Amy 🌸

My first trip to Costa Rica didn’t disappoint! I got to see my first owl, a ferruginous pygmy owl out in the wild! He was very high up in a tree.
He turned his head when our guide hooted at him 💜 #birding #CostaRica #owl

Thank you all for your support this year...we wouldn't be here without you.

Cheers to a restful holiday season and a brighter 2026!

Scott Ritchie's bird photo of the year: Rainbow bee-eaters.

whyevolutionistrue.com/2025/12/25/r...

Tabby cat with green eyes lying on a red blanket

Painting of a white and gray Siamese ca on a purple carpet

White and black cat with a blue sky

Trio of kitty watercolors I painted as Christmas gifts for a relative. Each one is a kitty that’s gone over the rainbow bridge 🌈 . #petportraits #cats #watercolor

69% of Americans support raising the federal minimum wage to $15/hr, according to YouGov.

This Veterans Day, we commemorate with solemn gratitude American service members and their commitment to our democracy.

Gray cat sitting on a purple carpet. Watercolors off to the side

Black kitty curled into a ball with a yellow splattered background. Paints off to the side

This duo of pet/kitty portraits was super fun to paint! It’s been wonderful how friends have stepped in to keep me working while the shutdown furlough drags on. #commissionsOpen #watercolor #PetPortrait

Placid lake with reflected autumnal trees

Sun peeking through the treetops near a stream

Sun hitting tall yellow leafed trees

Furlough fall morning walk here in Central Arkansas. Lots of time to enjoy the outdoors while waiting to go back to work. #autumn #’MorningWalk #nature

Amazon is helping fund a $300 million build of a ballroom for the White House.

Independent bookstores are donating to food banks and organizations that help with food insecurity.

They are not the same.

having a purring kitty cat on you is like wireless charging for your mental health

Orange and blue clouds reflected on the Arkansas river with the dam edge in the foreground

Driftwood and sand on the shore with the fiery orange sunrise in the background

View from the top of the bridge. In the distance, orange yellow sunrise with purple clouds, reflected on the water.

The watercolor painted sky with orange and yellow above, and the trees silhouette below. The sky is reflected in the water.

The sky was ablaze and reflected in the Arkansas river on my nine mile #run this morning. I ran across the Big Dam Bridge to get a better shot. Totally with the early wake up time! #sunrise #arkansas

Goldfinch and pacific wren marker art drawing

Squirrel marker drawing. Markers sitting in front

Fighting hummingbirds shown drawn in markers on a square notebook

Three more of my marker art sketches made during this autumnal government shutdown. Goldfinch and cheeky wren, fuzzy squirrel, and a pair of fighting hummingbirds. #artwork #sketches #natureart

View atop the newly reopened and remodeled downtown Little Rock public library. I was impressed with the new design! 💫 #LittleRock #library #Arkansas

Colorful white-brown tit warbler perched on a branch. My hand holding a marker is seen from the side

Yellow fish with a blue face drawing

Pink flowers with green leaves marker drawing with the spiral notebook seen on the edge

Three of my latest marker drawings using @copicofficial.bsky.social (my favorite!) and gel pens.

Shown are a White-blue tit warbler, a yellow fish I saw in the Denver aquarium, and pink weigela flowers.

Markers are my favorite go-to fun and relaxing medium. 💜 #drawing #markers #sketching

Sunrise over a neighborhood with streaky clouds and a yellow orange sun

Bright red sun dot below clouds feathered in the sky

We’ve had two mornings in a row this week with painted sky sunrises here in central Arkansas ☀️ #sunrise #wx

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In Which Nadine Amuses a Dragon and Makes Autumn Happen

Mural by JDL Street Art in Roubaix, Lille, France, depicting the Statue of Liberty covering her face with both hands in a gesture of shame. The figure is painted in shades of grey with teal accents on the torch and crown, set against a muted background with a golden halo-like circle. The artwork spans the side of a tall brick building, contrasting modern street art with historic European architecture in the surrounding cityscape.

"A mural of the Statue of Liberty in shame" by JDL Street Ar in Lille , Roubaix France 🇫🇷

Framed painting of an Orange octopus with tentacles stretched downward over coral.

Just finished this 8x10” oil painting of a day octopus 🐙 She was a fun subject and I love all the colors under the ocean! 🌊
#octopus #oilPainting #artwork

Rethinking the Luddites in the Age of A.I. Brian Merchant’s new book, “Blood in the Machine,” argues that Luddism stood not against technology per se but for the rights of workers in the face of automation.

Today, the word “Luddite” is used as an insult to anyone resistant to technological innovation. But a recent book argues that Luddism stood not against technology per se but for the rights of workers in the face of automation.

why did this make me laugh

Painting showing two house finches on top and two cardinals, both mated pairs. Branches cross cross in the background.

My latest commission is a quartet of birds; cardinals and house finches. I used watercolor, gouache and pen. This was a birthday gift for someone’s friend and they loved it 💜 #watercolor #painting #commissionsopen

Speaker Johnson should just take the L on this vote. Most of America doesn’t want this bill to pass anyways. It’s it both the worst and most unpopular piece of legislation in modern history.

Smiling like a crazy person in front of an exhibition at Meow Wolf

Selfie at the crochet exhibit at the Denver art museum

Hot rooftop selfie on the 7th floor of the art museum overlooking downtown

It’s hot in Denver but still a cool place to visit. #Denver #vacation #selfies

I strive to be as chill as the bunny that lives in my front yard. #bunny #nature #wildlife

Two Black men and two Black women stand in front of a home in Nicodemus, Kansas. A cow can be seen in the background. Black and white historic photo from the Historic American Buildings Survey collection.

On this day in 1862, President Lincoln signed the Homestead Act. One of the things it paved the way for was Black homesteader colonies, which began popping up out west after Emancipation. The oldest & only remaining Black settlement west of the Mississippi is Nicodemus, KS. 🧵

The CRAZY thing nobody is talking about too is that nothing is ever gonna be cheap again.

If corporations see that we’ll pay these elevated prices, they have no reason to not make those prices their baseline