Lauren McG
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laurenmcg.bsky.social
Lauren McG
@laurenmcg.bsky.social
150 followers 70 following 200 posts
Editor, critter enthusiast
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laurenmcg.bsky.social
Rugen is with you! He's partial to cream cheese.
A grey-and-white tuxedo cat stands on a table, licks a plated slice of buttered toast The same cat crouches on the table and licks a be-cream-cheesed half of a bagel
December 12, 2025 at 5:59 PM
laurenmcg.bsky.social
I took care of my sister's cat, Becky, for a week. We tried out a lot of long names in that time but landed on Becorino Romano
Tabby cat shows off her belly while lying on crinkly packing paper Same tabby lying on a chair, showing some toe beans
November 18, 2025 at 1:46 AM
laurenmcg.bsky.social
Oh heck yeah. It's my time to shine.
Speckly snail on garden fence, posing for the camera Tiny pearlescent white snail crawling on deteriorating wood Snail on a pine needle Underside of a yellow freshwater snail crawling on the glass of a home aquarium
November 9, 2025 at 12:05 PM
laurenmcg.bsky.social
Thank you for this post! I've been working on reclaiming my scraggly, invasive-filled yard, and I just tracked down and planted some native asters and Stokes asters today. They're a little pathetic atm, but as I was cleaning up there was a teeny-tiny bee checking them out 🥹
Small bed of mulch next to a paved path. There are a few small plants with purple flowers.
October 4, 2025 at 7:36 PM
laurenmcg.bsky.social
Relevant (pumpkin was hollowed out and filled with meat)
A muscular, usually imposing lioness shoves her entire face into the cut-open top of a pumpkin.
October 2, 2025 at 8:02 PM
laurenmcg.bsky.social
My hatred of this English ivy has surpassed my fear of brush cutters. I am unstoppable.
A woodsy backyard with a thick layer of English ivy over most of it. There's a tree in the foreground at the boundary of the ivy, half-surrounded. The same yard shown from a similar perspective, with much less ivy. The tree has a solid five-foot radius of clear ground.
August 31, 2025 at 8:59 PM
laurenmcg.bsky.social
I've been on a @premeemohamed.com kick this month and would highly recommend all of it! I can't wait for The First Thousand Trees to come out 🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛
Novellas arranged on a tabletop: Butcher of the Forest, One Message Remains, The Annual Migration of Clouds, and We Speak Through the Mountain (all by Premee Mohamed)
August 23, 2025 at 9:42 PM
laurenmcg.bsky.social
Look at this perfect little baby ring-necked snake!
Tiny grey snake with a cream-colored ring around its neck, slithering across pavement toward leaf litter. Its head is slightly raised. It is about the length of a pine needle. The same snake has moved next to a line needle. The photo emphasizes its tininess.
August 8, 2025 at 6:56 PM
laurenmcg.bsky.social
Large bug!!!
Head-on view of a leaf-footed bug standing on wet pavement. It has a wide greenish-brown body, long orange antennae, adorably flat feet, and thick, spiky back legs. It's about an inch tall, not counting the antennae. Top-down view of the same bug. Its body is very wide and flat, but its head is tiny. Side profile of the same bug. This part looks much greener.
July 7, 2025 at 7:10 PM
laurenmcg.bsky.social
This awkward little guy motivated me to finally download the Merlin app. Green heron!
July 4, 2025 at 3:46 PM
laurenmcg.bsky.social
Here is my fish, Alpha Gal. Also, as a bonus, here's a really funny mushroom I found one time.
A blue-green short-finned betta fish in a lightly planted aquarium. The photographer's hand holding a white mushroom that 100% looks like a butt. There's a colander full of boring non-butt-looking mushrooms in the background.
July 1, 2025 at 1:37 AM
laurenmcg.bsky.social
Saw a copperhead on my evening walk! I didn't get a good pic, but here's a throwback to the time I got bit. I took a photo for ID, and while I was at the ER, my photo app notified me that it taken the liberty of yassifying my latest pic.
A top-down photo of a small, thick snake with a distinct tan-and-brown Hershey kiss pattern and a bright green tail-tip. The same photo, but harshly filtered and high contrast.
July 1, 2025 at 1:05 AM
laurenmcg.bsky.social
I saw a watersnake!
A 1-foot-long snake sticks its head out of the water. It leaves a trail of V-shaped ripples behind on the otherwise smooth, silvery surface of the water. The photo is from several feet away, so there is little detail on the snake.
May 10, 2025 at 4:59 PM
laurenmcg.bsky.social
So handsome!
The same lion, looking through the fence at his domain.
April 20, 2025 at 5:48 PM
laurenmcg.bsky.social
Roman Lion has some things to say. This sound is sometimes called an "oof." It carries about 5 sq. mi. in open terrain, and it lets everyone know that there's a lion here who will fight you if you threaten his territory.
April 20, 2025 at 5:48 PM
laurenmcg.bsky.social
Big yawn!
The same white tiger yawning real big.
April 20, 2025 at 5:48 PM
laurenmcg.bsky.social
Shaila coming to say hello too.
April 20, 2025 at 5:48 PM
laurenmcg.bsky.social
Also, tiger belly.
April 20, 2025 at 5:48 PM
laurenmcg.bsky.social
Mila had some chuffles for me! This is sort of a greeting noise for tigers. I should visit this social girl more.
April 20, 2025 at 5:48 PM
laurenmcg.bsky.social
Garcia is round and perfect.
A large raccoon stands on his hind legs, holding the fence with a front paw. The same raccoon standing in a small water dish. He is large, but he fits.
April 20, 2025 at 5:48 PM
laurenmcg.bsky.social
India Tiger: Sleepy, but keeping an eye on this vulture who wants to steal her horse leg.
A tiger with bold stripes is lying down next to the fence. She is yawning. Photo of the same tiger from farther away. She is facing away from the camera, looking up at a vulture that is perched on top of her enclosure fence. (If you look closely, you can kind of make our the remains of a horse leg on the ground near her denbox.)
April 20, 2025 at 5:48 PM
laurenmcg.bsky.social
Timeline cleanse: I spent the morning walking around the tiger rescue where I volunteer as a tour guide. It was so nice to spend some quiet time in the sanctuary. 📷🧵
Naveen Tiger (wish him a happy belated birthday) and Nova Cougar
A handsome tiger with relatively light coloring is lying down in a natural enclosure, behind a chain-link fence. He is looking just to the right of the cameraperson. A mountain lion lies down outside a denbox in her enclosure.
April 20, 2025 at 5:36 PM
laurenmcg.bsky.social
Chocolate cake with raspberry buttercream and whipped ganache. It's been a while since I last made a cake, and I'm really pleased with how it turned out!
Whole chocolate-frosted cake standing on a turntable on a dining room table A slice of that cake. It's a 3-layer dark chocolate cake filled with bright pink frosting The cake, minus a few slices. The angle highlights the interior.
April 19, 2025 at 2:18 PM
laurenmcg.bsky.social
Narrowly avoided some ice cream zombies
Grocery store freezer section. One door is entirely covered with cardboard, sealed with pink duct tape and covered with Caution stickers. In marker, someone has written "Please do not open" in large letters.
March 27, 2025 at 12:20 AM
laurenmcg.bsky.social
Zoo day!
A red river hog facing the camera. It has a long snout, long hairs on the tips of its ears like a fuzzy elf prince, and a stripe of longer white hairs down its spine. A giraffe! It's gorgeous and knows it. An alligator partially submerged in the water. Top part of its body, snout to tail, is visible. An ostrich in the distance. Its head is down, pecking at the ground
March 10, 2025 at 7:44 PM