Sue Mosher

@placekeepers

Humanity. Earth. Between and Beyond. Living in #ArlingtonVA but dreaming of Scotland. THEN: broadcast news & desktop software maven. NOW: spiritual teacher ( #Celtic #contemplative) & #NativePlants enthusiast. She/her/us.

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Bluesky

Ist das dein Profil?Übernimm es — dann gehört dir placekeepers.dirty.social.Profil übernehmen

Sue Mosher@placekeepers· 20d

I got the message about defined edges from Thomas Rainer, first at an in-person talk, then in his excellent how-to book, Planting in a Post-Wild World. His use of “frames” to describe edges makes the whole endeavor feel less utilitarian, more creative. Which, of course, it is.

Keep orderly frames clean and neat

The frame conveys as much of one's impression of the planting as the planting itself. Clean sidewalks, painted fences, and clipped hedges indicate care. The public may not even be aware of the subconscious message well-kept frames send, but one can clearly read the effects in visitor behavior. Well-tended frames keep trash, dogs, and people out of plantings. They increase the acceptance of more naturalistic design and generate interest in designed plant communities as landscape solutions.

P. 224

Sue Mosher@placekeepers· 20d

I have. It was updated a year ago in #ArlingtonVA. “Grass or lawn area” must be kept at a max of 12 inches, but lawn area does not include planned, maintained, and intentional plantings such as native plant gardens.

Lawn Area means “an area of land planted predominantly with grasses that form a uniform, long lived groundcover that can tolerate foot traffic and low mowing heights (usually three inches or below), but not a planned, intentional, and maintained planting of grasses, wildflowers, forbs, ferns, shrubs, and trees, including but not limited to rain gardens, conservation landscaping, native plant gardens and meadow vegetation, and ornamental and agricultural plantings."

Source: https://www.arlingtonva.us/files/fa0ac822-c050-419f-bef8-0fb20acdb23e/Ch.-10-Trash-Recycling-and-Care-of-Premises.pdf

Sue Mosher@placekeepers· 23d

I was right. This was fun. Looking forward to trying it with my toddler grandson.

Sue Mosher@placekeepers· 24d

Their Niro hybrid is available in "cityscape green", whatever that means.

Sue Mosher@placekeepers· 24d

We looked at a Kia Sportage hybrid while we were waiting for our rental EV to charge. It was in a blue I haven't seen on the road yet, a little brighter than what the photo shows.

Sue Mosher@placekeepers· 25d

My chic look for today. Gave out N95 masks to very appreciative Amazon and Arlington Micro drivers.

Sue Mosher@placekeepers· 27d

You can depend on @ylepidemiologist.bsky.social to have clear, actionable, timely health information, this time about the ongoing cyclosporiasis food-borne outbreak. Links in 🧵, including what test to ask your doctor to order if you have lasting symptoms. 1/3

Screenshot of risk chart

Higher Risk
• Unwashed produce
• Bagged lettuce or salad kits
• Foods linked to past cyclospora outbreaks (salad mixes, vegetable trays, coleslaw, raspberries, basil, cilantro, berry mixes, lettuce, snap peas)
Produce that's hard to wash thoroughly (berries, leafy greens) - small crevices hide the parasite
Lower Risk
•Thoroughly washed & scrubbed produce, without small crevices, outside categories above. (Washing reduces but doesn't eliminate risk.)
For lettuce: buy a head, remove outer leaves, then wash
Produce from local farms*
*Unless near a large farm — nearby water sources could be contaminated
Even Lower Risk
• Produce with peel removed (bananas, etc.)
• Produce you grow yourself (unless you sprinkled cyclospora on it)
• Cooked produce — cooking to 158°F kills the parasite

Sue Mosher@placekeepers· Jul 6

Monarda is like a bee-magnet explosion. #NativePlants

Complex pink flower attended by a yellow and black bee against a background of green leaves

Sue Mosher@placekeepers· Jul 2

You'll get no argument from me about how it could have been an amazing celebration, especially as a long-time attendee of the Folklife Festival. The Smithsonian had huge plans. But I wouldn't want the local efforts, in their many different hues, to be overlooked, nor big events like #Sail250.

Screenshot from Smithsonian FY2026 budget request at https://www.si.edu/sites/default/files/about/fy2026-budgetrequestcongress.pdf

A Festival of Festivals

Of the People: The Smithsonian’s Festival of Festivals, an expanded edition of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, will activate the National Mall for one month (June 18 – July 12, 2026). Showcasing festivals as powerful tools of civic engagement and cultural exchange, the Festival will collaborate with communities from around the United States to bring their local festivals to Washington, DC. Events on the National Mall will be amplified through a series of on-site workshops and by bringing Smithsonian programming to participant festivals. This special month-long celebration of American gatherings will actively invite people to remember, harmonize, move, and grow together.

