Kate Pennington
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callmeglitter.bsky.social
Kate Pennington
@callmeglitter.bsky.social
220 followers 280 following 140 posts
Writer, Pagan, Witch, Ace, Fat, Disabled. Artist, happily Married. Cetacean watcher & writer. Cat Lady. I do things with words & lots of (bio-degradable) glitter. She / Her Newsletter: https://www.whaletalesandglitter.com/
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callmeglitter.bsky.social
🐋WT&G No. 7 🐋 is up: Gone Whale Watching! A Quick Look at some of the amazing things I saw on 3 recent trips. Plus a new website and Spotlight on Mary Anning, Marine Paleontologist #marinelife 🦑 #Whales #MarineMammals #Orca #Fin #Humpback #MaryAnning www.whaletalesandglitter.com
A collage of 5 images: 1 & 2 are stacked on the left. 3 - 5 are stacked on the right. 1 - Two Orca swimming away from the camera. On the L is an adult with a large black dorsal fin, black back and a patch of light gray behind the dorsal fin. On the right is a calf just coming up through the water, bubbles from its blow billowing just under the surface. 2- A Humpback whale leaping out of the water, twisting in mid air, long pectoral fins swing around its torso. The lighter/white underside of its belly is showing while its head is dipped back toward its eventual landing point. 3- A Fin whale rests at the water's surface among small ripples of waves. It's dark gray back is curved and its triangular dorsal fin showing. Behind and to the left, a whale watching boat and its passengers watch. 4 - A painted portrait of Mary Anning. She wears a green overdress/coat with red trim along the bottom hem and a light colored bonnet. She has dark hard and her face is pale. 5- Whsle Tales & Glitter Logo: a Humpback whale’s tail just before a dive with two birds and the words Whale Tales & Glitter in bright blue.
September 10, 2025 at 9:13 PM
callmeglitter.bsky.social
WT&G No. 7: Gone Whale Watching! A Quick Look at some of the amazing things I saw on three recent trips Is out tomorrow! Plus a new website and Spotlight on Mary Anning, Marine Paleontologist www.whaletalesandglitter.com/subscribe
Two Orca swimming away from the camera. On the L is an adult with a large black dorsal fin, black back and a patch of light gray behind the dorsal fin. On the right is a calf just coming up through the water, bubbles from its blow billowing just under the surface. A Humpback whale leaping out of the water, twisting in mid air, long pectoral fins swing around its torso. The lighter/white underside of its belly is showing while its head is dipped back toward its eventual landing point. A painted portrait of Mary Anning. She wears a green overdress/coat with red trim along the bottom hem and a light colored bonnet. She has dark hard and her face is pale. She carries a tan bag and a hammer/tool for fossil hunting. At her feet is a black and white dog.
September 9, 2025 at 4:47 AM
callmeglitter.bsky.social
Our local crow's nest is very noisy today. Me thinks the family has a new fledgling. I wonder if the parents will use our yard as a day-care again? Though our yard is less crow baby friendly these days w/ more stuff. The adults were always near the baby, in the trees etc. #Crow #Corvid #Wildlife
A fledgling crow: mostly black with bits of grey under plumage showing on their side, looks into a square-ish pond that is covered by a black, wide-mesh-cover. A light gray statue stands behind and to the left of the crow, green plants reach up to the cover from the water on the lower right side.
June 16, 2025 at 8:18 PM
callmeglitter.bsky.social
Issue No. 6 of Whale Tales and Glitter is out & all about my favorite thing: Whale Watching- the how, why, where, and when of it all! Also the May marine biology spotlight is Professor Idelisa Bonnelly, Mother of marine conservation in the Caribbean. www.whaletalesandglitter.com

