#North Amherst

[garudabluffs]

In this view from the Mill Street bridge in North Amherst, swimmers sit on the dam at Puffer’s Pond in 2016. The town has applied for a state grant that would help pay for development of an improvement plan at the pond, including the dam and dike.

Amherst requests state grant to develop Puffer’s Pond improvement plan

"If the money is awarded later this year, engineers will be hired to examine the pond and propose fixes. They will take readings on the depth of the water in the pond, get an understanding of what’s on the bottom of the pond, and take depth of sediment cores and examine what’s in the sediment.

Such a project could help the town to decide whether to undertake dredging of the pond, last done in 1986, when 100,000 cubic yards of material were removed.

“It does move the needle on dredging,” Ziomek said. “From that information we should be able to extrapolate the volume of sediment that needs to be removed from the pond.”

READ MORE https://www.gazettenet.com/Amherst-seeking-support-from-state-program-for-Puffers-Pond-dam-and-dike-repairs-54694735

[felicianotowing]

Feliciano Towing: Your Trustworthy Partner for All Towing Needs in Northeastern Ohio. #towing #flatbed #towtruck #fueldelivery #winchout #lockout #webuyjunkcar #elyria #northeastohio #OlmstedFall #LongDistanceTowing #lowestprice #Avon #hauling #felicianotowing #avonlake #westlake #amherst #oberlin #lagrange #columbiastation #northridgeville #bayvillage #palma @todos #viral #facebookreel

[dinosaurchurch]

Inukshuks of the Avalon.

I love finding these. Might make one myself on my next hike.

[wherethegravelsthin]

who was going to tell me that Richie from the bear's irl parents run the music school in my hometown.... literally what the fuck

[lonelywretchjervistetch]

The State Birds Initiative: Massachusetts (#6)

Whoa, it's December already? Wow! Been a while since I made one of these, but I honestly needed the break I think. So, uh...where were we? Ah, right.

Welcome to the sixth official poll of the State Birds Initiative! Before the poll, though, one thing real quick, and I cannot emphasize this enough! Read the post below before voting in the poll! It's not a requirement, but it is a real firm suggestion, especially important if you're lacking context about the birds being presented as the new (or old) State Bird of the Bay State, Massachusetts. This is to be fully informed as to why these are being presented, and to make your choices appropriately. Lastly, some of these birds, you will notice, *may *go against some of the rules listed in the introduction post. All is explained after the jump where the explanations are, I promise you that. With that...OK! Here's the poll!

Welcome to the sixth official poll of the State Birds Initiative! Before the poll, though, one thing real quick, and I cannot emphasize this enough! Read the post below before voting in the poll! It's not a requirement, but it is a real firm suggestion, especially important if you're lacking context about the birds being presented as the new (or old) State Bird of the Bay State, Massachusetts. This is to be fully informed as to why these are being presented, and to make your choices appropriately. Lastly, some of these birds, you will notice, may go against some of the rules listed in the introduction post. All is explained after the jump where the explanations are, I promise you that. With that...OK! Here's the poll!

Massachusetts, baby! I've had to travel away from the Bay State in the past week for a conference, but I'm excited to get back to this surprisingly great state. I say surprisingly because Massachusetts' reputation isn't a greatest for those outside of it, but living in it has definitely changed my mind for a number of reasons! That said, the time has come to talk about it a bit. The sixth smallest state in the union, Massachusetts is home to a number of prominent cities, both historically and contemporaneously. There is of course, Boston, the capital and largest city seen above via the big-ass CITGO sign. And while that's the city people equate with the entire state, let's not forget Worcester, Springfield, Cambridge, Lowell, Plymouth, Salem, Amherst, Natick, Cape Cod, etc., etc., etc. There's a whole-ass pile of classic New England cities in this small state, as well as a bevy of habitats and natural spaces.

So, to get into it a bit, Massachusetts is smack-dab in the New England temperate forests, with the highlands dominating the western portion of the state, and a flat lowland coastal region in the eastern half. Forests are temperate mixed, which contributes to the legendary falls that we see in New England. The coastal regions, meanwhile, are glacial in origin, covered in wetlands towards the center of the state, and beaches on the shores. Also of note are the various coastal marshes throughout the state, which serve as their own predominant habitats. Using the BioMap2 project as a framework, let's talk a little bit about these habitats.

Massachusetts, of course, sits on the Atlantic Ocean, which certainly isn't a first for this list, but is vitally important as we go further north into New England. In the case of Massachusetts, we're looking at sandy beaches and dune habitats as prominent foraging and nesting areas for various shorebirds, which does make shorebirds a high likely focus for this list. Some of you probably know one of the most important birds we'll be looking at, but we'll get to that one, don't worry.