Sue Mosher@placekeepers· Jun 30

Experienced this extraordinary work by Hiroshi Senju at the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art today. Must be seen in person. Photos and videos cannot convey the dimensionality and texture of the two six-panel folding screens. asia.si.edu/whats-on/blo... 1/2

Flowing white vertical streams on blue background

Sue Mosher@placekeepers· Jun 30

Get off at Smithsonian Metro, and walk past both the entrance to the “state fair” and the Smithsonian Castle. Restrooms and plenty of chairs available for your comfort. July 25 will be a big Family Day. Daily schedule at www.si.edu/arts-and-ind... 3/3

Sue Mosher@placekeepers· Jun 30

You can check on the progress of renovation efforts inside this beautiful building and get the merch you need to party like it’s 1976. (Best 250 shirt I’ve seen, too.) It’s free, it’s air conditioned, and the security regimen is minimal. 2/3

Sue Mosher@placekeepers· Jun 30

Meanwhile on the National Mall … the Smithsonian Arts & Industries building is open through September 7 with a pop-up shop of past Folklife Festival merchandise, exhibits on democracy and extraordinary cultural objects, craft workshops, lectures, radio broadcasts, and more. 1/3

Sue Mosher@placekeepers· Jun 26

Hantavirus update and lessons learned … maybe. open.substack.com/pub/yourloca...

Screenshot from linked article:

Say out loud where the science stops, and the values start. Science, evidence, and facts will never answer the value question.

Always fight for the patient or the person, and you’ll never go wrong.

Put the name to the decision. Accountability (and, in other situations, credit) has to reside where the decision is made.

Build the off-ramp before the on-ramp. Some of the worst Covid mistakes weren’t starting an intervention, but rather not knowing when to stop.

Humility. The people who were sure that lockdowns were always worth it, and the people who were sure that restrictions were always tyranny, made the same mistake from opposite ends. Humility would have told all of them the same thing: this is difficult, the evidence is partial, reasonable people will weigh it differently, and we should hold our conclusions loosely enough to change them.

Sue Mosher@placekeepers· Jun 25

FWIW, Monarda fistulosa currently is the star bloomer in my pollinator patch. Not worried (yet) about it taking over, four years after initial installation. #NativePlants

Patch of green plants blooming with lavender-colored flowers next to wooden slat fence

Bee on lavender colored flower head with green stems and leaves in background

Sue Mosher@placekeepers· Jun 23

Earlier this morning, I watched a happy group of school kids walk down to a Scottish island harbor (same as in photo) and its crystal-clear water. Each was wearing a full-length black wet suit but also carrying a neon-colored float with a tether attaching it to a waist belt. Neon for the safety win!

Two-masted sailing ship painted blue, white, and red approaching a slipway across blue water with orange and white bumpers deployed. Green, rocky hills in background.

Sue Mosher@placekeepers· Jun 22

My Carpinus caroliniana in full sun in #ArlingtonVA, now with an understory of perennials (not lawn as in photo) happily generates dozens of viable seedlings every year. Most now go to the MGNV Small Trees Make Big Canopies program. Spring catkins are cute, and critters love the nutlets.

Base of multi-trunked tree next to paver walkway

Sue Mosher@placekeepers· May 20

If you are planning to attend a FIFA World Cup match this summer or live within 30 miles of a stadium, you can sign up to be a volunteer health monitor. You’ll get a weekly survey with a few questions … 1/3

Map of FIFA World Cup cities — Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey, Houston, Dallas, Kansas City, Atlanta, Miami, Toronto, Philadelphia, Boston, New York

Sue Mosher@placekeepers· May 19

Between the time that @ylepidemiologist.bsky.social added a gift link and screenshot to her latest Substack post and I accessed the link 30 minutes ago, the NYT softened the headline to the point of irrelevance. Sigh. Read her latest on hantavirus and Ebola at open.substack.com/pub/yourloca...

New York Times opinion guest essay headline: Our Public Health Agencies Have No Leaders. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Dated May 14, 2026, 3:24 p.m. ET

New York Times opinion guest essay headline: Another Trump Appointee Learns It’s Easier to Be a Critic Than a Leader

Dated May 14, 2026

Sue Mosher@placekeepers· May 14

I look forward to many new images popping up in the middle of #ArlingtonVA streets as people try out a new median.

Screen shot from https://arlingtonaf.com/art-closet/:

Take a brush /Leave a brush

Artists of all levels and ages are encouraged stop by the Art Space and Acme Pie to grab some free supplies and try out an unknown median.

Sue Mosher@placekeepers· Apr 28

I do know some dandy detours. Nothing like a good bell, some menhirs, and a stone circle to provide a refreshing rest stop on a long drive, today at Columcille Megalith Park in NE Pennsylvania.

Woman wearing sunglasses and a hat next to a stone, with a taller stone on a green mound behind her

Rust-colored cylindrical bell hanging on tripod stand in front of stone building with slate roof. Green trees here and there.

Stone circle on the right, partially constructed stone tower on the left, stone chapel in the distance, with green grass, blue sky, and green trees filling in spaces in between.

