Shawn McClure
@shawnmcclure.bsky.social
Engineer, data wrangler, photographer, poet, atheist, antitheist, exvangelical, progressive, subversive, resister, champion of creatures, mayhem maker, flimflam artist, he/him, Gen X, INTP, 1337, space lord; The cake is a lie.
https://about.me/shawnmcclure
https://about.me/shawnmcclure
A mule deer buck with an impressive rack munches on an elm tree near my office building earlier today... He's clearly well-known by some agency, perhaps the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, because he's tagged and wears a radio collar.
(Canon PowerShot SX60HS)
(Canon PowerShot SX60HS)
July 30, 2025 at 7:42 PM
A mule deer buck with an impressive rack munches on an elm tree near my office building earlier today... He's clearly well-known by some agency, perhaps the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, because he's tagged and wears a radio collar.
(Canon PowerShot SX60HS)
(Canon PowerShot SX60HS)
Let's please not attempt the experiment again.
July 6, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Let's please not attempt the experiment again.
"The spider hunts with a scientist’s precision, her curiosity carving a path through the wild, a silent partner in the world’s great order."
—Annie Dillard
They have such cute, inquisitive faces. A tiny jumping spider eyes me curiously as I take his portrait...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro)
—Annie Dillard
They have such cute, inquisitive faces. A tiny jumping spider eyes me curiously as I take his portrait...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro)
June 5, 2025 at 8:59 PM
"The spider hunts with a scientist’s precision, her curiosity carving a path through the wild, a silent partner in the world’s great order."
—Annie Dillard
They have such cute, inquisitive faces. A tiny jumping spider eyes me curiously as I take his portrait...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro)
—Annie Dillard
They have such cute, inquisitive faces. A tiny jumping spider eyes me curiously as I take his portrait...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro)
"The Earth is what we all have in common. It is a garden of infinite variety, yielding to those who tend it a harvest of both sustenance and wonder."
—Wendell Berry, The Art of the Commonplace
They're getting to the traffic light stage...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro Lens)
—Wendell Berry, The Art of the Commonplace
They're getting to the traffic light stage...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro Lens)
June 4, 2025 at 6:43 PM
"The Earth is what we all have in common. It is a garden of infinite variety, yielding to those who tend it a harvest of both sustenance and wonder."
—Wendell Berry, The Art of the Commonplace
They're getting to the traffic light stage...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro Lens)
—Wendell Berry, The Art of the Commonplace
They're getting to the traffic light stage...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro Lens)
"The hawk, in its solitary flight, carries the sky on its wings, a hunter whose vision carves the world into moments of eternal pursuit."
—John James Audubon
A redtail hawk grasps the remnants of breakfast in one talon while keeping a close eye out for lunch...
(Canon SX60HS)
—John James Audubon
A redtail hawk grasps the remnants of breakfast in one talon while keeping a close eye out for lunch...
(Canon SX60HS)
June 2, 2025 at 8:32 PM
"The hawk, in its solitary flight, carries the sky on its wings, a hunter whose vision carves the world into moments of eternal pursuit."
—John James Audubon
A redtail hawk grasps the remnants of breakfast in one talon while keeping a close eye out for lunch...
(Canon SX60HS)
—John James Audubon
A redtail hawk grasps the remnants of breakfast in one talon while keeping a close eye out for lunch...
(Canon SX60HS)
"The sky lowers, and the wind begins to moan, a restless spirit weaving through the trees, heralding a storm that is both a terror and a strange, fierce loveliness."
—Charlotte Brontë
Grass blows in the wind as a storm approaches over the plains of Colorado at sunset...
(Canon Powershot SX40HS)
—Charlotte Brontë
Grass blows in the wind as a storm approaches over the plains of Colorado at sunset...
(Canon Powershot SX40HS)
June 1, 2025 at 11:25 PM
"The sky lowers, and the wind begins to moan, a restless spirit weaving through the trees, heralding a storm that is both a terror and a strange, fierce loveliness."
