Rae Spencer
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Rae Spencer
@raespencer.bsky.social
67 followers 160 following 47 posts
Writer. Reader. Quote hoarder. Easily distracted by cats and shiny objects. Often anxious, sometimes depressed, always awkward. she/her

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raespencer.bsky.social
For more about the book, along with links to a few of the poems, here's my Watershed blog page. (7/7)
#books #bookreviews #writing #poetry #naturepoetry

raespencer.com/watershed-au...
Watershed
August 2023, Kelsay Books Watershed is a collection of poems about my deep connection with the Tennessee habitats of my youth, my journey toward connecting with the Virginia habitats of my adulthoo…
raespencer.com
November 29, 2025 at 10:50 PM
raespencer.bsky.social
If you are interested in Watershed, it's available at Amazon and through the publisher's website. (6/7)
#books #bookreviews #writing #poetry #naturepoetry

kelsaybooks.com/products/wat...
Watershed
Rae Spencer is a writer and veterinarian who lives in Virginia with her husband and their very spoiled cats. She can be found online at raespencer.com. Paperback: 74 pagesPublisher: Kelsay Books (Augu...
kelsaybooks.com
November 29, 2025 at 10:50 PM
raespencer.bsky.social
I am profoundly grateful for this particular review, encountered during this particular weekend of gratitude, during this particular period of uncertainty for librarians and libraries. My world is a better place with libraries in it. (5/7)
#books #bookreviews #libraries #librarians #poetry
November 29, 2025 at 10:50 PM
raespencer.bsky.social
And all of this is to introduce a review of one of my poetry collections, Watershed (Kelsay Books, 2023). The poems in Watershed are for and about the landscapes of TN and VA, and this review was written by a librarian in TN. (4/7)
#books #bookreviews #writing #poetry

www.tnla.org/page/75_2_Li...
www.tnla.org
November 29, 2025 at 10:50 PM
raespencer.bsky.social
All of this is to say that I am profoundly grateful when someone reviews my writing. I see each review as a priceless record of time invested. Not just reading time and writing time, but also thinking time. Connecting time. Note-taking and revising time. (3/7)
#books #bookreviews #writing #poetry
November 29, 2025 at 10:50 PM
raespencer.bsky.social
I am well aware of how words affect words, and I worry that my words might catalyze unintended meanings whenever I write my own impressions of other writers' work. So I tend to shy away from writing reviews—too many loops and too few exits. (2/7)
#books #bookreviews #writing #poetry
November 29, 2025 at 10:50 PM
raespencer.bsky.social
That's a very close match, but maybe I'm too far north for them? Also, the ones I photographed seemed to have more distinct dark caps over their foreheads with pale markings all the way up their throats. I'm leaning a bit toward bank swallow (sand martin)? I wish my photos were as clear as yours!
Photograph of a small bird in flight. Photographed as it flew overhead, the bird has dark primaries and tail feathers, a dark cap of feathers on its head, and pale feathers on its throat, chest, and abdomen. The background sky is deep cloudless blue, and the late afternoon sunshine, reflected off the bird's pale feathers, is tinged with yellow.
November 27, 2025 at 1:53 AM
raespencer.bsky.social
My birding skills are not equal to the task of naming our little visitors. My best guess puts them in the martin family, but that is merely a guess. Whoever they were, and wherever they were going, I enjoyed their company. 🪶

