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julieinthewoods.bsky.social
@julieinthewoods.bsky.social
480 followers 1.3K following 850 posts
Neurodivergent RN, wife, mom, science nerd, manic pixie forest crone.
Homeschooler, but believes in kids’ rights and teaches about things like Black and Indigenous history and lots of science, so kind of a lonely homeschooler.
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julieinthewoods.bsky.social
Here’s the recipe my daughter uses, from Pinch of Soul with her additions noted.
Recipe for Soul Food Baked Macaroni and Cheese from Pinch of Soul Cooking, with “mustard powder, smoked paprika, nutmeg, worstecheire? sauce, cayenne (tiny bit) written in the margin. Recipe for Soul Food Baked Macaroni and Cheese from Pinch of Soul Cooking, page 2.
December 2, 2025 at 2:35 AM
julieinthewoods.bsky.social
We’ve all seen Surprised Pikachu, my kids were taking photos of the dog and sent me Surprised Honey.
A blurry photo of a surprised looking Siberian Husky. Her ears are perked up, her eyes are wide, and her mouth is partly open with her bottom teeth showing. She’s on her back and you can see her purple harness. She’s a big floof and looks like she’s imitating the Surprised Pikachu meme.
September 27, 2025 at 12:24 AM
julieinthewoods.bsky.social
Judging us all.
A Siberian Husky’s face, close up. Her face is mostly white with gray and black towards her ears, which are perked up. She has one blue eye and one brown eye.
September 13, 2025 at 1:47 AM
julieinthewoods.bsky.social
“Lady, why are you following me?”
🐍 Eastern Ratsnake (or Central Ratsnake, either way Pantheropsis Alleghaniensis), Northern VA.
Close up of an Eastern Ratsnake in the grass/weeds. It is mostly black, but its underside is whitish and towards its back you can still see some of its juvenile pattern.
August 29, 2025 at 7:15 PM
julieinthewoods.bsky.social
I looked out the window and this guy was just looking at me.
A white-tailed deer standing in a patch of overgrown weeds, looking towards the camera. He has small antlers on his left side, but hardly any on his right side.
August 16, 2025 at 3:49 PM
julieinthewoods.bsky.social
This little toad and I startled each other when I dumped it out along with some potting soil it had been hanging out in. 🐸
A light greenish-brown American toad with small brown spots is sort of semi-burrowed into potting soil. In my anthropormorphizing mind, it looks annoyed because it’s visible eye is partially open as if it is frowning or giving a side-eye; also because it was just unceremoniously dumped out of its cozy little hiding place in a potting soil bag into a pot.
August 10, 2025 at 10:46 PM
julieinthewoods.bsky.social
I feel like they are maybe a bit more muppet. Or maybe mine’s just weirder than usual.
A mostly white Siberian Husky with gray on her back and around her ears is stretched out on her back. Her upside-down face is pointing towards the lower left, her front paws are pointing kind of up and out, her fuzzy belly is stretched out, and her far back leg is up while her nearer one is stretched out kind of making a C towards her head (in a most unladylike manner). There’s a bone-shaped chew toy right by her nose. She looks contorted and uncomfortable, but she sleeps like this all the time.
August 1, 2025 at 12:56 AM
julieinthewoods.bsky.social
Found an Eastern Box Turtle in the yard! I wonder if maybe juvenile? Pretty small compared to one that we used to see quite a bit. #herps
Close up of a box turtle is in a weedy area. It is facing the lower left, with its head mostly out. It has grass clippings and maybe some duckweed on its coppery and brown shell.
July 24, 2025 at 8:40 PM
julieinthewoods.bsky.social
Caught and released! Pretty sure this is a vole now that I’ve gotten a closer look at it, but happy to be corrected if someone wiser comes along.
A small, gray rodent sits beside a fallen branch and some green leaves which are sprouting up through brown leaf litter. The rodent (I think it is a vole) has tiny ears, shiny dark eyes, a round body, and thin tail. It’s a very adorable little guy, despite startling me twice in my house today.
July 21, 2025 at 2:00 AM
julieinthewoods.bsky.social
After the adventure with the Dekays, we went to visit my mom. As we were leaving, I noticed something above the shutters by her door…
An Eastern Ratsnake, a black snake with a white underside, is curled up and kind of hanging over a black shutter against white siding.
July 16, 2025 at 3:29 AM
julieinthewoods.bsky.social
I was a little worried because of what looked like a possible injury or stuck shed, so it spent the night in a quiet, dark tote with damp paper towels and we took a trip to the wildlife rehab center the next day. With the okay from the vet it got released back into my garden (reluctantly).
The same little Dekays in the corner of an open upended plastic shoebox tote. The tote is sitting in leaf litter and plants, I think mostly hellebores. It did not seem to want to be released!
July 16, 2025 at 3:29 AM
julieinthewoods.bsky.social
Happy #WorldSnakeDay! Thia time last year I was having quite a snakey few days. Around 10:30 one night one of my kids said “hey Mama, there’s a snake in the family room” and there was this little guy.
A tiny Dekays Brownsnake is curled up in the palm of my hand.
July 16, 2025 at 3:29 AM
julieinthewoods.bsky.social
I can’t reach shelves, do have a tall husband but 100% would rather rely on this than a whiny manchild.
A metal three-step stepladder, perfect for reaching high shelves in the kitchen, leaning against a light wood-looking cabinet.
July 9, 2025 at 5:20 PM
julieinthewoods.bsky.social
They are tiny, and almost as good as the ones I grew last summer!
In my hand there’s a little tomato-shaped container of tiny red, yellow, and orange “Sprinkles” tomatoes.
June 30, 2025 at 7:42 PM
julieinthewoods.bsky.social
Could this be what you are seeing?
