Catherine Shaffer

@cathshaffer.bsky.social

612 Followers 303 Following

Freelance Science Journalist | SFF Writer MSU/UM grad | Ann Arbor 🏠 | Clarion '97 | AnLab 🏅 | Obligate herbivore | Cat lover | Allergic to cats | Achoo!

Six month old black lab puppy lying on a blond wood floor. There is a black chair leg with rollers between her paws.
Black Newfie Jammer hanging out in the upstairs bathtub. Her nose has a film of dried mud. The tub is white, and there’s white subway tile behind her. In the floor, a fluffy beige bath mat with white one inch hex tile peeking out. There are two blue bottles on the edge of the tub nearby.
Six month old black lab asleep on her back with rear legs pointing left, front legs pointing right, and head pointed left.
Cute beagle in jelly bean pose dozing on a light blue blanket
A black Newfie lies on a gray slate and brown mosaic tile floor in a curbless shower next to a sink and toilet. She is partly concealed by an ivory shower curtain.
View from a skywalk. No idea where I was.
A beagle hock deep in a creek surrounded by forest. The creek reflects the green leaves above while water ripples out from her legs. She is mid-stride facing the left of frame. Her white-tipped tail is high.
Mishka the beagle enjoying the comfy daybed she claimed as her own
A spiral notebook page with barely legible cursive handwriting scrawled across it. There’s an arc sketched in the middle with a sort of cone thing in the middle above a…is that a Lego block? Notes include stuff like “What can Jennifer do?” and “Arcane math + astronomy?”
Newfie Jammer and black lab Nimue wait for their breakfast behind a baby gate. Nimue is casually snuggled up against Jammer, the two black dogs blending together. Jammer has her pink tongue out.
Peanut, a female gray tabby cat, lies sprawled on her side atop a light green quilt. She is not hungry. She just wanted options.
A black Newfoundland is lying on a wood floor beneath the elevated footrest of a matron leather recliner. The recliner has the patina of a an antique well loved (by cats). There are bookcases to each side.
Puppy Nimue apparently getting the better of Newfie Jammer in a spirited game of Bitey Face. Jammer is having the camera while Nimue chomps her cheek.
A black Newfoundland dog sits in a creek. Viewed grill above, she looks up with her tongue hanging out. Water ripples around her.
A black Newfie sitting on a sidewalk in the sun
A basket of teas and a basket of snacks sit side by side on top of a small oak cabinet. Hatters a blue wall behind and a mahogany bookcase to the right.
A Newfoundland rests her chin on a coffee table and stares hopefully at a plate of Mac n cheese being enjoyed by my 3 yo niece.
A black Newfoundland sitting on a sidewalk. Her tongue is out and there’s green grass nearby.
Red silhouette of a horse above a striped white and black awning on a gray building. The horse has seven legs. A front leg is raised in the air. The other six are on the ground.
White trucks parked on foreground as tree trimmers work. Sound of saws and wood chippers.
A large tree fallen between two single-story houses. There is a tarp on the roof of the house on the right. Behind an orange striped road barrier and cones, the tree’s roots are pulled out of the ground.
A green plastic bag with contents stuck in a hole in a chain link fence. Brownish red sand in background.
A Spin scooter lying on its side in the grass
Gas station cleaning wand held by my husband. There’s a chain link fence in the background and gravel below.
Portapotty lying on its side near north side of veteran’s park
Concrete base of light pole with jagged metal remnants of light pole bottom and broken pole balanced on its edge.
One mangled bleacher set inside the twelve foot baseball field fence. Another bleacher set dragged a short distance. Trash can tipped over.
Large ice arena building with whole wall missing and rubble in front.
A black Newfoundland paws at the wall and shoves her face into the hole
Instruction manual for the IKEA Idanas wardrobe
A beagle and a black Labrador retriever puppy wrestle while w Newfoundland looks on
Black cat silhouetted against a slightly open glass storm door
A Newfoundland dog sitting on a sidewalk, looking up at the camera with her tongue out
Front view of a black Labrador retriever puppy biting a tennis ball. From this angle, the ball looks bigger than her head.
Four pairs of swimming goggles in blue and white on a white comforter
Up close profile of a large, black, fluffy dog at the edge of me desk, studying the computer screen. She says, “I need those TPS reports by EOD.”
A white mug with a flying saucer and “Locus 2024” filled with blue liquid and a tea bag floating on top
A portopotty blown over on its side with the door open. Two residential homes are behind it and there is a street in the foreground.
Black Newfoundland lying on a light oak floor with tongue hanging out
Cornmeal mush with Ranch Gordo pinquitos, avocado, tomato and a sprinkle of violife Parmesan style vegan cheese
"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter. 'tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning." --Mark Twain
Cover photo of Vegan for Everybody featuring an open-faced burger topped with sliced radish and fried onions
White bowl filled with greens, a mushroom, and a whole, soft-boiled egg
Three Newfoundland puppies corner a beagle in our back yard rock garden. The vegetation is brown and there are patches of snow. The curious puppies have never seen a beagle before. The beagle is unimpressed. She has smells to sniff.
A single shoe on the floor in front of a recliner
Catherine sitting on a couch wearing a rust colored sweater. A ten week old Newfoundland puppy is standing in front of her with his paws in her lap.
Black Newfie asks for a tat against a snowy background
A wall of brown pegboard filled with cast iron and copper bottom pots. The pegboard frames an old ironing board cabinet and laundry chute.
A black Newfoundland dog sitting pretty holding a Clifford stuffie in her mouth. Good girl!
Former feral house panther doing loaf pose
Two Newfoundlands walking side by side along a snowy path
Two one pint ball canning jars filled with soy yogurt. One jar has the lid off.
A black Newfoundland dog sits next to several large balls if shed fur on a blue and white patterned carpet
A Newfoundland dog sitting on a snow-covered deck, lightly sprinkled with snow