A beautiful moment of #NatureZen
Merveille du jour brightening up the catch after nearly two weeks without trapping in the North Hampshire garden. Both November Moth agg and Red-line Quaker NFY amongst 23 of 16. Luckily the heavy rain held off until 7.30am, just after I brought the traps in. #MothsMatter #TeamMoth
October 20, 2024 at 3:08 PM
A beautiful moment of #NatureZen
Today's moment of #NatureZen 🟢
A brimstone laying her teeny tiny eggs! Can you spot them?
#MacroMonday #macrophotography #butterflies #butterfly #britishwildlife #Lepidoptera #entomology #bugs #wildlifephotography
#MacroMonday #macrophotography #butterflies #butterfly #britishwildlife #Lepidoptera #entomology #bugs #wildlifephotography
April 20, 2026 at 6:51 PM
Today's moment of #NatureZen 🟢
Tiny butterflies are always good for a moment of #NatureZen
Green-veined white on Common knapweed by the Macclesfield Canal. #WildWebsWednesday
September 3, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Tiny butterflies are always good for a moment of #NatureZen
A bit of #NatureZen for your ears. This is from Crosswinds Marsh, just outside of Detroit. It’s an artificially created wetlands, and seems to be thriving!
May 31, 2026 at 1:59 PM
A bit of #NatureZen for your ears. This is from Crosswinds Marsh, just outside of Detroit. It’s an artificially created wetlands, and seems to be thriving!
This pelican pulled me into a quiet moment 🕊️💚
Something about that beak, that stillness — it just hits.
Sometimes, nature doesn’t shout — it whispers peace.
If you felt that too, say something sweet below 💬
#PelicanMood #LivingWild #NatureZen #BirdVibes #TellMeYours #JustVibes #WildlifeWonder
Something about that beak, that stillness — it just hits.
Sometimes, nature doesn’t shout — it whispers peace.
If you felt that too, say something sweet below 💬
#PelicanMood #LivingWild #NatureZen #BirdVibes #TellMeYours #JustVibes #WildlifeWonder
June 29, 2025 at 1:39 AM
This pelican pulled me into a quiet moment 🕊️💚
Something about that beak, that stillness — it just hits.
Sometimes, nature doesn’t shout — it whispers peace.
If you felt that too, say something sweet below 💬
#PelicanMood #LivingWild #NatureZen #BirdVibes #TellMeYours #JustVibes #WildlifeWonder
Something about that beak, that stillness — it just hits.
Sometimes, nature doesn’t shout — it whispers peace.
If you felt that too, say something sweet below 💬
#PelicanMood #LivingWild #NatureZen #BirdVibes #TellMeYours #JustVibes #WildlifeWonder
It's incredibly cold, and everything is a lot. Turn up the sound and enjoy this grasshopper trying to convince you it is just a leaf wiggling in the wind. #NatureZen www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWGd...
Spear-headed Grasshopper from Ecuador
YouTube video by Andreas Kay
www.youtube.com
January 26, 2026 at 2:24 PM
It's incredibly cold, and everything is a lot. Turn up the sound and enjoy this grasshopper trying to convince you it is just a leaf wiggling in the wind. #NatureZen www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWGd...
I wrote about discovering that swallowtail caterpillars have FAKE TONGUES, amongst other wonders of the pollinator garden: overtonpark.org/blog/naturez...
#Inverts #naturewriting
#Inverts #naturewriting
NatureZen: Zooming in on the Pollinators | Overton Park Conservancy
Words and photos by Melissa McMasters
overtonpark.org
July 22, 2025 at 4:42 PM
I wrote about discovering that swallowtail caterpillars have FAKE TONGUES, amongst other wonders of the pollinator garden: overtonpark.org/blog/naturez...
#Inverts #naturewriting
#Inverts #naturewriting
Recent rainy weather has made for some top-tier mushroom-spotting in the woods. Here's a tour through an old-growth forest to meet some #FungiFriends: overtonpark.org/blog/naturez...
NatureZen: Girls Just Wanna Have Fungi | Overton Park Conservancy
A survey of fresh fungi in Overton Park's Old Forest.
overtonpark.org
November 19, 2025 at 11:24 PM
Recent rainy weather has made for some top-tier mushroom-spotting in the woods. Here's a tour through an old-growth forest to meet some #FungiFriends: overtonpark.org/blog/naturez...
I decided to make a little year in review: highlights of my favorite new species recorded in each month of 2025! Featuring tropical turkeys and reindeer, @mariposanature.bsky.social and @natbutterflycenter.bsky.social, and lots of time in a pollinator garden. overtonpark.org/blog/naturez...
NatureZen: Lifer of the Month Club | Overton Park Conservancy
A highlight reel of new species seen in 2025.
overtonpark.org
December 17, 2025 at 7:42 PM
I decided to make a little year in review: highlights of my favorite new species recorded in each month of 2025! Featuring tropical turkeys and reindeer, @mariposanature.bsky.social and @natbutterflycenter.bsky.social, and lots of time in a pollinator garden. overtonpark.org/blog/naturez...
