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cobieac.bsky.social
cobieac
@cobieac.bsky.social
1.1K followers 1.1K following 750 posts
Wildlifer, mostly wetlands, part-time ever-curious naturalist & botanizer. first love was always the ocean-still infatuated. Currently contemplating intriguing Graduate opportunities. Mentor to dogs & ducks
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cobieac.bsky.social
Hibiscus in the shade, taunting, waiting for me to finish building its bed so it can put down roots. (me, waiting for temps to consistantly fall below triple digits so I dont fall out). Happy Labor Day all.
#gardening #hibiscus #bloominmonday 🌱📷🌺🌿
orange Hibiscus flower ( with dark magenta-to-red throat and bright yellow stamen and pistil in a black plastic nursery-pot. several medium-green leaves and unfocused garden "debris" border its top while general, unfocused woody garden flotsum is below.
September 1, 2025 at 10:50 PM
cobieac.bsky.social
*sigh* this is why I haven't taken pics. This little mantid was pointing me away, toward the door, a minute ago. I ran to get the phone/camera, and on my return, it was back to "hunting" mode. fickle garden animals and their attention seeking behavior 🫤😄 🌿🌱🌎📷🐙🦗👩🏽‍🔬
mantid (not sure what ssp.) pensively sitting on a medium green squash leaf, waiting for prey. view is of the length of the mantid's right side. leaf has a couple of beige leaf-damage spots on it. unfocused, in the background, is a marigold leaf and stem.
August 22, 2025 at 6:50 PM
cobieac.bsky.social
A day full of music. Weather was perfect.

#reggae #reggaeonthemountain #topangacanyon #julianmarley #sisternancy #OneLove
event sign over a wood satge awning with "Reggae on the Mountain" in progressive green, yellow, red. a crowned lion's face floats above a verdant valley that stretches into a pink and blue sky. 2 flag poles topped with Rasta, lion of Judah flags are on either side of the stage.in front of the stage to the right, obstructing view of stage is the top of a red and yellow sun-umbrella. Behind the stage is a wood gazebo and, mostly, oak trees (Quercus chrysolepis) all across the back of the photo. View from the back of the audience field toward the stage (toward the right, appreciating a glowing sunset toward some oak covered hills, over the tops of tents, umbrellas and awnings . The trees in the back are in silhouette with the darkening sky
July 27, 2025 at 5:55 AM
cobieac.bsky.social
🐙🌱🌿🌎📷👩🏾‍🔬🦗

@lovemotus.bsky.social forwarded this little mantid to me. Maybe trying to blend in to the stucco? I have not seen one so "red" at this young stage of development in our area before. I don't know enough to i.d. this cutie.
reddish brown colored young mantid, looking toward the camera, sitting on white painted wood framing, against a greyish lavendar stucco wall. Mantis' legs and "arms" have black mottling along their length. The side of the mantis has a light colored delineation along its length..
July 23, 2025 at 10:01 PM
cobieac.bsky.social
🌱🌿🌎📷🌸🐸
I accidently rousted this little one from hiding out of my cukes and dahlia. I don't usually see them here as we're a bit far from the creek (full of 'em) so didnt want to cause it more stress with a full-on photo-shoot.

