Debra Mihalic Staples
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dmihalicstaples.bsky.social
Debra Mihalic Staples
@dmihalicstaples.bsky.social
950 followers 1.3K following 140 posts
Writer, reader, hiker, kayaker, nature journaler, all at a leisurely pace. Words in Still: The Journal, High Country News, Wild Roof Journal, Gastropoda, South Carolina Wildlife, and elsewhere.
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A photo of oak leaves which the Seek app has mistakenly identified as a nine-banded armadillo
November 18, 2025 at 3:36 PM
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Y’all—northern lights down south, a few minutes ago.
Pink cloud against a dark sky—northern lights
November 12, 2025 at 4:04 AM
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Thanks for the “heads up”😄, saw just now from Canton.
Aurora, red cloud against dark sky
November 12, 2025 at 4:01 AM
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The Book of Atrix Wolfe remains one of my favorite novels, ever.
Image of the cover of the novel The Book of Atrix Wolfe by in B Patricia McKillip—a young woman is asleep on a field of intricate foliage and flowers.
November 6, 2025 at 9:03 PM
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I leaned in to smell a way-too-early jessamine bloom and nearly inhaled this small mantis.
Small mantis on green jessamine leaves with yellow flower bud behind it
November 6, 2025 at 6:49 PM
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Ghost pipes in a Southern Appalachian forest—usually these are a glassy-white, but this magenta color was eye-catching. #FlowerReport #Bloomscrolling
A group of seven bell-like flowers of varying height, on scaly stems, on a leafy woodland background. Ghost pipes do not photosynthesize; they don’t produce chlorophyl, so they aren’t green, but are pale magenta-to-white in color here. More commonly they are glassy white.
October 12, 2025 at 1:30 PM
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Brown sign with white letters reads “CAUTION Bears on Hiking Trails.” An inset diamond-shaped image with a yellow background shows silhouettes of a large bear walking on four feet, followed by a smaller bear walking on four feet.
October 10, 2025 at 8:39 PM
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A purple drink cup with a cotton zipped pouch resting against it. On the pouch is printed a conversation: Security Guard: Ma’am, you can’t bring outside drinks in here. Me: This is a service mimosa.
October 9, 2025 at 8:00 PM
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I celebrated the equinox early with a Sunday hike among the clouds on Black Balsam Knob in NC, one of the highest Appalachian balds.
A meadow with grasses and red and yellow flowers stretching toward slopes and higher mountain peaks, with the edge of a dirt trail and low cloud drifting out of left frame. The air smelled spicy-sweet from the flowers.
September 23, 2025 at 3:12 PM
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Beautyberry, soon to be bird buffet 🐦‍⬛
Branch with bright green toothed pointed oval leaves with clusters of small berries, ranging in color from bright green to light purple
September 4, 2025 at 2:33 PM
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Every summer solstice I photograph our pollinator garden to document the joy-giving persistence of these perennial native plants. Happy Solstice, y'all.
Purple coneflowers, pale purple stokesia, and gold coreopsis flowers, along with a bee-shaped sculpture made from horseshoes, against a weathered 3-board fence, with trees and meadow in the background.
June 20, 2025 at 6:48 PM
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Me, every morning since Wednesday, Nov. 6th:
Image is a line drawing of three children screaming, with the caption "A screaming song is good to know in case you need to scream" -- this is the first page of the children's book OPEN HOUSE FOR BUTTERFLIES by Ruth Krauss, pictures by Maurice Sendak.
November 11, 2024 at 12:42 AM