Nietifa Van Suiker

@lukewanderer.bsky.social

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|Friend of Dogs |Science Adherent |Environmentalist ~techie ~civil eng |unrepentant godless liberal |born at 323 ppm ~fermenter |#BikeCommuter ~#carlite ~more

Tray of nicely browned and studded with pearl sugar kanelbullar (Swedish cinnamon rolls with cardamom) fresh from the oven
A young buck deer, still in velvet, watches unconcerned from a grassy strip between trails while the videographer slowly bicycles past him, less than 5 feet away. A companion doe, slightly more concerned, bounds away
Over a foggy marsh, sunrise just clearing trees on the horizon and peeking out from behind trees and above a riotous verdure in the foreground.
Photograph of a book page with a sentence "once we break the ocean, it will remain broken for a very long time" highlighted.
Beautiful orange butterfly weed among the prairie grasses along the North Cedar Lake Trail
Chicken shawarma in a very nice, warm, fresh pita with pickles and potato chips on the side
A plate inspired by Swedish midsommar celebration - cured salmon, skagenröra sandwiches (on caraway light rye), deviled eggs w dill & roe, new red potatoes, and of course, pickled herring. Accompanied by a stalwart Minnesota beer (Summit Brewing Extra Pale Ale) and @GamleOde dill aquavit.
West Metro Active Transportation Alliance sticker with climate stripes
3 young peregrine Falcons in their nest box at Mayo Clinic
Image of graffiti wherein a scowling dog face the color and general shape of a Lemonhead candy proclaims "Abolish ICE!"
Metro Transit maintenance vehicle stopped on Hennepin Ave while worker attends to the bus stop. The bike lane remains clear and passable without hazard.
Bicycle hanging from a wall rack in a bike storage room. A wall of the room is painted with white letters that spell out the words "Let's Ride" on a black background. There is an equipment rack (a lock block") underneath the words. The bicycle has a a front basket (the better to carry lunch back from Kramarczuk's!) and bright blue handgrips on the Surly Moloko handlebars. A white helmet hangs from the bike seat and a BikeMN casquette hangs from GPS mount on the handlebars.
Personal vehicle blocking bike lane at Hennepin Ave & 12th St in Minneapolis
Metro Transit maintenance vehicle blocking the bike lane at Hennepin & 10th St in Minneapolis
A still pond on a summer morning, with trees in varied but vibrant shades of sunlit green in the foreground and background all beneath a blue sky with clouds. In the pond, a muskrat swims toward the far shore, a gentle wake charting its course. In the trees on the far shore a white egret sits, presumably looking for its breakfast or maybe just considering its reflection.
Photo of Minnesota Automobile Dealers Association webpage
Car blocking bikelane
Origin8 Tiki bars on concrete driveway after being removed from #StickerFixie.
West Metro Active Transportation Alliance (WMATA) yard sign placed along Lake Minnetonka Regional Trail in Minnetonka near Highway 7 overpass. Green grass and trees embrace the crushed limestone trail as it heads to/from Hopkins, all under a brilliant blue, fresh morning sky
Rolls of chicken wire fence strapped to top tube of a bike for transporting home from hardware store
Variable message sign with message "May 6 Bike To School Day Please slow down!
Photo of a white car, blocking the new Hennepin Avenue,bikeway at about 25th, the picture is very blurry because it was taken through a plastic bag as part of keeping the phone dry because of the forecasted rain that day.
Kayak on a trailer for pulling behind a bicycle
Pictures of people who used bicycles to help pick up trash along a local trail for Earth Day, 2026.
Two segments of the Dunwoody bikeway lifted several inches, similar to a "heat buckle" where the expansion of long stretches of concrete in sudden heat cause compressive stress that forces a vertical failure at a weak point (like an expansion joint)
tom turkey on full display right next to the bike path
A cute black lab dog chasing and retrieving a tennis ball thrown into a pile of leaves.
A devastatingly cute black lab puppy, looking straight ahead while wearing a harness in front of a gray backdrop in the back seat of a car on the way to puppy obedience class.
Two trumpeter swans serenely swimming on a calm pond with a little morning fog
Video taken from a moving bicycle during the morning ride to work. Video focuses on two trumpeter swans floating on a pond next to a road. Several trees are seen in the foreground, houses with yards and trees in the background.
A small handful of the thousands of people assembled in Minnetonka, Minnesota is part of the #NoKings rally.
Framed playbill from The War On Cars show at the Cedar Center in Minneapolis in April 2025. Courtesy of top-notch local advocacy organization Our Streets. With a signed (by the authors!) book insert for Life After Cars wedged into the left side of the frame.
One portion of an Adam Turman painting / mural depicting Minneapolis bike-related images of all four seasons. Located at 12th and Hennepin in Minneapolis Minnesota, the image shows a young woman in a skirt and a sweater holding an umbrella while the wind whips her long blonde hair. The painting includes the world-famous Stone Arch bridge over the Mississippi in the background.
THE STREAM TASTES WINTER. The roads are finally clear. The plows have passed, the asphalt is drying, and the commute is safe again. We wash our cars and forget the storm. But the river keeps the receipt. While the pavement is dry, the waterways running beneath it are currently experiencing a chemical shock that is invisible to us, but catastrophic to them. The Myth of "Dilution" We assume that because the ocean is salty, a little salt in a river doesn't matter. Or we assume that spring rains simply wash it all away. The Scientific Reality: Chloride is a "conservative ion." It does not biodegrade. It does not evaporate. It does not get filtered out by soil. Once it enters a watershed, it stays there. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), we are currently witnessing "Freshwater Salinization Syndrome." In urbanized corridors of the Northeast and Midwest, winter chloride levels in freshwater streams can spike to concentrations nearly one-third that of seawater. The Scientific Reality: The Osmotic Shock Freshwater organisms—like mayfly larvae, salamanders, and trout—are biologically engineered to keep salt out and water in. The "Physiological Drought" (Community Insight 1): As a stream ecologist recently noted in our discussion: "It doesn't matter how much water is in the creek; if the salt is high, the animals are dying of thirst." This is osmotic stress. When the stream becomes saltier than the animal's internal fluids, physics takes over. Water is sucked out of the animal's cells to balance the salinity. The creature dehydrates while swimming in water. Why This Matters Ecologically We are slowly turning our freshwater heritage into saltwater. This shift favors invasive species (which are often more salt-tolerant) and creates "urban deserts" in our waterways. Furthermore, this salt eventually infiltrates groundwater, contaminating the very aquifers that supply our drinking water.
Insulated drink container with many bike- , beer-, and resistance-related stickers, including @mplscargobikelibrary, @bikeleague, @bikemn, @unmappedbrewing, @woodenshipbrewing, ...
American flag (Stars & Stripes) with a Rebel Loon star and names of people shot by ICE/CBP written on the red stripes (to reflect the blood that has been "given")
Homemade sign that says "Minnesota will be where American fascism goes to die" withe the last word (die) underlined
Video pan of people gathering to support their community in the face of inhumane brutality at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis
Looking to the north across the commons park in downtown minneapolis under a crystal clear blue sky and minus ten degrees fahrenheit weather
Contractor truck stuck in snow off the side of a slush- and ice-covered bike trail
Fatbike riding across frozen lake (Wayzata Bay of Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota)
a fatbike balanced on lake ice and silhouetted by the setting solstice sun
Snow squall out the office window, just in time for Thursday afternoon #BikeCommute