(If you recognize them, please comment!)
Photograph of a small bird in flight. The bird has pale feathers on its chest and abdomen, with darker feathers across its back and wings. In this photo, the bird's wings are spread wide as if gliding, and its short tail feathers are tucked into a forked silhouette. The background sky is a deep cloudless blue, making sharp contrast against the gold-tinged sunlight reflecting off the bird.
November 26, 2025 at 2:42 AM
raespencer.bsky.social
The birds were speedy and agile and difficult to keep in my viewfinder, especially with a longer lens. Even so, I caught a few lucky frames. 🪶
Photograph of a small bird in flight. The bird has pale feathers on its chest and abdomen, with darker feathers across its back and wings. In this photo, one wing is dipped low, and the bird's tail feathers are fanned into a quick mid-air turn. The background sky is a deep cloudless blue, making sharp contrast against the gold-tinged sunlight reflecting off the bird.
November 26, 2025 at 2:42 AM
raespencer.bsky.social
Yesterday evening, as the sun fell to just the right angle, flock after flock of these tiny aerialists passed over the house. They glinted so brightly, in the gold-tinted light, that I couldn't resist digging out the camera. 🪶
Photograph of a small bird in flight. The bird has pale feathers on its chest and abdomen, with darker feathers across its back and wings. In this photo, the bird's wings are folded for a quick dive, and its short tail feathers are tucked into a forked silhouette. The background sky is a deep cloudless blue, making sharp contrast against the gold-tinged sunlight reflecting off the bird.
November 26, 2025 at 2:42 AM
raespencer.bsky.social
But now I live in Virginia, near the coast, and my sky is filled with such a perplexing variety of swifts, swallows, and martins that I'm at a loss to name any of them. (My Tennessee sky was likely filled with variety, too, though I was content, then, to call them all barn swallows.) 🪶
Photograph of a small bird in flight. The bird has pale feathers on its chest and abdomen, with darker feathers across its back and wings. In this photo, the bird's wings and tail feathers are spread wide and flat as if for gliding. The background sky is a deep cloudless blue, making sharp contrast against the gold-tinged sunlight reflecting off the bird.
November 26, 2025 at 2:42 AM
raespencer.bsky.social
When a group of hikers approached from the other direction, the otter dashed into the water too quickly for my photography reflexes.

All that was left were wriggle-marks. If I hadn't seen the dust bath, I couldn't have read "otter" in this pattern.

#BackBayWildlifeRefuge #otter #mammals #tracks
Photograph of an otter's dust-bath site in Back Bay Wildlife Refuge. The dirt-and-gravel surface is disturbed into a vague pattern of curves and peaks, marking where the otter rolled. I was disappointed that there weren't any clear footprints, only wriggle-prints.
November 15, 2025 at 9:28 PM
raespencer.bsky.social
...and stopped to investigate an interesting scent.

#BackBayWildlifeRefuge #otter #mammals
Photograph of an otter sniffing through a clump of grass at the edge of a gravel path at Back Bay Wildlife Refuge. The otter has a long muzzle; short ears; a long, limber back; dense, sleek hair; short legs; and a long tail. The gravel path is bordered by mown grass and a tall verge of reeds. The reeds are casting long shadows across the path.
November 15, 2025 at 9:28 PM
raespencer.bsky.social
As the otter reached the far side of the path, it slowed to a walk...

#BackBayWildlifeRefuge #otter #mammals
Photograph of an otter, mid-stride, crossing a gravel path at Back Bay Wildlife Refuge. The otter has a long muzzle; short ears; a long, limber back; dense, sleek hair; short legs; and a long tail. The gravel path is bordered by mown grass and a tall verge of reeds. The reeds are casting long shadows across the path.
November 15, 2025 at 9:28 PM
raespencer.bsky.social
...galumph...

#BackBayWildlifeRefuge #otter #mammals
Photograph of an otter, mid-stride, crossing a gravel path at Back Bay Wildlife Refuge. The otter has a long muzzle; short ears; a long, limber back; dense, sleek hair; short legs; and a long tail. The gravel path is bordered by mown grass and a tall verge of reeds. The reeds are casting long shadows across the path.
November 15, 2025 at 9:28 PM
raespencer.bsky.social
The otter finished its dust bath and took a bathroom break on one side of the path, then galumphed back across...

#BackBayWildlifeRefuge #otter #mammals
Photograph of an otter mid-stride, beginning to galumph across a gravel path at Back Bay Wildlife Refuge. The otter has a long muzzle; short ears; a long, limber back; dense, sleek hair; short legs; and a long tail. The gravel path is bordered by mown grass and a tall verge of reeds. The reeds are casting long shadows across the path.
November 15, 2025 at 9:28 PM
raespencer.bsky.social
My lens was long enough for photos, without getting too close for the otter's comfort.

#BackBayWildlifeRefuge #otter #mammals
Photograph of an otter rolling in the dust on a dry gravel path in Back Bay Wildlife Refuge. The otter is doing a shoulder-first luxury roll before wriggling on its back in the gravel. The otter has a long, limber back; dense, sleek hair; short legs; and a long tail. The gravel path is bordered by mown grass and a tall verge of reeds. The reeds are casting long shadows across the path.
November 15, 2025 at 9:28 PM