Alice Sheppard
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penguingalaxy.bsky.social
Alice Sheppard
@penguingalaxy.bsky.social
1.7K followers 710 following 6.2K posts
Citizen scientist, Brit in Sweden, endless maker of soup for babies. Galaxy Zoo turned me into a penguin. Always looking for more galaxies.
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penguingalaxy.bsky.social
Apropos of absolutely nothing, I thought some of you might enjoy seeing a lot of toy octopuses 🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙
A large yellow toy octopus on a slightly messy wooden floor. Its arms are wrapped around four smaller toy octopuses, 2 arms each. All the smaller toy octopuses are different (1 yellow, 3 blue, one with a bow tie, another with a hook to pick it up by its head, one with rope-like arms, etc).
November 10, 2025 at 5:42 PM
penguingalaxy.bsky.social
Ya daftypuss 😆🥰
A tabby cat (Callisto) on a blanket on a sofa. One of her ears is turned inside out, and the tufty stuff inside looks like a dandelion clock. A close-up of the turned inside out ear.
November 10, 2025 at 12:00 AM
penguingalaxy.bsky.social
Bollocks … and I just had a bloody vaccination against it 5 days ago 🙄
A positive Covid test result
November 9, 2025 at 10:10 PM
penguingalaxy.bsky.social
Whoops-a-daisy.

Made chocolate fudgy icing for my daughter's birthday cake ... but poured it on while it was too hot and runny and instead of staying on the cake, it went *everywhere*.

Too late to make another one. It'll still taste nice.
An absolute mess of a chocolate cake, with cream in the middle and decorated with Mini Eggs, and a space left at the top for candles. Unfortunately, the icing is mostly in a puddle all around the cake on the plate, and some has overflowed onto the table.
November 6, 2025 at 11:48 AM
penguingalaxy.bsky.social
Well I wanted to get to my laptop earlier but
A small tabby cat (Callisto) on my legs. This is the view from me lying back on the sofa with a laptop tray over my knees - but Callisto has inserted herself between it and me. She has a very possessive paw on my tummy (I'm wearing a really nice stripy red shirt).
November 3, 2025 at 9:36 PM
penguingalaxy.bsky.social
Awwww, Cosmo the little love bug when he was 6 months old
A young tabby cat, sleepy, with his paw on my shoulder (he's on the side of a sofa and I'm leaning towards him so he can). There's the spillage of light from a nearby lamp, I'm wearing a thick red jumper and glasses and grinning hugely.
November 1, 2025 at 11:58 PM
penguingalaxy.bsky.social
Seeing as a Reform UK Ltd politician has claimed that PoC shouldn't be represented so much, and her supporters, having previously gone "there are too many of them!" are now going "there are too few of them to need representation!", I made a meme, please use anywhere you like.

And don't vote Reform.
The "two buttons" meme. First option: "There are too many of them here!" Second option: "There are too few of them to need representation!" And underneath, the horrified sweating face. PS Reform UK Ltd are racist and can get in the bin.
October 30, 2025 at 6:16 PM
penguingalaxy.bsky.social
Have an amazing little bunch of autumn rowan leaves, good people
A little twig of rowan tree leaves fallen on the grass, with other crinkled brown autumn leaves around them. There are 10 leaves. They are long and thin, with very slightly serrated looking edges, and the most incredible pinky-crimson and sunset-orange colours, like some kind of bird out of a fairy tale book illustration.
October 30, 2025 at 5:04 PM
penguingalaxy.bsky.social
These two galaxies walk into a bar. The barman says to the blue spiral, "I can serve you, but not your mate - he's barred."
A blue spiral galaxy in space. It has two main spiral arms but many more blue bursts of star formation, and it has a small bright core with a blue ring around it. It is rotating clockwise. Another few stars and galaxies are in the space around it. A barred spiral (this is the actual name of this type of galaxy, which is the joke). It is a very flat, transparent, golden galaxy in the shape of a disk, but with a large bright core and a sort of straight Saturn-and-rings shape around it, which is called a galaxy bar. (Yes! Really!)
October 30, 2025 at 1:28 PM
penguingalaxy.bsky.social
And ... look what this library has ...!

Lots of them. Different colours.

I climbed into one with my daughter today and it felt GREAT. As if blocking my view of the rest of the library also blocked some of the noise in my head. I really felt I could read a book in those!
Two little reading cubbyholes, like open boxes on their sides, in a library. The outsides are painted red and there are red cushioned seats inside them, and they have wooden walls. They are a good size to fit one child, or two small children, in to read a book out of the way.
October 28, 2025 at 12:33 PM
penguingalaxy.bsky.social
Cat matter. Catter?
A meme showing cats roleplaying the 4 states of matter. Gas: the two cats bounding over some grass with their legs disappeared, so they look like Angry Birds. Liquid: a very fluffy cat in a small plastic box; the cat takes the exact shape of the box. Solid: A grey and white cat giving some slightly scary side-eye and just looking like, well, a cat. Maybe like a statue of a cat. Plasma: a cat's paw touching one of those plasma lamps so that a pink and purple paw-shaped bolt of light appears.
October 25, 2025 at 6:40 PM
penguingalaxy.bsky.social
I dropped this funny bus into the Signal chat I have going with my husband and sister and they both ignored me and seem to prefer to rant about technology they haven't got and don't want anyway. I hope it makes someone here laugh instead.
A red single-decker bus whose number is 64 and goes to Wenhaim. The captions are "Will you still need me?" and "Will you still feed me?" and there is small text saying "unknown punster 2018". It's probably a photoshop, but it's still adorable.
October 21, 2025 at 9:41 PM
penguingalaxy.bsky.social
Saturday was *great* thanks. If we'd had more energy we'd have gone to a No Kings, but we didn't, so we went and walked around this instead while kid napped in her pram. Started the day ranting about ChatGTP bollocks - after a good lunch and time among trees, we were talking about our love. 😍
Brilliant red and yellow autumn trees on grass carpeted with their leaves, reflected in still water in the foreground. It's a sunny day with bright blue sky accentuating the tree colours.
October 20, 2025 at 7:56 AM
penguingalaxy.bsky.social
These monsterbrats play some VERY vigorous games, mostly howling and doing parkour (purrkour?) around the flat. They can appear to be flying.