Partially built stone tower with five upright stones in front, set against blue sky, green grass, green trees

Sue Mosher@placekeepers· Apr 19

Today I finished planting our 4th round of lawn reclamation, this strip having shifted from full sun to part shade over the years. The design echoes the front sidewalk, which follows a short, straight line until it expands into a rounded area next to the front steps. #ArlingtonVA #NativePlants 1/7

Shady garden bed next to paver sidewalk on one side and green lawn on the other. Small circle of stones at one end, green plants scattered amid dark brown mulch.

Small circle of upright stones on dark mulched garden bed, surrounded by small green plants with narrow leaves, larger plants at left.

Green shrub with upright stems in dark mulched garden bed next to paver walk, more green plants of varying sizes scattered in the bed.

Sue Mosher@placekeepers· Apr 17

As a shared ride service designed to fill in gaps in scheduled transit service, it's described as corner-to-corner service rather than door-to-door. I was the only passenger on my first ride, and my walks to pickup and from dropoff were less than 2 minutes each.

Screen shot from https://city.ridewithvia.com/art

Why do I have to walk to meet my ride?

This shared ride microtransit service operates corner to corner instead of door to door. This means you might have to walk a short distance to your pickup point. To keep things running smoothly and efficiently, our system assigns you to a 'virtual bus stop' - which are pickup and dropoff points that are usually at a nearby corner. This is how we’re able to pick up multiple passengers without adding a significant amount of time to each rider’s journey.

Sue Mosher@placekeepers· Apr 17

Enjoyed my first #ArlingtonVA Microtransit ride. Waited 7 minutes on a shady neighborhood street just off Langston for a friendly driver in this clean, quiet VW electric van. Arrived a few minutes later at the bus stop nearest my house. First 6 rides free until 5/13. city.ridewithvia.com/art

Black van with "MICRO arlington microtransit" sign at bus stop in shady neighborhood

Sue Mosher@placekeepers· Apr 15

You are in for a treat! My two Amsonia tabernaemontana plants in Arlington are showstoppers, coexisting nicely with the wild geraniums, perfoliate bellwort, and wild strawberries that bloom at the same time. Planted in late spring 2021. #NativePlants

Shady garden with masses of knee high plants with ice blue flowers, in foreground small plants with white flowers and behind, some plums with pink flowers

Sue Mosher@placekeepers· Apr 12

Slowed down, took an unplanned detour along a few miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and stopped at a favorite overlook. After a few minutes of looking at mountains, my gaze softened enough to notice the trilliums, star chickweed, and downy yellow violets all around me. #NativePlants

Softly rolling mountain ridges against blue sky with wispy clouds. In foreground trees, some beginning to leaf out.

Pink flower with three petals, three leaves, and a yellow center against gray and brown woodland floor

Two pink flowers with three petals, three leaves, and a yellow center against gray and brown woodland floor. Small white flower viewed from the side at lower right.

Yellow flowers and green leaves against gray and brown woodland floor

Sue Mosher@placekeepers· Apr 11

Kudos to the neighbor who has been flying the NATO flag. “NATO was never a subscription service where everyone Venmos their fair share for global security. It was a trade…. NATO gave the United States unmatched strategic reach at a discounted cost.”https://substack.com/@bdelmonte/note/c-241260525

Screenshot of text:

NATO was never a subscription service where everyone Venmos their fair share for global security.
It was a trade:
We provide the security umbrella. They provide the strategic environment that makes that umbrella useful.
You break that, and you don't punish Europe.
You blind and deafen yourself.
You lose:
• Forward basing
• Rapid deployment corridors
• Integrated intelligence networks
• Coalition legitimacy
In other words, you trade a system that amplifies American power for the comforting illusion of not being taken advantage of.
It's the geopolitical equivalent of selling your factory because the electricity bill annoys you.
Now, could NATO be criticized? Of course.
Expansion created complications. Some members contribute more politically than militarily. Others are run by leaders who would struggle to manage a homeowners' association, much less a state.
Fine. That's all arguable.
But none of that changes the underlying reality:
NATO gave the United States unmatched strategic reach at a discounted cost.

Sue Mosher@placekeepers· Apr 11

Meanwhile, on my neighborhood walk yesterday, I spotted these two beauties already marked with the red X of destruction — one a willow oak, maybe both. The house has a nice little garden in front, too, very well maintained. Such a shame.

Street scene with two houses, 1 one-story and 1 two-story, overshadowed by two large trees against blue sky.

Early evening sun silhouetting two large trees next to one-story brick rambler house

Sue Mosher@placekeepers· Apr 8

I started with one black chokeberry plant, local ecotype from Earth Sangha, 5 years ago, and now I have a lovely thicket of Aronia melanocarpa. Northern Virginia, morning part sun, afternoon shade. Maybe one day, it will be dense enough to forage for berries. #NativePlants

Close-up view of flowering shrub with shiny oval leaves with end points and serrated edges and white flowers with dark pink stamens

Hip-high stems of white-flowering shrub in sun with trees near by

Sue Mosher@placekeepers· Apr 8

Oh the joy of finding more blue-eyed grass that I can rescue from the lawn and move to somewhere it will never be mowed! I think those are baby shrubby St John's wort at the top left. They'll get a new home, too. #NativePlants