Alongside the beaches, estuaries are a prominent habitat along the shorelines. Places like Plum Island, in northern Massachusetts, or Belle Isle Marsh in the middle of Boston itself, personally come to mind. Massive saltmarshes that are vital stopover habitats for migrants, habitats for insects and endangered turtles, and coastal salt ponds and tidal marshes that house incredible biodiversity within them. There's a lot of focus coming to the coastlines, that's what I'm saying. All of these habitats and the species within them comprise about 41,000 acres of land, and about 75% of that is in danger from development and rising sea levels.

Now, I'm gonna skip over a bunch of other habitats here, especially freshwater wetlands and riparian habitats, because while these are extremely important, they won't be getting as much focus here. Now, we need to move on to the forests. I've talked about them before in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, but we've got a very specific situation here in Mass. Here, because of the large number of people and settlements, fragmentation is a very prominent problem in the state. For the uninitiated, habitat fragmentation is basically what it sounds like: splitting up habitat by roads or other man-made corridors, breaking up populations of several animals, birds included. Doesn't sound like a big deal to animals that can fly, but birds don't like crossing corridors if they can help it, because it makes them vulnerable to predation (of adults and nests) and car strikes. So, forests of New England and Massachusetts are a habitat of needed focus. And while this will receive a slightly lesser focus, most likely, it's still a place we'll take a look at.

These three habitat types, wetland, coastal, and forest, are the most important in Massachusetts, as well as in New England (which, again, will change slightly as we head further north). But there's also the ever-important human element to consider, ESPECIALLY here.

While I said Boston doesn't define the entire state, and it doesn't, it's also the second most populated city on our list of states thus far, and happens to be one of the most important places in the country historically. Let's not forget, this is basically the seat of the American Revolution in many ways, so it's a pretty major part of our cultural identity as a country. And trust me, Boston is fully aware of that fact. I'm never one to dabble in stereotypes, but Bostonians are extremely proud to be Bostonians most of the time. It's a proud city, and that's understandable from a traditional point of view.

Plus, with Plymouth Rock 40 minutes to the south (and not worth the drive, from what I've heard), the textile-based seat of the American Industrial Revolution 40 minutes to the north (looking at you, Lowell), the site of the "shot heard round the world" 15 minutes away (Concord and Lexington, of course), the oldest American university 5 minutes away (Cambridge, of course), and the home of the legend of the American witch about an hour north (Salem, of course)...look, it's a central hub of the state, and it WILL not be ignored! So, with that said, grab some coffee from Dunks and some clam chowdah, let's settle in and check out some birds!

If anybody has a suggestion that I hadn't brought up here, send it my way! I will absolutely add another poll if there are entries I think could bear fruit. But, in the meantime, read on if you're interested in the possible choices for the State Bird of Massachusetts!

Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)

I gotta say, I have a real soft-spot for these guys. Although, to be fair, I think most people do! Named after their iconic call, and their memorable black cap, the Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) is one of the most iconic birds of New England, and arguably of North America. I say arguably only because there are a few chickadees in the United States, but the Black-capped is one of the most famous. We'll revisit the rest in two later posts, but this one is our focus today.

This bird was originally chosen because, well, it's iconic. I assume. To be honest, I don't actually know why it was chosen, outside of it being recognizable. It's also possible (POSSIBLE) that it was inspired by nearby Maine's choice of State Bird. But that's a choice we'll get to at a later date, I promise you that. As for the BCCH here, does it fit the state? I'll be honest, I actually like the chickadee for Massachusetts' State Bird. Partially, that's because it's a bird that can be found all throughout it with no difficulty, and it's an excellent beginner bird for kids (and just-starting amateurs). But, it's also small and incredibly scrappy, just like Massachusetts. I've had these guys in hand before, and I tell you, these little bastards'll hammer away at your cuticles with their beaks to get you to let them go. Doesn't hurt, unless they really try to grab on and twist at a sensitive spot, but they're fighters!

They're also quite social and vocal, which also fits residents of the Bay State. They have a unique language, with an alarm call that's recognizable by multiple bird species for warning, and it's also their most famous call ("chick-a-dee-dee-dee-dee"). The more "dees" there are, the higher the perceived threat is, fun fact. They hang out in groups in the winter, both with other chickadees and other birds, and their brains generate new neurons in the autumn and winter to remember and navigate to places where they can find food during a difficult harvesting season. That's how I feel when I have to remember where the nearest Dunks is for coffee, not gonna lie.

I realize that I'm making some convincing arguments for the incumbent here, but...yeah, there's a reason. I do honestly think this is a solid choice for the State Bird of Massachusetts, so I'll support its re-election if that occurs. But with that said and presented, let's move on to the challengers. Some are good, some are mediocre, and some are a bit surprising. And some...should maybe belong to a different state.

Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus)

eBird's suggestion is, unsurprisingly, the Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus), because a whopping 25% of the breeding population can be found in Massachusetts, according to eBird Status and Trends. And WOW, that is a massive proportion. That means, just to make this clear, one in 4 of ALL Piping Plovers are born in Massachusetts. Significant proportion, meaning that this has a claim on the role of MA State Bird for that reason alone. And Massachusetts certainly knows this, as several beaches in the state are shut down during the plover breeding season to allow them to nest in peace, without human disturbance.

In fact, when Piping Plovers were declared endangered in the Endangered Species Act, Mass Audubon launched the Coastal Waterbird Program to protect them and a later entry on this list. The population has exploded tenfold in the last 40 years of conservation work, and these are a pretty easy to find species now, if you're looking for them. This is a great introductory bird, both to conservation efforts, and to shorebirds (which are notoriously difficult to identify). It's also, surprisingly for shorebirds of this ilk, pretty easy to identify. And also...they're incredibly cute. I mean, have you seen the babies? It's crazy how cute they are. Seriously, LOOK AGAIN. Precious. Another solid candidate, and an excellent representative of the beaches of Massachusetts.

Ipswich Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis princeps)

Ah, the Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis). We meet again. Sorry to abandon you back there in Georgia, but to be fair, you were only nominated there because you're named after a major city in the state. But here...ah, wait, right, same thing. Now, to be fair, you've probably mentioned that the nominated bird is the Ipswich Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis princeps), not the Savannah Sparrow. But this is, of course, a subspecies of the Savannah Sparrow, named after Ipswich, Massachusetts due to its first sighting there. Larger and paler than its compatriots, the Ipswich Sparrow is known from Massachusetts...but breeds in Nova Scotia. Yeah, we've got another Connecticut Warbler (Oporornis agilis) situation here. Yikes.

So, is there a reason to nominate this bird for Massachusetts outside of its name? Well...actually kinda. These pale sparrows are, to be fair, pretty uniquely found in Massachusetts. And, while this isn't the only place you can see it, it is a reliable place to find it. It's sighted on the dunes on the Massachusetts coast, blending in with the light-colored sand, and making its way to and from Nova Scotia, where it only breeds on one island. So, conservation concern (and focus), seen in the state (even if it doesn't breed there), relies on some of its habitats of focus (saltmarshes and coastlines), has a tie to it that's unique to Massachusetts...it's something. Not as good as other options, but...something. In any case, let's move on.

Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)

Hold on. We saw this guy in the Connecticut post! What is this post, a bunch of repeats? Well, to be fair here, the Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) is a slightly better fit for Massachusetts than it was for Connecticut...for the exact same reason it was suggested for Connecticut. Well, part of it, anyway. I stand by the idea of applying the "macaroni" label to the Snowy Egret to fit with Connecticut, but it's the Audubon Society part I'm focusing on here. Lemme quote the previous post:

To be clear here, quite a lot of birds were used in millinery back in the day, but the Snowy Egret (and the Great Egret (Ardea alba), for that matter) are special. Those long white feathery plumes were heavily prized as hat decorations, enough so that the species nearly went extinct from hunting them for the hat trade. As a result of that, people began to turn their eye towards conservation of the species, and the protection of birds in general. Two women, Harriet Hemenway and Minna B. Hall, got a group of women together to protect the birds. They rallied the troops, and their organization became fairly popular. Eventually when they sought to name it, they did so after one of the most famous ornithologists in American history at the time: John James Audubon. And from there...well, you can guess.

The Audubon Society is one of the premiere bird conservation organizations in the world, and especially in the United States, and is well-known to the public sector. And it was born right here in...Massachusetts. Oh. Wait, have I jumped the gun on this one?

I had, indeed, jumped the gun. So, to fix that now, let's throw the Snowy Egret in here instead! After all, it does breed in the state (a little bit), and I actually saw some earlier this year in Parker River NWR! It has a historical tie, and to the largest conservation organization in New England! Trust me, Mass Audubon is a MASSIVE deal up here, and their link alone gives me cause to put the Snowy Egret on this list. That said, though...that's not their logo.

Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)

To my genuine surprise, the logo for Mass Audubon is actually the Common Tern (Sterna hirundo), an aerial and acrobatic seabird found on the shores of Massachusetts, in some surprising places. In Massachusetts, though, there's a major tie to conservation and the Common Tern, because this is actually one of the birds whose feathers were stolen for hats, inspiring the foundation of the movement. Yeah, both the Snowy Egret and this species, which was (and is) more common here. So, if there's an Audubon-related bird to be elected, it probably should be this one, to be honest. This is a species, understand, that was crashing in population in the late 1800s, and was saved from hunting by a young Mass Audubon. Between 1889 and 1920, the population bloomed eightfold, from 5,000 pairs to 40,000 pairs. An impressive population boom in every possible way. However, that wouldn't last.

Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus), human activity, and various other disturbances have created numerous population crashes and bottlenecks in the species' history in Massachusetts, keeping them a conservation focus to this day. The species has notably spread throughout the state's coastlines to this day, and they aren't terribly hard to find. In fact, you can see them in the Boston Harbor, from the shore! I've seen Common Tern from the New England Aquarium very often, in fact, and it's sort of magical to see them smack-dab in the middle of the city. Their habitats of beaches and shorelines need to be maintained and protected, so throwing the conservation focus on them is incredibly valuable for the species' future. A solid choice for State Bird (or another category sponsored by the SBI), if ever there was one.

Veery (Catharus fuscescens)

But wait, coming in at the last moment, just making it, the Veery (Catharus fuscescens)! Yeah, this one's a bit of a surprise, but I found out some very interesting info recently. The Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapilla) was not the first nominee for State Bird; instead, in 1931, the State Federation of Women's Clubs (yup, another woman's organization) nominated the Veery for the State Bird...and got shot down. It took them ten years to nominate the Chickadee for unknown reasons, meaning the Veery probably didn't even get its day in court. Shameful! So, let's try and rectify that here, shall we?

Veery are thrushes, famous for the beautiful, ethereal calls that give them their name. This is a robin-sized migratory songbird that breeds in the forests of New England and southern Canada, and are an iconic New England bird in their own right. They're found in forested wetlands (that's two habitats of concern in MA), usually fairly close to beaver ponds, and the two species are often associated. It's also a species mentioned in Henry David Thoreau's Walden, one of the most important environmentalist literary works in American history, as well as an important Massachusetts story. It's also currently spreading in the state, increasing the size of its range, while also experiencing slightly decreasing populations, meaning that focus is still needed. And again...that song. It's a delight to hear it in forests, and recognizing it is a great step for beginning birders to pay more attention to the sound around them.

And with that...yeah! We'll end it there! Only six nominees, and you're probably wondering what's happened to the State Raptor and State Game Bird. Well...I'll explain that once we get to the results. Because that's a bit more complicated then expected.

See you next time, and happy birding!

Introduction to the State Birds Initiative

1. Delaware - Poll | Results 2. Pennsylvania - Poll | Results 3. New Jersey - Poll | Results 4. Georgia - Poll | Results 5. Connecticut - Poll | Results 6. Massachusetts - Poll | Results (upcoming)

[deancasbigbang]

Marriage of Heaven, Hell &Humanity

Author: draechaeli

Artist: seidenapfel

Rating: Explicit

Pairings: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Kaia Nieves/Claire Novak, Charlie Bradbury/Gilda, Garth Fitzgerald IV/Bess Myers, Pre-Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester, pre-Donna Hanscum/Jody Mills

Length: 139514

Warnings: N/A

Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Demon Dean Winchester, BAMF Castiel, Possessive Sex, Public Sex, John Winchester’s A+ parenting, Crowley Ships it, Found Family, Dean Cooks

Summary: Castiel isn’t hacking up a lung when Sam calls him to say that Demon!Dean is in Amherst Junction, Wisconsin, so he reaches Dean in Beulah, North Dakota before Sam. Dean’s a bit surprised to see Cas in the bar because as a demon he could sense Castiel, Angel of the Lord, some distance away. After all, they have a profound bond...and, as a demon, Dean’s finally not afraid to admit it. And perhaps that's ultimately all they need to bring together Heaven, Hell, and humanity, as long as they can get Sam on board.

Link to Fic | Link to Art

[gothhabiba]

[ID: Photo of a group of protesters overlaid with text reading: "Shame on UBuff and SUNY. At 8:22, 5 minutes after maghreb prayer began, [University of Buffalo] UPD violently stormed the newly liberated zone, arresting 10+ students, brutalizing at least 1, and injuring several others. Bail fund venmo: @ hoch-hub4pal". End ID]

from ubydsa on Instagram

[ID: Tweet by Dillon Morello (@MorelloDillpro) reading "Police have started to push the pro-palestine protest at UB North off of campus @.news4buffalo". It includes a 22-second video of uniformed police officers charging and dispersing protesters across a large lawn. End ID]

[reality-detective]

Did you know the Vanderbilt and Cecil families owned Ashville?