#gardening #frogfriday #amphibians #treefrogs
mossy greenish back of a tree frog trying to decide it's next move from a black wire trellis. We can't see the eyes to determine species but from its location, I am guessing Baja California Treefrog (Pseudacris hypochondriaca hypochondriaca). It's back is rough textured with bumps, it has a visible dark line running through its eye and back along its side and its legs have stripes. It's difficult to see here but it does have "suckered" toe pads. On top of its head is a small piece of leaf. Based on geographic location I believ this to be a Baja California Treefrog (Pseudacris hypochondriaca hypochondriaca). It's has a mossy green/Grey rough textured skin, darker stripes on its legs, back and through the eye extending back along its neck. It is balanced on a black wire trellis looking away from the camera, seeming to contemplate its next move to safety. Also, there is a tiny litter fragment on its head.
July 19, 2025 at 4:12 AM
cobieac.bsky.social
🌱📷🌿 #gardening
We have fruit sets!!! Finally. I hope they make it ( Heirloom French Zucchini, Ronde de Nice and Tiny Tim tomatoes)
close-up of sun illuminated green leaves, stems, yellow glower and tiny new fruits of zucchini. tiny green tomato with expended flower still attached to the end, surrounded by stems, leaves and bracts covered in "hair" (trichomes). These trichomes help the plant resist disease and pests.
July 13, 2025 at 2:27 AM
cobieac.bsky.social
🐕🎂📷 #goldenretriever
Today is her 2nd birthday filled with all good treats.
"smiling" golden retriever in the sun wearing a "birthday girl" bandana. Behind her is unfocused greenery
July 10, 2025 at 4:10 AM
cobieac.bsky.social
🪶📷🌿🌎👩🏽‍🔬 my wife saw an acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) and, what I think is, a pin-tailed whydah (Vidua macroura). She saw these at the Rose Bowl while at work today. see alt-text for more.
Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) sitting atop a white wall against a bright blue sky. This was spotted at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena California. The Rose Bowl is surrounded by areas of lots of open and closed vegetation that includes oaks and mixed woodlands and also includes native as well as ornamental bushes and trees. Spotted in southern California near The Rose Bowl: pin-tailed whydah (Vidua macroura)- a sub-Saharan, introduced non-So-Cal-native, obligate brood parasite of another Southern California introduced non-native, the Scaly-breasted munia (Lonchura punctulata) from southeast Asia. This individual was on the ground near bushes, grass and a concrete edging. There was a flock up in a tree (not pictured) above this bird (black cap, mantle and a very long black split-tail feathers with a rump that is dark with with brown-edged feathers, front is white along with white primaries and secondaries, tertiaries are black.
July 9, 2025 at 4:07 AM
cobieac.bsky.social
Today was strawberries...

#gardening
#canning #preserves
#strawberries
whole red strawberries without their tops in a white, opaque plastic bowl waiting to be chopped chopped red strawberries in a brown bamboo cuttingboard finished strawberry jam resting in pint jars on a pink towel, just out of their "bath". Jars have fancy quilted pattern and sealed with silver colored bands and lids. behind the jars, unfocused stove.
July 8, 2025 at 3:37 AM
cobieac.bsky.social
I think this is a Blue-eyed darner, male, (Rhionaeschna multicolor), family Aeshnidae, laying low in the cool evening on a climbing rose. 📷🌱🌍👩🏽‍🔬🐙🌿

