This time of year in the PNW the sunsets can throw beautiful colors across the clouds. It's a beautiful view from the second story of my home. #sunsets

ZooLights @woodlandparkzoo.bsky.social was fantastic this year. The event was made even better when I spied the mother Malayan tapir and baby watermelon. #tapirs #WoodlandParkZoo

IT'S TIME FOLKS! SOLSTICE IS ALMOST HERE! EVERYONE is invited to our annual Solstice Toast: Dec. 21, 2025 - 10 am PST Toast on the dot - then post a pic of you & your beverage OR just your beverage OR just post a hearty "Sláinte " as we wave buhbye! to the ever darkening days! #SolsticeToast

Toby was such a very brave cat boy at his vet visit. #Caturday #TobyJapaneseBobtailOfBluesky

The best thing that you can be remembered for is that you were kind. #WorldKindnessDay

Happy #Caturday from little man Toby #TobyJapaneseBobtailOfBluesky

Toby doing his interpretive dream dance for #Caturday #TobyJapaneseBobtailOfBluesky

Happy Halloween featuring Toby in his ebi sushi costume. It couldn't be more perfect for a Japanese bobtail.🎃😂 #TobyJapaneseBobtailOfBluesky #Cats

Here's little man Toby in honor of #NationalCatDay. He's such a funny little love bug. #TobyJapaneseBobtailOfBluesky

Mama brought her baby by last night! She still has a few stripes, so she's probably around four months old. Unfortunately, I was sleeping and missed the visit. But she'll most likely start bringing her by more now. Prepare for baby tapir videos! At @casabentbill.bsky.social #tapirs #costarica

Banana's toes when he came to visit me tonight. The Baird's Tapir belongs to the order Perissodactyla, or odd-toed ungulates, with horses and rhinos. At @casabentbill.bsky.social #CostaRica #tapirs #tapiroftheday #nature #mammals

#TapirTuesday was also a #TapirTwofer as Bananas visited me after this female who seems to be lactating. She was very pregnant in February and the gossip in the neighborhood is that she has her calf. Let's hope she brings her baby to visit! At @casabentbill.bsky.social #tapiroftheday #tapirs

Walking towards my front door on Sunday I heard a "different" bird call so I stopped and looked towards the side of my house and saw what I think is a juvenile Cooper's hawk perched drying itself on my fence gate. A big rain squall had just passed and it looked very wet. #birds🪶

I had to back up as I was going into my kitchen so I wouldn't scare this Pileated woodpecker off the suet feeder this morning. They were absent for a good portion of the summer and just showed up again two weeks ago in the Douglas firs in my back garden. They are magnificent birds! #birds 🪶

I choose video over stills in the hopes i can capture this again.

My son's back garden (which is wildlife friendly) abuts a greenbelt. Whenever I'm up helping him I'm always excited to see Northwestern garter snakes and Pacific tree frogs.He always jokes that I'm the only mom he knows that comes running to see a snake See alt text for more info. #snakes #frogs 🐍🐸

The Marine Life feed has hit a whopping 2k likes 😱 so my friends, POST CELEBRATORY SEA CRITTERS. Birds Feed folks, seabirds count 😉🪶 come join us in the feed if you are a lover of ocean life! bsky.app/profile/did:...

Here comes the wind and rain. This marks the first heavy rain with wind in a very long time. We'll see how the dahlias and other flowers fare tomorrow morning. #flowers #dahlias #plants 🌱

CA Biology job alert My unit at the CA Dep of Fish and Wildlife is hiring a permanent position to write 5 year reviews for species listed under the CA Endangered Species Act. Based in West Sacramento, currently 2x week in office. I am happy to answer questions calcareers.ca.gov/CalHrPublic/...

I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA 10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)

Toby is such a very good boy. He's waiting so patiently in the exam room for his wellness exam. It's so hard to believe he just turned 14 years old. ##TobyJapaneseBobtailOfBluesky #Cats

Sitting under the kiwi fruit vines looking up at the wonderful Douglas firs in my back garden. It's a perfect spot for resting while gardening. The weather here in the Pacific Northwest is perfect today. 73°F with a slight breeze. 🌱 #trees #Gardening

Quick! I need to grab this bunch of ripe grapes before the raccoons get it. 🌱🦝😂

Happy 14th birthday Toby "Little Man", aka fancy pants name RW GP Kiddlyn's Toby Aki Koneko. You bring so much joy into our lives. 🎉🎂🐾❤️ #TobyJapaneseBobtailOfBluesky #Cats

🍃🦓💩🌸 🐝 The smell of fall is in the air and so is the sweet aroma of Woodland Park Zoo’s coveted Zoo Doo! It goes fast, so now is the time for gardeners to place their bulk orders for the zoo’s poopular compost. Pickups will be available over three weekends this fall: zoo.org/zoodoo

