Nice patch of dodder (Cuscuta sp.) at the restored meadow in the Crum Woods (Swarthmore College). No flowers yet so species ID is hopeless. #swarthmore #dodder #parasite #parasitic #botany #plants #cuscuta #nature #vines #convolvulaceae #ricohgriiix

I think I showed great restraint not coming back with a Sharpie and editing this recipe. #guacamole #avocados #recipe #cooking #food #swarthmore

There's a guy down the street who smoothed out his sidewalk last year by first cutting away the roots of a massive oak that had caused it to buckle. I instantly knew it was going to die. Now we wait for a storm to bring it down onto the power lines below. #swarthmore #oak #trees #sidewalks #pruning #roots #arborists #peco

I inspected all the containers that accumulated water during last week's steady rain. Every single one had a thriving population of mosquito larvae. I wish our town sent out regular reminders to residents to dump stagnant water. Would make a huge difference. #mosquitoes #insects #swarthmore #delco #pennsylvania #rain #water #aedes

My 10x25' plot at the community garden. Currently 2 rows of fava beans, 3 rows of carrots, 4 rows of shelling peas, and 10 tomatoes. Central portion covered with bird netting to keep out the birds and the squirrels. #CommunityGarden #GrowYourOwn #allotment #garden #gardening #swarthmore #peas #fava #tomatoes

Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis) doing its strange cauliflory thing. I planted three in my front yard and for the next several weeks people will stop in awe and ask what species it is. When possible, I try to have small potted seedlings on hand to give to them. #trees #swarthmore #redbud #fabaceae #botany #cercis #cauliflory

Here's my 10 x 25' plot at the community garden. To keep the birds off my peas and the squirrels off my tomatoes I've draped netting over the center portion that contains trellises made of concrete reinforcement panels. #garden #gardening #allotment #fence #peas #tomatoes #swarthmore #GrowYourOwn #VerticalGardening

Last fall I pruned off several dozen stem segments from my fig tree and crammed them into a bin of wet soil in my basement. Now they are starting to produce roots and I'm potting them up as gifts to friends in town. #figs #gardening #propagation #plants #fruit #ficus #swarthmore

The cheesemonger at my town's grocery store is clearly a cat fan. No other cheese has photographs. Just couldn't resist. #cat #cats #caturday #swarthmore #cheese #FatCat #birchrun

At my community garden there are several dozen containers and objects that collect stagnant water. And because most people ignore their allotments for weeks at a time, or abandon them entirely, the sites are home to tens of thousands of mosquito larvae. Horrifying. #mosquitoes #allotment #gardening #garden #water #swarthmore #WestNile

Is it ever possible to get a restaurant to stop oversalting? There are several small places near me that I generally love but that consistently add about 2-3x more salt than is necessary, often creating dishes that are inedible. I'm not a fan of public floggings on Yelp and such, so am wondering whether there is wording I might send to the chef, privately, to get them to scale back salinity. My guess is that they are all supertasters and don't know it, so they don't realize they are physiologically wired to use far too much salt. Any tips on how to proceed? #food #salt #supertaster #tongue #taste #genetics #restaurant #dining #chef #cooking #delco #swarthmore #DelawareCounty

We recently lost Danderfluff, our cat of 18 years and would like to reup to fill the void. Anyone in my area with leads on cute Persians? The one we had was a sealpoint tortoiseshell Himalayan. We adored her. #swarthmore #philadelphia #DelawareCounty #delco #cat #cats #caturday

@jencmars I once made a video of a local intersection to shame town into making it safer. Took a few years but worked. #frogger #pedestrian #car #traffic #swarthmore https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teZusrDPaWA

#Swarthmore students will ride #Philadelphia #SEPTA trains and buses for free, on passes purchased by the college. SEPTA gets ridership. Swarthmore gets the carbon #emissions cuts. And,
"Research suggests that getting students to use #transit can have enduring effects."

Many colleges have, or are considering, similar transit mobility programs for their students. #MIT staff use their MIT ID to ride Boston's #MBTA network for free.

#PublicTransit #TransportationTransition
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-07/the-power-of-free-transit-passes-for-college-students

It doesn't look like much yet but this is my plot at the community garden. In center, spots for 15 tomatoes (5 in 5'-tall metal cages, 10 at 8' bamboo stakes). On right are 4 banks of 8'-wide, 7'-tall metal trellis panels (welded remesh sheets) for peas; then later for pole beans, climbing melons, honeynut squash, etc. At front, room for 4 pole-trained (vertical) summer squashes, with more 7' trellis panels on either side of entrance for Dr. Martin's pole lima beans. On perimeter I have approximately 40 fava beans in the ground, all due up soon. I also have spots for poblano, serrano, tomatillos, beets, carrots, radishes, fingerling potatoes, and three kinds of onions. #garden #gardening #allotment #vegetables #GrowYourOwn #Swarthmore

#FollowFriday recommendations from the #Philly area:
- @pixouls - #solarpunk student experimenting with Solar Protocol and sun-powered musical instruments, tracks free & cheap stuff to do in #Philadelphia: https://www.pixouls.xyz/philly.html
- @FrancisBass - cool #bicycle art and photos, writer, #PublicDomain enthusiast
- @thecorodon - #TTRPG writing and editing, cat photos
- @ehkopin - librarian/archivist at #Swarthmore College, shitposter

#newHere #hashtags

Some interests:

#singleCell #bayesian #stats #ancestry #genetics #popgen #geneRegulation #systemsGenetics #functionalGenomics #biology #immunology #vaccines #infection #viruses #influenza #tuberculosis #TB #malaria #NTDs #fitness #evolution #dominance #stress #aging #mosquitoes #mice #macaques