#dragonfly #invertebrates #insects
my (keyed) guess: Blue-eyed darner, male, (Rhionaeschna multicolor), family Aeshnidae. dragonfly on a green bush is blue and black and brown markings along its length. eyes are translucent blue. Four wings with prominent black patterned veins extend to either side, perpendicular to the length of body from the thorax. Brown patterning is prominently present on S1, S3-6 or S7, with blue markings throughout including the humeral and antehumeral stripes. I love dragonflies, just not proficient with their ID.
July 7, 2025 at 7:01 AM
cobieac.bsky.social
🌱📷#apricots It's that time of year again...
apricot halves on a bamboo cutting board in process of being diced. The lower half-apricot has a nice blush on the skin six x pint jars of processed apricot preserves resting on a dark-pink (w beige leaf pattern) ktchen-towel. jars have silver lids & bands on top (all lids "popped") and a white ceramic chicken spoon caddy with orange beak and red highlights in the background
July 6, 2025 at 10:59 PM
cobieac.bsky.social
🌱📷🪉#ireland more pics from our holiday
looking down a lane at Trinity College , left is down the length of a red brick wall, bottom into the distance is a cobblestone walk, the right is leafed-out trees into the distance. The back of the photo is a grey building with at least 3 floors and 9 windows. above and behind that it looks like a window cielinged building and behind that, the top floor of a building with 6 large windows showing. poctire view looking up at a grey building wall with a Guinnes sign w harp protruding from above the door flanked on both sides by hanging flower baskets. Above the Guinness sign and the flowers is a white sign declaring, " Sean's, picture of a toucan with reddish pink beak and a pint of dark guinness, Ireland's oldest bar, as listed by, Guinness book of, world records" looking up a cobble bottomed creek flanked by trees, bushes and wildflowers lavendar purple flowers with opposite grey-green leaves
July 3, 2025 at 4:35 AM
cobieac.bsky.social
From my first time in the library hall at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.
my heavily/poorly edited pic of interior library hall of Trinity College in Dublin Ireland. I am not a skilled editor but tried to "erase" the hordes also enjoying this amazing space. Top to bottom of pic: arched wooden ceiling with empty wooden shelves on either side (they are preserving the collection). The tops of the colonnades are dark wood along with the roof-arch spines. Near the bottom are busts of philosophers/authors at the end caps of each row of shelves. The center of the pic is an illuminated globe:Earth. Picture of interior library hall of Trinity College in Dublin Ireland. Top to bottom of pic: arched wooden ceiling with empty wooden shelves on either side (they are preserving the collection). The tops of the colonnades are dark wood along with the roof-arch spines. Near the bottom are busts of philosophers/authors at the end caps of each row of shelves. The center of the pic is an illuminated globe:Earth. the closest right set of shelves shows books in the collection illustrating how the library might look fully shelved. Tourists are sprinkled throughtout. Bust of Shakespeare in Trinity College library displayed in front of dark wooden column and next to iron spiral staircase.Shelves of books are to the left of that as well as 2 red fire extinguishers attached to the wall on the very left A line of busts of philosophers and authors extending into the distance inside trinity college library, Dublin ireland. the closest is Homerus, backed by a set of books with a ladder reaching to the higher stacks. In the distance, on the left, is part of the illuminated Earth globe that hangs in the "center" of the hall, and also the arched wooden ceiling at the top.
June 22, 2025 at 11:24 PM
cobieac.bsky.social
👩🏽‍🔬🪶📷🌍 These hooded crows ( Corvus cornix) were following me... Dublin and Galway. Seriously tho, my family was "bird-shaming" me for stopping to take pictures of birds and bees and plants etc EVERYWHERE. It had no effect (except, maybe, hurried pictures, not capturing all i wanted). 😁
hooded crow (Corvus cornix) on the grass at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, backed by a grey concrete plastered wall hooded crow (Corvus cornix) on top of a chiminy, Galway (Salt Hill), Ireland. the background is a grey, cloudy sky at top with green tree tops in mid-photo with grey rooftop to the right. bird is screaming about something. hooded crow (Corvus cornix) on top of a chiminy, Galway (Salt Hill), Ireland. the background is a grey, cloudy sky at top with green tree tops in mid-photo with grey rooftop to the bottom, right. bird is sitting, watching. always watching....😳😶😬😆
June 19, 2025 at 10:08 PM
cobieac.bsky.social
THAT'S a pretty cat @lovemotus.bsky.social

🌎🌿📹📷🌱
lovemotus.bsky.social Susan Monroe @lovemotus.bsky.social · May 17
Today was a good day after a long week.
It didn't feel like a job or work. I was lucky & saw a pretty girl and got to talk to some nice people.
nbclosangeles.app.link/xK5RlVPfrTb
nbclosangeles.app.link
May 17, 2025 at 5:06 PM
cobieac.bsky.social
🌿🌱📷🌎🪶 House finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) just going off! He seems to be looking for his mate who abandoned the under-eave nest (or was eaten by feral cat). There is a "dead" egg pushed over the edge of the nest. He sat away from the nest singing loudly for 3 days.
rihht side of male house finch sitting on branches of a birch tree (backed by leaves and sky) with his head turned for his left eye to face the camera. right side of male house finch sitting on branches of a birch tree (backed by leaves and sky) with his left eye turned to face the toward right of the camera.
May 15, 2025 at 12:53 AM
cobieac.bsky.social
🌿🌎🌱📷👩🏽‍🔬 4.am. ring-camera capture (yes, i know, fuzzy image), well within the brightly lit 'burbs, coyote walking the a 5 foot wall to hunt the yards. We all have large+ dogs (who slept thru it) but it was the camera challenge that seemed to convince it to step off. No idea where/when it left
o'dark-thirty, barely discernible image of a coyote walking along the top of a 5 foot slumpstone wall that separates properties in the suburbs. the lighter wall nehond the coyote is illuminated by a combination of moon-shine, and street lights and possibly the infrared of the ring camera. The coyotes eyes are shining from that ring camera light, its tail in relaxed mode hanging down behind it its long legs deftly maneuvering along the 6 inch too-caps of the wall. I dare say, this coyote is more nimble and delicate than the feral cat that frequents this "trail". coyote on the wall in the dark decided to jump off the wall when challenged through the speaker of the ring-camera. It is jumping down to its left
May 15, 2025 at 12:31 AM
cobieac.bsky.social
🌱🌹 The first bloom this season, from my grandmother's rose.

