Laura Mariani

@lauramariani

Award-winning pun artist. Posting about science, movies, #mapoli, horror, birding, and dogs from Worcester, MA. Posts = my opinions. (she/her)

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Bluesky

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Laura Mariani@lauramariani· 20d

A lil mythology lesson on Cerberus. But I'm definitely NOT saying that de la Torre should be thrown to the rapacious gullets of a three-headed hellhound as punishment for his boundless, murderous greed; I don't want to catch a Bsky ban.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article on the mythological character, Cerberus, reads: "Virgil described Cerberus as "ravenous" (fame rabida),and a rapacious Cerberus became proverbial. Thus Cerberus came to symbolize avarice, and so, for example, in Dante's Inferno, Cerberus is placed in the Third Circle of Hell, guarding over the gluttons, where he "rends the spirits, flays and quarters them," and Dante (perhaps echoing Servius' association of Cerberus with earth) has his guide Virgil take up handfuls of earth and throw them into Cerberus' "rapacious gullets.""

Laura Mariani@lauramariani· 29d

Bug report

I think this is a Japanese beetle? It is sitting on a blue Rose of Sharon flower.

Laura Mariani@lauramariani· Jul 25

I don’t have my own yard to garden in but why bother when I can sit and drink a beer out here? (New England Botanical Garden)

My beer and chips on a stone table in the foreground, with a large beautiful flower garden in the background.

Water lilies with a beautiful bluish purple flower.

Laura Mariani@lauramariani· Jul 23

Idk if this fully explains it but it surely explains part of it.

Graph showing a steep upward trend for women participating in the civilian labor force between 1948 and 2003, at which point the graph kinda levels off

Laura Mariani@lauramariani· Jul 13

Hiked six miles around Wachusett Reservoir today, with a break at the halfway point to stare at the water from a shady spot.

The view of Wachusett Reservoir from my shady spot. The water is reflecting the blue sky and fluffy white clouds. The pebble beach shore with my blanket and sneakers are also visible

View of Wachusett Reservoir on a sunny summer day. A solitary fisherman is visible on the shore on the distance

A view of Wachusett Reservoir with Black-eyed Susans on the shore in the foreground

Laura Mariani@lauramariani· Jul 9

Hi neighbors, let's get ready to PICK! UP! TRAAAAASH! This Saturday, July 11 from 9 am - 12 pm, 16 Brooks St. There may also be a special side quest for those big and strong enough to attempt it (moving the community fridge so that an electrician can get behind it to fix the outlet).

Flyer for a Community Cleanup event happening on Saturday, July 11, 2026 from 9 am - 12 pm at 16 Brooks Street in Worcester (around the Brooks community fridge). Event is cohosted by Woo Fridges and Worcester Litter

Laura Mariani@lauramariani· Jul 4

Streaming on the Criterion Channel for America 250

Poster for the film VIOLENT SATURDAY (1955)

Laura Mariani@lauramariani· Jul 4

Oh yeah?? Well, The Thot Park called, and they're running out of YOU

Screenshot from Google Maps of a tourist attraction in France called "The Thot Park" / "Parc du Thot", which includes a photo of children feeding deer at some sort of petting zoo, and an average rating of 3.6 stars

Laura Mariani@lauramariani· Jun 25

Grabbed coffee from the BCAW farmer’s market - proceeds support coffee donations to Worcester community fridges! Go get some!

A bag of coffee beans (Nine Ten Community Coffee by Rainy Day Coffee in North Adams) sits on the kitchen counter in front of my coffee maker.

Laura Mariani@lauramariani· Jun 13

I took a million laurel pics so here’s some more. The trails are chock full of them right now.

Laura Mariani@lauramariani· Jun 13

Moore State Park in Paxton has reopened (it closed for a bit due to fallen trees/storm damage) and the rhododendrons are mostly done but the mountain laurels are poppin’

A wildflower meadow under a blue sky. Red clover is prominent in the mixture of tall grass and blooms.

The old mill at Moore State Park (out of focus, in background) with a pink rose blossom in the foreground

Pink rhododendron blossoms, backlit by the June sun

Laura Mariani@lauramariani· May 19

Here’s what we made btw

Black beans with veggie sausage and chili onions; cucumber and watermelon sprinkled with Tajín; a Stellwagen Beach Pale Ale with lovely can art

Laura Mariani@lauramariani· May 19

Chicken wire fence and a sign that says “area beyond this sign closed” with a view of a scrubby evergreen tree and the ocean behind the fence

Laura Mariani@lauramariani· May 19

My rice cooker and I are on vacation again

The rocky beach and a weathered wooden fence at Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge

A mowed path through a meadow with a sign marking the trail for hikers at Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge

View through the brush toward the ocean and rocky beach at Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge. A man in the distance is standing on a large rock and fishing, looking out to sea

Laura Mariani@lauramariani· May 17

Incredible vibes at the reservoir today - sunny and hot with a perfect steady breeze. And I saw some rare native wildflowers (sundial lupine)!

A cluster of wild sundial lupine (lupinus perennis) - a wildflower with clusters of green leaflets and tall stems with blue flowers

A few trees and shrubs growing along the sandy shore of Wachusett Reservoir on a bright spring day.

Laura Mariani@lauramariani· Apr 26

Nature break at the New England Botanical Garden today - the beautiful tulips and trilliums were my favorite!

An expansive garden full of bright purple, red and yellow tulips, sprinkled with white-and-yellow daffodils. It’s a sunny day and a few other people who came to enjoy the garden are visible in the background.