The Vanderbilt family, specifically the descendants of George Washington Vanderbilt II, have a long-standing connection to Asheville, North Carolina. George Vanderbilt built the Biltmore Estate, a 250-room chateau-style mansion, in the late 1800s. The estate, located in Asheville, was his summer home and a testament to his love for the city and its natural beauty.

The Cecil Family's Involvement

The Vanderbilt family's connection to Asheville continued through the generations. In 1924, George Vanderbilt's daughter, Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt, married John Francis Amherst Cecil, and the couple had two children. Their son, William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil Jr., is the current president and CEO of The Biltmore Company, which owns and operates the Biltmore Estate.

The Company's Evolution

In 1999, The Biltmore Company formed a new business group, which expanded the estate's operations beyond tourism and hospitality. Today, the company is a privately held corporation, still owned by the Cecil family, and employs over 2,400 people in Western North Carolina.

Asheville's Economic Impact

The Biltmore Estate and its affiliated businesses have a significant economic impact on Asheville and the surrounding region. The estate attracts millions of visitors each year, generating revenue for local businesses, hotels, and restaurants. The company's agricultural and forestry operations also contribute to the local economy.

In Summary

While the DuPont family is not directly involved in owning Asheville, NC, the Vanderbilt family, specifically the Cecil family, has a long and storied connection to the city through the Biltmore Estate. The estate's ownership and operations remain in the hands of the Cecil family, who continue to preserve and promote Asheville's natural beauty and cultural heritage.

🔗

🔗

🔗

Wait there's more 👇

DuPont State Forest, made famous as the setting for the movies The Hunger Games and The Last of the Mohicans, is home to amazing waterfalls, mountain lakes and hiking trails. DuPont State Forest is located in Western North Carolina near the South Carolina state line, and is less than an hour drive (40 miles) south of Asheville.

Curious has anyone looked at NC governor Roy cooper's political investments from the Vanderbilt family? Cecil family? Or Dupont family? He's working in the heart of their investments...

Interesting this article coming up with the lieutenant gov is criticizing his efforts with the after math of hurricane Helene...

Read 🤔

NOTHING will be left unknown, EVERYTHING will be revealed and NOTHING will be hidden and remain a secret. 🤔

[huriya]

College Shitlist (boycott these colleges)

This is the updating list of colleges where pro-palestine protests are present that have brutalized/arrested/punished their students for protesting the ongoing palestinian genocide.

REMEMBER: DO NOT GIVE YOUR MONEY TO THESE COLLEGES. PROTESTS ON THESE CAMPUSES ARE IMPORTANT, BUT KEEPING YOUR INTELLIGENCE AND MONEY AWAY FROM THESE ABHORRENT INSTITUTIONS DIMINISHES THEIR POWER. THEIR ONLY POWER COMES FROM THEIR STUDENTS AND THEIR MONEY. YOU HAVE THE POWER TO TAKE THEIR PRESTIGE AWAY.

In No Particular Order:

Princeton University

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

University of California - Berkeley

Stanford University

Virginia Tech

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

University of Washington

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

University of Wisconsin - Madison

Harvard University

Yale University

University of California - Los Angeles

Cornell University

University of Pittsburgh

University of Chicago

University of Southern California

University of California - San Diego

Tufts University

Northeastern University

Stony Brook University

University of Connecticut

University of California - Merced

University of Massachusetts - Amherst

University of Iowa

University of Arizona

Arizona State University

University of California - Irvine

George Washington University

DePaul University

University of Pennsylvania

Pomona College

University of Texas - Dallas

The New School

University of Houston

University of Rochester

University of New Mexico

Duke University

New York University

University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

Barnards College

University of Vanderbilt

Rutgers University - New Brunswick

Columbia University

Portland State University

University of Oregon

California Polytechnic Institute Humboldt

California Polytechnic University - San Luis Obispo

Northern Arizona University

University of Utah

University of Kansas

University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign

Washington University

New Mexico State University

University of Texas - Austin

Tulane University

University of South Florida

University of North Florida

University of Florida

Emory University

University of Georgia

Mercer University

Notre Dame University

Case Western Reserve University

The Ohio State University

Virginian Commonwealth University

University of Virginia

University of Buffalo

State University of New York - Purchase

State University of New York - New Paltz

Brown University

Brandeis University

Dartmouth College

University of New Hampshire

Emerson College

CUNY City College of New York

International List:

University of Amsterdam

University of Alberta

University of Queensland

University of Sydney

University of Melbourne

Australian National University

University of New South Wales

University of Calgary

University of Oxford

Feel free to share this list, send me additional colleges to add (WITH SOURCES), and/or request more information on a particular college

[transit-fag]

The Buffalo subway is looking into an expansion into Amhearst and the University of Buffalo's North Campus

[workingclasshistory]