#bloomscrolling
peachy/coral colored rose blossom in full bloom. Behind the rose, the image is diagonally bisected left to right by a short, tan, slump-stone wall; to the upper left of that wall is green grass. To the lower right of the wall are rose leaves: dark green with toothed, reddish-maroon edges. just to to right of the blossom are leaves of a derelict agapantha that needs to be removed with prejudice (invasive buggers!)!! peachy colored rose blossom glowing in full bloom, backlit by the setting sun, surrounded by unfocused greenery and brown soil below the bloom.
April 30, 2025 at 2:49 AM
cobieac.bsky.social
I have planted sooo many onion starts, and yet, still have to find space (my sweet potatoes will go in this bucket)...
🌱
centered: black planting bucket sitting on the ground with a few dried leaves scattered about and full of soil and mulch and numerous onion starts just staging before their re-homing. In the upper right of the picture there is a smaller blue bucket with a short piece of plankwood inside. Across the top are the green leaves of a geranium plant that originated at my grandmother's garden. This group of geraniums are all cuttings from that plant that is around 35-40 years old. As pieces have broken off the original over the years I just stuck them in a bare spot of dirt.
April 26, 2025 at 6:04 AM
cobieac.bsky.social
snap peas are doing pretty well so far. I am also happy the hyacinths seemed to have survived the move to a new "bed"🌱🌷
wooden planter with snap peas toward the right, dahlia (not in bloom) in the middle and several pink hyacinths spread througout. behind the planter is a grey building with black trim and a window
April 26, 2025 at 5:32 AM
cobieac.bsky.social
This western fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) laughs at my gate lock 🦎🌱🌿📷🌎👩🏽‍🔬 #reptiles #herpetofauna

I have seen 2 (different) of these the last 2 days w our spring warm-up, still moving slowly with the cool temps at night. I hope they speed up before the predators get to them
Top view of the greyish-brown back of a western fence-lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) poised (tail=left; head=right) on the side a tan slump-stone wall. The lizard has some beautiful black motteling along with stripes that appear yellow-ish the length of its face, back and down its tail and is looking over its lower (right) shoulder toward the photographer. To the right of the lizard's head is a sliver of unfocused green and yellow leaves in the distance with black gate margin on the far right of the photo. Toward the top of the gate post is part of a grey lock. The Lizard can obviously escape a human (or resident dogs) through the gap to safety despite the locked gate. Cats or birds on the other hand....😳🫤 Additional info: to the right of this gate is a perpetual puddle (neighbor's irrigation leaks) and mint patch that harbors a lizard's flying smorgasboard ( so many/different flying/ crawling "bugs" ). Such a warm spring day 😀
April 7, 2025 at 2:21 AM
cobieac.bsky.social
Welcome @lovemotus.bsky.social

to the blue skies 😁

📷 📹🌊🇻🇮🏖
March 20, 2025 at 12:04 AM
cobieac.bsky.social
sunset in the South Pacific
Red-sand beach at sunset, French Polynesia leading to Palm trees to the left and overwater bungalow toward the right in the background. Right side of photo has a type of sea-weed in the foreground and the clear water of the lagoon looking dark grey in the mid-ground of the photo.
February 13, 2025 at 2:59 AM
cobieac.bsky.social
🐕📷
"...I'm not movin..."

"And why don't you go get me a cookie"
Young golden retriever dog reclining on a well-worn, white leather chair with a thick, red blanket draped over the back of the chair. She has no intention of moving as evidenced by her calm, direct stare: never wavering. young golden retriever dog reclining on a well-worn, white leather chair with a thick, red blanket draped over the back of the chair. The princessa gestures with her gaze and slight nod toward the direction of the cookie safe, lest "the help" forgot where the treats are secured.
February 10, 2025 at 11:28 AM
cobieac.bsky.social
Tonight Lenny Lunch passed (12 y.o.?). Nick-named "aflac", of course, for the soft throaty quack he made. He was a "ladies drake" and loved his flock. They would frequently hide from him. He fancied himself the life of the party and was really seriously lovable comic relief. 🌿🌱🦆📷
muddy white Pekin duck with orange legs and bill standing on a dirt hill after playing in mud puddles in the rain white Pekin drake after his bath with orange feet and bill standing, facing left, on straw floor of his pen white Pekin drake facing camera looking to the right, standing on straw. over his shoulder to the left is part of a blue plastic kiddie pool duck-bath muddy Pekin climbing that hill with sparse grass, mud and old wooden chairs in the background
December 27, 2024 at 9:58 AM