Laura Blanchard
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lblanchard.bsky.social
Laura Blanchard
@lblanchard.bsky.social
210 followers 300 following 240 posts
Retired. Consorts with librarians. Goes on stupid little daily walks. One husband, one [technically foster] cat. Lapsed Whovian, Tolkien nerd. Admirer of other people's gardens and plants. Lifelong Philadelphian except for some years spent in exile.
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lblanchard.bsky.social
Behold the Lemon Hill ginkgo. It shines like a beacon across the valley.
Picture of a tall ginkgo with golden leaves. Picture of a golden-leafed ginkgo and Lemon Hill Mansion, a country house built on a bluff overlooking the Schuylkill with an oval bay. It was built 1798-1800z Picture of leaf fall under the Lemon Hill ginkgo, a carpet of golden leaves. View of Lemon Hill Mansion and the ginkgo from the Faire Mount, site of the Philadelphia Art Museum (about a half mile away as the crow flies and a lot longer by automobile).
November 18, 2025 at 7:38 PM
lblanchard.bsky.social
Philadelphia ginkgos. I stalk them when the leaves turn. They went extinct in the Americas years ago but I’m glad they’re back.
The OG North American ginkgo, at Bartram’s Garden, Philadelphia. Planted 1785. Male. Quince Street, Philadelphia. Ginkgo, Lemon Hill Mansion, Philadelphia. Ginkgo, possibly the oldest female in North America, at Grumblethorpe in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia. Not my photograph but I have seen the tree.
November 18, 2025 at 12:15 AM
lblanchard.bsky.social
The news is dreadful and we all need a timeline cleanse. Please enjoy this photo of my next-door neighbor's seasonal decor.
Photo of a Philadelphia row house with seasonal flowers, pumpkins, a skeleton with glowing eyes, and inflatable purple tentacles.
October 24, 2025 at 12:13 AM
lblanchard.bsky.social
The site of the President's House at Independence Mall in Philadelphia foregrounds George Washington's nine slaves. Any bets on whether it survives the Administration's review for "disparaging content"? (The city has plans to ensure that this story remains told, whatever the Administration may do.)
Say their names: Austin, Paris, Hercules, Christopher Sheels, Richmond, Giles, Oney Judge, Moll, Joe. Photo of the names of these nine enslaved men and women engraved on a wall at the President's House site in Philadelphia. George Washington sent these people back to Mount Vernon every six months to sidestep the Pennsylvania law that would grant them their freedom after living here for six months. A view of the president's house site. The location of its walls and room divisions are delineated by brick benches and partitions or white inlays on the floor. "The Dirty Business of Slavery" -- descriptive panel with sections on the slave trade in the Americas, constitutional compromise, and the slave economy. The panel is illustrated with a map of the Americas and Africa showing the routes of the slave trade, a map of Philadelphia during the early republic, and a painting showing enslaved people maintaining their African customs. Descriptive panel telling the story of Oney Judge, an enslaved woman who planned her escape after hearing Martha Washington telling of her plan to give Oney to her granddaughter. Oney is pictured sitting on the floor sewing while Martha reads to two women in the next room. Oney was driven by a desire to learn to read and to learn about religion. The Washingtons pursued her relentlessly for years but never caught her.
September 10, 2025 at 3:47 PM
lblanchard.bsky.social
Screaming at my Congresscritters is a bit like screaming into the void but I am going to pick up the phone and share my opinions of the assault on mRNA vaccines. Enjoy this totally unrelated photo.
Photo of a young bullfrog and goldfish in a small community garden pond with floating log, lily pads, and duckweed
August 8, 2025 at 4:05 PM
lblanchard.bsky.social
This bus shelter Palantir ad has attracted some editorial comments. "We build to dominate," indeed...
Palantir bus shelter ad begins "a day of reckoning has arrived for the west" and ends "we build to dominate." Some wheat paste over the ad make editorial statements. Wheat paste over the Palantir ad reads "Ever wonder what you would have done during the rise of fascism? You're doing it right now."
July 25, 2025 at 4:28 PM
lblanchard.bsky.social
This is only the second time in a decade that the notoriously unreliable Hippeastrum mandonii has bloomed for me.
Closeup of two flowers of Hippeastrum mandonii, a species plant with spectacular deep red and green markings.
July 23, 2025 at 2:36 PM
lblanchard.bsky.social
Life imitates kitsch.
Photo of a sunflower plant whose blooms match the decorative sunflower-on-a-stick in the same planter.
July 13, 2025 at 12:45 PM
lblanchard.bsky.social
Did you admire the late Will Noel? Are you working on an open access project at a U.S. institution? @pacscl.org has an award that may interest you. Details here: pacscl.org/what-we-do/f...

