We took a family trip to Manitou Springs, but my toddler was fed up about halfway through. Still a beautiful trip.

This is my #fiction pick for October. On pg 52 and it’s okay. One of the main characters has that trope going where she’s physically 16, but since she’s actually 400+ years old it’s okay for the author to sexualize her. Other women in the story are collectively referred to as fawning over a guy. 🤢

I found 4 cool #books at the shop yesterday. The 1st was a biography of Rasputin. The 2nd was about how European art was preserved in Ireland during the Dark Ages. The 3rd was historical fiction called The Rebels of Ireland. The 4th was the one I ended up buying. His book on Chernobyl is great!

Every year, a garden of volunteer snapdragons pops up in my front yard. Over time the purples have been phased out and replaced by all pink and white. 📁 #flowers #garden

We took a family trip to the bookstore last weekend, and this was staring at me from across the store. 📁 #occult #esoteric #history #books

I’m slowly coming out of “new parent hibernation”. Here’s a blue heron sketch from photo reference. 📁 #birding #birds #art #🪶 #watercolor #ink

Dragonfly head sketch from 2020 🐉🪰 📁 #artsky #digitalart #art #nature

My username means snake in Middle Egyptian, so here’s an old snake sketch. 🐍 📁 #artsky #art #digitalart #nature #sketches

I painted this Magic The Gathering deck box years ago for my husband. Guess which card was the star of the deck? Yep, the Mirari. 📁 #artsky #art #acrylic #mtg

Another set of digital landscapes— 📁 #artsky #art #digitalart #nature #landscapes

I should get back to making these little landscape studies. 📁 #artsky #art #digitalart #landscapes #nature

The progression of a watercolor sketch— 📁 #artsky #art #watercolor #sketches

Flipping through old sketches— 📁 #artsky #digitalart #art

Graphite sketches are fun but messy, and I’m always too lazy to seal quick studies in a sketchbook. 📁 #art #sketches #sketchbooks #artsky #graphite

My current bookmarks—I might float the stamp off the paint chip one day. Unsurprisingly life with a one-year-old is hectic, so I don’t have much time to read or make art these days. 📁 #booksky #books #reading #snailmail #philately

“Queen Isabella” by Alison Weir was great, and now I’m convinced that Edward II wasn’t killed at Berkeley Castle but instead lived out his days as a hermit. For my next read I’ve chosen “The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the Dark Ages 400-1000” by Chris Wickham. 📁 #history #booksky #reading

This extremely quick sketch of my husband, baby and youngest cat is for his birthday card. 🖤 📁 #digitalart #sketches #procreate #artsky #art

I love waking up to snow. ❄️ 📁 #wx #macro #nature #photography

I drew a little sketch of the cover of the book I’m reading—complete with an expanded list of possible books to read next. 📁 #books #reading #art #journaling #journals

I’m about 100 pages from finishing “Queen Isabella” by Alison Weir. What should I read next? • “Empires of the Sea” by Roger Crowley • “1491” by Charles Mann • “The Age of the Vikings” by Anders Winroth • “The Silk Roads” by Peter Frankopan 📁 #booksky #books #reading #history #nonfiction

One of my favorite stamps is this Russian orca. 📁 #stamps #snailmail #postcrossing #philately

Here are some excerpts from “1453” by Roger Crowley. It’s a very interesting read about the Ottoman siege of Constantinople. 📁 #booksky #books #history #reading

Thrift store find for a couple bucks! 📁 #books #history

One day in 2013, I came back from running errands, and the stray cat I fed was at the front door to greet me. She plopped her tiny kitten into my hand, and Cake has been my companion ever since. Sometimes I call her Moons because of the markings on her face. She turns 12 in October. 🌘🌒 📁 #cats

I think this sketch was on a postcard. 📁 #art #mixedmedia

After hearing “warp fleet” so many times in EVE Echoes, my brain came up with this comic. 📁 #art #comics #mixedmedia

Despite being Cajun, I didn’t grow up speaking Louisiana French. I got this bad boy to help work some Cajun-isms into my standard French. It’s a nice, hefty addition to my other language books. 📁 #books #reading #languages #louisianafrench

Watercolor sketch of an American robin from 2024 📁 #art #birding #birds #watercolor #ink

Double exposures of my love and one of our cats— 🖤 📁 #photography #film #instax

I found another bird sketch from last year. 📁 #art #birding #birds #watercolor #nature

I bought this stamp specifically for my collection. There’s a whole section in my album for architecture, including bridges. 📁 #stamps #philately #snailmail

I got an Instax Mini 99 for Christmas! My Mini 90 broke a couple years ago, and I used to take that thing everywhere. This one has even more functions, including in-body LEDs to tint the film photos taken. 📁 #photography #instax #film

A little bit of mail and some budding branches— 🌸 📁 #snailmail #photography #nature

Just trotting along when I found this bit about the Tour de Nesle affair: two Norman knights committed adultery with the King’s daughters-in-law and were gruesomely executed. 📁 #booksky #books #history #reading

These Sun science stamps are so pretty. Look at them shine! ☀️✨ 📁 #philately #snailmail #postcrossing

I can’t believe I spent so many years of my life without the mountains. 🏔️ 📁 #wx #photography #nature #rockymountains

Why did Blitzen join the reindeer? Operation Paperclip

I’m doing some reading today. My favorite genre is nonfiction, particularly history. I’m just beyond the death of the Despensers while Edward II has become Isabella’s captive. Fun fact: Isabella’s god father was Jaques de Molay, last Grand Master of the Knights Templar. 📁 #booksky #history

Macro snowflakes— ❄️ 📁 #wx #photography

Numina level cathedral at Meow Wolf 📍 Denver, Colorado 📁 #photography #art

A rain shower against the Rocky Mountains 📍 Colorado Springs, Colorado 📁 #wx #nature #photography

Some beautiful weather from 2022 in Colorado— 📍 Brighton, Colorado 📁 #wx #nature #photography

Here are some of my space stamps. 📁 #stamps #snailmail #mail #philately

One of the aquariums I went to in my 20s had a tunnel underneath some of the fish. It made for a pretty surreal photo. I think this the Newport Aquarium in Kentucky, but it’s been quite a while. 📁 #nature #photography

A couple years ago I spotted my first Cassin’s vireo and had to sketch it in colored pencil. 📁 #birding #art #coloredpencil

Holy Mackerel—just a fun little sketch from some years ago 📁 #art #sketches #mixedmedia

The Lunar Sea Spire from Steven Universe—this is an old piece I want to revisit in digital one day. 📁 #fanart #mixedmedia #stevenuniverse

My kitty Cake in the sycamore leaves 🍁🍂 📁 #cats #photography

These are some of the photos from my home, the Louisiana Bayou. 📁 #nature #photography

Acrylic marker blue jay sketches—I’m trying to get the hang of Posca markers. 📁 #art #birds #birding #mixedmedia