iolanthe
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iolantherosa.bsky.social
iolanthe
@iolantherosa.bsky.social
920 followers 820 following 3.2K posts
Birder, artist, piano learner, cat lover. Veteran of 7 startups. California native, retired in Marin County. Atheist Jew.
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Reposted by iolanthe
joanmiro.bsky.social
Joy of a Girl in the Sun https://www.wikiart.org/en/joan-miro/not_detected_227980
Joy of a Girl in the Sun
December 7, 2025 at 3:33 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
Glad to see @sfchronicle.com has done away with Datebook and replaced it with an "Arts & Entertainment" section. The previous incarnation was a digital nightmare, eating up cookies, refusing to load, and providing paragraph-long urls that couldn't be copy and pasted for easy sharing.
December 7, 2025 at 3:05 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
#SundaySentence "We mortals, men and women, devour many a disappointment between breakfast and dinner-time; keep back the tears and look a little pale about the lips, and in answer to inquiries say, “Oh, nothing!” --George Eliot
An acrylic painting after Full Moon by the British artist Sir Norman Reid (1915-2007). It depicts 3 bare trees in the foreground, rolling English-style hilly famrland in warm yellows and greens, a line of dark mountains in the background, all under moonlit skies.
December 7, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Reposted by iolanthe
burrowingowl.bsky.social
Good morning! 🪶
Burrowing owlet standing on a hay bale.
December 7, 2025 at 1:00 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
My niece died 10 years ago at 22 of a blood cancer. Every Xmas and her bday, I make a card & a donation in her name to a charity she would like & send them off to her parents. She was a huge LOTR fan, so this year, I drew a Mallorn leaf brooch. It's nice to remember her in this way but so sad too.
A Mallorn leaf from Lord of the Rings; it's a 3-lobed leaf, with two short pointy lobes and long one in the center. The veins are silver and there is a stylized silver thread wrapped around it.
December 7, 2025 at 4:59 AM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
BLOL (Belly laugh out loud)
December 7, 2025 at 4:16 AM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
#ColorADay is #GreenSat What is could be nicer than all the different shades of green in a Green Heron? #Watercolor #InkAndWash #ArtYear
A pen and ink and watercolor of a green heron standing on a log preening itself. It's head is bent at a 90-degree angle to its body and it is inserting its bill into feathers on its back. The head is toped with a blue-green, its neck is chestnut, and its back is all different shades of green, from yellow-green, to teal, to turquoise, to forest green.
December 6, 2025 at 7:19 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
It was very foggy this morning at Lake Lagunitas, #Marin #California. See that little speck on the pipe? That's a Common Merganser.
A large expanse of gray, gradually shading from light at the top to dark at the bottom. The bottom 1/3 of the photo is divided by a long metal pipe, on which a small duck is seated.
December 6, 2025 at 6:55 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
I was rendered absolutely speechless by the sheer perfection of this #mushroom, which I am reliably informed is a Western Grisette (Amanita pachycolea), seen today at Lake Lagunitas #Marin #California #Fungus #Fungi
A long-stemmed mushroom emerging out of fresh green grass. The stem is beige and is topped by a flat, smooth, shiny umbrella with a finely serrated edge all the way around. It is in a misty forest setting, surrounded by bay trees and redwoods.
December 6, 2025 at 6:52 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
My friends, I am happy to announce that my iPhone password of 10 years standing, 111111, is no more! I finally put on my big girl pants and came up with a more complicated number. I hope everyone's happy. Gotta go, that new muscle memory isn't going to build itself.
December 6, 2025 at 4:35 AM
Reposted by iolanthe
westmarinfeed.bsky.social
Secret portals in Point Reyes tonight.
December 5, 2025 at 3:05 AM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
@robcrank68.bsky.social's #BirdOfTheDay today is #Black. But they're never *just* black, are they? Even the seemingly blackest raven has a sheen of iridescence in the right light, as this one does, photographed at Rodeo Lagoon. #Marin #California #GGNRA
A closeup of the head of a raven, looking left to right. Its feathers are quite fluffy its ruff luxurious. You can see notes of blue and purple throughout.