(Silly picture of Will for attention)
The extremely nearsighted Will Noel removes his spectacles to contemplate a narwhal horn set in a jeweled hilt, inexplicably donated to the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts.
May 30, 2025 at 12:39 AM
lblanchard.bsky.social
In case you need a pause from doomscrolling…please enjoy this photo of two young squirrels hanging out on our back fence.

(No ALT text because I’ve just described the photo.)
May 16, 2025 at 3:43 PM
lblanchard.bsky.social
My favorite shot from yesterday’s MayDay protest…
Small cardboard figure of children’s book character Flat Stanley carrying signs reading “give us a living wage” and “human rights for all.”
May 2, 2025 at 12:23 PM
lblanchard.bsky.social
I'll bet you'd like some flower pictures...
Picture of pink and yellow nemesia and tall spikes of an unidentified lavender plant. Picture of a purple and white lobelia cultivar. Picture of a rose and white double-flowered columbine.
April 26, 2025 at 8:58 PM
lblanchard.bsky.social
Flat Stanley and I saw tulips at the Liberty Bell yesterday.
Picture of children's book character Flat Stanley at the Liberty Bell. Independence Hall and a bed of red and yellow tulips are visible through a window in the background.
April 24, 2025 at 8:33 PM
lblanchard.bsky.social
Tulip season in Philly. These were exquisite on Thursday. I hope they planted tulips by the Liberty Bell this year.
Photo of pink, red and variegated tulips and blue hyacinths at Dilworth Park, Philadelphia, with City Hall in the background.
April 19, 2025 at 12:40 PM
lblanchard.bsky.social
I have made my modest two-sided sign. I am packing my snacks and grabbing my Rollator. Granny is on the move!

America has no king. America needs no king.
Graphic for “No King!” rally, Independence Historical Park, Philadelphia. April 19, 2025, 12-3 pm.
April 19, 2025 at 12:35 PM
lblanchard.bsky.social
America has no king.
America needs no king.

April 19, 12-3, Independence Hall, Philadelphia — details at the link.

I am firing up the Rollator and packing a lunch on Saturday.

www.mobilize.us/indivisiblep...
April 19 “No King!” rally graphic.
April 16, 2025 at 3:22 PM
lblanchard.bsky.social
Take a break from doomscrolling to admire my volunteer hellebore. Lord knows we all need some moments of beauty these days.
Photo of a double white hellebore with ruffled inner petals and light freckling.
April 10, 2025 at 6:43 PM
lblanchard.bsky.social
Big crowd before the march. MUCH bigger crowd at the rally.
#handsoffphilly
Crowd in front of Philadelphia City Hall
April 5, 2025 at 5:50 PM
lblanchard.bsky.social
Nice day for a Rollator walk from City Hall to Independence Mall...
Graphic for HandsOff2025 protest. Saturday, April 5, 2025. The protest begins at noon at City Hall and continues with a march to Independence Hall and rally.
April 5, 2025 at 10:13 AM
lblanchard.bsky.social
Today in stress baking: raspberry springerle.
Picture of five pink springerle (molded cookies) on a plate — three with rose designs and two with Asian dragons.
April 3, 2025 at 9:14 PM
lblanchard.bsky.social
The closing of Macy's Center City and the potential loss of access to the Wanamaker Organ are breaking my heart.

There will be a full day of concerts tomorrow (3/22).
Picture of Macy's with a sad pile of mannequins in the foregrouns The Wanamaker Grand Court, with gilded organ case and Eagle statue. The bronze Wanamaker Eagle statue, with onlookers. Closeup of the Eagle's talons.
March 21, 2025 at 5:50 PM
lblanchard.bsky.social
Hey @lilredhen.bsky.social -- is this your calendar?
Photo of a Hudson Valley Seed bloom calendar.
March 8, 2025 at 2:53 PM
lblanchard.bsky.social
Will this do?
Photo of wild animal sculptures seated at a banquet table. Jennifer Designs, "Welcoming Wildlife Home." Best of Show - Floral, Philadelphia Flower Show.
March 3, 2025 at 7:02 AM
lblanchard.bsky.social
I love our Philadelphia Flower Show exhibitors!
An elaborate floral display by the American Institute of Floral Designers includes a “go Birds“ tribute to the Philadelphia Eagles football team.
February 28, 2025 at 7:33 PM
lblanchard.bsky.social
Flowery goodness from the Philadelphia Flower Show setup week. You are welcome for this timeline cleanse.
White columbines in the Entrance Garden of the Philadelphia Flower Show.
February 28, 2025 at 2:46 AM