Melinda Roy
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melindaroy.bsky.social
Melinda Roy
@melindaroy.bsky.social
120 followers 200 following 65 posts
Queer neurodivergent nature nerd and writer.
Writing appears in: The Malahat Review, filling station, untethered, Thimbleberry, Ex-Puritan, and others. Data analyst (citizen science and Higher Ed). Opinions my own.
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melindaroy.bsky.social
The whole piece:
The work from a distance, hanging from the ceiling cats reflections on the box on the floor below and the mounting hardware above. It is at the centre of the art gallery.
May 9, 2025 at 5:44 AM
melindaroy.bsky.social
Artist: Arezou Moeini
Installed at Two Rivers Art Gallery, a 3D representation of a 2d motif of the eight-pointed star a motif often seen in Iranian tiles and mosaics. Look for the star in the gaps as the video rotates.
May 9, 2025 at 5:42 AM
melindaroy.bsky.social
I was in a hurry yesterday when I saw this friend. Had I known what I was looking at, I’d have taken a better picture of their face, which is noteworthily proud for a #moth. Brown-tipped Thorn.
Good day, sir. 🎩🫡 🦋🌿🍂
#lepidoptera
#insect
Brown and cream coloured moth resting on pavement. The pavement has a green sheen from moss/lichen starting to form, and a brown slat fence is in the background. The moths wings have two main dark brown vertical stripes in the middle, with rusty and dirty yellow coloured patches. The wing edges are ruffled, and its body has definitive lines where the segments of the abdomen. It is facing away by from the camera, but its hairy antennae is just visible curving over its thorax. Its legs have two spines/spikes at the tibia-tarsomere joint. A quick internet search says it eats mainly willow, oak, hazel, and paper birch leaves, and of those in this location, oak is the main available plant.
April 21, 2025 at 3:40 PM
melindaroy.bsky.social
Today’s winged thing: Echo Azure #butterfly on a dead fern 🦋🌿
Echo Azure, a small pale blue butterfly with black spots and small chevrons on its underwings, tucked itself into a dead fern and ocean spray plant. Echo Azure, a small pale blue butterfly with wings open, topside is silvery-purpley blue with dark line and white rimming the edges of the doors wing. It’s antennae are black and white striped, and it has a fuzzy blue body. It is sitting on a dead fern, with the background of the photo mottled green and black.
April 20, 2025 at 2:56 AM
melindaroy.bsky.social
Today’s bird is a female Red-winged Blackbird, who was too busy nest building to sit still for long. 🪶🌿
Female red-winged blackbird, brown and cream stripes with a white eyebrow and pale orange chin, takes off from a dry rush stem in a shallow marsh. Her wings are open and moving but feet haven’t let go of the rush yet. In the background the still marsh water reflects the green of new leaves from the trees on the far bank.
April 18, 2025 at 7:23 PM
melindaroy.bsky.social
Spotted these busy ants carrying a caterpillar this morning.

#ants
#caterpillar
🌿
A black carpenter ant is backing over a blade of grass with the back end of a brown and black striped caterpillar in its pincers, while another ant adjusts its hold on the front end. There is morning dew left on the grass and juniper haircap moss. A black carpenter ant is walking backwards in the grass, tugging at the just-visible end of a brown and black caterpillar. A caterpillar is curling up while a black ant stands on some moss above it and adjusts its grip on it. If you zoom in you can see the caterpillar feet. A black carpenter ant adjusts its hold on a caterpillar by standing on the caterpillars underside, the caterpillar has its back up against a blade of grass.
April 5, 2025 at 11:15 PM
melindaroy.bsky.social
It’s the season where my depression starts to lift, hopefully. These delicate ground facing fawn lilies don’t last long but are out in numbers under seaside Garry Oaks.