#marinelife 🦑
A mother and calf Humpback whales arch their backs, showing the tip of their dorsal fins. The calf, on the left and in front of mom, is light gray and very smooth. Mom is dark gray with some dips and bumps on her back. The water around them is gray-green merging with the gray sky at a barely perceptible line. Me and the sweetie, both pink-cheeked from the wind, pose for a post-whale watch photo. Scott, on the right wears a black and red jacket, Kate on the right is in a blue windbreaker, we are standing at the back of the boat with thick fog and clouds behind us rolling toward dark tree-lined slopes leading to gray-green water. Professor Bonnelly, an older woman with light brown skin and salt-n-pepper hair. She wears a white blazer, red blouse, a strand of pearls, and glasses. She is smiling at her desk, books and papers before her.
May 22, 2025 at 8:13 PM
callmeglitter.bsky.social
Distracted by caterpillars and chrysalis' today... We have a Swallowtail caterpillar who just molted from spiky black with red to spiky light green and black. Our Monarch chrysalis is tucked in a lavender bush, starting to get a bit of translucence! Can see some of the lines of the wings now.
two images stacked one a-top the other - both are of a swallowtail caterpillar on a fennel branch. Top is 1st stage. It's about an inch long, mostly black, with spikes, with a white patch in the middle. bottom photo: same caterpillar after molt, now stage 2. A bit larger, predominately light green, with black spikes and oranage spots among the spikes. A bright green chrysalis hangs from a lavender branch. It's nestled near the base of the plant in the shade, surrounded by green lavender leaves. On the right side of the chrysalis, about 1/4 down from the anchor point is a row of tiny golden spots curving from the middle around to the back. Below this are faint vein lines in dark green - the butterfly-to-be forming, showing through the casing as the casing lightens.
May 18, 2025 at 9:55 PM
callmeglitter.bsky.social
Part of why I love going whale watching is for the moments you can't predict. We know that Humpbacks breach but never when or where. Yes, the passengers got SOAKed and laughed alot in amazement, as did those of us watching.
Photos by C. Pennington April 17, 2025
#Humpback #Whale #MarineMammals
A very small black motor boat with a few people on board has a front row seat to a breaching Humpback whale. the whale is dark gray, in mid rotation from front to its back, rising up from the gray-green water only a few feet from the bow of the boat. Same boat, same whale - seconds later as the whale completes its rotation with a massive splash. The end of the whale's dark tail flukes can be seen in the midst of the large and explosive back wash of white water moving toward the boat and her passengers.
May 1, 2025 at 7:59 PM
callmeglitter.bsky.social
I'm having a very Aries moment. For daaaays I've been blah about my birthday. Today the weather has gone all Spring! &lovely and lo - my whole being also went SPRING! and awake and Weeee! Birthday! lol Be kind to your Aries', we're finally waking up! Also new stuff from WoodlandsCustomCraft on Etsy
Me, a pale beige woman with short dark hair, and blue eyes, wearing purple glasses - showing off one of her new Rainbow colored Guillotine earrings. Me, a pale beige woman with short dark hair, and blue eyes, wearing purple glasses - my sort-of smile hints that I am contemplating coming out into the light of Spring.
April 6, 2025 at 12:25 AM
callmeglitter.bsky.social
Yesterday was a good mail day! My (early) Birthday present from my Mum @saaremartha.bsky.social - a Save our Seas T-shirt from @mcsuk.bsky.social and the Hard cover of Martian Contingency from @maryrobinettekowal.com
Dark blue T-shirt with a variety of large and small marine life in silhouette in blues, pinks and yellows against. They form a circle around the words SAVE OUT SEAS. At the top right of the shirt is book with an orange and yellow book cover with a two people in black on a ledge in space gear. Pale letters within the cliff read: A Lady Astronaut Novel. The book's title: the Martian Contingency is in black above the figures, with author's name above: Mary Robinette Kowal. Below the title is a quote: "Kowal masters both science and historical accuracy in this alternate history adventure." - Andy Weir Author of the Martian.
March 25, 2025 at 7:03 PM
callmeglitter.bsky.social
Whale Tales & Glitter Issue 5 is all about Baleen and is out tomorrow. Spotlight: Dr. Sylvia Earle And a Survey!