On this day, 8 July 1763, General Jeffery Amherst, commander of British forces in North America, wrote to one of his colonels asking: "Could it not be contrived to send the small pox among the disaffected tribes of Indians? We must on this occasion use every stratagem in our power to reduce them." The following week he wrote that his subordinate should "try every other method that can serve to extirpate this execrable race." Amherst was reeling from the loss of three forts to Native American fighters in the conflict know as Pontiac's war. Unbeknownst to him, blankets tainted with smallpox had already been given to Indigenous leaders by British forces. A smallpox epidemic subsequently broke out which devastated tribes in the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley regions over the coming months, although a direct causal link with the blankets cannot be established. The Massachusetts town, Amherst, and its college and university, are still named after the genocidal official. Learn more about Indigenous genocide and resistance in this book: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/books/products/500-years-of-indigenous-resistance-gord-hill Pictured: a painting of Native American smallpox victims https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=658443989662153&set=a.602588028581083&type=3

[milfzatannaz]

honestly if I got a goddamn virtual job I could stay in NOLA for cheaper than moving up north. I was looking at Northampton and Amherst to be with family and like. The rental prices there could get me a place in the French quarter. Not that I’d splurge on that

[felicianotowing]

[stylized-corpse]

Virginia Ctenucha Moth (Ctenucha Virginica)

This species of moth is native to eastern North America from Newfoundland down to Virginia, but has expanded west in the past 60 years and is now found in all Canadian provinces.

This species is identified by its black wings juxtaposed by a bright orange head, feathery antennae, and a metallic blue body that makes it particularly eye catching when it flies. The caterpillar form feeds on grasses, sedges, and other plants while the adult feeds on nectar from flowers like goldenrod.

Somehow I went my whole life without ever seeing this species but during my recent trip to the Maritimes I came across multiple of this moth. This one was found in a field in Amherst, Nova Scotia.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"The most notorious internee held in any of the Canadian [internment] camps was Leon Trotsky. When news reached North America in March 1917 that the Russian tsar, Nicholas II, had abdicated, Trotsky was living in exile in New York City. He immediately arranged to return to his homeland. On March 27 he boarded the Norwegian freighter Christianiafjord with his wife and two sons, bound for Petrograd. Trotsky had been under surveillance in New York where British authorities took note of his departure. The situation in Russia was confused, but the Allies knew that socialists like Trotsky wanted to withdraw Russian troops from the war. It was widely believed that they were enemy agents funded by the Germans to divide the Allied war effort. At Halifax, the British naval commander received orders to board the Christianiafjord when it arrived and to detain Trotsky and the other Russians with whom he was travelling.

On April 1 the freighter steamed into Halifax harbour. Naval officers marched Trotsky and his comrades to jail cells in the Citadel, the imposing stone fortification overlooking the city. Then, while Natalia Sedova Trotskaya and the boys were lodged with a police employee in town, the men were interned in a prisoner-of-war camp, a converted iron foundry at Amherst near the New Brunswick border.

Trotsky was not cowed by his treatment. Quite the opposite: he defiantly petitioned the Russian government and the British prime minister, protesting his illegal detention. Meanwhile, he began to harangue his fellow prisoners with speeches, in fluent German, proclaiming the need for a revolution in Germany. “That month the concentration camp very much resembled a perpetual mass meeting,” he later wrote. To the dismay of officials, he became a hero to the 800 other detainees. He was “by far the most popular man in the whole camp,” the commander reported. Another officer recalled that Trotsky “gave us a lot of trouble at the camp, and if he had stayed there any longer [...] would have made communists of all the German prisoners.”

Trotsky was a citizen of a country with which Great Britain, and therefore Canada, was an ally in the fighting, and he was travelling with perfectly legal permits and visas. His internment was giving Canada a black eye internationally. At rallies in New York and Russia, speakers denounced Canada as a tyranny, no better than the Tsarist autocracy. Finally, after a month in confinement, he won his release. A crowd of cheering prisoners lined his path as he walked to the gate, followed by an impromptu camp band doing its best to play the Internationale. And with that, Leon Trotsky’s sojourn in Canada ended."

- Daniel Francis, Seeing Reds: the Red Scare of 1918-1919, Canada’s First War on Terror. Arsenal Pulp Press, 2011. p. 17-18.