More for #InverteFest: I shared some photos of the nearly 200 insects we've attracted at the tiny pollinator garden where I work. The source of so much summer joy: overtonpark.org/2024/08/29/n... 🐝
NatureZen: Pollinator Paradise - Overton Park
A look at some of the 170 insects in Overton Park's pollinator garden in Memphis, Tennessee.
overtonpark.org
August 29, 2024 at 8:56 PM
More for #InverteFest: I shared some photos of the nearly 200 insects we've attracted at the tiny pollinator garden where I work. The source of so much summer joy: overtonpark.org/2024/08/29/n... 🐝
I've seen a lot of adorable baby birds this summer, and now I'm sharing them with you! Meet the next generation: overtonpark.org/blog/naturez...
#birds #babybirds
#birds #babybirds
NatureZen: A Chip Off the Old Beak | Overton Park Conservancy
words and photos by Melissa McMasters
overtonpark.org
August 19, 2025 at 4:09 PM
I've seen a lot of adorable baby birds this summer, and now I'm sharing them with you! Meet the next generation: overtonpark.org/blog/naturez...
#birds #babybirds
#birds #babybirds
This year's butterflies will be gone any day now, so I wrote about my ten favorite butterfly experiences of the year and everyone I got to share them with. 🦋https://overtonpark.org/2024/11/15/naturezen-a-butterfly-top-ten/
#insects
#invertebrates
#insects
#invertebrates
NatureZen: A Butterfly Top Ten - Overton Park
words and photos by Melissa McMasters As the mornings finally start to turn crisp, I get a familiar feeling. It happens every fall: I’m so grateful to make it to the [...]
overtonpark.org
November 15, 2024 at 2:24 PM
This year's butterflies will be gone any day now, so I wrote about my ten favorite butterfly experiences of the year and everyone I got to share them with. 🦋https://overtonpark.org/2024/11/15/naturezen-a-butterfly-top-ten/
#insects
#invertebrates
#insects
#invertebrates
I wrote about this hawk and his paramour over the winter. They are two extreme goofballs and I hope to see them paired up again before too long! overtonpark.org/blog/naturez... 🪶
NatureZen: Hawk Love | Overton Park Conservancy
words and photos by Melissa McMasters
overtonpark.org
August 17, 2025 at 10:27 PM
I wrote about this hawk and his paramour over the winter. They are two extreme goofballs and I hope to see them paired up again before too long! overtonpark.org/blog/naturez... 🪶
For #BlueMonday, I wrote a little about how and why some of my favorite critters are blue. overtonpark.org/2025/01/20/n...
NatureZen: Blue Monday - Overton Park
words and photos by Melissa McMasters A few decades ago, a British travel agency began a marketing campaign around the idea that the third Monday in January was the most [...]
overtonpark.org
January 20, 2025 at 6:22 PM
For #BlueMonday, I wrote a little about how and why some of my favorite critters are blue. overtonpark.org/2025/01/20/n...
For #ValentinesDay, a throwback to a piece I wrote about odonate heart-wheels, which for some reason is structured as a game of Ms. Pac-Man. No, it does not make sense to me either. overtonpark.org/blog/naturez...
#BugSky
#BugSky
NatureZen: Hearts Soaring | Overton Park Conservancy
words and photos by Melissa McMasters
overtonpark.org
February 14, 2026 at 3:15 PM
For #ValentinesDay, a throwback to a piece I wrote about odonate heart-wheels, which for some reason is structured as a game of Ms. Pac-Man. No, it does not make sense to me either. overtonpark.org/blog/naturez...
#BugSky
#BugSky
There are so many red-shouldered hawks in our little forest screaming bloody murder at each other that a couple weeks ago, I said, "This is a total soap opera." So today I wrote about it. I give you: The Bold and the Buteo. 🪶 overtonpark.org/blog/naturez...
NatureZen: The Bold and the Buteo | Overton Park Conservancy
The lives and loves of Overton Park's red-shouldered hawks.
overtonpark.org
February 27, 2026 at 1:00 AM
There are so many red-shouldered hawks in our little forest screaming bloody murder at each other that a couple weeks ago, I said, "This is a total soap opera." So today I wrote about it. I give you: The Bold and the Buteo. 🪶 overtonpark.org/blog/naturez...
Locally we're on day 8 of the landscape being one giant sleet brick. I ventured out to see what the #birds were up to and found all that brightness quite revealing: overtonpark.org/blog/naturez...
NatureZen: Snowed Out | Overton Park Conservancy
We check in with how the birds are doing during this snowy week in Memphis.
overtonpark.org
January 31, 2026 at 3:10 PM
Locally we're on day 8 of the landscape being one giant sleet brick. I ventured out to see what the #birds were up to and found all that brightness quite revealing: overtonpark.org/blog/naturez...
Every year I treat the @inaturalist.bsky.social City Nature Challenge as my personal Super Bowl. This year I logged 443 wildlife observations in 4 days, including some critters I'd never seen before! Here's a recap of some highlights: overtonpark.org/2025/05/07/n...
