Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them

@cassidyaster

Archaeologist, Master Naturalist, Game-runner, hobbyist crafter and writer. Nonbinary, they/them.

220 Siguiendo506 Seguidores2181 Publicaciones

Bluesky

trans

¿Es tu perfil?Reclámalo y cassidyaster.dirty.social es tuyo.Reclamar perfil

Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them@cassidyaster· Oct 7

After logging off from my interview, I got emotional because they're all still so curious and dedicated and they have such good insights. They want to help and they want to do the work. We owe it to them to be there now and give them the support we wish we had.

the "Do it for her" meme from the simpsons episode "And Maggie Makes Three" where homer covers up the "Don't forget You're Here Forever" poster with pictures of baby Maggie to make the poster say "Do It For Her."

Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them@cassidyaster· Oct 2

Desperately need my workplace to partner with a university library so I don't spend all my savings on books like this

Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them@cassidyaster· Sep 18

I got to hold several snake friends today but this Dekays Brown Snake is the only one cooperative enough to get a picture one-handed

A small light chocolate brown nonvenomous snake with two parallel lines of darker brown spots along it's back sitting with its front half in an S curve shape on an open white palm (left hand) while it's back 1/3 and tail twist around behind the middle and ring fingers.

Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them@cassidyaster· Sep 4

O to be a 5th instar caterpillar reclining on a leaf and eating another leaf

Large black, yellow, and white monarch butterfly caterpillar with long tendrils on both its heat and butt to confuse predators chowing down on a dark green swamp milkweed leaf that is already half eaten, while it reclines on another leaf below it. It's feet are very large nubs sticking out from under its body.

Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them@cassidyaster· Sep 1

Anti-vax grifters are onto dog autism now, so rabies vaccination rates are going down and the canine rabies strain which, like measles, was eradicated in the US is about to come back. Cool.

People may not always know they’ve been exposed to a rabid animal. There have been reported deaths from people who didn’t realize they had been bitten or scratched by a bat and who had refused the lifesaving vaccines.

As rabies seems to be spreading more in wildlife, veterinarians are especially worried about vaccine hesitancy spreading among pet owners, a dangerous trend that could lead to more dogs — and their owners — becoming infected. A 2023 study published in the journal Vaccine found in a nationally representative sample of Americans that nearly 40% believed canine vaccines were unsafe and 37% believed that vaccines could lead their dogs to develop cognitive issues, such as autism.

Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them@cassidyaster· Aug 31

Temperatures are getting down to the 50s and even upper 40s overnight, the light pollution at Mt apartment complex is inescapable, but this guy just keeps going.

A late instar monarch butterfly caterpillar with yellow, black, and white stripes hanging onto the stem of an undeveloped pink floret head of swamp milkweed. Immediately behind it are a series of narrow swamp milkweed seed pods from florets that had been previously pollinated this past July by a wasp (not pictured). The milkweed leaves are a darker green than the seed pods. The stems of the plant are covered in tiny orange aphids.

Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them@cassidyaster· Aug 27

I'm never sure what this guy is up to. I try to leave him alone but I need him to grow big and strong and finish the migration.

Late instar monarch butterfly caterpillar on the underside of a green swamp milkweed leaf. There are many orange aphids on the stalk of the milkweed plant. The caterpillar is yellow, black, and white striped with long pairs of antenna like structures on the front and back ends.

Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them@cassidyaster· Aug 25

Caterpillar is bigger now but my camera absolutely refuses to focus on it unless it's at 10x

3rd instar monarch butterfly caterpillar with black, white, and yellow stripes on the underside of a green swamp milkweed leaf. It has two black stalks on its head and several pairs of tiny little legs.

Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them@cassidyaster· Aug 22

I am getting better at these, but also caterpillars grow really fast.

Monarch butterfly caterpillar with white, yellow, and black stripes on a green, half eaten swamp milkweed leaf.the background is a maroon-gray house siding.

Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them@cassidyaster· Aug 22

I'm trying to hold onto hope now and work within a framework of community action but I will become the Joker if the Monarch Butterfly goes extinct.

An orange and black monarch butterfly with white spots on the edges of its wings and covering its body sitting in a sunbeam on a curled green lead. The background is sun dappled and shadowed leaves of the same tree, with a few spots of blue sky visible beyond.

Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them@cassidyaster· Aug 21

Shaky cam proof of life photo

Very overbright photo of a monarch butterfly caterpillar where the yellow and white stripes are very washed out by the camera flash, chewing on the underside of a narrow green swamp milkweed leaf. The out of focus background is the dark gray siding of my apartment.

Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them@cassidyaster· Aug 20

BROOOOOOOOOOOOOÒOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO #monarch #MonarchButterfly

A very small monarch butterfly caterpillar chewing on a pale yellow-green swamp milkweed leaf. Below it on the stem are many many tiny round orange and black spotted milkweed aphids.

Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them@cassidyaster· Aug 5

Looks like it's gonna be another headache day

Air quality dashboard from airnow.gov showing unhealthy air quality in red on the dial at 158 AQI for PM2.5 ar 6am August 5 for my location, which is cropped out of the screen grab. The dial goes from green to magenta, "unhealthy" begins in the middle of the dial so you know it could always get worse.

Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them@cassidyaster· Aug 4

Big help for game night

A black cat with white fur on her neck completely zonked out laying on khaki clad legs. The lower 1/4 of the picture is a chrom case of a laptop.

Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them@cassidyaster· Jul 26

Very cool iridescent blue wasp at the garden center

A black/iridescent blue wasp on a spotted bee balm plant, green narrow leaves and pink/white flowers.

Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them@cassidyaster· Jul 11

I've heard people say native plants are boring or ugly, but to me common milkweed inflorescence is so satisfying to look at. It's so round, and the tiny little florets are extremely cute once you see them up close. I like them even better than butterfly milkweed.

Common milkweed inflorescence, a very satisfyingly round cluster of tiny pink and white florets with five petals each. The leaves are oval grey/green with a purpleish vein in the center coming off of a single stem. Absolutely surrounded by goldenrod.

Several common milkweed stems growing in a cluster, with round inflorescence in bloom and broad oval leaves, surrounded by grass. It is right at the edge of the pavement.

Another very round common milkweed inflorescence, with white and pink florets. The florets are parted slightly so you can see the center where they attach to the stem. The one beneath it is drooping as the florets begin to drop off ahead of seed pod growth. Wide oval leaves that end in a point.

Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them@cassidyaster· Jul 11

At work yesterday we surveyed a few of our Monarch CCAA locations and visited some of our completed pollinator plantings. It was great to see the planted areas working as intended, covered in dozens of pollinator species. Nature is healing etc and so forth

Common milkweed busting out of cracks in the sidewalk of an abandoned highway facility. Common milkweed usually grows in single stalks with purplish stems and large oval leaves as in the plants at the center of the picture. In the right conditions it can also be clumped together, as in the plant on the left. Their pink/purple flowers are at the end of their life, the florets drooping before they fall off to produce seed pods. Behind the milkweed are many goldenrod plants not yet in bloom. Probably some aster.

Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them@cassidyaster· Jun 21

My hometown for #ShowYourStripes day. We hardly get snow anymore, and haven't seen a white Christmas in ages.

Climate change visualization from the University of Reading for Columbus, Ohio since 1850. A range of blue bars of various shades slowly morphing into pink, then orange and dark red from left to right.

50% of all post industrial revolution atmospheric carbon has been produced since 1990.

Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them@cassidyaster· Jun 19

She has beds

A black cat with a white neck and white armpit fur lays on bunched up curtains on top of a black faux wood dresser. The curtains are a gradient from a light purple to a tropical ocean blue. The cat is missing her left eye but not in a gross way, it is closed and healed over.

Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them@cassidyaster· Jun 8

Pride was just what I needed after moving to a new state and not really knowing anyone. Now I am in a craft group, gonna try two ttrpg groups, and a casual cycling group.

A rose with dyed yellow, blue, and pink petals in a white Valley Forge coffee mug filled with water, sitting on a white windowsill. A gravel driveway and brick wall are out of focus I the background.

Front half of a blue bicycle with silver handles and a progress pride flag held to the right handle by a strap parked on the grass. There are other bikes and cyclists packed together in the background.

Golden brown fried samosas with green chutney on them, in an aluminum rectangular tray. These weren't made with onion or garlic so I could actually eat them.

Three gulab jamun in syrup in a white plastic bowel and a black spork.

Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them@cassidyaster· May 28

The only other archaeologist is doing site visits and everyone else in the office today is biology and GIS

They don't know meme of sad trollface standing along in a corner with a party hat and two couples dancing

Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them@cassidyaster· May 17

"That's a big fucking bee- wAIT-"

Merlin's "You found a lifer!" Screen indicating the first time a user records a bird in the app, in this case a red throated humming bird. It is a small green bird with a long beak and a light green and white underbelly. Males have red/orange feathers on their throats. The picture is covered by a pop-up saying "Congratulations! New Lifer!"

Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them@cassidyaster· May 16

At least she's having a good Friday.

A black cat with white fur on her neck and white whiskers is laying on a white window sill her tail is hanging off the edge and she is laying her head on one paw with her head tilted toward the viewer. She has one eye open (because it is the only one she has) looking at the camera with narrowed eye as if she has just woken up. Birch trees with white bark and pale green new spring leaves are visible outside the window.

Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them@cassidyaster· May 10

My cat and I having the exact same reaction to hearing a Common Raven: running to the window and listening very hard #TenMinMerlin

List of bird suggestions in Merlin's sound ID platform, identifying a Black Capped Chickadee, a Nashville Warbler, a Rose-breasted Grosbeak, an Ovenbird, and a Common Raven.

Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them@cassidyaster· May 9

First common raven and first rose-breasted grosbeak, though I've heard the raven several times but never had my phone out fast enough to record it.

Common raven, ovenbird, black and white warbler, and Nashville warbler listed in the Merlin app's sound ID list

Rose-breasted grosbeak with the uncommon bird icon next to it, Nashville warbler, ovenbird, black and white warbler, and black capped chickadee in Merlin's sound ID list.

Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them@cassidyaster· May 7

CAN'T GET INTO THE ATTIC NOW CAN YOU

A somewhat blurry action shot of a one eyed black cat staring up at the camera operator holding the end of the red leash attached to her purple harness. She is flopped down on the ground, but this is drama, she does actually know how to walk on a leash. She just wants to be in the attic.

A much blurrier picture of a black cat, actually sitting up while wearing a purple harness, facing away from the camera because she angy when no attic time.

Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them@cassidyaster· May 4

This is why I got the bird feeder.

A black cat sitting on a white window sil pressed face first against a window screen trying to get to the Chipped Sparrows who do not care. Two chipped Sparrows are eating out of a gray pagoda style bird feeder hanging off the a wooden beam. The woods beyond are mostly pine, maple, and birch. The leaves are only starting to emerge.

Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them@cassidyaster· May 4

Basically as soon as I set up the feeder I got birds. Chipped Sparrows? I think?

A bird feeder is visible through a wet window screen. The background is young woodlands, mostly pine, maple, birch. Two birds sit on the feeder, one with a rusty red cap, white stripe, and dark stripe. Mostly brown body.

Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them@cassidyaster· May 2

She's very attentive

A black cat with white fur on her chest and neck and half a handlebar mustache on her right, viewers left sits on a white windowsill facing the camera. She has one yellow eye, also on the right. Her ears are perked up and attentive. A tree is in bloom outside.

Cassidy Aster 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them@cassidyaster· Apr 28

I've never lived this far north this is freaking me out