Doesn't get much cuter than this. Two curious 8-month-old polar bear cubs playing in the fireweed in the rain. Mom was not far away. 🌿🐻‍❄️🦊

We went to a dahlia show today put on by the #SeattleDahliaSociety and #PugetSoundDahliaAssociation at #SkyNursery. It will be running tomorrow (Sunday) too. Not only will you see every type of Dahlia you will also see some stunning dahlia floral arrangements. #Dahlias 🌱

Happy #Caturday! This is one of my favorite photos of #TobyJapaneseBobtailOfBluesky

One of the pluses of helping my son in his garden is being able to pick and take home fruit. These are 'Pink Lemonade' blueberries. I had already picked a bowl full and then had to stop as a Bald-faced hornet (second photo) took umbrage at my presence. 🌱🐝

One of my favorite dahlias. 'Dad's Favorite'. It's been a great performer, stores well and has bloomed abundantly over the years I've had it. #Dahlias #Flowers 🌱

For #TapirTuesday here are Tuah's tapir toes. Tuah is the new male tapir at #WoodlandParkZoo he's part of the Species Survival Plan a vital part of saving genetic diversity in endangered species.

This immature varied thrush (I think?) was doing a cirque de soliel act bathing in my backyard pond while hanging from a kiwi fruit vine. I love this time of year. There are so many different types of birds in the garden. #birds 🪶

Ha ha, don't try to take photos after you've been to the ophthalmologist. Anyway, here's a slightly out of focus Bombus vosnesenskii on a noid pink dahlia. #BloomScrolling 🌱🐝

Happy #InternationalCatDay from #TobyJapaneseBobtailOfBluesky #Cats

🔬🌏Hey fellow science-obsessed, curious-minded, Earth lovers: Give us a follow! Scripps Oceanography scientists conduct fundamental research to understand and protect the planet, and investigate our oceans, Earth, and atmosphere to find solutions to our greatest environmental challenges.

I never know what interesting things I might see when helping my son in his garden. Today it was a beautiful native banana slug. In the second photo you can see it's pneumostome (breathing hole). Size 36 Dansko garden clog for size comparison. #slugs #invertebrates

#ToucanoftheDay Keel-billed Toucan at @casabentbill.bsky.social #CostaRica #birds #nature

Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit! Happy first day of August!🐇🐇🐇❤️

🌱🐝 Among the great joys of Summer are the myriad species of Halactid Bees - many have brilliant metallic green coloring.💚 Tiny & industrious, here visiting Campsis radicans 'Flava' (Yellow Trumpet Vine) - a nativar selection of the beloved Illinois native. Halactidae & Bignoniaceae

Photos of two different divisions from the same mother tuber of Dahlia 'Dancin' Queen' (stellar petal type). It's one of my favorites. #Dahlias #Flowers

I had the sprinkler set and as I went to move it there were several juncos rolling around on the wet plum tree leaves. Decided to try and get a photo and ended up with a #BirdButts .🤣🪶 #birds

So glad that I was able to get a few more photos of "Crow Baby" before it was mature enough to fully fly and join it's parents and their murder. Every summer I hope that at least one set of crow parents will park one of their offspring in my back garden. This little one was extra special.🐦‍⬛❤️🪶 #birds

Well shoot! I think something big 🦝 tried to climb the plum tree and broke this limb off. The plums aren't really ripe yet.😢 #plants #Trees 🌱

Have you ever heard a snoring tapir? When we tranquilize the tapirs for exams or installing radio collars, they go into a deep slumber. Felipe here was out! We use the cloth to cover his eyes and reduce stress. At @tapirvalley.bsky.social with @tapirvet.bsky.social #tapirs #costarica #nature 🌿

I finally got a decent photo of one of the Steller's jay youths. It's slowly getting it's adolescent feathers in. 💙 #Birds 🪶

Thrilled that the crow parents trust me with their young offspring. I was afraid I wasn't going to see any babies this year and then this one was parked in my back garden a few days ago. Photo is through the screen door so not the best. It still has blue eyes and a pink gape. #WorstBirdPic #Birds 🪶

Black-crested Coquette in the rain at @tapirvalley.bsky.social #birds #nature #hummingbirds #costarica

I guess it's appropriate that 'Pinelands Pam' is the first dahlia to open in the garden. #Dahlias #Plants 🌱

JOIN US!!! @garlab.bsky.social is looking for a PhD and MS student to join our team studying ecology & conservation of gars, bowfin, and other non-game native fishes beginning Spring 2026! Posting & more info coming soon. Please DM or email [email protected] with CV if interested!