[lilithism1848]

Atrocities US committed against NATIVE AMERICANS

In 2016, the US army corp of engineers approved a Energy Transfer Partners’ proposal to build an oil pipeline near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, sparking the Dakota Access Pipeline Protests, evoking a brutal response from North Dakota police aided by the National Guard, private security firms, and other law enforcement agencies from surrounding states. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe believes that the pipeline would put the Missouri River, the water source for the reservation, at risk, pointing out two recent spills, a 2010 pipeline spill into the Kalamazoo River in Michigan, which cost over billion to clean up with significant contamination remaining, and a 2015 Bakken crude oil spill into the Yellowstone River in Montana. Police repression has included dogs attacking protesters, spraying water cannons on protesters in sub-freezing temperatures, >700 arrests of Native Americans and ~200 injuries, a highly militarized police force using armored personnel carriers, concussion grenades, mace, Tasers, batons, rubber bullets, and tear gas. In November 2017, the keystone XL pipeline burst, spilling 210,000 gallons of oil in Amherst, South Dakota. 

In 1975, FBI agents attacked AIM activists on the Pine Ridge Reservation, in the ‘Pine Ridge Shootout’. Two FBI agents, and an AIM activist were killed. In two separate trials, the U.S. prosecuted participants in the firefight for the deaths of the agents. AIM members Robert Robideau and Dino Butler were acquitted after asserting that they had acted in self–defense. Leonard Peltier was extradited from Canada and tried separately because of the delay. He was convicted on two counts of first–degree murder for the deaths of the FBI agents and sentenced to two consecutive terms of life in prison, after a trial which is still contentious. He remains in prison.

In 1973, 200 Oglala Lakota and AIM activists occupied the town of Wounded Knee, South Dakota, on the Pine Ridge Reservation, called the Wounded knee incident. They were protesting the reservation’s corrupt US-backed tribal chairman, Dick Wilson, who controlled a private militia, called Guardians of the Oglala Nation (GOONs), funded by the government. FBI, US marshals, and other law enforcement cordoned off the area and attacked the activists with armored vehicles, automatic rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers, and gas shells, resulting in two killed and 13 wounded. Ray Robinson, a civil rights activist who joined the protesters, disappeared during the events and is believed to have been murdered. As food supplies became short, three planes dropped 1,200 pounds of food, but as people scrambled to gather it up, a government helicopter appeared overhead and fired down on them while groundfire came from all sides. After the siege ended in a truce, 120 occupiers were arrested. Wilson stayed in office and in 1974 was re-elected amid charges of intimidation, voter fraud, and other abuses. The rate of violence climbed on the reservation as conflict opened between political factions in the following three years; residents accused Wilson’s private militia of much of it. 

In Nov. 1969, a group of 89 Native Americans occupied Alcatraz Island for 15 months, to gauge the US’s commitment to the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868), which stated that all abandoned federal land must be returned to native people. Eventually the government cut off all electrical power and all telephone service to the island. In June, a fire of disputed origin destroyed numerous buildings on the island. Left without power, fresh water, and in the face of diminishing public support and sympathy, the number of occupiers began to dwindle. On June 11, 1971, a large force of government officers removed the remaining 15 people from the island.

From its creation in 1968, The American Indian Movement (AIM) has been a target of repression from law enforcement agencies, and surveillance as one of the FBI’s COINTELPRO targets. This includes the wounded knee incident and the pine ridge shootout. 

In 1942 the federal government took privately held Pine Ridge Indian Reservation land owned by tribal members in order to establish the Badlands Bombing Range of 341,725 acres, evicting 125 families. Among the families evicted was that of Pat Cuny, an Oglala Sioux. He fought in World War II in the Battle of the Bulge after surviving torpedoing of his transport in the English Channel. Dewey Beard, a Miniconjou Sioux survivor of the Wounded Knee Massacre, who supported himself by raising horses on his 908-acre allotment received in 1907 was also evicted. The small federal payments were insufficient to enable such persons to buy new properties. In 1955 the 97-year-old Beard testified of earlier mistreatment at Congressional hearings about this project. He said, for “fifty years I have been kicked around. Today there is a hard winter coming. …I might starve to death.”

In 1890, US soldiers killed 150-300 people (including 65 women and 24 children) at Wounded Knee (19-26 people, including two women and eleven children.) on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in the U.S. state of South Dakota. Twenty-five soldiers also died, and 39 were wounded (6 of the wounded later died). At least twenty soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor. The event was driven by local racism towards the practice of Ghost Dancing, which whites found distasteful, and the Native Americans arming up in response to repeated broken treaties, stolen land, and their bison-herds being hunted to near extinction by the whites.

In 1887, the Dawes Act, and Curtis Act, resulted in the loss of 90 million acres of native-alloted land, and the abolition of many native governments. During the ensuing decades, the Five Civilized Tribes lost 90 million acres of former communal lands, which were sold to non-Natives. In addition, many individuals, unfamiliar with land ownership, became the target of speculators and criminals, were stuck with allotments that were too small for profitable farming, and lost their household lands. Tribe members also suffered from the breakdown of the social structure of the tribes.

