Shauna

My congressman’s goes straight to voicemail both the local office and D.C. and it’s full so you can’t leave a message. When I write I just get a generic form letter response.

The high school library I sub in has this book on the shelf for the True Crime genre.

Don’t sleep on Brendan Fraser’s #RentalFamily. It really is a beautiful story.

You could take away 99% and he’d still be a billionaire

Painted lady butterfly eye, head and part of a wing

Closet up of an orange and black butterfly wing showing the texture and Fri fed edge

Closeup of the wing showing individual orange and black scales

Painted lady butterfly wings viewed through a dissecting scope #inverts #butterfly

Please share something beautiful you saw today 💕🌺

Close up microscope view of amber colored compound eye of a dragonfly lab specimen. Repeating hexagonal lenses reflect light. A few sensory hairs are visible as well as the blue iridescent labrum.

It’s okay to step away for a moment when things are unbearable. Small, ordinary, beautiful things aren’t pointless when things are heavy. A reminder to notice the beauty that’s still here.
Dragonfly compound eyes.

Paging @sarahmackattack.bsky.social

Two species of fungi peeking through pine needles.

The fossil record preserves bones, not biodiversity.
But extinction happens at the scale of bacteria, fungi, mosses, microfauna, parasites, soil invertebrates.
Entire kingdoms of life disappear without leaving a mark.

“and this all follows from sympathy, a fundamental element of the social instincts. A man who possessed no trace of such instincts would be an unnatural monster.”
Darwin, The Descent of Man, Chapter IV

Fantastic shot! The inside roof of that thrush’s mouth is kind of terrifying.

I missed last night’s show but glad to see even just a hint tonight

Night sky on a river with pale pink and green of the Northern Lights. Lights from houses shine on the horizon.

My phone camera was able to pick up just a hint of the pink and green of the Northern Lights over Virginia tonight.
10 second exposure

A seeming bit of history tonight as Ghazala Hashmi becomes the first Asian American to win statewide office in Virginia - and the first Muslim woman to win statewide office *anywhere* in the United States.

This is a close-up image of what appears to be a patch of moss or a similar bryophyte. The majority of the texture consists of densely packed, light green to yellow-green, small, and curly or winding plant structures. Interspersed among these are several clusters of paler, almost white or light beige shoots that look like they are emerging or growing upright, providing a contrast in color and form. The overall texture is very intricate and rough.

Moss? Idk. found on the ground in Virginia USA at St Mary’s Wilderness near the falls #nature

Novavax has been available in the US since 2022. How are pharmacists still not familiar with it? #GetBoosted #CovidIsntOver

A dark green leaf with serrated margins that have yellowed, on a blurred background

This is an oldie that I found on my camera roll but still find it so calming. #nature #leaves

😆

Online recipes used to be fun. Now half of them are AI garbage missing major steps and written awkwardly. If it’s from 2025, I’m skipping it. #CookingFail

A purple and red octopus talk to each other on the tin can telephone. Purple octopus says “want to connect your students with real Scientists?” Then red octopus says “Skype a scientist matches groups with scientists for virtual q&as. It’s free!” And then an orange flapjack octopus says “get a match at skypeascientist.com”

Alrght everybody, get your Tin Can Telephones out. We need your help!

We reach new people by word of mouth. Send all your educator friends this pic! Teachers, librarians, scout troop leaders, etc! We offer our program for free, so we need help getting the word out without advertising $$.

When my in-laws came to visit us in New Mexico for the first time they asked if it was safe to drink the water. 🤦🏻‍♀️

I didn’t know cormorants did that. Cool!

It would fit right in!

two cuttlefish hover over a reef where the female has laid eggs with tiny little baby cuttlefish in them. It's the month of December

This fall, @megstampede.bsky.social & I are collaborating to create a 2026 calendar!

Each month features a different animal, facts about them, & actions we can take to help them!

Sales will fund our '26 Native 🌱 Project

Order before 10/1 to get a free plant sticker!
www.etsy.com/listing/4366...

Picture of a tan colored mushroom taken from below, looking up at the gills, in afternoon sunlight. Blue skies in the background.

Lots of mushrooms popping up after all the rain.

I think the ectotherm crew is pranking the bird and mammal crew because I keep hearing/finding live crickets in the office but we don’t use live crickets in the bird and mammal diets. #animalkeeper #zoos

Today is the 1st day of early voting in VA. Let’s do some flipping and make VA bluer. Let’s elect @abigailspanberger.com for Gov., give her a bluer house of delegates, elect Ghazala Hashmi for Lt Gov, & Jay Jones for AG. Make a plan to vote & go to iwillvote.com?state=VA to find your polling place!

I kind of started a list a couple months ago:
• Article I, Section 8
• First Amendment
• Fourth Amendment
• Fifth & Fourteenth
• Sixth Amendment
• Eighth Amendment
• Tenth Amendment
• Emoluments Clause
• 14th Amendment