Shayna Marchese

I really like Tombow Fudenosuke soft tip brush pens (I can usually only find them in a two-pack with a hard tip that I like less).

Specimens from Phantom Flowers, one of two books published in 1864 on the art of producing skeleton leaves. More in our latest post from @eayers0: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/phantom-flowers

Finally found one that (kind of) fits and is in a vague comfort zone and want to get another? Discontinued.

Ms. Mim of the dining room table

A large tabby tux cat is zonked out on a colorfully striped dog bed. The cat has long legs, big ears, and looks very peaceful on his throne.

Milo’s too big for cat beds so we got him a dog bed instead #caturday #catsky #catsofbluesky

Oooh I love this one!

A Seaside Sparrow perched in reeds, looking to the side. The bird is a drab grayish brown with a bit of yellow in front of its eyes and a brown mustache-like stripe running downwards from its bill, which is large for a sparrow.

Seaside Sparrow #birds (Cook's Beach, Cape May County, May 2025)

A green and burgundy hummingbird clearwing moth (Hemaris thysbe) visits bee balm (Monarda fistulosa). The moth looks like a fuzzy flying lobster with long antennae and a curled proboscis.

It's flying lobster season #HummingbirdClearwingMoth

I had the same feeling about The Overstory.

Three floofy, unbearably cute Piping Plover chicks huddled together on the beach

anyone who did not say Piping Plover is wrong (or Red Knot, or Sanderling, or Ruddy Turnstone, or... )

A brown and white tabby tux relaxes on a grey blanket. He's looking away from the camera with a happy and maybe slightly smug expression on his face

Milo appreciation post
#Cats #CatsofBluesky #Catsky

Bees in the bee balm (Monarda fistulosa) #nativeplants

An arrangement of many small smooth rocks on a black background; the rocks are mostly reddish-salmon or gray in color

In-progress rock tumble; a soothing break from *everything else*

A juvenile Crested Caracara walking on the ground. They're large falcons with big legs (for all the walking). The juvenile has bare pink skin around its face and a light blue bill.

The same juvenile Crested Caracara, perched on a fence.

An adult Crested Caracara perched on a rock by the side of a road. The adult has orange skin around the face instead of the pink of the juvenile.

The adult Crested Caracara, still standing on the same rock, as the juvenile swoops in off to the side. The juvenile's blurry.

Crested Caracaras, Sarasota County, FL #birds #CrestedCaracara

In case you need yet another reason to hate AI nonsense:

Trump vs. Birds: Proposed Budget Eliminates Critical Research Programs • The Revelator Experts say there’s “no substitute” for the Bird Banding Laboratory or the Breeding Bird Survey, which help reveal the health and status of avian populations across the country.

Welp, I did it, I wrote a piece for @therevelator.org on the proposed funding cuts to the Bird Banding Lab & Breeding Bird Survey and what they would mean for bird research & conservation in the U.S. Definitely a different sort of writing than I usually do. 🪶 therevelator.org/trump-vs-bir...

The artwork’s by the wonderful @pigeonpost.cafe

I’ve yet to find any at a farmer’s market but I tried it and enjoyed it at West Farm Nursery in NJ. I have several growing in the yard now but it’ll be several more years before we can hope for any fruit!

An assortment of colorful shells. I don't know the names of all of them but the assortment includes Atlantic calico scallops, turkey wing ark clam, and cat's paw.

An assortment of colorful shells. I don't know the names of all of them but the assortment includes giant heart cockle, yellow cockle, slipper shell, and calico clam. There are a couple rock-like things too.

Gulf coast shells and other beach finds from Captiva, FL

Well this hit hard already but I've just learned that Douglas McCarthy was a birder: "Dad and I were twitchers, I had my Young Ornithologists Club enamel badge, and we would get up super early, go out, cut samphire on the mudflats of Canvey Island, and go home."

I had a lot of knots to choose from 😉

A Florida Scrub Jay is perched in a bush (I think it’s sand live oak) on an overcast day. The bird is blue and gray with light gray on its head and front. It’s tilting its head to one side, looking inquisitive.

A Florida Scrub Jay is perched in a bush (maybe sand live oak) on an overcast day. The bird is blue and gray with light gray on its head and front. It’s looking right at the camera and appears to have a bit of an attitude. I received this glower after the jay figured out I didn’t have any offerings for it.

So Florida Scrub Jays are pretty great #birds #FloridaScrubJay

Thank you! They're so much better at skulking around than being seen...

A Black-billed Cuckoo perched on a tree limb, seen in profile. In addition to its namesake black bill, it has a long tail, white front, brown head and back, and bright red ring around its eye.

A surprise Black-billed Cuckoo seen while kayaking the Rockaway River. I've only seen this species one other time... it did that very cuckoo thing where you've spotted it and it hunches over and just moves a little but somehow disappears completely (what is with them!?) #birds #blackbilledcuckoo

Warbler-like bird with a yellow breast, olive back, and white spectacles perched at the top of a shrub that is wrapped in vines. Chats were once thought to be warblers but have more recently been classified into their own family.

Yellow-breasted Chat, South Cape May Meadows #birds

Thanks! It’s fun (but messy) to get down to eye-level with them

thank you!

A large mixed group of shorebirds coming in for a landing along the Delaware Bay. Most recognizable amongst the chaos are Ruddy Turnstones and Red Knots. Also present are Dunlin, Semiplamated Sandpipers, and Sanderling.

A group of shorebirds taking off: it's mostly Ruddy Turnstones and Red Knots.

Shorebirds on the Delaware Bay #birds #shorebirds

Thanks so much! It's been quite a while since I've been able to get anything approaching a close-up of one so this was pretty amazing

A Red Knot (a medium-sized shorebird with a reddish head and front) stands with its head in profile as a wave hits behind it.

Saw some shorebirds! Delaware Bay, NJ #birds #RedKnot