Kate Upsidebackwards
@upsidebackwards.bsky.social
Kiwi in Canberra, living on Ngunnawal Country. Maths, crafts, chocolate, Wellington Phoenix.
Reposted by Kate Upsidebackwards
High haze means we get a solar halo 😇
February 7, 2026 at 4:42 AM
High haze means we get a solar halo 😇
A pair of gang gangs just stopped briefly in my garden 🪶😍
They flew off too quickly for me to get a photo 😔
They flew off too quickly for me to get a photo 😔
February 6, 2026 at 9:46 PM
A pair of gang gangs just stopped briefly in my garden 🪶😍
They flew off too quickly for me to get a photo 😔
They flew off too quickly for me to get a photo 😔
Reposted by Kate Upsidebackwards
⚠️ New Covid variant. This damn virus has impressive tenacity. Be aware. Keep yourselves safe. Covid is not cold, and it has the persistence to cause long-term damage after initial symptoms have abated. Avoid it.
#CovidIsNotOver
#LongCovid
#CovidIsNotOver
#LongCovid
The new 'highly transmissible' COVID-19 variant: what Aussies need to know
NB.1.8.1, an Omicron sub-lineage, is now widespread across Australia. It is highly transmissible, spreads faster than earlier Omicron variants, has a shorter incubation period, and causes a sharp, stabbing sore throat early.
NB.1.8.1, an Omicron sub-lineage, is now widespread across Australia. It is highly transmissible, spreads faster than earlier Omicron variants, has a shorter incubation period, and causes a sharp, stabbing sore throat early.
February 5, 2026 at 6:29 AM
⚠️ New Covid variant. This damn virus has impressive tenacity. Be aware. Keep yourselves safe. Covid is not cold, and it has the persistence to cause long-term damage after initial symptoms have abated. Avoid it.
#CovidIsNotOver
#LongCovid
#CovidIsNotOver
#LongCovid
Reposted by Kate Upsidebackwards
‘Straya
Melody Wehipeihana was dropping her kids off at school when she pulled over to see what a crowd had gathered to look at in a puddle outside a Northern Territory pub.
Northern Territory mum wrangles crocodile during school drop-off
Melody Wehipeihana was dropping her kids off at school when she pulled over to see what a crowd had gathered to look at in a puddle outside a Northern Territory pub.
www.abc.net.au
February 4, 2026 at 9:02 PM
‘Straya
Reposted by Kate Upsidebackwards
I'll be doing a mini book tour this month to Kirikiriroa & Tāmaki Makaurau. If you come along, please say g'day.
21st: haftokk-premier.eventfinda.co.nz/2026/flower-...
24th: Devonport Library 7:30 pm
28th:
ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/events/2026/...
& later (May): Auckland Writers Festival.
21st: haftokk-premier.eventfinda.co.nz/2026/flower-...
24th: Devonport Library 7:30 pm
28th:
ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/events/2026/...
& later (May): Auckland Writers Festival.
Natural history of New Zealand flowers
Join author Phil Garnock-Jones for a talk about the wonderful world of NZ flowers, with plenty of time for Phil to answer your botanical questions.
ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
February 4, 2026 at 1:10 AM
I'll be doing a mini book tour this month to Kirikiriroa & Tāmaki Makaurau. If you come along, please say g'day.
21st: haftokk-premier.eventfinda.co.nz/2026/flower-...
24th: Devonport Library 7:30 pm
28th:
ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/events/2026/...
& later (May): Auckland Writers Festival.
21st: haftokk-premier.eventfinda.co.nz/2026/flower-...
24th: Devonport Library 7:30 pm
28th:
ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/events/2026/...
& later (May): Auckland Writers Festival.
OMG you guys we saw an Australian owlet nightjar! 🪶 On a night tour at the local wildlife reserve, the guide said there had been recent sightings but it's one of the rarest birds in Canberra.
February 3, 2026 at 12:09 PM
OMG you guys we saw an Australian owlet nightjar! 🪶 On a night tour at the local wildlife reserve, the guide said there had been recent sightings but it's one of the rarest birds in Canberra.
Just saw a female koel fly out of our garden with a whole cherry tomato in her beak.
She spent a while casing the joint. 🪶
She spent a while casing the joint. 🪶
February 2, 2026 at 7:43 AM
Just saw a female koel fly out of our garden with a whole cherry tomato in her beak.
She spent a while casing the joint. 🪶
She spent a while casing the joint. 🪶
We currently have a heat wave warning *and* a sheep grazier's warning! I guess the heatwave, when it breaks, will break hard.
February 1, 2026 at 12:30 AM
We currently have a heat wave warning *and* a sheep grazier's warning! I guess the heatwave, when it breaks, will break hard.
After so many still, silent days in the heatwave this is a joyous cacophony. Other birds are active too but the cockatoos drown them out 😂
So many hanging upside down, I wonder whether it's to wash in the rain? 🪶 (Sound on!)
So many hanging upside down, I wonder whether it's to wash in the rain? 🪶 (Sound on!)
January 31, 2026 at 10:29 PM
After so many still, silent days in the heatwave this is a joyous cacophony. Other birds are active too but the cockatoos drown them out 😂
So many hanging upside down, I wonder whether it's to wash in the rain? 🪶 (Sound on!)
So many hanging upside down, I wonder whether it's to wash in the rain? 🪶 (Sound on!)
