosis last year. I winced as I pruned away large portions of the tree, hoping to save it and not kill it in the process. It survived and rewarded us. We picked as many as we could before the incoming rain splits them.
I love it when community nonprofits team up! The Piedmont Master Gardeners have partnered with the Albemarle County Fair to have a sunflower growing contest. It’s a great way for kids to learn about plants, food, and fairs. You can pick up free seeds at Gordon Ave library and start growing!
April 25, 2025 at 1:28 AM
I love it when community nonprofits team up! The Piedmont Master Gardeners have partnered with the Albemarle County Fair to have a sunflower growing contest. It’s a great way for kids to learn about plants, food, and fairs. You can pick up free seeds at Gordon Ave library and start growing!
Just when I thought I couldn’t love our library any more.
April 5, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Just when I thought I couldn’t love our library any more.
I’m in bluebell heaven at Shenandoah River State Park.
April 2, 2025 at 6:45 PM
I’m in bluebell heaven at Shenandoah River State Park.
We made it though another winter.
March 21, 2025 at 11:12 PM
We made it though another winter.
While cleaning up the raised beds in the school garden, a student presented me with a freshly picked playground bouquet.
March 18, 2025 at 6:59 PM
While cleaning up the raised beds in the school garden, a student presented me with a freshly picked playground bouquet.
Another fallen tree weeping ice sickles. Spent a while hypothesizing about this one with my kid today. The tips of the ice sickles are dark and dry, presumably from sediment that flowed out of the log along with the moisture.
February 21, 2025 at 4:07 AM
Another fallen tree weeping ice sickles. Spent a while hypothesizing about this one with my kid today. The tips of the ice sickles are dark and dry, presumably from sediment that flowed out of the log along with the moisture.