Screenshot from PulsePoint app, Structure Fire Seaton Pl NW, Washington DC. Lists Fire & Rescue units assigned to call.
June 11, 2025 at 7:14 PM
julieinthewoods.bsky.social
Not exactly the same, but I got this in a homeschool material ad email recently. It feels like it should be from the same era as that book, but it’s current because body shaming, narrow standards of gender expression, and the patriarchy are still kicking just as hard today.
Screenshot that says “God’s Girls Beauty Secrets Bible Study is packed with photos, tips, and help to make your loveliness shine! Explore God’s Written Word to inspire young women of all ages to be beautiful inside and outside, enjoy these tips for healthy eating, exercise, clothing, makeup, skin care, and hair care, this beauty guide will help you look pretty on the outside while you grow lovelier on the inside.”
June 3, 2025 at 2:38 PM
julieinthewoods.bsky.social
One good thing about my dog is that she has facial expressions that match my moods. Today is just one of those days where I can’t get it together, feel annoyed and stupid, and am wondering what, exactly, it is that I am doing with this one wild and precious life.
A close up photo of a Siberian Husky with a white face that gets gray towards her ears. She is lying on the floor. Her eyes are partially closed, and she looks like she is frowning. To me, her expression looks tired, wary, and like she is mildly disappointed or puzzled.
May 31, 2025 at 6:34 PM
julieinthewoods.bsky.social
My #10MinMerlin this morning, in Fairfax County VA.
List of birds heard by the Merlin app: American Goldfinch Red-eyed Vireo Northern Mockingbird American Robin Carolina Chickadee Great Crested Flycatcher Swainson’s Thrush List of birds heard by the Merlin app: Swainson’s Thrush House Sparrow Orchard Oriole House Finch Carolina Wren Chimney Swift Northern Parula List of birds heard by the Merlin app: White-breasted Nuthatch Common Grackle Gray Catbird Tufted Titmouse Northern Cardinal
May 5, 2025 at 10:19 AM
julieinthewoods.bsky.social
I sure do wish this yawning floofy dork would let me go to sleep. I don’t know if she hears a fox or coyote or something, or is just in a snuggly mood, but she keeps howling at me every time I try to go to bed.
A very fluffy, furry gray and white Siberian Husky is yawning with her eyes closed. Her ears are up very alert though. She’s laying down on a brown rug. In the background there’s a steam carpet cleaner on its side that I have been trying to fix for a couple days.
May 3, 2025 at 3:50 AM
julieinthewoods.bsky.social
I’ve been worried because I did not see many snakes in my yard last year, and haven’t found any yet this year. Relieved to find this in some dogwood branches, just because I don’t see them does not mean they are not around. I’m guessing maybe Eastern Ratsnake since it was up in a tree?
#herps
A snake skin is stretched out along a retaining wall, it’s about 1.5 meters long. There are rocks to the left of the wall, with a pink flamingo lawn decoration (either named Pinky or Bob by my kids) leaning all wonkyon the wall, and to the right are stepping stones surrounded by dandelions and other weeds.
April 26, 2025 at 8:00 PM
julieinthewoods.bsky.social
I did #10MinMerlin today in Fairfax Co. VA, it was around noon. I’m going to try to remember to do it earlier in the morning over the weekend. I had forgotten what a great app Merlin is!
List of birds with thumbnail photos identified by song from the Merlin app: Blue Jay (majestic royal blue bird with lighter blue chin and chest, and lighter and black markings) Carolina Wren (roundish brown bird) Northern Cardinal (bright red bird) Red-winged Blackbird (black bird with a small round head and bright red and yellow wing) Carolina Chickadee (round, floofy-looking gray bird with a lighter band then black top of its head) American Crow (shiny, black bird-looks like it is pondering embarking on a mystical journey to me) List of birds identified by Merlin app with thumbnail photos: Dark-eyed Junco (a small, roundish silvery gray bird, lighter on the lower thirdof its body) American Robin (Gray bird with darker head and an orange-red breast) House Finch (gray bird with a lot of reddish feathers mixed in, more red towards its head and breast)
April 4, 2025 at 12:15 AM
julieinthewoods.bsky.social
It is rather ominous here too, and it matches my mood.
A moody, ominously storm-cloudy sky above budding trees. A wooden playhouse is in lhe lower left corner.
March 31, 2025 at 10:55 PM
julieinthewoods.bsky.social
And a Woodland Box Turtle.
A box turtle on the edge of a driveway next to grass. The turtle’s head is extended. Its shell is dark brown with a golden yellow pattern.
January 19, 2025 at 3:41 AM
julieinthewoods.bsky.social
Hello! Here are some neighbors I’ve met over the last several years.
An Eastern Milksnake that was found on a neighbor’s glue trap. Its body is white with red saddle-shaped markings outlined in black, and is probably the most beautiful and vibrantly colored snake I’ve ever seen! It is small, and in a plastic tote. My daughter and I freed it and got it checked over by a wildlife vet as soon as we could, and it was promptly released back into the woods nearby. Little Mole Kingsnake in the palm of my daughter’s hand, she was showing it to her sisters. The snake is a medium brown with darker brown markings, and is kind of curled up. Mole Kingsnake in rocky soil. It looks almost silvery brown in this photo, with darker brown markings. Very derpy looking Eastern Ratsnake in the grass, with its head up and its tongue flicking out. It’s a black snake with a white underside.
January 19, 2025 at 3:35 AM
julieinthewoods.bsky.social
Waiting for warmer days.
A ring of rocks in grass surrounding white dogwood flowers, dandelions, buttercups, a few orange pebbles, and little red and white ceramic mushrooms from a fairy garden. This is what happens when we do our homeschooling outside, my kids end up creating little portals to try to summon the woodland fae. Photo from last summer.
January 17, 2025 at 6:44 PM