Jen Shepherd

@jenshep.bsky.social

182 Followers 219 Following

Things I’m into: conservation and habitat restoration • animals, plants, and fungi • board games • reading • volunteering • dataviz • allyship 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ • gardening

The hardcover version of the book “Hemlock & Silver” by T. Kingfisher. It is tilted slightly to show off the bright green color that tips all the pages between the black cover. The overall effect is like a brighter version of a mint oreo cookie. The astute observer will also notice the head of a sleeping gray tabby cat who rests on my lap as she usually does while I read.
A snow-covered prairie past a deck. There are animal footprints in the snow by the house and several trees and tall grasses visible above the snow. It looks as bright as a cloudy day even though it was taken at midnight thanks to the reflection of the bright moonlight on the snow.
A clipping from a local Madison, Wisconsin newspaper featuring three speakers at events in late October. There’s a small photo of each speaker and a short blurb about their talk. Dexter Patterson is one of the speakers, talking about his new bird field guide on October 26th.
Close up of an open okra flower with a bumblebee deep inside the pale yellow flower cone. There are many grains of pollen all over the bee’s legs and bod. They contrast vividly against the darker color of the bee and magenta color of the inner flower.
A poplar tree sprout with several green leaves. One of the leaves has a silvery, winding pattern on the top that sort of resembles an acid etching. The leaf underneath the pattern is still intact.
Four light purple bee balm plants in full bloom with some green grasses among them. A large moth that is shaped very similarly to a hummingbird is hovering near one of the flower heads, preparing to feed from the flower. The moth has an orange colored abdomen, rust colored wings, and dark brown head, shoulders, and rear. Its body is very plump and arched as it flys nearly vertically.
A jigsaw puzzle picturing an owl on a branch sits on a wooden table. The lid of the box looks perfect but inside the base of the box, the puzzle was previously assembled and put away by folding sections over each other to fit in the box. A clear glossy preservative was applied to the front of the puzzle, making the pieces stick together and the tips rip off when the pieces are separated.
A blue colander with two handfuls of tiny red wild strawberries, with a few dark purple mulberries mixed in.
A four-pack of posters with images on them of plants and animals, a microscope, and catchy slogans to accompany each image. The slogans are: 1- protecting wildlife begins with you. 2- funding science saves lives. 3- will our oceans thrive or nosedive, the choice is yours. 4- biology is bigger than binary. Each poster also has a QR Code on it to learn more.
A pink puzzle piece resting in my hand, with a tiny bit of green on one foot of the piece and small dent marks across the surface. Yes, the dents are from my teeth.
A group of friends, including me, poses in the foreground smiling and holding “hands off” posters. Many more people with flags and posters are visible in the background. This was taken at the UW campus end of State Street after we marched down the street from the state capitol building.
Two Nigerian Dwarf goats are standing on the other side of a metal gate from the photographer. Both goats are wearing jackets and scarves and there is snow on the ground. The goat on the left is looking straight at the camera with perky ears and an expression of interest. His face is brown along the sides, including his ears, with a wide white swath from the top of his head down the front. The goat on the right has a white face and head with some dark splotches. Her head is turned towards the other goat and her pink tongue is out to lick the other goat’s scarf. The tip of her tongue is on the scarf.
One side of a hand-written postcard that reads: What? Spring election. When? April 1. Who? Judge Susan Crawford. For? Supreme Court. Why? The court majority, fair maps, freedoms, and choice are at stake! How? Be a voter! Thank you! The message is written neatly in four different colors of colored pencil so it stands out among the glossy printed brochures and flyers we receive by mail daily about the election.
The front of a mailed flyer for the WI Supreme Court election. It barely mentions the candidate, focusing mostly on references to Trump and his agenda. Even the headline says “President Donald Trump needs your vote.” There’s a small picture of candidate Schimel but a larger picture of Trump and 2 bodyguards. Trump has streaks of blood on one side of his face and has one fist in the air.
A human hand holds out a long plastic stick with a long fleece ribbon on the end. One tabby kitten is holding the stick while another tabby kitten plays with the ribbon. Both are happy and having fun!
Two nine-week old brown tabby kittens lay on a towel-covered lap. One is on its back in the foreground, looking straight at the camera with its front white paws raised and curved downward. There are also white patches on its belly. The other kitten is further back, and turned right-side up. He does not have any white markings and is a little smaller than his brother. Both are very cute.
A small round teapot with a donut hole in the center. It has tiny peg feet, a thin circle tail as a handle, and a ram’s head with a pursed mouth as the pour spout. The base color is beige with big orange and yellow flowers and blue leaves painted on it. The tail and horns are similarly decorated. The overall effect is very whimsical and adorable.
Several wooden posts in a row with grape vines slumbering on the wire beneath them, and thick grasses sprouting up from the ground. In the bright blue sky above, the wispy white contrail from a jet runs diagonally up from the horizon, perfectly overlapping the visible half-moon in the sky so that it looks like the moon is on a visible path.
A small gray tabby cat with curved white whiskers is curled up asleep on a beige blanket. Her feet are all tucked under her and her head is resting on her tail. She is curled towards the camera so her face and one ear can be seen clearly.
Aurora borealis, pink on top with green below and three tree tops at the bottom
A lovely female model wearing a modern dark green one-piece 1950s style swimsuit with large peach flowers and light green leaves on it. The suit ties around her neck and has a boy-short style bottom yet is very flattering.
A small gray mouse with big round ears, glossy black eyes, tiny pink feet, and a white belly sits on top of a discarded mini pie package at the bottom of an otherwise empty trash can.
A brown goat lying on a picnic table between two wooden spools and a white goat standing next to one of the spools. No goats are on top of the spools.
A very young and small brown baby goat with some black markings on the face, shoulders, and rump is laying on its belly, with its neck extended, sound asleep. It is laying on a narrow ledge in the birthing pen and one of its hindlegs is dangling down off the ledge. It is wearing a pink collar with its name on it to differentiate from all the other babies at the petting farm.
Close up photo of a bumblebee feeding inside a purple iris, with tall grasses in the background
A ring and side flares around the sun, which is peeking through a walnut tree. The sky is blue and the ground is covered in snow
Completed 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle of The Museum at Le Havre by Monet. The entire puzzle is in shades of blue, beige, and gray with very few splashes of occasional green, yellow, and orange.
Four completed 500-piece jigsaw puzzles arranged on a table, depicting various outdoor scenes
A picture of the game board during an in-progress game of Dark Darker Darkest. There are many zombie miniatures menacing the character figurines. One room has burned up entirely and the fire is spreading. Winning seems unlikely.