Cindy Calisher ❌👑
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buglady1104.bsky.social
Cindy Calisher ❌👑
@buglady1104.bsky.social
230 followers 530 following 200 posts
Artist, activist, cancer survivor and crazy bug lady. SoCal/North OC
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buglady1104.bsky.social
One of my favorite things about #canvassing at this time of year is seeing the various Halloween decorations people have put up in their yards and on their porches. I found this wreath to be understated yet still celebratory. And oh yes, if you live in #California, please vote #YesonProp50
Here we have a lovely wreath, the foundation of which is made of black twigs, densely packed. The lower half of the wreath is covered in dried brown moss. There are 2 little headstones, some slender black mushrooms, a few fern fronds and a skull. Simple but elegant. Oh, and there’s a sweet pinkish moth at the top of the wreath.
October 19, 2025 at 10:12 PM
buglady1104.bsky.social
I’m ready for #NoKings tomorrow. Look for me in #LaHabra #CA
and carrying this sign. With Halloween right around the corner, I made the regime look extra ghoulish!
My protest sign, featuring Trump as a scary clown, Vance as Frankenstein, Miller as a vampire, and RFK JR as a zombie. Their faces are within the boundaries of a purple map of the US, and the caption warns, “Here Be Monsters” in a (sort of) creepy font.
October 17, 2025 at 10:41 PM
buglady1104.bsky.social
October 15, 2025 at 4:07 PM
buglady1104.bsky.social
One of my favorite things: the ethereal sight of my backyard fence steaming in the morning sun after a day and a night of rain. This is my first steaming fence of this season.
October 15, 2025 at 4:03 PM
buglady1104.bsky.social
I never would have expected that Kira, the new dog, on the left, would so quickly become the alpha, or that Dex, with almost 6 years of being the spoiled only dog, would be totally ok with that. 🖤🖤 #blackdogs
2 black dogs huddle together on a brown leather couch. The room is in its usual state of “slight disarray”, with blankets and a jacket lying in view.
October 13, 2025 at 5:38 PM
buglady1104.bsky.social
Because, why wait?
#YesOn50
It’s me. I’m in my kitchen, and I’ve just filled out my ballot and I’m ready to take it to the drop box. (Also, jeez, I look old and dumpy. Oh well, too bad 😛)
October 6, 2025 at 10:23 PM
buglady1104.bsky.social
I’m not sure if this “coin” is supposed to look tough or menacing or what.
But (with apologies to Futurama), all I see is this guy
Dr. Ziodberg, of Futurama fame. He’s a red, lobster/squid-like/alien character, who typically wears a white coat like a doctor.
October 3, 2025 at 5:52 PM
buglady1104.bsky.social
I didn’t know there was such a thing as Black Dog Day, but we have a couple of celebrants here. Dex and Kira, both rescues, hope Chester gets a family soon.
2 black dogs, Dexter on the left and Kira on the right. They are side by side, their heads resting on the arm of the brown leather sofa they are lying on.
October 2, 2025 at 3:24 AM
buglady1104.bsky.social
Original cover art from the award-winning children’s book, “Frog and Toad Together”, by Arnold Lobel. Pictured are the eponymous amphibians, dressed like a couple of country gentlemen, riding a tandem bicycle.
August 26, 2025 at 3:23 AM
buglady1104.bsky.social
An altered photo of Trump, with a cartoon-drawn crown with a red X on his head and a caption in big red letters that reads “HELL NO”.
June 8, 2025 at 4:24 AM
buglady1104.bsky.social
The spider version of this
One of those silly beer hats. A baseball style cap with 2 holsters for beer or your canned beverage of choice. Dispensed through a flexible tube for hands-free sipping.
May 25, 2025 at 3:19 AM
buglady1104.bsky.social
Ah, well, now I’ve seen myself on Rachel Maddow tonight. Got censored too.
This is me: older white lady with a protest sign that features Nixon’s head in a jar (shout out to Matt Groenig’s Futurama). Anyway, Nixon’s head says “I CAN’T BELIEVE THEY LET TRUMP GET AWAY WITH ALL THIS S***. Photo credit: Gaston Castellanos Thanks also to Harry at @indivisibleca45.org for submitting our event to MSNBC.
May 20, 2025 at 4:24 AM
buglady1104.bsky.social
A view with the glow of sunset (or sunrise, for that matter) through diaphanous window-coverings is one of my favorite things. And I mean that it the Julie Andrews/Sound of Music sort of way. Here’s one out my bedroom from a few years back.
