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@thesciencemom

Live in SE Alaska Science educator Naturalist Also known as Jenny Ballif

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07.12.2024
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Latest posts by Science Mom @thesciencemom

Excellent! I’ll message you or try to call the office and see if we might be able to come over sometime next week.

Fantastic video!

05.03.2026 23:00 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
A collage of three lichen photos:

light grey-green dust lichen coats a rock, 
the pale β€œgreen fairy barf” lichen is a crustose lichen. It has pick round spore producing structures,
A light green scale-like lichen growing out of a tree trunk looks like a collection of miniature scalloped shelves

A collage of three lichen photos: light grey-green dust lichen coats a rock, the pale β€œgreen fairy barf” lichen is a crustose lichen. It has pick round spore producing structures, A light green scale-like lichen growing out of a tree trunk looks like a collection of miniature scalloped shelves

Four larger lichens are shown in this collage: a leaf-like tree pelt lichen, devil’s matchstick lichen (a club form lichen), witches hair hanging from pine branches, and reindeer lichen (a shrub form of lichen)

Four larger lichens are shown in this collage: a leaf-like tree pelt lichen, devil’s matchstick lichen (a club form lichen), witches hair hanging from pine branches, and reindeer lichen (a shrub form of lichen)

For botany club this week we attempted to find all 7 of the lichen forms described in Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast:

Dust
Crust
Scale
Leaf
Club
Shrub
Hair

β€˜Twas a fun exercise.

05.03.2026 18:28 πŸ‘ 18 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

@brunota2003.bsky.social is it possible for a member of the public to come over to the weather station on Metlakatla and see a balloon launch in person?

05.03.2026 18:19 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I would love to share some videos of balloon launches and a short interview with a meteorologist in our geoscience class.

Any Alaska weather folks interested in a zoom call and/or sharing balloon launch videos?
@alaskawx.bsky.social

05.03.2026 18:18 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
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Thoughts & prayers to the EPA :(

04.03.2026 20:02 πŸ‘ 1999 πŸ” 681 πŸ’¬ 46 πŸ“Œ 42

very cute native plant alert: azolla filiculoides. they’re a fern in ancient symbiosis with a cyanobacteria that allows them to fix nitrogen

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azolla_...

01.03.2026 19:53 πŸ‘ 17 πŸ” 8 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Not many people can show better form doing headstands in their 40s vs their 20s. Bravo! πŸ‘πŸ‘

01.03.2026 19:09 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

In case you’re just waking up, the U.S. has teamed up with Israel overnight to start an illegal war of regime change, apparently on a presidential whim with no involvement of Congress, and they are already committing horrific atrocities.

28.02.2026 12:14 πŸ‘ 6545 πŸ” 2770 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 73
The collage of images shows a dark stem with twisted and contorted black leaves (upper left), the same stem starting to absorb water and showing hints of green (upper right), the leaves all green and starting to extend (lower right) and the leaves fully extended and completely green (lower left)

The collage of images shows a dark stem with twisted and contorted black leaves (upper left), the same stem starting to absorb water and showing hints of green (upper right), the leaves all green and starting to extend (lower right) and the leaves fully extended and completely green (lower left)

Watching moss rehydrate under the microscope is magical!

Here are 4 photos of Bartramiopsis lescurri (false apple moss) taken over 10 minutes.

Upper left is just before adding water. Clockwise from there shows the hydration process.

24.02.2026 22:07 πŸ‘ 15 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

πŸ˜‚πŸ˜­

24.02.2026 06:45 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Yikes.

24.02.2026 06:44 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

🫠 it still boggles my mind that he was confirmed.

24.02.2026 06:38 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Thought it was really cool how this afternoon’s snow was only sticking where the support beams are on the board walk. Obv a bit colder there but I’m not sure why.

23.02.2026 07:03 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Awesome! Love hearing the dialogue and explanations as they watch.

19.02.2026 04:00 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I’m sorryβ€” that’s really hard.

17.02.2026 15:50 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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After 18 days of near-continuous rain, we saw the Sun again. The dogs were SO happy to be outside and not getting wet!
#AlaskaSky

15.02.2026 07:06 πŸ‘ 17 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Beautiful pictures! I love it when the water is that still. One of my favorite spots.

15.02.2026 06:57 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Two people hold signs. One reads β€œ stop protecting pedophiles.” The other sign says β€œ love the Neighbor, Canada.”

Two people hold signs. One reads β€œ stop protecting pedophiles.” The other sign says β€œ love the Neighbor, Canada.”

A woman holds a sign that says: β€œ$10 billion heist: Trump suing IRS for failure of HIS 2018 administration.”

A woman holds a sign that says: β€œ$10 billion heist: Trump suing IRS for failure of HIS 2018 administration.”

A woman holds a sign that says: β€œ roses are red, violets are blue, Trump protects pedos, if you support Trump you do too.”

A woman holds a sign that says: β€œ roses are red, violets are blue, Trump protects pedos, if you support Trump you do too.”