It takes them 7 years to bloom, please don’t trample them, or let your dogs trample them.
giant fawn lily, a white star shaped flower that faces the ground, its petals curving like the start of a spiral, against a mossy foreground a field of giant fawn lilies
April 2, 2025 at 3:23 PM
melindaroy.bsky.social
Living my dream life, saving newts in the dark. 🦎🔦
A woman in a green toque, brown ball cap, yellow rain jacket with the hood up, a high-vis vest, and black rain pants is looking down at a arough-skinned newt she is holding in her left palm and a flashlight in her right. You can just see her smile from under the brim of her hat. She is standing in the dark, on a wet paved road.
March 28, 2025 at 1:55 AM
melindaroy.bsky.social
Western Toad in the road! Watch where you’re driving especially on wet warm nights, as amphibians of all sorts are travelling to their breeding grounds. Western toads don’t mature to breeding age until they are 6 years old, and are endangered in British Columbia.
March 27, 2025 at 5:12 AM
melindaroy.bsky.social
New tiniest frog I’ve ever seen:
A dime-sized Pacific Chorus Frog on a human palm (not a palm tree), frog is shiny and bright green, it’s toes are almost translucent.
March 27, 2025 at 5:03 AM
melindaroy.bsky.social
The tiniest frog I’ve ever seen
#PacificChorusFrog
Green coloured Pacific Chorus Frog with dark copper stripe up the centre of its back and hind legs, on a cement road next to my pointer finger. The frog is about as long as my finger tip to first knuckle, and the same width. Likely migrating to a nearby breeding as the chorus was loud tonight.
March 25, 2025 at 6:58 AM
melindaroy.bsky.social
It’s Salamander season! What a perfect rainy day. 🦎🌧️
Rough skinned Newt with bumpy shiny skin sitting in a pile of cedar, leaf, and fern litter. Its tail is curved in a S shape and a small opaque-yellowish spider is crawling over the tail. The salamander is looking pudgy, possibly gearing up to lay eggs? Western Red-backed Salamander, dark grey with an orange streak running down its body from top of head to tail. It’s sitting mostly in a straight line, on top of mud and old leaf litter. Long-toed Salamander, dark grey with yellow streak running down its neck to top of tail. Its head has yellow freckles, and its grey sides are also speckled with yellow. If you zoom in on the front right foot and back left foot you can see its long toed, which are also grey and speckled with yellow. It is sitting on a collection of rotted cedar, fern, and leaf litter with little pools of water surrounding it.
March 16, 2025 at 1:01 AM
melindaroy.bsky.social
A friend who just had life-affirming surgery who thinks they’re “not good with poetry” and that “they don’t understand it” asked if I’d read a poetry book with them and discuss why I like it. I suggested Why I Was Late by @sawpoet.bsky.social, in hopes this message is will also be true for them.
Title page of Why I Was Late, signed by author with inscription “Melinda, May this book bring you moments of knowing you are not alone. 🧡 Charlie”. From the side of the book two orange post-it notes stick out where I’ve marked favourites. Cover of Charlie Petch’s Why I Was Late book, has a black background with various art scattered on it including: two wrestlers on neon pink, green and blue, a pop tart, rings, bra, jeans, a praying mantis, lead, wrench, kazoo, saw, bloody bandaid (gross), dog, comb, hand, etc.
March 7, 2025 at 5:09 PM
melindaroy.bsky.social
It is definitely multiple critters, here is a single one, if you zoom in it is spider-like. It is missing many of the telltale signs of a nudi like no rhinophores.
March 3, 2025 at 2:23 PM
melindaroy.bsky.social
Mites of some kind? In a tide pool. #VancouverIsland #FieldNaturalist #Bugs #iNaturalist
#needsID www.inaturalist.org/observations...
March 3, 2025 at 12:32 AM
melindaroy.bsky.social
Common Nighthawk, Dinosaur Park Alberta from August 2024. I watched this bird land while attending a presentation on snakes, and at the intermission ran to grab my camera to make sure I could document it. It’s the only time I’ve ever seen a Nighthawk not in flight!
#birding #birdwatching
A medium-sized brown bird with a short pointed beak white markings on its folded wings roosts on a bare branch of an old willow tree, framed by green leaves against a white clouded sky.
February 16, 2025 at 2:56 AM
melindaroy.bsky.social
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet in Salal
#birding
A Ruby-Crowned Kinglet peeks at the camera through a dense thicket of Salal. His red crown is tucked in but just a skiff of it is visible.
February 5, 2025 at 3:20 PM
melindaroy.bsky.social
#addBirder may as well get on the Birds feed since I spend all my scroll time there anyway 🙂 busy little Golden-crowned Kinglet
A lateral view of Golden-crowned Kinglet from the back, where his golden crown is a thick bright line between his black cap stripes. He is looking for bugs on a mossy tree trunk. In the foreground, another tree trunk catches the sun.
February 4, 2025 at 5:17 AM
melindaroy.bsky.social
A very bold Bohemian Waxwing, PNW.
#Birds
#BirdPhotography
A Bohemian waxwing sits on a thin branch weighed down with red berries still shining from melting snow. The bird is looking down at the camera, curious, and his yellow tail tips are just visible behind the branch. A Bohemian waxwing sits in profile, his crest just starting to rise. He is on a thin branch weighed down with red berries still shining from melting snow. The birdyellow tail tips are just visible behind the branch. A Bohemian waxwing is in the process of swallowing a large dark red berry twice the size of its eye. The bird is weighing down the branch, some berries still have raindrops on them.
February 3, 2025 at 5:21 AM
melindaroy.bsky.social
Today’s #Fungi
Some king of urnula?
Black cup-shaped fungus with fuzzy-looking grey exterior and black insides. Located in the ground, surrounded by cedar branches, moss, and rocks Black cup-shaped fungus with fuzzy-looking grey exterior and black insides. Located in the ground, surrounded by cedar branches, moss, and rocks
February 2, 2025 at 5:33 AM
melindaroy.bsky.social
Melissa Blue Butterfly on Alfalfa plant, Alberta.

#lepidoptera #MelissaBlue #Arthropod #Insect
January 28, 2025 at 2:55 AM
melindaroy.bsky.social
Oceanspray Fairy Moth!
#Lepidoptera
January 22, 2025 at 4:57 PM
melindaroy.bsky.social
Fiction reading for indoor cat.
Short haired tabby with grey orange markings sits on a plaid blanket with The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Fishes, Whales & Dolphins tucked under her front paws.
January 20, 2025 at 4:41 AM
melindaroy.bsky.social
Is this Turkey Tail? #Fungi
January 20, 2025 at 3:56 AM
melindaroy.bsky.social
Skunk cabbage meadows require swamps! They’re home to newts, salamanders and much much more!
January 18, 2025 at 5:51 PM