Starting in the 1870s, The US army, aided by settlers and private hunters, began a widespread policy of slaughtering bufallo and bison, in order to destroy many tribe’s primary food source, and to starve Native Americans into submission. By 1900, they succeeded; the bufallo population dropped from more than 30 million, to a few hundred. The country’s highest generals, politicians, and presidents including Ulysses S. Grant, saw the destruction of buffalo as solution to the country’s “Indian Problem.” By destroying the food supply of the plains natives, they could more easily move them onto reservations.

Starting in 1830-50, The Trail of Tears was a series of forced removals of Native American nations, including Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole, Cherokee people and the African freedmen and slaves who lived among them, from their ancestral homelands in the Southeastern United States to an area west of the Mississippi River that had been designated as Native Territory. The forced relocations were carried out by various government authorities following the passage of the Indian Removal Act in 1830. “Marshaled by guards, hustled by agents, harried by contractors,they were being herded on the way to an unknown and unwelcome destination like a flock of sick sheep.” They went on ox wagons, on horses, on foot, then to be ferried across the MississippiRiver. The army was supposed to organize their trek, but it turned over its job to private contractors who charged the government as much as possible, gave the Indians as little as possible. The Cherokee removal in 1838 (the last forced removal east of the Mississippi) was brought on by the discovery of gold near Dahlonega, Georgia in 1828, resulting in the Georgia Gold Rush. Approximately 2,000-6,000 of the 16,543 relocated Cherokee perished along the way.

In 1848, the California Genocide is a term used to describe the drastic decrease in Native American population in California. The population decreased from ~300,000 in 1769, to 16,000 in 1900. 

The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between various groups of Native Americans collectively known as Seminoles and the United States, part of a series of conflicts called the Seminole Wars. The Second Seminole War, often referred to as the Seminole War, is regarded as “the longest and most costly of the Indian conflicts of the United States.” ~3000 seminoles were killed, and 4000 were deported to Indian territory elsewhere. 

In 1832, the Black Hawk War, was a brief 1832 conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader, in Illinois. The war gave impetus to the US policy of Indian removal, in which Native American tribes were pressured to sell their lands and move west of the Mississippi River and stay there. Over 500 Native Americans were killed in the conflict.

In 1832, the Chickasaw Indians were forced by the US to sell their country in 1832 and move to Indian Territory (Oklahoma) during the era of Indian Removal in the 1830s.

In 1813, the Creek War, was a war between the US, lead by the then notorious indian-hunter Andrew Jackson, and the Creek nation, residing primarily in Alabama. Over 1,500 creeks were killed. The war effectively ended with the Treaty of Fort Jackson, where General Andrew Jackson insisted that the Creek confederacy cede more than 21 million acres of land from southern Georgia and central Alabama. These lands were taken from allied Creek as well as Red Sticks. In 1814, Andrew Jackson became famous for his role in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, where his side killed more than 800 Creeks. Under Jackson, and the man he chose to succeed him, Martin Van Buren, 70,000 Indians east of the Mississippi were forced westward.

The Red Sticks, a faction of Muscogee Creek people in the American Southeast, led a resistance movement against European-American encroachment and assimilation; tensions culminated in the outbreak of the Creek War in 1813.

From 1785-96, the Northwest Indian War was a war between the US and a confederation of numerous Native American tribes, with support from the British, for control of the Northwest Territory. President George Washington directed the United States Army to enforce U.S. sovereignty over the territory. Over 1,000 Native Americans were killed in the bloody conflict.

In the 1800s, Indian removal was a policy of the United States government whereby Native Americans were forcibly removed from their ancestral homelands in the eastern United States to lands west of the Mississippi River, thereafter known as Indian Territory. That policy has been characterized by some scholars as part of a long-term genocide of Native Americans. 

The Texan-Indian Wars were a series of 19th-century conflicts between settlers in Texas and the Southern Plains Indians. Its hard to approximate the number of deaths from the conflicts, but the Indian population in Texas decreased from 20,000 to 8,000 by 1875.

The Indian Wars is a name given to the collection of over 40 conflicts and wars between Native Americans and US settlers. The US census bureau reports that they have cost the lives of about 19,000 white men, women and children, including those killed in individual combats, and the lives of about 30,000 Indians. The actual number of killed and wounded Indians must be very much higher than the number given… Fifty percent additional would be a safe estimate.

From 1500-1900s, European and later US colonists and authorities displaced and committed genocide on the Native American Population. Ward Churchill characterizes the reduction of the North American Indian population from an estimated 12 million in 1500 to barely 237,000 in 1900 as a “vast genocide.. the most sustained on record.