Closeup of a tulip with striking white and red striped petals around a yellow center. In the background, more red, white, and purple tulips are out of focus.

Closeup of a white daffodil bloom with a yellow center. A small green spider is clinging to the flower.

A white trillium blossom with a fly (one of its pollinators, I believe!) resting on one of the petals.

Laura Mariani@lauramariani· Apr 12

The male counselors from Sleepaway Camp are always on my summer vision board

Three male counselors from Sleepaway Camp (1983) wearing short shorts, midriff-baring t-shirts, or both.

Laura Mariani@lauramariani· Apr 4

Lovely day for a hike at Blackstone River and Canal Heritage State Park! First t-shirt hike since November.

Water spilling over fallen logs on the Blackstone River under a blue sky with white clouds.

Early spring wetland scene at the Blackstone River. The sky is overcast and the trees and grasses are still bare/brown from winter.

A blue sky with a few clouds and mixed evergreen and deciduous trees. A jet contrail is visible behind one treetop.

Interior of the visitor center at River Bend Farm, where an old barn has been converted to a mini museum.

Laura Mariani@lauramariani· Mar 15

Waterfalls are flowing nicely in Worcester’s Cascades! Trails very quiet on this gloomy day.

A waterfall in a wooded area with trees still bare from winter, on a gray day.

Laura Mariani@lauramariani· Mar 11

5 years ago today, @ikegraine.bsky.social and I drove to City Hall during a global pandemic and got married in matching N-95 masks. It was a truly wild way to elope, but every day since then I have been so happy I married my best friend. 💜

Laura and Ike's wedding announcement photos: A bearded man in glasses and a woman with a blonde bob haircut stand in front of some picturesque rocks in Franklin Park, Boston, on a lovely fall day. They are looking at each other and smiling. Laura is wearing a knee-length white dress and a blue denim jacket; Ike is wearing a blue collared shirt and a navy blue cardigan with jeans. Both outfits are nicer than the ones we actually wore to get married.

Laura Mariani@lauramariani· Mar 1

Went back out today and almost fell into a thorn bush while trying to cross a stream 😅

Mountain laurel shrub in front of a tree painted with a yellow triangle blaze on a snowy trail

A twig with a few dried red berries still clinging to it is seen from below, with a background showing the blue, partly cloudy sky and bare treetops above

Laura Mariani@lauramariani· Feb 28

I had some stuff planned for today but had to pivot to a mental health salvage operation. (Nick’s Woods in Worcester, thx @gwlandtrust.bsky.social)

Power lines cutting a trail through a hilly winter scene with bare trees on either side, under a sunny blue sky

A granite boulder with melting snow on top and a few spots of green lichen sits in a snowy forest

A leafy mountain laurel shrub pokes through the snow on a wooded hillside, with the winter sun peeking through the trees behind it

Laura Mariani@lauramariani· Feb 25

No more snow, please!! This is the situation in my neighborhood this morning.

Two round picnic tables with attached seats are partially buried in deep snow. Two seats are just peeking out of the snow, the others are completely covered.

Laura Mariani@lauramariani· Feb 25

Meme of Fox Mulder from the X-Files talking on the phone, with a speech bubble so it looks like he is saying the text of the quoted post

Laura Mariani@lauramariani· Feb 23

Stay safe today, neighbors! This weather-resistant hound dog wanted to go for his normal morning walk in the blizzard and it took a lot of bargaining to get him to do his business in our yard instead.

Hadley the black and white hound mix has snow all over his sweet face. He is wearing his plaid winter coat and pleading to stay outside a little longer.

Laura Mariani@lauramariani· Feb 22

I was not around in ‘78 so I had to look up the sweaters.

TV still of a besweater’d Dukakis from the WBZ-TV archives captioned “Former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis became known for wearing sweaters during updates in the middle of the Blizzard of '78.”

Laura Mariani@lauramariani· Feb 15

The sun came out so I hit the trails in my new snowshoes! (Moore State Park in Paxton, MA)

The old sawmill at Moore State Park in Paxton, MA on a sunny winter day. There is snow on the ground but the waterfall is flowing.

Frozen pond covered with snow on a sunny winter day. A sign reads “Danger: Unsafe ice conditions”

Frozen pond covered with snow on a sunny winter day.

A bench beside a trail through snowy woods. It is backlit and the trees cast long, dramatic shadows on the snow.

Laura Mariani@lauramariani· Feb 2

here he is looking like an LL Bean model in his New England winter attire, after enduring the emotionally exhausting process of getting dressed

Hadley the black and white pittie/hound/Lab mix is wearing a red sweater layered under a blue and green plaid dog coat and little black booties. He is standing in a snowy yard in front of a house with a bright red door, licking his nose and looking off to one side.

Laura Mariani@lauramariani· Jan 31

Tried snowshoeing for the first time ever and had an absolute blast!! I also learned that I need better boots for next time because a LOT of snow got into the ones I wore today.

A snowy trail through the woods with winter sun visible through the trees

Snowy ground with tiny animal tracks and one of my snowshoes in the frame

Deep snow piled up in the space between two trees

Selfie of Laura smiling in snowy woods wearing a bright orange baseball cap, plaid scarf and black jacket

Laura Mariani@lauramariani· Jan 17

The dog is heedless of sleet, snow or wind. He cares only for the mysterious burrow he found at the park, forever yearning to stick his whole head in there despite my warnings that that’s how CUJO started.