—Charlotte Brontë
Grass blows in the wind as a storm approaches over the plains of Colorado at sunset...
(Canon Powershot SX40HS)
—Charlotte Brontë
Grass blows in the wind as a storm approaches over the plains of Colorado at sunset...
(Canon Powershot SX40HS)
"The rabbit’s life is a fleeting shadow across the meadow, yet in its fleetingness lies a kind of eternal dance."
—Kenneth Grahame
A baby bunny sunning himself in my backyard... It was one of his first forays out into the wider world from his nest under the deck.
(Canon Powershot SX60HS)
—Kenneth Grahame
A baby bunny sunning himself in my backyard... It was one of his first forays out into the wider world from his nest under the deck.
(Canon Powershot SX60HS)
May 28, 2025 at 4:53 PM
"The rabbit’s life is a fleeting shadow across the meadow, yet in its fleetingness lies a kind of eternal dance."
—Kenneth Grahame
A baby bunny sunning himself in my backyard... It was one of his first forays out into the wider world from his nest under the deck.
(Canon Powershot SX60HS)
—Kenneth Grahame
A baby bunny sunning himself in my backyard... It was one of his first forays out into the wider world from his nest under the deck.
(Canon Powershot SX60HS)
If you look close (and can zoom in far enough on your device), you can see the beady eyes of a tiny little Thrips on the beard of the iris. :)
May 27, 2025 at 4:58 PM
If you look close (and can zoom in far enough on your device), you can see the beady eyes of a tiny little Thrips on the beard of the iris. :)
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes."
―Marcel Proust
The inner sanctum of a purple iris...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro Lens)
―Marcel Proust
The inner sanctum of a purple iris...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro Lens)
May 27, 2025 at 4:58 PM
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes."
―Marcel Proust
The inner sanctum of a purple iris...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro Lens)
―Marcel Proust
The inner sanctum of a purple iris...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro Lens)
"Nature's first green is gold, / Her hardest hue to hold. / Her early leaf's a flower; / But only so an hour."
―Robert Frost, from Nothing Gold Can Stay
An early blossom on a crabapple tree in my backyard earlier this spring...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro Lens)
―Robert Frost, from Nothing Gold Can Stay
An early blossom on a crabapple tree in my backyard earlier this spring...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro Lens)
May 23, 2025 at 5:36 PM
"Nature's first green is gold, / Her hardest hue to hold. / Her early leaf's a flower; / But only so an hour."
―Robert Frost, from Nothing Gold Can Stay
An early blossom on a crabapple tree in my backyard earlier this spring...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro Lens)
―Robert Frost, from Nothing Gold Can Stay
An early blossom on a crabapple tree in my backyard earlier this spring...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro Lens)
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
The glowing center of an iris in my side yard...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro Lens)
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
The glowing center of an iris in my side yard...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro Lens)
May 23, 2025 at 3:05 PM
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
The glowing center of an iris in my side yard...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro Lens)
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
The glowing center of an iris in my side yard...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro Lens)
"The lily whispers, ‘I wait,’ in its low, sweet voice."
—Alfred Lord Tennyson, The Princess
A closeup of a lily in my window well in the late afternoon...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro Lens)
—Alfred Lord Tennyson, The Princess
A closeup of a lily in my window well in the late afternoon...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro Lens)
May 21, 2025 at 4:35 PM
"The lily whispers, ‘I wait,’ in its low, sweet voice."
—Alfred Lord Tennyson, The Princess
A closeup of a lily in my window well in the late afternoon...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro Lens)
—Alfred Lord Tennyson, The Princess
A closeup of a lily in my window well in the late afternoon...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro Lens)
"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe. Even the smallest insect is a thread in the great web of life."
—John Muir
A cute little friend explores the folds of a towel in my laundry room...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro Lens)
—John Muir
A cute little friend explores the folds of a towel in my laundry room...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro Lens)
May 20, 2025 at 3:48 PM
"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe. Even the smallest insect is a thread in the great web of life."
