Connie LaVon D🍁
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connielavon.bsky.social
Connie LaVon D🍁
@connielavon.bsky.social
470 followers 180 following 640 posts
Mom, granny, wife, outdoor enthusiast, maker, genetic genealogist. Too many hobbies. Retired geriatric nurse practitioner. Dual citizen. 🇺🇸🇨🇦 Living on the land of the Stó:lō and Nlaka’pamux, AKA Hope, BC 🇨🇦. ❤️🪨🧶🪡🎒⛺️🦮🦅🌿🏔️🌊 💚Mi lernas Esperanto!
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connielavon.bsky.social
Thanks, @scottdenkers.bsky.social for documenting and researching all the birds we saw in Brazil!
scottdenkers.bsky.social Scott @scottdenkers.bsky.social · 11h
One of the prettiest finches we saw in the #Cerrado of #Brazil. But hang on a minute, after doing a little checking, it turns out this *red-crested finch* is currently classified as a #Tanager thanks to recent phylogenetic analyses.

#redcrestedfinch #thraupidae #brazilbirds #avesbrasil 🇧🇷 🪶 🌿
A finch-like bird mostly dark red with a brownish-cinnamon back and a black and bright red raised head crest. White eye rings really add to the stunning colour scheme of the bird. It's perched on a branch of a leafless tree. A finch-like bird mostly dark red with a brownish-cinnamon back and a black and bright red raised head crest. White eye rings really add to the stunning colour scheme of the bird. It's perched on a single branch protruding from a tree.
December 9, 2025 at 2:34 PM
connielavon.bsky.social
I love where I live…..and this dreary rain makes me reminisce about sunny places this past summer! #sandpoint #olympicnationalpark #wildernessbeach #lowtide
A sandy beach with small driftwood is in the foreground. A small pool has collected in a low spot on the sand and breakers can be seen in the distance. Evergreen trees line the shore to the south and a few rocky islands are visible near the horizon. The sky is blue with wisps of white clouds.
December 8, 2025 at 7:33 PM
connielavon.bsky.social
And anther great shot from @scottdenkers.bsky.social from our mini-vacation to #ucluelet.
scottdenkers.bsky.social Scott @scottdenkers.bsky.social · 3d
Northern Flicker on the west coast of Vancouver Island in September. My goal now, for comparison, is to get a similar shot of his eastern north American yellow-shafted cousin. 🪶 🌿

#northernflicker #woodpecker #birdinginbritishcolumbia #birdphotography #birdlove
A black-barred brownish bird is caught in flight with downward extended wings exhibiting sunlit orange-red wing shafts. A small, brightly-lit, tree trunk stretches diagonally across the upper left side of the image and the background is shadowed green foliage.
December 8, 2025 at 7:24 PM
connielavon.bsky.social
Here’s @scottdenkers.bsky.social sharing another photo from our trip to Brazil!
scottdenkers.bsky.social Scott @scottdenkers.bsky.social · 2d
Burrowing owls live in grasslands, deserts and other open habitats such as the Brazilian Cerrado, where this individual was found perched next to its burrow. They are daytime hunters, preying mainly on insects and small rodents. #owl #burrowingowl #brazilbirds #avesbrasil 🇧🇷 🪶 🌿
Small brown owl with patchy white spots. It's on the ground and looking to the left with large yellow eyes with black pupils. Rough, tall grass surround the owl.
December 8, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Reposted by Connie LaVon D🍁
elisabeth-o.bsky.social
I'm marking a column in Excel with "Yes" "Maybe?? {+ optional reason}" or "No - {reason}" and Excel keeps insisting that it can predict what I'm going to do next. AI is such a disaster, and it's getting worse. "Niybe"??!!
Screenshot of a column of cells from a spreadsheet with the values "Yes" ".o" "Yes" "Naybe??" "Neybe??" "Niybe??" "Niybe??" "Bo"
December 5, 2025 at 4:59 AM
connielavon.bsky.social
That’s my boy! I totally own up to instigating this and if I knew how to post a gif without botching it, it was going to be this!!!
tristanolson.bsky.social Tristan Olson @tristanolson.bsky.social · 1d
Movie you’ve watched more than six times with a gif. Hard mode: no Stars (Wars nor Trek), LOTR, or Marvel, Disney Animated or Pixar.
December 8, 2025 at 4:25 PM
connielavon.bsky.social
More from my growing understanding of Canadian history.
cdnhistoryehx.bsky.social Canadian History Ehx @cdnhistoryehx.bsky.social · 3d
On Dec. 6, 1917 at 8:45 a.m., the Imo and Mont-Blanc (which was packed with explosives) collided in Halifax Harbour.
At 9:05 a.m., the Mont-Blanc exploded. The 2.9 kiloton blast levelled most of Halifax, killed 1,700 and injured 9,000.
This is the story.