Photos: 1- Humpback whale feeding 2- Two pieces of baleen 3- Dr. Sylvia Earle in a JIM suit

#WhaleTales&Glitter #Whales #Baleen #Cetaceans

www.whaletalesandglitter.com/subscribe
Humpback whale rises from the water, mouth open wide, the inside of its upper jaw visible with the edges of light baleen descending from the gum line. Small fish leap from the open mouth and the water around the whale. A Brown pelican flies away just behind the whale’s head. Close up of two pieces of baleen on a display cart. Top: tan colored baleen from a Gray whale about two feet long. Bottom: Black baleen about four feet long, from a Humpback whale. Both are shaped like a right triangle with the sloping side curving out , then narrowing at the bottom. The slopped side begins to fray about 1/3 of the way down, the individual fibers separating. The other side is smooth and mostly straight. Dr. Sylvia Earle, a white woman with brown hair, stands inside a white, hard sided dive suite. Dials and tubes can be seen inside, near her head. Two men assist her from outside.
March 18, 2025 at 1:05 AM
callmeglitter.bsky.social
My new tattoo got its first outing yesterday at the gym! It's a three armed Brigid's cross with triskele designed by @morpheusravenna.bsky.social and I love it!
Beige skinned person with short dark hair with her back to the mirror. Visible on the right shoulder is a green circle of cloud shapes interspersed with three blue spirals of a triskele. At the center is a three armed cross that forms a triangle with long arms in red, orange, and yellow.
March 11, 2025 at 8:27 PM
callmeglitter.bsky.social
Ok... to be fair, its only 1/2 that articles I was looking at that that gloss over Earle's dive record.... but why? (I know. I'm venting cause its Stupid) The first Black person to dive to the deepest point, Challenger Deep, was in 2022 - Dawn Wright. so... work to do.
www.esri.com/en-us/indust...
Dawn Wright, a light skin Black woman with a maroon baseball cap and dark blue T-shirt that reads: Science Because making stuff up is not ok. She is standing in the hatch-way of the sub looking up at the camera.
March 9, 2025 at 12:29 AM
callmeglitter.bsky.social
I knew, intellectually, non-white-males are routinely nu-mentioned in history books... but... I'm researching Dr. Sylvia Earle, known as "Her Deepness" who holds the depth record for a dive in a JIM (hard) divesuit - 381 m in 1979. Is that in most of the records? NO. www.seasky.org/ocean-explor...
Dr. Sylvia Earle, a white woman with brown hair, stands inside a white, hard sided dive suite. dials and tubes can be seen inside, near her head. Two men assist her from outside.
March 9, 2025 at 12:19 AM
callmeglitter.bsky.social
Charlie being cute while he sleeps because everyone needs cute cats sleeping on their timeline :)
Charlie, an orange and white (with mostly white showing) cat sprawled on a cushion by a window into the backyard. His eyes are closed, his paws are reaxed and his belly is almost exposed.
March 3, 2025 at 7:43 PM
callmeglitter.bsky.social
From my walk... Our neighbors have this fence covered in this amazing chartreuse lichen. It gets brighter the more rain we have :) #photography #nature
six foot plus tall fence with alternating raised and recessed vertical panels of wood, all covered in varying amount of vibrant yellow-green lichen. Close up of one section of the fence focused on a knot of wood on one panel and the spray of yellow-green lichen around it.
March 3, 2025 at 7:39 PM
callmeglitter.bsky.social
Happy Economic Boycott Number One! to all who celebrate!
A red rabbit on a teal background. In black letters are the words: Economic Boycott Don't Buy Stuff Friday Feb 28 We have Power No Amazon Walmart Target Fast-Food Gas Ok Small Business Use Cash
February 28, 2025 at 6:50 PM
callmeglitter.bsky.social
I'm in love with my new "Periodic Table of Black Women in Stem" t-shirt from Chem Thug on Teepublic. www.teepublic.com/stores/chem-...
Me, a white woman with short dark hair and classes, wearing a black t-shirt with a Period Table - many small squares of different colors with Initials on each. White words at the top: Periodic Table Of Black Women In Stem. all the squares host different Black women working in different STEM fields.
February 26, 2025 at 10:11 PM
callmeglitter.bsky.social
It's Newsletter Thursday! Issue 4 is out and all about Toothed Whales, like Orca and Narwhals: how they hunt and eat in the sea. Feb Spotlight is Dr. Joan Murrell Owens, Teacher and Coral Biologist. Come join us in all the whale-y goodness :D

