Kat Long
@katlong.bsky.social
19th-century Arctic enthusiast, currently writing a biography of polar pioneer William Scoresby, Jr. Former science editor at Mental Floss, now science journalist for hire
Visited a remnant of the last ice age in NE Illinois! Volo Bog is the southernmost open-water quaking bog in North America, created in a kettle hole left by a receding glacier about 10,000 years ago. Now a rare habitat for carnivorous plants!
November 13, 2025 at 12:40 AM
Visited a remnant of the last ice age in NE Illinois! Volo Bog is the southernmost open-water quaking bog in North America, created in a kettle hole left by a receding glacier about 10,000 years ago. Now a rare habitat for carnivorous plants!
John Playfair taught my biography subject #WilliamScoresbyJr in his natural history course at the U of Edinburgh in 1806—the epicenter of the Neptunism vs. Vulcanism geological debate. Scoresby leaned Neptunist! His notebook from Playfair's lectures (yes he misspelled Edinburgh on the cover):
November 1, 2025 at 1:49 PM
John Playfair taught my biography subject #WilliamScoresbyJr in his natural history course at the U of Edinburgh in 1806—the epicenter of the Neptunism vs. Vulcanism geological debate. Scoresby leaned Neptunist! His notebook from Playfair's lectures (yes he misspelled Edinburgh on the cover):
Senescence at Sugarloaf Mountain (near Comus, Md.)
October 26, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Senescence at Sugarloaf Mountain (near Comus, Md.)
Great Falls of the Potomac never gets old
August 23, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Great Falls of the Potomac never gets old
I HAVE GROWN TOMATOES IN MY GARDEN
July 23, 2025 at 6:01 PM
I HAVE GROWN TOMATOES IN MY GARDEN
One benefit of the daily thunderstorms and record humidity in D.C. this month is 🍄 Mushroom Mania 🍄 in my local woods! Please help ID. All taken today at Lake Needwood in Rockville, Md.
July 20, 2025 at 8:38 PM
One benefit of the daily thunderstorms and record humidity in D.C. this month is 🍄 Mushroom Mania 🍄 in my local woods! Please help ID. All taken today at Lake Needwood in Rockville, Md.
My sweetbay magnolia bought from Home Depot’s clearance shelf last fall is actually blooming! 🥹
May 30, 2025 at 9:12 PM
My sweetbay magnolia bought from Home Depot’s clearance shelf last fall is actually blooming! 🥹
A charming seal mask made of wood with a baleen halo and quill whiskers! 🦭 Crafted by an Inuit artist in Alaska in the 1800s for ceremonial dances. (Collection of/photo by the Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma)
March 20, 2025 at 9:42 PM
A charming seal mask made of wood with a baleen halo and quill whiskers! 🦭 Crafted by an Inuit artist in Alaska in the 1800s for ceremonial dances. (Collection of/photo by the Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma)
Hike #2 of my personal 52 Hikes in 2025 Challenge. Criteria: the hike has to be at least 1 mile, outside, and purposeful (wandering around the grocery store doesn’t count). Took advantage of the snow to try out my new poles
January 13, 2025 at 2:09 AM
Hike #2 of my personal 52 Hikes in 2025 Challenge. Criteria: the hike has to be at least 1 mile, outside, and purposeful (wandering around the grocery store doesn’t count). Took advantage of the snow to try out my new poles
New Year’s resolution: Share more of my adventures big and small! Today I’m in downtown D.C. to see “Paris 1874: the Impressionist Moment” at the National Gallery of Art. On the way in, this fountain, which I’ve seen countless times, suddenly resembled icebergs to me
January 4, 2025 at 4:20 PM
New Year’s resolution: Share more of my adventures big and small! Today I’m in downtown D.C. to see “Paris 1874: the Impressionist Moment” at the National Gallery of Art. On the way in, this fountain, which I’ve seen countless times, suddenly resembled icebergs to me