Jessica
LightNews LightNews
banner
jessicashen.bsky.social
Jessica
@jessicashen.bsky.social
73 followers 500 following 180 posts
Gardening through the chaos. Mid-atlantic east coast of North America. she/her
Posts Replies Media Videos
jessicashen.bsky.social
So many good boy photos, how to decide!!
A brown spotted white dog standing on a rocky beach, wearing a bandana. Both his ears and the bandana are fluttering in the wind. A brown spotted white dog outside, not looking at the camera, probably watching a squirrel
December 17, 2025 at 12:41 AM
jessicashen.bsky.social
They haven't quite figured it out yet over here
Photo of the sidewalk with a disturbing number of spotted lanternflies.
September 21, 2025 at 10:39 PM
jessicashen.bsky.social
Almost partridge pea harvest time
Many partridge pea plants looking neatly arranged in parallel. The bright green foliage have scattered raindrops. There are many pale green seed pods on the plants.
September 16, 2025 at 7:03 PM
jessicashen.bsky.social
We travel for ice cream
An illustration by DocHackenbush of a white dog looking lovingly at a huge soft serve ice cream in a waffle cone.
September 11, 2025 at 3:50 PM
jessicashen.bsky.social
A surprise hiding under the partridge peas. Rough buttonweed, Hexasepalum teres?
Looking downward at the ground, a patch of dirt/mulch in a clearing amongst partridge pea stems. 3 dainty, pale pink flowers in the patch stand out against the browns and greens.
September 10, 2025 at 5:45 PM
jessicashen.bsky.social
So many late checkouts on a cloudy day.

[4 pictures of bumblebees on flowers]
Close up of 3 pink New England Aster flowers, a bumblebee is sleeping in the middle of one of them. Close up of a cluster of blue mist flowers with a bumblebee sleeping on top of them Close up of a single pink New England Aster flower, with a bumblebee clinging on. Close up of a single New England aster flower, with a halo of partly open buds around it. A bumblebee snoozed in the middle.
September 10, 2025 at 5:31 PM
jessicashen.bsky.social
Meanwhile, I have this great blue lobelia that is definitely not blue.
Close up of plant that sure looks like great blue lobelia but the flowers are white.
September 8, 2025 at 4:56 PM
jessicashen.bsky.social
He says thank you too
Close up of a dog face, his mouth is full of vanilla ice cream
September 4, 2025 at 2:42 PM
jessicashen.bsky.social
The physostegia virginiana patch is constantly buzzing with dozens of bumblebees and surely other little creatures.
A profusion of pink flowers of physostegia virginiana, plus three bumblebees.
August 29, 2025 at 3:26 PM
jessicashen.bsky.social
Love your silly lil guys. My silly lil dog would absolutely abandon us for ice cream: look at those heart eyes for the ice cream.
2 side by side pictures. Left photo of a tan dog staring loving at a vanilla soft serve ice cream cone. Right photo of the same tan dog, waiting expectantly at an ice cream stand pick up window.
August 29, 2025 at 2:32 PM
jessicashen.bsky.social
Share a meal with someone
1 tan skipper and 1 yellow and black bumblebee feeding on a pink zinnia blossom 2 light brown slippers sitting on a yellow zinnia flower 3 bumblebees feeding on the flowers of an obedient plant 2 skippers (both brown with yellow and white spots) feeding on one pink zinnia blossom
August 19, 2025 at 8:07 PM
jessicashen.bsky.social
A different, smaller and lighter brown skipper. Not shown are a black swallowtail and a cabbage white. Excellent butterfly watching today!
Two pink zinnia flowers side by side in a garden. On one zinnia is a large easter tiger swallowtail, on the other is a tiny brown skipper.
August 16, 2025 at 5:44 PM
jessicashen.bsky.social
Weekend brunch!
A garden scene: multicolored, tall zinnias poking out of a bed of yellow partridge pea. On 4 of the zinnia flowers are butterflies feeding: a brown skipper on a hot pink zinnia in the foreground. Another brown skipper on a pink zinnia and a yellow and blue eastern tiger swallowtail on a pink zinnia in the middle. An orange monarch on a red zinnia at the back of the bed.
August 16, 2025 at 4:55 PM
jessicashen.bsky.social
Bouncing back. Tree friend gave me grafting tape to bandage the stump and now 4 new lead nodes sprouting.
A stump of a branch, the end wrapped up in white plastic graft tape. Below the start of the bandage are 4 new, light green, baby leaf growths.
August 16, 2025 at 1:30 PM
jessicashen.bsky.social
Not even peak physostegia virginiana season yet. These are the same white starts that have blushed pinker with time.
A swath of dozens of flower spikes of physostegia virginiana. Most are still green and small, but many have mature pink flowers or tons of small pink buds.
August 12, 2025 at 3:20 PM
jessicashen.bsky.social
The neighborhood monarda fistulosa bloom at different times
A brown skipper butterfly sitting on a light purple flower of monarda fistulosa
August 7, 2025 at 3:20 PM
jessicashen.bsky.social
physostegia virginiana starting to bloom in earnest. this should be a straight species, pink last year, but starting off white.
A bunch of green flower stalks of physostegia virginiana, many more in the background. A few buds have opened into white flowers
August 4, 2025 at 2:18 PM
jessicashen.bsky.social
Same spot, 15 minutes apart, new friend: red spotted purple?! The thick vertical stem in both pictures is the same obedient plant.
A collage of 2 photos: both photos look similar, and both feature a pawpaw tree and an obedient plant and a butterfly. Top photo is a zebra swallowtail butterfly, sitting on a pawpaw leaf just to the right of the stem of an obedient plant. Bottom photo is a red spotted purple butterfly on a leaf on the left side of the same stem of obedient plant, with the pawpaw leaves visible.
July 29, 2025 at 4:14 PM
jessicashen.bsky.social
One of the pawpaw trees lost its main branch :(
Looking down on a pawpaw sapling. The stem is jagged and peeling where a branch snapped off. But there are other leafy branches visible.
July 25, 2025 at 11:20 PM
jessicashen.bsky.social
A hummingbird clearwing sitting on a glass wall of an office building!!!!!
very close up shot of a hummingbird clearwing moth on the side of a building. the wall is glass so the moth is reflected.
July 17, 2025 at 6:11 PM
jessicashen.bsky.social
checked this morning: the farthest along stalk, only about 3/4 inch for the 3 smaller flowers, 1.5 inch for the middle tallest one
close up of the top of a leafy green Physostegia virginiana plant. there are 4 tiny beginnings of flower stalks, still very immature and barely look like buds.
July 17, 2025 at 2:32 PM
jessicashen.bsky.social
Judging by the dozen+ occupied flowers, there was a rager of a bumblebee party last night and many didn't stumble home. This one didn't even find a comfy bed!
A bumblebee hanging upside down on a plant stem, clinging onto the stem like a sloth on a branch.
July 16, 2025 at 1:23 PM
jessicashen.bsky.social
Teeny tiny orange mint moth on mountain mint. Wingspan about 1 centimeter.
A tiny mottled orange and brown moth on a similarly sized flower head of a clustered mountain mint.
July 15, 2025 at 10:16 PM
jessicashen.bsky.social
Early check in at the bee hotel last night
A bumblebee sleeping on the purple flower spikes of blue vervain
July 14, 2025 at 1:56 PM
jessicashen.bsky.social
Look at this lil skipper I almost mistook for a clearwing moth.
A small brown skipper butterfly sitting on a purple coneflower
July 10, 2025 at 9:38 PM