A sidelong view of the sunset out my bedroom window. The sun isn’t in the picture, but there’s a glowing effect in the sky, accentuated by the gauzy curtains. You can see the houses, cars and trees across the street. It’s all very ordinary, but somehow also very comforting.
April 8, 2025 at 8:26 PM
buglady1104.bsky.social
Our nationwide #HandsOff protests were impactful and uplifting. Smaller weekly (or bi-weekly) protests are important too, for raising awareness in local communities. Here’s one in Diamond Bar, CA
An image of The Statue of Liberty with the following text printed over it: Help Us To Defend Democracy! Rally with us in Diamond Bar Fridays at 5pm to 6:30pm At the corner of Grand Ave. and Diamond Bar Blvd. Fired Up Fridays! Dates: April 11 April 25 Bottom of image has the logo of Tri Counties Democratic Club: a circular emblem with an American Flag and a kicking donkey.
April 8, 2025 at 3:36 PM
buglady1104.bsky.social
My protest sign that I carried in Santa Ana CA today, plus a couple of other signs that I really liked.
#HandsOff #NoKingsOC #Indivisible
Me: an older white lady in jeans, a floral top, and a sun hat and glasses. I’m holding a sign that says “Adm. ACKBAR EXPLAINS TARIFFS” And there’s a picture of Ackbar (that fish faced alien of Star Wars fame) who is saying “IT’S A TAX.” If you know, you know. A person with an oversized Trump-face mask, in which trump has a Hitler-style mustache, as well as a crown that says “SHITLER”. The same person also holds a sign that reads “US Govt. for Sale. PAY HERE. A vividly colored sign depicting a landscape of what could be SoCal or the US in general: it has land, water, sunshine, trees, and a red heart. There’s a mini-sign within the sign that says “HANDS OFF!” And it lists a whole slew of things that we want to protect: (in no particular order) immigrants, lgbtq+, students, Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans, schools, science, art, libraries, the environment, our bodies, Fair Elections, DEI, Gaza, And more! And all those words are incorporated into the sun’s rays, the water, the land, etc. Just brilliantly done.
April 6, 2025 at 12:37 AM
buglady1104.bsky.social
One of the most joyous and meaningful earworms I’ve had the pleasure to get stuck in my head.
#HandsOff #NoKingsOC #Indivisible
April 6, 2025 at 12:00 AM
buglady1104.bsky.social
Making time for #MantisMonday this week! Many years ago, my sister-in-law gave me a nice little (maybe 2") refrigerator magnet that I repainted, replaced the magnet on the back with a pin, and turned it into a brooch. I still wear it, often on a hat.
A sculptured mantis pin. (I think it's some kind of resin or plastic.) The mantis is a bright spring green color, and it is posed on a background of darker green leaves or possible grass. The mantis has a little smile that I added. I also added the antennas, because originally, it didn't have any.
March 24, 2025 at 2:35 PM
buglady1104.bsky.social
Ah, there’s nothing like the warts-and-all beauty of one’s own neighborhood in the fleeting moments of sunset. (Or in my case, sunrise 😉). Greetings from California.
A little bird takes in the view from my neighbor’s roof. The top of my wood fence is visible. Beyond that is the street, houses, a street light (still on), and trees and foothills in the background. The dawn sky is glowing amid a layer of wispy gray clouds.
March 20, 2025 at 12:40 AM
buglady1104.bsky.social
I’m sad to report that the mourning dove nest on my front porch was abandoned earlier this week, with 2 eggs still in it. This would have been the 2nd brood this year. I don’t know what happened to the mama. Dad tried sitting on them for a while, but he was inconsistent, and eventually gave up.
A black and white photo of two eggs in a simple nest of dry grass, pine needles and twigs. The nest had already been abandoned for a few days when I took this photo.
March 16, 2025 at 3:32 AM
buglady1104.bsky.social
A few pics from our protest last night in Brea CA with @indivisibleca45.org. I tried out my QR code poster idea (link goes to @indivisible.org) and people were scanning it from their cars while waiting at the red light! It works! Thanks to Gus Castellanos for the great photos.