www.whaletalesandglitter.com/subscribe
A large Orca at the surface of the water. The majority of its body, and its tall, straight, dorsal fin is black. There is a white patch near its eye on the right, and a light gray patch at the base of the tail. photo by C. Pennington Two torpedo shaped, brown speckled Narwhals float in mid-blue water. One whale has its long, slender tusk across the other’s back almost forming and X. There is a shadow of a third whale below them. Photo by: © Paul Nicklen / National Geographic Creative / WWF-Canada Black and white photo of a Black woman with short, curly, dark hair seated at a microscope in a lab. She wears a floral blouse and a long sting of pearls. In her right hand she holds a button coral: a circle of white with faint striations radiating from the center.
February 13, 2025 at 6:59 PM
callmeglitter.bsky.social
I really should get out of bed… but I don’t remember the last time Shadow curled up in my lap. (She’s 19.5 years old)
A black cat curled up, sleeping, on a multicolored quilt.
January 31, 2025 at 5:56 PM
callmeglitter.bsky.social
Meant to do a Whale Wednesday thing but duck it... Whales all day every day! - except not a whale lol - this happy looking critter is a Bowmouth guitarfish from Sealife aquarium in London UK - so freaking cute. (I'm falling in love with sharks along with whales and octopuses)
At the left side of the screen is the pale underside of a Bowmouth guitarfish inside a room-sized, blue lit aquarium. its head is rounded with triangular fins on either side, a wide lower body narrowing toward the tail, which is out of frame. we see eye slits up near the top of its head and a frown-ish slit for its mouth and the suggestion of teeth in the dark opening. part of another shark swims past in the background.
January 30, 2025 at 8:42 PM
callmeglitter.bsky.social
A rare photo of the boys showing their nearly matching coats. You can also see the size difference here. Photo two is from when they were kittens. they were so similar in size and color, that we had to put different color collars on them to tell them apart! Charlie, the big cat, had a red collar
Two orange and white cats, with very similar in color pattering, sit at attention on a blonde wood floor. Cat the left is large with short hair, on the right, the other is noticeably shorter, with long hair. Two orange and white kittens laying, belly to belly, in a clear plastic tray. the cat on the left has the edge of his red collar showing.
January 27, 2025 at 2:57 AM
callmeglitter.bsky.social
this.

Artist: @QUEEEERCHAMELEON
Two panel image of a rainbow chameleon, and a green chameleon sitting on a brown branch talking. The green chameleon says “Why are you so determined about holding onto Hope?” The rainbow chameleon replies “Because that’s the thing they want to take away from us most of all.” Artist: @QUEEEERCHAMELEON
January 24, 2025 at 9:27 PM
callmeglitter.bsky.social
Ways to know it’s another January: Teeth cleaning appointment.
Me, a white woman with short dark hair, lying back in a dentist chair wearing dark sunglasses and a light blue dental bib.
January 22, 2025 at 8:04 PM
callmeglitter.bsky.social
Charlie looking like a bagel :)
And orange and white cat, seen from above. he’s asleep, curled in a tight circle, except of his back legs which stick out straight.
January 22, 2025 at 5:35 PM
callmeglitter.bsky.social
this might be one of the nicest photos i’ve taken of our elder cat Shadow, she doesn’t look her 19.5 years here.
Black cat looking directly at us, from her nest-bed, surrounded by fuzzy, cream colored bedding inside a box.
January 22, 2025 at 5:33 PM
callmeglitter.bsky.social
Issue No. # "Meet the Humpback Whales! is out today with information about who they are, what to look for out on the water and more. Plus a Spotlight on Rachel Carson, book recommendations and of course some Glitter! Come join us.

catherines-newsletter-8c75ea.beehiiv.com
Whale Fluke examples: Top L: Black base with white patches in the middle of each fluke, Top R: White with black edging and black circular scars, Bottom L: Patchy white with black edges and barnacles on the tips, Bottom R: Dark grey with white circular scars on both sides and white tooth marks on the corner of the right fluke. Black and white photo of Rachel Carson, a white woman with short, wavy hair on a rocky beach. She holds a jar filled with water and rocks. A Humpback hovers in an upright with the top of its head out of the water. There is another whale just behind the first. They are both surrounded by sea lions and birds.
January 16, 2025 at 6:45 PM