Rain! 30° in the kitchen before 9am, but cooler outside and some rain
a woman in a pink dress is standing in front of a door and holding the handle .
ALT: a woman in a pink dress is standing in front of a door and holding the handle .
media.tenor.com
January 31, 2026 at 10:08 PM
Rain! 30° in the kitchen before 9am, but cooler outside and some rain
I kind of want a storm because it will feel like a break from the heat, but realistically I know it will still be very hot and after a storm it will be hot and HUMID 🥵
Storm not due till 2am!
January 31, 2026 at 11:59 AM
I kind of want a storm because it will feel like a break from the heat, but realistically I know it will still be very hot and after a storm it will be hot and HUMID 🥵
29° before 9.30am. Stay safe Canberra! (And other hot places too)
January 30, 2026 at 10:23 PM
29° before 9.30am. Stay safe Canberra! (And other hot places too)
The Race Talk | Leensaa Jarso | TEDxCanberra Youth
YouTube video by TEDx Talks
youtu.be
January 30, 2026 at 7:31 PM
Just left the office to head home (it's Friday, plus @wgtnphoenixfc.bsky.social have a game in 30 min). It's 40° and breezy...
a cartoon of bart simpson in a bathroom with a purple tile wall
ALT: a cartoon of bart simpson in a bathroom with a purple tile wall
media.tenor.com
January 30, 2026 at 5:31 AM
Just left the office to head home (it's Friday, plus @wgtnphoenixfc.bsky.social have a game in 30 min). It's 40° and breezy...
It's "only" 32° at the moment, nearly 10° cooler than yesterday, but we're all scratchy and ill-slept and lethargic. No one can think of something that appeals to eat for dinner, and certainly no one wants to cook.
Forecast says 41° tomorrow and 40° on Saturday 😭
Forecast says 41° tomorrow and 40° on Saturday 😭
January 29, 2026 at 6:20 AM
It's "only" 32° at the moment, nearly 10° cooler than yesterday, but we're all scratchy and ill-slept and lethargic. No one can think of something that appeals to eat for dinner, and certainly no one wants to cook.
Forecast says 41° tomorrow and 40° on Saturday 😭
Forecast says 41° tomorrow and 40° on Saturday 😭
Just heard another Canberra local refer to "acorn trees". It seems to be a local quirk. A colleague said something about an acorn tree to me a while ago and I said "you mean an oak?", she thought an oak tree was a different thing (it's not, Canberra's "acorn trees" are definitely oaks).
January 28, 2026 at 8:57 PM
Just heard another Canberra local refer to "acorn trees". It seems to be a local quirk. A colleague said something about an acorn tree to me a while ago and I said "you mean an oak?", she thought an oak tree was a different thing (it's not, Canberra's "acorn trees" are definitely oaks).
Sure, it's cooled down outside to 25° by 10.45pm, but despite my best efforts it's still 27° in the house which is too hot for sleeping 😥 #heatwave
January 28, 2026 at 11:47 AM
Sure, it's cooled down outside to 25° by 10.45pm, but despite my best efforts it's still 27° in the house which is too hot for sleeping 😥 #heatwave
Still warming up 🥵
January 28, 2026 at 2:13 AM
Still warming up 🥵
Reposted by Kate Upsidebackwards
A reminder: heatwaves like we're experiencing in Australia this summer are life-threatening! Yes, that is true. Bear that in mind as you go about your day. Keep cool. Drink water. Don't exercise in the heat. 🥵
January 27, 2026 at 9:24 PM
A reminder: heatwaves like we're experiencing in Australia this summer are life-threatening! Yes, that is true. Bear that in mind as you go about your day. Keep cool. Drink water. Don't exercise in the heat. 🥵
Guy at the Australia Day concert is singing Six Months in a Leaky Boat and the mic died just as he was about to sing "Aotearoa" 😂
January 26, 2026 at 8:57 AM
Guy at the Australia Day concert is singing Six Months in a Leaky Boat and the mic died just as he was about to sing "Aotearoa" 😂
Baby galahs are really irritating 😂 🪶 (sound up for the full experience)
January 26, 2026 at 3:30 AM
Baby galahs are really irritating 😂 🪶 (sound up for the full experience)
Reposted by Kate Upsidebackwards
thespinoff.co.nz/society/26-0... This article refers to shorts as skivvies several times. I've never seen that usage in NZ; a skivvy is a long-sleeved turtle-neck top.
You can spot a NZ hiker by their shorts. Here’s why we won’t don trousers
Even in the dead of winter, New Zealanders refuse to wear trousers to hike – and there’s practical and historical reasons as to why.
thespinoff.co.nz
January 26, 2026 at 3:06 AM
thespinoff.co.nz/society/26-0... This article refers to shorts as skivvies several times. I've never seen that usage in NZ; a skivvy is a long-sleeved turtle-neck top.
Reposted by Kate Upsidebackwards
Severe heatwave again today in Canberra - 39°C - and many other places in south-east Australia. Keep cool. Drink water. Heatstroke is dangerous. Equally important, be bushfire alert and ready.
January 24, 2026 at 11:12 PM
Severe heatwave again today in Canberra - 39°C - and many other places in south-east Australia. Keep cool. Drink water. Heatstroke is dangerous. Equally important, be bushfire alert and ready.