—John Muir
A cute little friend explores the folds of a towel in my laundry room...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro Lens)
—John Muir
A cute little friend explores the folds of a towel in my laundry room...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro Lens)
"All the world’s a stage, and I’m the star monarch!"
—William Shakespeare, As You Like It
A regal but skeptical marmot in Rocky Mountain National Park...
(Canon Powershot SX60HS)
—William Shakespeare, As You Like It
A regal but skeptical marmot in Rocky Mountain National Park...
(Canon Powershot SX60HS)
May 19, 2025 at 9:04 PM
"All the world’s a stage, and I’m the star monarch!"
—William Shakespeare, As You Like It
A regal but skeptical marmot in Rocky Mountain National Park...
(Canon Powershot SX60HS)
—William Shakespeare, As You Like It
A regal but skeptical marmot in Rocky Mountain National Park...
(Canon Powershot SX60HS)
This is an actual post by our current "president". Forget for a moment the absurdity of the statements, and focus merely on the tone and demeanor. THIS is who most of the U.S. voted for. THIS is the comportment that most of the U.S. condones.
Assholes and idiots are in charge.
Assholes and idiots are in charge.
May 16, 2025 at 5:04 PM
This is an actual post by our current "president". Forget for a moment the absurdity of the statements, and focus merely on the tone and demeanor. THIS is who most of the U.S. voted for. THIS is the comportment that most of the U.S. condones.
Assholes and idiots are in charge.
Assholes and idiots are in charge.
"The smallest insect, crawling on a leaf, is as much a part of the universe as the greatest star in the heavens."
—Henry David Thoreau
A tiny praying mantis nymph eyes me skeptically from the back of a grass blade (note the tiny black speck of his pupil) while I take his portrait.
(Canon 6DMk2)
—Henry David Thoreau
A tiny praying mantis nymph eyes me skeptically from the back of a grass blade (note the tiny black speck of his pupil) while I take his portrait.
(Canon 6DMk2)
May 16, 2025 at 3:40 PM
"The smallest insect, crawling on a leaf, is as much a part of the universe as the greatest star in the heavens."
—Henry David Thoreau
A tiny praying mantis nymph eyes me skeptically from the back of a grass blade (note the tiny black speck of his pupil) while I take his portrait.
(Canon 6DMk2)
—Henry David Thoreau
A tiny praying mantis nymph eyes me skeptically from the back of a grass blade (note the tiny black speck of his pupil) while I take his portrait.
(Canon 6DMk2)
"Death doesn’t exist. But we’ve drawn so many pictures of it, so many years, trying to pin it down, comprehend it, we’ve got to thinking of it as an entity, strangely alive and greedy. All it is, however, is a stopped watch, a loss, an end, a darkness. Nothing."
—Ray Bradbury
(Sony RX10 IV)
—Ray Bradbury
(Sony RX10 IV)
May 14, 2025 at 6:38 PM
"Death doesn’t exist. But we’ve drawn so many pictures of it, so many years, trying to pin it down, comprehend it, we’ve got to thinking of it as an entity, strangely alive and greedy. All it is, however, is a stopped watch, a loss, an end, a darkness. Nothing."
—Ray Bradbury
(Sony RX10 IV)
—Ray Bradbury
(Sony RX10 IV)
"The bees hum their endless hymn, priests of the flower, carrying the sun’s gold dust from bloom to bloom, knitting the world’s sweetness together."
—Annie Dillard
A honeybee mines for pollen in the CSU Annual Trial Gardens in Fort Collins, Colorado...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro Lens)
—Annie Dillard
A honeybee mines for pollen in the CSU Annual Trial Gardens in Fort Collins, Colorado...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro Lens)
May 9, 2025 at 6:01 PM
"The bees hum their endless hymn, priests of the flower, carrying the sun’s gold dust from bloom to bloom, knitting the world’s sweetness together."
—Annie Dillard
A honeybee mines for pollen in the CSU Annual Trial Gardens in Fort Collins, Colorado...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro Lens)
—Annie Dillard
A honeybee mines for pollen in the CSU Annual Trial Gardens in Fort Collins, Colorado...
