Helene
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helene333.bsky.social
Helene
@helene333.bsky.social
290 followers 200 following 430 posts
Nature-loving Pagan cleric and sorcerix, reader of books, crafter of things, walker of dogs. Sociology PhD student and martial artist. Queer, genderqueer and autistic. She/they. www.woodlandspirituality.com
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helene333.bsky.social
Having to get out early means catching some morning mist in the hills before it burns off.
Photo of a wooded hilltop with the sun shining brightly above the trees. Below, wispy mist hangs over an area of grass and shrubs.
September 3, 2025 at 2:50 PM
helene333.bsky.social
Some days I, too, would like to just climb a tree and threaten to jab anyone who comes too close...
Photo of a porcupine partway up a tree trunk, looking at the camera with a halo of quills around its head.
September 2, 2025 at 8:02 PM
helene333.bsky.social
Sometimes owls look majestic and wise. Other times, they look like lumpy muppets.
Photo of a barred owl perched on a dead branch, with woods in the background. The owl is hunched over and looks like a round blob with another round blob for a head.
September 2, 2025 at 12:55 AM
helene333.bsky.social
Honey is here to sweeten up your scroll.
Photo of a brown, black and white mixed breed dog, sitting up against the back of a red couch. Her ears are back and she is looking at the camera with a sweet expression.
August 30, 2025 at 4:10 PM
helene333.bsky.social
Loved this retelling of Circe's story!
Photo of a paperback book lying on a wooden table. The book cover shows the stylized face of a woman in gold, looking directly out at the viewer. The title "Circe" is below that, with the author's name, Madeline Miller, and the words, "Author of The Song of Achilles."
August 24, 2025 at 1:45 PM
helene333.bsky.social
Beaming down.
Photo of sunlight beams streaming down through layers of cloud. An uneven line of trees makes a dark silhouette at the bottom of the picture.
August 15, 2025 at 10:11 AM
helene333.bsky.social
Because everything seems grim right now, and I need a bright reminder from before the air quality turned to shit from wildfire smoke, here is a picture of a tiger swallowtail absolutely stuffing itself into a purple hosta flower.

#photography #butterflies #nature
Photo of a black and yellow tiger swallowtail butterfly half visible after crawling deep into a purple flower on a hosta plant. There are many other purple flowers and green stems around it.
August 6, 2025 at 8:30 PM
helene333.bsky.social
Very glad I went ahead and bought all three Danielle Cain books by @margaret.bsky.social instead of just dipping my toe in with the first one. They're all quick reads and very hard to put down!
Photo of three paperback books by Margaret Killjoy, side by side on a dark wood background. The titles are: The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion, The Barrow Will Send What It May, and The Immortal Choir Holds Every Voice.
August 5, 2025 at 5:38 PM
helene333.bsky.social
I was doing a breathing practice related to Hekate while walking the dogs, and this little beauty of a garter snake crossed the road just ahead of us. Lovely little connection!
Photo of a small garter snake amid small rocks and dry leaves, facing the camera. Its body is curved around some of the rocks, and its head is held up with its tongue out to scent the air.
July 25, 2025 at 2:47 PM
helene333.bsky.social
Just finished reading Medea by Eilish Quin, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Retellings of myths always interest me! Though I was a bit surprised that, of all the deities that figured into the story, Hekate did not make an appearance.
Photo of the paperback edition of Medea, by Eilish Quin. The cover is primarily yellow, with an image of a woman in profile, a stern look on her face. She is gazing off to the right, and her long green hair appears to be blowing in a wind from behind her. At the bottom of the cover is a pot or cauldron with steam rising from it.
July 22, 2025 at 7:17 PM
helene333.bsky.social
Had a short vacation in Maine last week, and came across these modern petroglyphs at the Center Pond Preserve in Phippsburg, depicting local birds (and some dragonflies). Lovely nature art!
Photo of a large rock with a carving of a bird in flight on the end closest to the camera. Photo of a large rock with multiple carvings of birds along its length. Photo of a rock with a carving of a bird with a split tail in flight. Photo of a rock with a carving of a bird about to take flight from the top of a cattail.
July 21, 2025 at 9:26 PM
helene333.bsky.social
Fresh spiderweb beaded with dew after a foggy morning by the ocean. Sometimes beauty that might be overlooked becomes more visible when the conditions are right.
Photo of a spiderweb between the posts of a white-painted railing. Each strand is covered in tiny beads of water, clearly outlining the web and making it stand out against the green foliage behind it.
July 18, 2025 at 7:31 PM
helene333.bsky.social
A goldfinch on black-eyed susans? Nature's just showing off now...
Photo of a bright yellow and black goldfinch perched on a large black-eyed susan flower, which is also primarily yellow with red highlights. There are some smaller white daisies nearby, and green grass in the background.
July 11, 2025 at 1:46 PM
helene333.bsky.social
The play of water, stone and gravity.
Photo of water cascading over a rock face, with a fallen log visible at the bottom. The water falls in a series of sheets and trickles.
July 9, 2025 at 9:22 PM
helene333.bsky.social
Find your voice!
Photo of a swamp sparrow, beak open in song while perched on an old cattail with green grass in the background.
July 9, 2025 at 5:13 PM
helene333.bsky.social
Dogs are ridiculous.
Photo of two medium-sized, mostly brown dogs lying on a red couch and looking at the camera. They are both lying on their sides, and one has her head pillowed on the other dog.
July 8, 2025 at 8:13 PM
helene333.bsky.social
A glimpse of sky through the trees.