📸 LAC

🧵 1/12
Black-and-white historical photograph showing a massive, billowing mushroom cloud rising high above a calm body of water. The cloud is dark and turbulent at the base, gradually lightening toward the top, with a thick stem connecting it to the surface. A small ship is visible in the foreground on the water, dwarfed by the enormous cloud, providing scale. The horizon is flat with distant land or trees faintly visible.
December 7, 2025 at 4:23 PM
connielavon.bsky.social
This song always brings tears to my eyes. As an immigrant to Canada in 2005, the sentiment expressed here introduced me to the maritime culture and initiated a great fondness for Newfoundland and its people.
dickcannings.bsky.social Richard Cannings @dickcannings.bsky.social · 5d
Just heard Tom Powers interviewing Con O'Brien of the Irish Descendants on CBC, lovely that they finished by playing "Let Me Fish off Cape St. Mary's", one of the greatest Newfoundland songs of all times. I used to live in the lighthouse at the Cape back in 1976...
www.google.com/search?sca_e...
irish descendants fish off cape st. mary's - Google Search
www.google.com
December 4, 2025 at 1:45 PM
connielavon.bsky.social
Remembering a very cold November night in #astana #kazakhstan in 2015 during one of several work trips. The #baiterek monument and observation tower celebrates the relocation of the Capitol from Almaty to Astana. It’s based on a folktale about a magic bird and her egg.
It is a dark night. A snowy expanse of lawn with lights lining the walkways on either side leads to a tall tower of over 100 metres that is lit up with blue and white lights. It has a golden globe among spires at the top. If this were a movie, you would see the lights dancing across the tower, changing colours.
December 4, 2025 at 1:34 PM
connielavon.bsky.social
What a great story on the making of this famous image!
cdnhistoryehx.bsky.social Canadian History Ehx @cdnhistoryehx.bsky.social · 7d
It is one of the most iconic portraits of the 20th century.
The portrait has appeared on stamps and on the British £5 banknote.
And it was taken by Canada's greatest portrait photographer at Parliament Hill.
This is the story of The Roaring Lion.