Yours truly, an older white lady with oversized sunglasses and a baseball cap, holding a sign that reads, "FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY". The sign includes the Indivisible logo, and a large QR code, big enough to pick up the web link from the middle of a wide and busy intersection! Shout out to a couple of my sisters in activism, Marlene and Linda, in the background, along with a few other people. A wider view of the street corner. It's getting close to dusk. The shadows are getting longer, but there's a crowd of people (including myself) holding protest signs against Trump, Musk, and all the havoc they're wreaking on our country. And this is just one corner. We had people on all 4 corners! This is another sign that I made, with inspiration (and permission) from @iwantyoustudio.bsky.social. The poster says NO KINGS, followed by a crown with one of those red NO symbols slashed through it. Below that it says NO BILLIONAIRES, followed by a dollar sign with a red NO symbol over it. and at the bottom, it says NO FASCISTS, followed by a swastika, also with the red NO symbol over it. Thanks, Chris. As much as I love to toot my own horn, I think this was actually my favorite shot of the evening. An unidentified supporter of democracy stands at the intersection as night is falling. He is facing away from the camera, a blue baseball cap over his graying hair. He carries 2 American flags, one of which is glowingly backlit by the out of focus traffic lights and car headlights. Thanks again, Gus.
March 4, 2025 at 8:40 PM
buglady1104.bsky.social
Happy #MantisMonday. I haven't raised a lot of non-native mantids, but back in 2007, I tried my hand at a few Cilnea humeralis, AKA the wide arm Mantis. Mantids in general are photogenic, but this girl loved to strike a pose. Also, I think the common name could have also been wide HEAD mantis.
A light jade-green mantis against a dark shaded background. The sun is also shining in such a way that you can almost see through parts of her legs and body. She is standing upright on her 4 rear legs, and she has her claws folded up almost to her face. Likewise, her abdomen is folded straight up behind her. She's looking straight at the camera. And she appears to be smiling. Like if the Mona Lisa were a mantis, this is what her smile might look like. This is a close up of the same mantis. It's a little blurry, but it does show how wide her head and face are. She looks a little less like the Mona Lisa in this view, and maybe a little more like something from Area 51.
March 3, 2025 at 11:03 PM
buglady1104.bsky.social
I thought I’d just give a quick update on my front porch doves, while simultaneously posting a gratuitous photo for #MantisMonday. As you may have noticed last week, I have a praying mantis yard-art plaque that lives on my porch. I got it years ago at a flea market or some such.
This is the top shelf of the baker’s rack on my front porch. On the right is a dinner plate sized decorative plaque with a large mantis in the center, surrounded by a circular border of ivy. It’s done in bas-relief. It’s got a faded green finish that looks like it was meant to appear old even when it was new, and I have no idea how old it was when I got it about 10 years ago. Meanwhile, on the left, the little doves are looking good, and I’m a little surprised they haven’t left the nest yet. There are 2 of them, grayish brown with beady eyes, in their nest atop a tacky plastic flowerpot.
February 24, 2025 at 11:31 PM
buglady1104.bsky.social
How quickly they grow! Look at all the feathers on the little one! (Sibling is out of view, behind Mom.) They ’ll probably fledge in another day or so.
Mourning dove mama and growing baby snuggle in their nest atop a green plastic plant pot. There’s a bit of praying mantis yard art in the background. I’ll post more about that soon!
February 21, 2025 at 7:11 PM
buglady1104.bsky.social
My state of mind these days.
It’s a grungy-looking American Flag, superimposed on a map of the United States, but something’s wrong: the map is upside down. If you turn the picture upside down, the map will be right but then the flag will be upside down. The text says “Any way you look at it Something’s not right”
February 19, 2025 at 9:09 AM
buglady1104.bsky.social
So here’s a twofer (sort of) for #MantisMonday:
I bought this graceful but flimsy metal decorative piece at a swap meet many years ago. Then, more recently (but still over 10 years ago) I gave it a faux verdigris finish and mounted it on the little box that covers the workings of my doorbell.
A delicate decoration made of wire and cutout pieces of metal. It shows a vine with leaves, flowers and tendrils, and a praying mantis appearing to be climbing up onto a flower. The whole piece was originally spray-painted black. 2 little grommet thingies at the top allow it to be hung up for display. Same piece, maybe 20 years later, give or take. I painted it a coppery metallic brown, and added splashes of faux verdigris (sorta like rust, only it’s turquoise. Think of the Statue of Liberty) I also removed the grommets and turned the whole thing upside down, so the mantis is now climbing down, and attached it to a board that had been painted beige-ish to match the wall. And THAT whole thing is attached to and hiding the little bell and wiring stuff for the doorbell.
February 18, 2025 at 12:08 AM