A book resting on the railing of a sunny wooden porch. The book is called The Everyday Naturalist: How to Identify Animals, Plants, and Fungi Wherever You Go and it is by Rebecca Lexa. The text is light green on a black background, and the borders of the cover are filled with brightly colored drawings of living beings.

One more reminder about tonight's study group for chapter three of The Everyday #Naturalist where we'll be talking about tools for identification to take out into the field with you! It'll be 6pm Pacific Standard Time, and you can register at www.eventbrite.com/e/the-everyd... 📚💙

A view up a grassy green slope with tall conifer trees in the distance. There are green bushes to the right, and in the center of the slope are plants with big green leaves and yellow, lamp-shaped flowers. The sky is perfectly blue except for a few wispy streaks of cloud overhead.

Sometimes resistance looks like ignoring the workaholic voice in your head that tells you that everything you do must be productive. Today instead of actively surveying plants or IDing species, I finally decompressed enough to just sit and watch the rest of nature around me.

Madame, Your Camouflage Was a Success! YouTube video by Rebecca Lexa, Naturalist

I'm supposed to be out here surveying native plants today, but the #arthropod world has been throwing a lot of dramatic scenes my way. youtube.com/shorts/HyFde... #spiders #insects #flies #arachnids #bugs #nature #Oregon 🌿

A photo of a piece of lined paper with badly scrawled notes about plants in handwriting so terrible as to be almost illegible.

This is why everyone should be very glad that I don't hand-write my manuscripts. It's also why I had to spent many recesses in elementary school staying in the classroom to practice my handwriting (spoiler: it didn't work. Yes, I am left-handed and yes, I likely have ADHD.)

A photo of a field guide about Pacific Northwest plants resting on a brown wooden table. A pair of green and black binoculars is on top of the book, and next to it is a small black plastic magnifier with three different lenses.

Aprtil 6 is the next online #StudyGroup session for The Everyday #Naturalist: How to Identify Animals, Plants, and Fungi Wherever You Go! Chapter Three covers tools and other supplies for #nature identification in the field (no previous experience required!) Details @ rebeccalexa.com/the-everyday...

#WIP male chum #salmon, #Prismacolors on hemp paper. Really enjoying building up the color layers on this one! #fish #illustration #nature #wildlife #animals #ColoredPencils

A pencil sketch of the head and shoulders of a large black bear looking to the right.

Black #bear #sketch that I'm working on in my residency. This will be a colored pencil piece, with a wreath of trailing blackberry (Rubus ursinus) around the bear. #artwork #wildlife 🦊 🌿

A shallow pool almost covered in green plants, with yellow-flowered western skunk cabbage rising above the surface, and conifer trees casting shade all around.

A tiny brown mushroom with delicate gills resting on a bed of soft green moss.

The sun's beams shine through the branches of a conifer tree in a wide green field. More conifers line the background.

A close up photo of green moss with tiny stalks covered in rounded, curved leaflets.

I've been privileged to share time with other residents at the Sitka Center this week. So many incredibly creative people bringing their emotions and vision to a variety of media <3

The big green leaves and yellow flowers of western skunk cabbage emerge from a patch of muddy ground.

A small brown salamander with an orange belly swims in a shallow stream with leaves on the bottom.

A view up a mossy slope with lots of large green ferns and conifer trees growing on it, and a cloudy sky overhead.

Pale gray lichens crowd against green moss on a slender tree branch resting on ground covered in grass and other small green plants.

Hey, all! Ducking in real quick to let you know I've spent the past few days exploring the land at the Sitka Center's Preserve as I close in on finishing the first week of my residency! These are just a tiny selection of the amazing living beings I've been able to spend time with here. More later! 🌿

A photo of a ceramic teapot shaped like a gray wolf with buff and white legs. The wolf rests on a bed of stones and sequoia cones and needles, and a handle made of sequoia branches rises from its back. The center of the back has the lid, and the wolf's mouth is open to allow tea to be poured.

This Fitz & Floyd #Sequoia Animals #wolf teapot was my big antique score in Lincoln City yesterday! Now that the antiquing is out of my system I can focus on my #naturalist residency at the Sitka Center. #antiques #wildlife 🦊

A large, antlerless elk with ruddy fur lies on a field of green grass, with two more elk standing behind her in the background, grazing.

A blue sky with wispy white clouds, framed by a line of dark conifer trees in the lower right part of the picture.

An olive-brown snake with pale yellow lines rests in a pale left hand.

A dark brown, shiny salamander rests against a background of dark brown mud and bits of tree debris.

My month-long #naturalist residency at the Sitka Center in Lincoln City, #Oregon started Tuesday! I'm still settling in, but already having some fabulous experiences. #wildlife #nature #PNW #elk #salamander #snake 🦊

Moss & Lichen Caribou

#legobuilds #legomoc #lego #legocaribou #caribou #reindeer #legoreindeer

A photo of a lush green forest with large conifer trees.

The Trump administration is trying to remove protections on old growth #forests in the #PacificNorthwest, to include the Valley of the Giants in #Oregon. Please leave a brief public comment at eplanning.blm.gov/Project-Home... (click the blue "Participate Now" button) #nature #environment 🌿 RS OK

A photo of a box full of copies of a book called The Everyday Naturalist: How to Identify Animals, Plants, and Fungi Wherever You Go. The book has a black cover with green text, and the border is adorned with colorful illustrations of animals, plants, and fungi.