🧵 1/8
Black and white portrait photograph of Winston Churchill wearing a dark suit with bow tie, pocket square, and pocket watch chain. He has a stern expression, looking directly at the camera, with dramatic lighting casting shadows on his face and the paneled background. Taken by Yousuf Karsh in 1941.
December 3, 2025 at 3:54 PM
connielavon.bsky.social
Counting the days until winter solstice!!!Qemqemó aka #mtogilvie
4:47 pm #moon #mountain #winter
In the lower left corner a snow topped pointy mountain rises above clouds. In the middle right a nearly full moon is slightly obscured by clouds
December 3, 2025 at 5:11 AM
connielavon.bsky.social
It’s been dreary and grey outside so how about a lovely double #columbine seen northeast of Merritt BC on a lovely July day? #wildflowers
Red and yellow flower wit yellow stamens nods from a stem.
November 28, 2025 at 1:25 PM
connielavon.bsky.social
My son is making comics again!
November 26, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Reposted by Connie LaVon D🍁
woodlandparkzoo.bsky.social
We have some exciting news! You can watch our own Paula MacKay and Dr. Robert Long on this week's episode of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Protecting the Wild. Get the scoop on what it was like on set: blog.zoo.org
Tune in to King 5 on Saturday, November 29 at 9:00am to watch the full episode!
Woodland Park Zoo Blog
A behind-the-scenes look at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo and its conservation, education and animal care mission.
blog.zoo.org
November 23, 2025 at 9:24 PM
connielavon.bsky.social
Looking back to another great hike! In 2007 @scottdenkers.bsky.social and I went #backpacking on the #skylineII trail in #manningparkbc with the amazing #hozomeenmountain as our backdrop. Maybe that’s when my fascination with this peak began! Image 4 by Scott
A man wearing a backpack hikes toward a mountain silhouetted against a blue sky with a few white clouds. The mountain has two rocky spires with snow on the closest one. The trail is along a meadow on a ridge with green plants and tall fir trees. A couple stands with their arms around each others shoulders in front of the same two peaks, now much closer behind them. A little bit of the blue backpack that the camera is resting on can be seen at the bottom of the photo. A small some tent is in a bare spot on a ridge with a view of the same mountain at sunrise. The clouds have slight pink and lavender tones. Tall firs edge the meadow. A woman stands with a lightly filled backpack since she is on a day hike from her camp. A dark rocky spire of a moi rain is behind her and a slope with patches of snow is on a closer ridge. She is wearing a baseball cap, khaki shirt and shorts with trail runners and has two trekking poles.
November 24, 2025 at 2:27 PM
connielavon.bsky.social
More amazing photos from @scottdenkers.bsky.social from our #birding trip to the #pantanal in August. These two were checking out a nesting site. Much luck to them! Such a privilege to see them in their natural habitat.
scottdenkers.bsky.social Scott @scottdenkers.bsky.social · 15d
Several #macaw species were seen on our recent trip to #Brazil, but they were a bit shy. Not surprising since they've been historically hunted for their feathers & illegal pet trade. The #Pantanal, in western Brazil, is the last stronghold of the endangered #HyacinthMacaw seen here. 🪶🌿 #avesbrasil
Profile of a large blue parrot with yellow-encircled eyes perched on the side of a tree. Close up of two large blue parrots with yellow-encircled eyes perching in a tree. One of the birds also shows a yellow patch at the base of its beak. Green leaves surround the parrots and partially obscure their bodies.
November 24, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Reposted by Connie LaVon D🍁
scottdenkers.bsky.social
Although threatened by habitat loss and illegal trapping, Brazil is still home to around 35 named parakeet species. On our recent trip to the country, my DW and I were delighted to spot several of these lovely birds, four of which are seen here (named in ALT text). #avesbrasil #brazilbirds 🇧🇷 🪶
Two Blue-crowned Parakeets next to each other on a tree branch looking like they're having a chat with each other. The birds are yellowish-green with barely visible blue tone on their heads just above their beaks. Their eyes are surrounded with a spectacle-like band of white. A Peach-fronted Parakeet on a tree branch in profile looking to the right. The bird shows green wings and a yellow body with green, yellow, blue and peach tones on its head just above the beak. Its visible eye is surrounded with a spectacle-like band of pale yellow. A Monk Parakeet on a diagonal shrub branch in profile looking to the left. The bird shows green wings and nape with a white throat and chest merging in colour to a pale yellow and then green into its tail. A Yellow-chevroned Parakeet on a diagonal shrub branch in profile looking to the left. The bird shows mostly green throughout with a hint of yellow below its wing. The bird is partially obscured by branches and leaves on its tail end.
November 20, 2025 at 8:34 PM
connielavon.bsky.social
The future of the earth depends on this.
manitoulinmagic.bsky.social Manitoulin Magic @manitoulinmagic.bsky.social · 17d
May we raise children who love the unloved things ...
#alphabetchallenge #weekUforUnloved #manitoulinmagic #love
November 23, 2025 at 3:14 PM
connielavon.bsky.social
This is fantastic!!!
November 23, 2025 at 3:12 PM
connielavon.bsky.social
Remembering 2016 when my son @tapirsmith.bsky.social and I went #backpacking near #shymbulak in the #zailiiskyalatau mountains near #almaty #kazakhstan. #grateful
Two people in baseball caps wearing backpacks stand on a ridge in front of a deep valley with tall snow-capped mountains on the far side. There are puffy white clouds in the sky. They are both smiling. A young man in a backpack stands next to a golden statue of Lenin on a mountainside next to an old ski hut. The building is painted blue and red. The young man is mimicking Lenin’s serious expression. Two people, a mother and a son stand on a ridge in their backpacks with a tall glacier capped mountain behind them. It is a sunny day with white puffy clouds in the sky. A small dome tent sits in a sunny meadow where a young man also sits with a cup in his hands. A tall mountain with small patches of snow is on the distance. A backpack is next to the tent.
November 23, 2025 at 2:56 PM
connielavon.bsky.social
The return of the #trumpeterswan! It’s that time of year when the trumpeter swans return to the Fraser Valley and hang out all winter in the corn fields. I was out 🦮 a few mornings ago and heard them as they flew over, honking away. Counted 70 in total. #birding #hopebc
23 silhouettes of swans in a V formation fly overhead against a cloudy sky.
November 20, 2025 at 2:59 PM
connielavon.bsky.social
This person is brilliant! I love Elle!
ellecordova.bsky.social Elle Cordova @ellecordova.bsky.social · 21d
Grammarian and Errorist are at it again! 🖊️
November 19, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Reposted by Connie LaVon D🍁
windbornesingers.bsky.social
Have you ever heard of wassailing? We love visiting traditions like these because they bring people together and strengthen communities, which is more important than ever this year. Sharing songs, finding joy, and caring for each other — will you sing with us?
🎶Malpas Wassail, from the Watersons
November 18, 2025 at 5:34 PM
connielavon.bsky.social
Before and after! #rocktumbling #beachrocks #florenciabay
23 rocks collected from the beach. Some are speckled, some have stripes. Some are vaguely green or gold and most are grey. They are beautiful and have a dull surface. The same 23 rocks collected from the beach. Some are speckled, some have stripes. Some are vaguely green or gold and most are grey. They are beautiful and have a shiny surface after 6 weeks of being tumbled with 3 different grits and a polish cycle. Several are visibly smaller.
November 17, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Reposted by Connie LaVon D🍁
windbornesingers.bsky.social
Where do we stand on the Boar’s Head Carol? Come find out during Music of Midwinter!
Windbornesingers.com/concerts
November 14, 2025 at 6:36 PM