December 5, 2025 at 5:29 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
Friday is #Flyday! Here's an American White Pelican on its webbed tippy-toes just about to take flight. This is on "The Pipe" at the Las Gallinas Water Treatment facility #Marin #California 🪶
A white pelican with black-edged wings extended above its head, on its webbed tippy toes as it's just about to launch from a metal pipe in the middle of a body of green water. Its body is reflected in the water ripples in the foreground.
December 5, 2025 at 5:25 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
For #FishyFriday I have this lovely display from the Marché Bastille in Paris. Chinchard translates to "Horse Mackerel" or "Scad." I love how each has light pink glow.
A neat pile of small silver fish in a market stall with the merchant's sign labeled "Chinchard 5.99 euros" in the upper left corner. Each small fish has an element of pink iridescence.
December 5, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Reposted by iolanthe
yahiro-photograph.bsky.social
That moment when the shoebill gives you a smile… and you’re not sure if you should smile back.
#birds
A shoebill with its beak slightly open, appearing to give a mischievous smile as it looks toward the camera. Soft greenery surrounds the bird in the background.
December 4, 2025 at 2:58 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
I hereby petitition for a group of Black-necked Stilts to be deemed a "Ghibli of Stilts" 🪶
A tightly-packed grouping of Black-necked Stilts on a muddy shoreline next to a creek. Their long legs are bright pink and go all they way up. They have black bodies, white breasts, long thin black bills and thick white eyebrows. They are very cute.
December 4, 2025 at 4:57 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
Sunset yesterday was so gorgeous, I made the effort to catch #Sunrise this morning, and I was not disappointed! Larkspur #Marin #California
Fluorescent orange and purple clouds stretching to a vanishing point over Corte Madera Creek at high tide this morning.
December 3, 2025 at 3:47 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
Oof #SpotifyWrapped that hurt.
Screegrab from Spotify Wrapped summary indicating that my "listening age" is 89.
December 3, 2025 at 3:42 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
Am I just hungry or does this actually look like a bunch of sandwiches?
December 3, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Reposted by iolanthe
henrimatisse.bsky.social
Les Nymphes (The Nymphs) (plate, page 73) from Poésies (Poems), 1932
https://botfrens.com/collections/48/contents/1141592
The Louis E. Stern Collection
December 3, 2025 at 2:19 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
Banger of a #sunset happening out there 🌅 #Marin #California
A distant Mt Tamalpais silhouette under pink and purple skies over a tidal creek at sunset.
December 3, 2025 at 1:11 AM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
Oof this one is hard. My friend Jane loved her Irish Wolfhound, Arthur, above all things. They call these big dogs "heartbreak dogs" because of their short lifespans. Yet it was a shock when he crossed the rainbow bridge suddenly last week at the age of 6. RIP Arthur 💔 #Gouache #Watercolor #ArtYear
A painting of a grey Irish Wolfhound resting his head on a velvety red pillow and staring wistfully into the middle distance with chocolate brown eyes.
December 3, 2025 at 12:46 AM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
My husband made the most delicious potato-leek soup from @smittenkitchen.bsky.social. It was garnished with her suggested crispy potato peels, which were so clever and unexpectedly tasty. #Cooking
A bowl of creamy soup on a white oak table, seen from above, garnished with chives and long strands of crispy potato peel. Another bowl of soup, glasses of water and two bowls of chives and lemon in the background.
December 2, 2025 at 3:07 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
It's always fun to have two similar birds posed next to each other so you can see the differences. Here a Great Egret (yellow bill, black feet) next to a Snowy Egret (black bill, yellow feet) on Corte Madera Creek #Marin #California 🪶
A side view of two white egrets on split rail fencing. A larger Great Egret and a smaller Snowy Egret.
December 2, 2025 at 3:05 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
Look at the incredible crimson gills on this fish! (a salmon, I think) caught by a Harbor Seal on Corte Madera Creek #Marin #California yesterday. #MarineMammals
The head of a Harbor Seal emerging from green waters.In its mouth, the head of a very large fish, with crimson gills exposed.
December 2, 2025 at 3:02 PM