Behold! A shiny new box of copies of The Everyday #Naturalist! If you want a signed copy of your very own--and if you want to find out more about my monthly online study groups for the book (the next one is tomorrow, March 4)--you can find out more information at TheEverydayNaturalist.com! 💙📚

A cartoon brown tabby kitten wearing a pink bandana and sitting back on her hind legs. Her front paws are held before her (the only thing in focus) with her claws extended. She is looking at them with a wide eyed, incredulous look. The drawing is by Pet Foolery.

Me discovering the concept of ✨mixed media✨

A drawing of a furry animal with log pointed ears, a blunt muzzle, and brown fur with gray shading and dark brown stripes. It has five small brown eyes and one large green eye.

Oh wow. I am really digging colored pencils (Prismacolors) over alcohol markers (Copics). This is my DreamBeast inspired by striped #hyenas. #WIP #art #illustration #CreatureDesign

A photo of the back of a lower leg with pale skin. A sword broken into pieces is tattooed on it in black ink.

The same sword tattoo next to a pale arm with a tattoo of a glass vessel holding bright blue light.

My bestie @kessuburd.bsky.social and I got #LOTR themed friend #tattoos today! I chose the Shards of #Narsil as a personal symbol of resilience and rebuilding myself multiple times in my life. Artist is Kendra Phillips of Hot Damn Tattoo in #Portland. #LordOfTheRings

A photo of a forest with trees covered in thick coats of moss, surrounded at the base by large ferns, and foxglove flowers punctuating the green with spots of purple.

Three weeks from now I'll be starting a month-long residency at the Sitka Center for Art and #Ecology in Otis, #Oregon! I'll be surveying #plants on their 80 acre Preserve, and probably doing some #BotanicalIllustration, too. Very excited about this opportunity! #botany #nature 🌿

Hey, #Portland-area folks! Tualitin Hills Park and Recreation District has invited me to show people some of the natural wonders at Cooper Mountain! More details at www.thprd.org/activities/s... - sort by Winter 2026 and Nature Activities, then scroll down to Forest Ecology in the results.

A dark blue banner image with green lettering saying The Everyday Naturalist Study Group. To the left of the words is a picture of the front cover of a book called The Everyday Naturalist: How to Identify Animals, Plants, and Fungi Wherever You Go.

Next online study group is March 4 on chapter 2 of The Everyday #Naturalist, talking about the history of #taxomony all the way back to Greek philosophers (and some of the bumps along the way!) You can register for any/all monthly sessions at www.eventbrite.com/o/rebecca-le... 💙📚

This is not what a #BookReview is for. This is what customer service is for. Negative reviews about the shipping/condition of #books just bring down the overall rating unfairly. OTOH, those who have left substantial reviews for The Everyday #Naturalist have my gratitude ❤️ 💙📚

A partially completed colored pencil drawing of a spotted hyena face, where most of the left side of the face and ear, and the forehead and both eyes are colored in, but the rest is roughed in with graphite pencil.

A little more #hyena drawing tonight. Not entirely happy with the right eye, but I'll see how I like it once the fur around it is all done.

A close up photo of the colored pencil drawing of the hyena, with more of the left side of the face filled in with color.

Alright, I think this is where I am gonna leave this for now.

A photo of a coffee shop booth with a laptop that has a photo of a spotted hyena face on the screen. An open sketchbook in front of it has a partly completed drawing of the hyena. Next to it are two cases of multicolored pencils.

It's #hyena time again! Finally completed my collection of all 150 Prismacolor pencils, and already appreciating having more color options. #drawing #illustration #hyenas #SpottedHyena 🌿 🦊

A nighttime photo of a marching band in a big open plaza; everyone is wearing brightly colored costumes with a multitude of colorful lights on them.

A large dandelion made of bright orange and green lights, in front of a street where a city bus is passing by.

A large mechanical squid covered in blue lights, with long, weaving tentacles stretching out behind it.

A giant metal Venus fly trap with four traps, two of which are spewing streams of fire up into the air.

My partner and I went to the #Portland Winter Light Festival last Friday for early Valentine's. One of many, many reasons I am so in love with this city, even after almost two decades living here. #Oregon #PDX #PNW #PacificNorthwest

A drawing of a plant twig with orange-brown bark and dark green leaves with points around the edges, and the veins detailed in white. A single leaf similar to those, but in a deep red, is to the right. There is also a pencil sketch of two birds on a branch together, and another smaller bird by itself. There are shadows of slender branches cast across the paper.

This month the #Portland #Nature Journal Club met at Portland Nursery where I had some quality time with a lovely Cascade #Oregon grape (Mahonia nervosa or Berberis nervosa, depending on who you talk to). #NativePlants #BotanicalIllustration #ScientificIllustration #illustration #plants #PDX 🌿

Yeah, saw a picture of a couple leopards fighting and the pose of one got my brain going.

@brushwolf.bsky.social Nowhere near the caliber of your work, but your art is definitely an inspiration!

A pen drawing of a large panther with six legs and two spiky tentacles on its shoulders, defending itself against four dogs with long ears and tasseled tails harassing it.

Did some sketching during my very first #Shadowdark campaign (which had mimics and giant spiders, but no blink dogs or displacer beasts). Yeah, there are anatomy issues, but I had fun with all the dynamic poses (see the homage to the 1st edition Monster Manual?) #DungeonsAndDragons #D&D #fantasy