(Canon 6DMk2, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro Lens)
"The hum of insects is the true voice of the summer earth, a music finer than any human chord, threading the air with life’s delicate pulse."
—Henry David Thoreau
A grasshopper on my backyard fence...
(Canon 6DMk2, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS Lens)
—Henry David Thoreau
A grasshopper on my backyard fence...
(Canon 6DMk2, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS Lens)
May 9, 2025 at 6:01 PM
"The hum of insects is the true voice of the summer earth, a music finer than any human chord, threading the air with life’s delicate pulse."
—Henry David Thoreau
A grasshopper on my backyard fence...
(Canon 6DMk2, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS Lens)
—Henry David Thoreau
A grasshopper on my backyard fence...
(Canon 6DMk2, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS Lens)
"I like things to be the same over and over again. Repetition makes everything more intense, more real, like a rhythm that never stops."
—Andy Warhol
Spare train wheels in a large trainyard in Tacoma, Washington...
(Canon PowerShot SX60HS)
—Andy Warhol
Spare train wheels in a large trainyard in Tacoma, Washington...
(Canon PowerShot SX60HS)
May 3, 2025 at 6:00 PM
"I like things to be the same over and over again. Repetition makes everything more intense, more real, like a rhythm that never stops."
—Andy Warhol
Spare train wheels in a large trainyard in Tacoma, Washington...
(Canon PowerShot SX60HS)
—Andy Warhol
Spare train wheels in a large trainyard in Tacoma, Washington...
(Canon PowerShot SX60HS)
"If you can smell the street by looking at the photo, it’s a street photograph."
—Bruce Gilden
Tad's Steakhouse, San Francisco, California...
(Sony RX10 IV)
—Bruce Gilden
Tad's Steakhouse, San Francisco, California...
(Sony RX10 IV)
May 2, 2025 at 8:30 PM
"If you can smell the street by looking at the photo, it’s a street photograph."
—Bruce Gilden
Tad's Steakhouse, San Francisco, California...
(Sony RX10 IV)
—Bruce Gilden
Tad's Steakhouse, San Francisco, California...
(Sony RX10 IV)
"We need the tonic of wildness... We can never have enough of nature, unspoiled, where man is but a visitor who does not remain."
—Henry David Thoreau
A Red-tailed Hawk scouts for breakfast while enjoying the morning sun...
Not a great photo, but he looked too regal not to post... 🙂
—Henry David Thoreau
A Red-tailed Hawk scouts for breakfast while enjoying the morning sun...
Not a great photo, but he looked too regal not to post... 🙂
May 2, 2025 at 2:43 PM
"We need the tonic of wildness... We can never have enough of nature, unspoiled, where man is but a visitor who does not remain."
—Henry David Thoreau
A Red-tailed Hawk scouts for breakfast while enjoying the morning sun...
Not a great photo, but he looked too regal not to post... 🙂
—Henry David Thoreau
A Red-tailed Hawk scouts for breakfast while enjoying the morning sun...
Not a great photo, but he looked too regal not to post... 🙂
"The earth laughs in flowers."
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
A macro shot of a red zinnia in Boulder, Colorado...
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
A macro shot of a red zinnia in Boulder, Colorado...
May 1, 2025 at 6:59 PM
"The earth laughs in flowers."
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
A macro shot of a red zinnia in Boulder, Colorado...
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
A macro shot of a red zinnia in Boulder, Colorado...
Why are the religious so often anti-science and science-skeptical? Because scientific inquiry, no matter how inevitably flawed as a human endeavor it may be, relentlessly and dispassionately whittles away at the potential "gaps" in which their beloved God(s) could possibly hide.
March 25, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Why are the religious so often anti-science and science-skeptical? Because scientific inquiry, no matter how inevitably flawed as a human endeavor it may be, relentlessly and dispassionately whittles away at the potential "gaps" in which their beloved God(s) could possibly hide.