#nature #woods #photography
Photo of green trees with a jagged strip of sky visible between them. The sky is blue with thin layers of white clouds.
July 1, 2025 at 8:02 PM
helene333.bsky.social
Some days require the cuteness of a baby red squirrel on a tiny branch.

#wildlife #nature #woods #photography
Photo of a very small red squirrel with its tail held flat over its back, huddled on a tiny branch and looking down at the camera with big eyes.
June 22, 2025 at 3:44 PM
helene333.bsky.social
So excited to see this bobcat captured on a trail camera in daylight! That tree gets a lot of squirrel action, so I'm guessing that's why it keeps looking up--but it was also raining, so it may have been reacting to rustling sounds from that.

#trailcam #wildlife #bobcat #nature #woods #photography
June 18, 2025 at 4:11 PM
helene333.bsky.social
Sweet moments between a whitetail doe and her fawn yesterday.

#wildlife #nature #woods #deer #photography
June 8, 2025 at 12:19 PM
helene333.bsky.social
More babies coming to visit... Wood duck with four ducklings. (Not sure if this is the same family as last time, but if it is, there used to be nine.)

#wildlife #nature #pond #ducks #ducklings #birds #photography
June 1, 2025 at 4:11 PM
helene333.bsky.social
Well, it looks like our resident bear is a mama now! After the cub exits stage left, wait for a moment to see mama bear cross right in front of the camera.

#trailcam #wildlife #bears #blackbear #bearcub #nature #woods #photography
June 1, 2025 at 1:25 PM
helene333.bsky.social
Ok, this was neat! First, we have *two* flying squirrels, and second, I caught one of them gliding *backward* down the tree trunk on the right. I added a slo-mo clip of the gliding to make it a little clearer.

#trailcam #wildlife #nature #flyingsquirrel #woods #photography
May 28, 2025 at 6:02 PM
helene333.bsky.social
It was mid-afternoon, but this porcupine seemed groggy. I'm pretty sure it sneezes around the 20 second mark, then has a good scratch. In the second clip, it gives an enormous yawn as it's walking away.

#trailcam #wildlife #porcupine #nature #woods #photography
May 23, 2025 at 5:55 PM
helene333.bsky.social
Wood ducklings have arrived! Mom had an outing with NINE ducklings, one of the largest broods I've seen. So cute when they're this small.

#wildlife #nature #pond #ducks #woodducks #ducklings #birds #photography
May 19, 2025 at 6:34 PM