But.

Today they ALMOST landed their paws in my sandwiches and knocked over my tea as they roared by. But they deliberately didn't! Good cats! 😍
Two tabby cats (Cosmo and Callisto) curled up together on a folded grey blanket on a bed. You can see a crocheted blanket behind them. Cosmo is asleep and resting his head on Callisto's tummy. Callisto is nearer, so appears bigger (she isn't) and has one paw back touching Cosmo's paws (aawwww) but also her head upside down and very near the camera looking extremely manic.
October 19, 2025 at 12:40 PM
penguingalaxy.bsky.social
A very important component of a good cold autumn walk
Me at a green outdoor cafe table. I'm wearing a dark purple coat and an overly tall bright blue woolly hat and big glasses. I'm holding a phone and looking down eagerly at a square plate of waffles, jam and an epic quantity of whipped cream. Behind me are more bright orange autumn trees.
October 18, 2025 at 5:17 PM
penguingalaxy.bsky.social
Autumn trees in Stockholm
A park under a very sunny blue sky. There are a huge number of large trees. Some in the background a green, but most are magnificently orangey yellow. Far away, the grass seems to be carpeted with orange leaves. In the foreground is a still, calm patch of water (it's actually a moat; insert moat joke here if you are in the UK), with a few leaves floating on it, reflecting the blue sky and the orange trees.
October 18, 2025 at 4:14 PM
penguingalaxy.bsky.social
😆😂 pffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffhhhaahhahahahahahaha this one is totally true www.etsy.com/se-en/listin...
DippyFish card for new parents. Three pictures of a cartoon baby. 1) baby drinks from a milk bottle while holding a toy rabbit, saying "glug!" 2) sleepy baby holds the toy rabbit, saying "zzz" 3) shouting baby (with HUGE open mouth) says the "crap" emoji while the toy rabbit looks on in mild horror. Caption: "Eat, sleep, poop ... (REPEAT)"
October 16, 2025 at 9:52 AM
penguingalaxy.bsky.social
Have some red rowan leaves, friends.
The top of a rowan tree, whose leaves have gone a brilliant scarlet at the very top and a bright orange towards the bottom of the picture, under a bright sunny blue sky. There is a very bright effect where the sunlight comes through the leaves, but some are shaded. Behind the tree there is the top of a white-painted block of flats with a silly triangular shaped roof next to a balcony.
October 15, 2025 at 7:27 AM
penguingalaxy.bsky.social
Good morning Bluesky. In between the stressfests of [gestures at everything, etc], have two kittens who have decided they like their new home. Cosmo and Callisto 3 years ago.
Two very young tabby cats on the side of a sofa. They are facing each other and are sleepy. They have white chins and dark stripes coming off their eyes. Callisto's paw is dangling down. A brightly lit flat with white walls and a kitchen is somewhat blurred by perspective in the background.
October 15, 2025 at 7:05 AM
penguingalaxy.bsky.social
This morning a blue tit visited my geraniums! I don't know if it was trying to eat bugs off them or if it was trying to eat *them*.
Seen through window blinds, a window box with red geraniums. Some leaves are hanging down quite a long way below the window box. Hanging off these leaves is a little blue tit, apparently pecking at them.
October 14, 2025 at 8:27 PM
penguingalaxy.bsky.social
Autumn colours in Stockholm 2 years ago
A close-up of what is probably a maple tree, with very brilliant yellow, orange and red leaves against a sunny blue sky and a few clouds.
October 14, 2025 at 5:18 PM
penguingalaxy.bsky.social
Hello SkyPals, have a very pleasing autumn path
A wide mud path covered in yellow leaves through a forest of many different types of tree. Most trees are very tall and thin - some pines, some silver birches, etc. Lots of different colours, but plenty of orange and yellow leaves, including some particularly striking one in the foreground. There are no people in sight.
October 13, 2025 at 11:32 AM
penguingalaxy.bsky.social
My hand belongs to Callisto now
A small tabby cat with her paw firmly across my wrist. I’m stroking her head with the same hand. She is lying on a dark red blanket. There’s a basket lid in the foreground.
October 12, 2025 at 9:32 PM
penguingalaxy.bsky.social
Anyway, have another pretty picture from our walk along Edsviken yesterday. Lots of trees are turning very pretty colours here.
The path along the lake. The water is on the right, and the sky is going pink over the horizon. On the left the path is muddy but good, and there are many trees leaning over the water, some of which are going lovely yellow colours (especially silver birches). There are some light brown reeds too. It's peaceful.
October 12, 2025 at 6:59 PM
penguingalaxy.bsky.social
North of Stockholm there is a lake called Edsviken, and in that lake, there is a model moose in the middle of the water. I'm not entirely sure why. I guess in winter the water will freeze over so you can walk right up to it. For now, anyway.
A lake soon before sunset. The sky above is turning yellowish. On the shore on the right there are shadowed pine trees; on the left there are sunlit buildings. The water is ripply and has that dark shininess you get under a fading sky. In the middle of the water, very small and far away, is a model moose, with antlers. I think it's moose sized and made of wood, but I don't know, and I can't see it well enough myself, sorry!
October 12, 2025 at 6:57 PM