#birds #naturewriting
#birds #naturewriting
NatureZen: Up to the Challenge - Overton Park
Another year of the City Nature Challenge is in the books, and Memphis finished in the top third of cities for the amount of wildlife observations we recorded over a [...]
overtonpark.org
May 8, 2025 at 11:23 PM
Every year I treat the @inaturalist.bsky.social City Nature Challenge as my personal Super Bowl. This year I logged 443 wildlife observations in 4 days, including some critters I'd never seen before! Here's a recap of some highlights: overtonpark.org/2025/05/07/n...
#birds #naturewriting
#birds #naturewriting
My monthly #NatureZen newsletter is a little tour through everything that's blooming in the old-growth forest where I work. Open for cheer! overtonpark.org/2025/03/26/n...
NatureZen: Spring Song - Overton Park
words and photos by Melissa McMasters As I walked through the Old Forest this week, the sound of yellow-rumped warblers cautiously testing their voices and Carolina wrens belting familiar tunes [...]
overtonpark.org
March 28, 2025 at 1:44 PM
My monthly #NatureZen newsletter is a little tour through everything that's blooming in the old-growth forest where I work. Open for cheer! overtonpark.org/2025/03/26/n...
"Photograph a bee tongue" used to feel like an unattainable goal. Turns out it just takes some patience, and wow are they fascinating structures! I very lightly skim the surface of pollination in today's newsletter. overtonpark.org/2024/12/10/n...
#bees #ento #Invert
#bees #ento #Invert
NatureZen: Speaking in Tongues - Overton Park
words and photos by Melissa McMasters If you’re the sort to make New Year’s resolutions, now is the time to grudgingly start thinking about your plans for self-improvement. A few years [...]
overtonpark.org
December 10, 2024 at 6:57 PM
"Photograph a bee tongue" used to feel like an unattainable goal. Turns out it just takes some patience, and wow are they fascinating structures! I very lightly skim the surface of pollination in today's newsletter. overtonpark.org/2024/12/10/n...
#bees #ento #Invert
#bees #ento #Invert
A few months ago our local red-shouldered hawks were causing so much drama I wrote a soap opera about them. Now they've all had babies, so it's time for The Bold and the Buteo: Episode 2. Cue dramatic theme music! overtonpark.org/blog/naturez... 🪶
NatureZen: The Bold and the Buteo, Episode 2 | Overton Park Conservancy
What happens when two red-shouldered hawk pairs nest in the Old Forest?
overtonpark.org
May 28, 2026 at 11:12 PM
A few months ago our local red-shouldered hawks were causing so much drama I wrote a soap opera about them. Now they've all had babies, so it's time for The Bold and the Buteo: Episode 2. Cue dramatic theme music! overtonpark.org/blog/naturez... 🪶
I wrote a little tribute to fall asters and the pollinators that love them: overtonpark.org/blog/naturez...
#bloomscrolling
#bloomscrolling
NatureZen: Late Bloomers | Overton Park Conservancy
An appreciation of the pastel palette of fall asters.
overtonpark.org
October 22, 2025 at 11:49 PM
I wrote a little tribute to fall asters and the pollinators that love them: overtonpark.org/blog/naturez...
#bloomscrolling
#bloomscrolling
Here's episode 1 if you want to see how it all happened: overtonpark.org/blog/naturez...
NatureZen: The Bold and the Buteo | Overton Park Conservancy
The lives and loves of Overton Park's red-shouldered hawks.
overtonpark.org
May 28, 2026 at 11:12 PM
Here's episode 1 if you want to see how it all happened: overtonpark.org/blog/naturez...
This summer has taught me so much about swallowtails, which I always thought of as familiar butterflies. These past few weeks, I've been noticing Eastern tigers that are somehow both light and dark morphs. The explanation surprised me! overtonpark.org/blog/naturez...
#butterflies #Inverts
#butterflies #Inverts
NatureZen: Smoky Sisters | Overton Park Conservancy
words and photos by Melissa McMasters
overtonpark.org
September 4, 2025 at 4:59 PM
This summer has taught me so much about swallowtails, which I always thought of as familiar butterflies. These past few weeks, I've been noticing Eastern tigers that are somehow both light and dark morphs. The explanation surprised me! overtonpark.org/blog/naturez...
#butterflies #Inverts
#butterflies #Inverts
I recently got to watch a black swallowtail dry its wings after emerging from its chrysalis, and it was both moving and educational! (Did you know butterflies show up into the world with forked tongues?) Come with me on this journey: overtonpark.org/2026/08/03/n... #butterflies #insects #BugSky
NatureZen: Metamorphosis | Overton Park Conservancy
Watching swallowtails transform from caterpillars into butterflies.
overtonpark.org
August 5, 2026 at 8:33 PM
I recently got to watch a black swallowtail dry its wings after emerging from its chrysalis, and it was both moving and educational! (Did you know butterflies show up into the world with forked tongues?) Come with me on this journey: overtonpark.org/2026/08/03/n... #butterflies #insects #BugSky