Bridgett Williams-Searle

@profbridgett.bsky.social

3080 Followers 6060 Following

Writer, early retiree, former associate professor of 18th/19th US history. UIowa PhD/COGS-UE. Former dementia caregiver. Boomer by birth, Gen x by grace of god. Book project on long emancipation and Black resistance in southern Indiana, 1780-1830.

A tuxedo tabby cat named Cosmo sits in front of a 3-ft small white Christmas tree and looks at the camera. A fireplace glows in the background.
This is a text-only poster titled Slavery, Presidents, and the White House. It is a perfunctory treatment of the subject (fewer than 200 words) that mainly is a list of Presidents who owned or used enslaved laborers either in the White House or elsewhere. It is currently resting up against the wall on the basement floor of Grouseland, the Indiana home of William Henry Harrison.
Baby Yoda figure sitting as the guest of honor at a Thanksgiving feast. He’s got a cherry tomato on a China plate in front of him. He’s is eying the pumpkin pie hungrily.
Photo of a 9x12 inch rectangular metal pan full of a nicely browned shepherd‘s pie sitting on top of a black induction stovetop. You can intuit it has just been pulled from the oven because the timer on the stove reads “End.”
A delightful pot of minestrone, a tomato-based brothy soup with pasta, beans, and vegetables.
This is the cover of The Annotated Memoirs of the Live and Botanical Travels of André Michaux by J.P.F. Deleuze (translated by Carl D.E. Köenig and John Sims, 1808). The title card is centered and there is a colorful photographic border picturing many floral varieties Michaux described as well as signage from significant locations in the US that Michaux visited.
Close up of a young tiger tabby cat staring intently at the camera. Cat is lying on a white sheepskin. Fireplace is out of focus in the background.
A sunny afternoon, but dim inside the nearly deserted dilapidated pub. You’re looking at a few wooden tables with two chairs each, a well-stocked bar, and worn flooring. The whole place looks like it could use a good scrub, patrons included. No bartender or waitress in evidence.
A gold Duolingo badge that celebrates my 500 consecutive days of studying German.
Dawn’s early light over the Hudson looking towards the eastern bank. The sun is not yet visible above the ridge line. There’s just enough light on the clear shining water for dark black reflections of trees and a building cupola to be reflected. Hoarfrost visible on the ground on the western bank and bare limbs on trees lets you know it’s a cold morning in November. Several old tugboats are docked on the eastern bank, barely visible in the upper left of the photo. You can’t see them in the photo, but several crows were flying over the river cawing when I took the picture.
Friendly white woman wearing glasses and a brightly tie-dyed hoodie looks at camera and smiles. A small tiger striped tabby kitten with white paws sleeps on her chest.
Moonrise over the Hudson River. It’s mid-November, so the trees are bare. On opposite bank, some tugboats are docked at a tugboat station.
An acrylic on canvas hyper-realistic painting of a grey and black cracked, weathered stone encrusted with verdant green lichen.
A big statue of a Dodo bird in front of a Montreal bank.
Small party invitation with a centered bright red block and white lettering: Socialist Workers Party. The unseen middle of the invite gives the salient details of where the party’s going to be, etc.
Couple selfie — John and Bridgett in front of a waterfall.