Dozens of people stand along the street holding signs. Some visible signs include: 
abolish ice
In Alaska, we like our ice crushed
Prison without due process is a concentration camp

Dozens of people stand along the street holding signs. Some visible signs include: abolish ice In Alaska, we like our ice crushed Prison without due process is a concentration camp

A selection of signs from Ketchikan’s Valentine’s Day Protest. Over 100 people came. We sang several songs, including:

It’s okay to change your mind,
Show us your courage,
Leave this behind.
Oh it’s okay to change
your mind,
And you can join us,
Join us here anytime.

14.02.2026 22:50 πŸ‘ 22 πŸ” 9 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Regulations are what keeps ordinary Americans healthy and, often, alive.

It took spoiled meat and rodent droppings out of our food. It took harmful lead out of our gasoline and paint. It took poison out of our water.

Deregulation only achieves one goal: making rich corporations richer.

13.02.2026 00:57 πŸ‘ 10333 πŸ” 4132 πŸ’¬ 623 πŸ“Œ 281
Preview
WATCH: Trump, EPA's Zeldin announce end of scientific basis for U.S. action on climate change The Trump administration on Thursday revoked a scientific finding that long has been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change, the most aggressiv...

Today, the Trump administration repealed the endangerment finding: the ruling that served as the basis for limits on tailpipe emissions and power plant rules. Without it, we’ll be less safe, less healthy and less able to fight climate changeβ€”all so the fossil fuel industry can make even more money.

12.02.2026 19:46 πŸ‘ 27706 πŸ” 11794 πŸ’¬ 2076 πŸ“Œ 1018
Preview
There is No Scientific Justification to Revoke the Endangerment Finding The U.S. EPA's decision to repeal the Endangerment Finding will limit the government's ability to regulate emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.

As I say here, there is no scientific justification to revoke the engagement finding. In fact, over the last 15+ yrs, the evidence of how climate change affects our health has only grown. Higher risk of allergies, dementia, fertility, heart disease, and death: that’s what’s on the line. @nature.org

12.02.2026 21:44 πŸ‘ 1406 πŸ” 649 πŸ’¬ 33 πŸ“Œ 14
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I’d like to introduce you to two of my favorite bryophytes:

Tree Ruffle Liverwort, which swoops out like beautiful vegetative dragons

And Neckera douglasii, which has the most beautiful crinkled leaves.

10.02.2026 03:37 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Every president from Nixon on released their tax returns, but Trump -- who insisted he would follow that custom -- repeatedly refused to do that. So finally they were leaked, showing he paid only $750 in 2016 and nothing in 2017.

He's now demanding all of us, who *did* pay our full taxes, pay him.

05.02.2026 22:40 πŸ‘ 3133 πŸ” 1349 πŸ’¬ 111 πŸ“Œ 45
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Went tidepooling in the dark tonight and saw a rose star! Also a yellow Dorid (I think) and the cutest baby leather star ever.

#AlaskaSky

03.02.2026 07:01 πŸ‘ 25 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Not everyone gets super excited to spot some Dendrolycopodium dendroideum (prickly tree club moss) right off the trail. Being able to hike each week with people who do is wonderful. 6/end

02.02.2026 16:15 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
17 people stand in front of the Fairweather, a large NOAA ship used to map the sea floor

17 people stand in front of the Fairweather, a large NOAA ship used to map the sea floor

The beautiful thing about this botany club community is that it has become a nature nerd space. We’ve all gotten into birding and last week one of our members arranged a tour of the NOAA Fairweather, which was awesome! 5/

02.02.2026 16:11 πŸ‘ 16 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Botany club started out being just about plants. I was suffering with anxiety and gloom from the actions of our current administration last February and knew I needed to spend more time outside for my mental health. 3/

02.02.2026 16:09 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Before our first hike, I couldn’t tell red cedar from yellow cedar and didn’t know how to identify any mosses.

After a year of study (and some great classes thru @uasoutheast.bsky.social ) I can now identify hundreds of plants! 2/

02.02.2026 16:06 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
9 smiling people stand in a parking lot holding mugs.

9 smiling people stand in a parking lot holding mugs.

8 people and 1 poodle stand on a rainy beach. Each person is wearing a colorful rain jacket and standing in rainbow order according to the color of their rain jackets. Red on the left, followed by orange yellow, green, shades of blue, and purple.

8 people and 1 poodle stand on a rainy beach. Each person is wearing a colorful rain jacket and standing in rainbow order according to the color of their rain jackets. Red on the left, followed by orange yellow, green, shades of blue, and purple.

Happy birthday botany club!

Yesterday we celebrated with a tailgate picnic of hot chocolate, coffee, and snacks before heading out for a hike in the rain. We’ve hosted a botany-themed hike here in Ketchikan every Sunday for an entire year! 1/

02.02.2026 16:02 πŸ‘ 12 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 0

I’m impressed the wood around the hatch has held up! Is it cedar?

02.02.2026 05:39 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0