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etaylorc.bsky.social
etaylorc
@etaylorc.bsky.social
1K followers 1.6K following 640 posts
The delight is in the finding out.

Inveterate traveler, incorrigible animal rescuer, English teacher by trade. Mostly lurking/liking here. All photos by me unless otherwise stated.
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etaylorc.bsky.social
Dramatic struggle between man and nature: a shutter on a window in an abandoned building being choked to destruction, a few blocks from the main square of the old town in Jakarta.

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekDforDramatic #WindowsOnWednesday #Photography #Ruins
The photo appears to be a tangle of dead vines against a wall. A closer look shows that the vines are actively growing into, through, and around a fragmenting plaster wall and wooden window frame, with a wooden shutter barely hanging on.
January 28, 2026 at 1:37 PM
etaylorc.bsky.social
Dramatic clouds and fog surround a lone temple at the along a ridge in Dongguan.

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekDforDramatic #Photography #Landscape
The bottom of the picture is of steep wooded hills, with low fog clinging in the valleys between and along the top of the ridge. At the top of a ridge towards the right is a small temple with noticeably traditionally Chinese roofs. The top half of the photo is of heavy dark clouds with some light patches.
January 27, 2026 at 1:00 PM
etaylorc.bsky.social
I actually have a pic for #swan

#BirdOfTheDay #birds #birding #wildlife #photography #nature #outdoors
The picture is of a black swan beginning to spread its wings on a green pond. It is facing away from the camera.
January 24, 2026 at 1:13 PM
etaylorc.bsky.social
Closeup of a sleeping orange tabby cat for #caturday.

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekCforCloseup #Cats #CatsOfBlusesky
The photo is almost completely filled with the fur of a striped orange tabby cat, meaning it is mostly variations of dark and light shades of orange, some layers sharp, some more blurry. On the far right is a pink cat nose and white whiskers that prove this is actually a cat.
January 24, 2026 at 6:38 AM
etaylorc.bsky.social
Closeup of a tiny bit of #forest, in snow.

(Oddly, in Bitola, Macedonia. It's so much colder there than you'd guess from the map.)

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekCforCloseup #ForestFriday
The photo is of a bit of the trunk of a tree, with very rough bark, worn away in places. The right side of the trunk is covered with snow and fades into white, indicating that a storm came from that side. There is a knot in the wood about 1/3 from the top.
January 23, 2026 at 9:19 AM
etaylorc.bsky.social
A faceful of hydrangea from a few months ago.

(I ran out of words expressing despair a while back, so after the past few days of news I'm back to aggressively posting beautiful things.)

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekCforCloseup #Bloomscrolling
The picture is almost entirely full of the tiny flowers in a larger cluster of pale pink hydrangea. A bit of a dark green leaf is visible in the upper right corner.
January 22, 2026 at 10:24 AM
etaylorc.bsky.social
#feathers of a peacock that didn't appreciate how close I had come. Post-pecking close up of his face in the comments.

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekCforCloseup
The photo is completely full of peacock body feathers in greens and golds and blues. Body feathers look kind of like scales, smaller and rounder than the classic tail feathers.
January 21, 2026 at 4:15 PM
etaylorc.bsky.social
Apparently 2026 will be the year of the cabbage, so... cabbage!

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekCforCloseup #Cabbage
The photo is of an ornamental cabbage with a purple center. The photo is a closeup taken from above, so the entire frame is full of the top edges of the purple center leaves as they open. Towards the edges of the photos are some green leaves with pinkish veins.
January 20, 2026 at 4:08 PM
etaylorc.bsky.social
A bit of the book that is currently making me crazy. Admittedly by choice.

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekBforBooks #Music
The photo is of a music book for a traditional Chinese flute - a simple instrument made of a single piece of bamboo with holes cut similar to a western recorder. Except you can play three octaves by tilting the flute in certain ways. In this book, instead of a musical scale, notes are represented by numbers representing notes, with dots above and below indicating the octaves.
January 15, 2026 at 3:19 PM
etaylorc.bsky.social
A bit of my own bookshelf at home, including booknook.

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekBforBooks
The photo is of a row of books with a booknook between them. The books include Keats, Byron, Kapuscinski, and similar. The booknook is an intricate scene of a Tang dynasty street scene, with the path rising up stone stairs. Traditional buildings and balconies line the sides, and a slanted mirror at the back makes it look like the street extends even further into the distance. Many elegantly-dressed figures are on the path and on the balconies.
January 14, 2026 at 11:38 PM
etaylorc.bsky.social
Part of the book collection in the English Dept at my school. English language books aren't always easy to get here, so it's actually a treasure chest.

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekBforBooks #Books
The photo is off a bookshelf in metal cabinets, with doors with glass. Inside is an eclectic collection in a chaotic arrangement. Books include titles like "Infinite Jest" and "Readings in Philosophy," and there are random items like photographs and a Magic Eight Ball. Magnets on the outside include a Freud finger puppet and one that says "I am silently judging your grammar."
January 13, 2026 at 5:04 PM
etaylorc.bsky.social
#Abstract created by lines in a wall beginning to show its age.

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekAforAbstract #Minimalism #Photography
The photo is off white with cracks beginning in the paint on the edges of pieces of drywall. One crack is nearly a complete vertical about a third from the left; another is horizontal, starting at the vertical and going right, about a third of the way down.
January 9, 2026 at 1:32 PM
etaylorc.bsky.social
Ages ago I was playing around with art filters on a photograph I took of a milk factory floor, and it ended up looking like an #abstract city to me. Not a fan of filters as a rule, but I kind of like this one.

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekAforAbstract
The picture is mostly beige and tan, with vertical shapes, some black forms towards the bottom, and a few orange, red, and blue shapes scattered throughout.
January 6, 2026 at 12:45 PM
etaylorc.bsky.social
Oops, missed one. So here is look #down, see #pet.

Tucker is one of my weirder rescue stories, in the ALT.

#Januarty #Januarty2026 #rescue #dogs #adoptdontshop
I was out very early walking four smallish, unruly dogs (so my hands were full), when an old man stopped his motorbike and chased me down a pedestrian path, and handed me a tiny, 5-week-old puppy. I couldn't quite understand whether he had found the puppy in a gutter, or was going to leave it in a gutter (not uncommon), but the man seemed genuinely grateful that I took it, so I'm choosing to assume he had good intentions. It was a challenging walk home, though, with a scared puppy under one arm and four smallish, now curious, dogs in a tangled cloud underfoot. (Tucker has grown into a gangly, goofy bundle of fun, and is still looking for a home.)
January 6, 2026 at 12:25 PM
etaylorc.bsky.social
Closeup of a 4500 year old cypress #tree at Songyang Academy, in Dengfeng, Henan, China.

#Januarty #Januarty2026 #travelmemories
Closeup of deeply gnarled and twisted bark on a huge ancient tree. In the light, the bark is silvery-grey, with small areas of pale green moss.
January 3, 2026 at 2:59 AM
etaylorc.bsky.social
A #matching pair, both in appearance and level of annoyance at my taking yet another pic.

#JanuArty #JanuArty2026 #cats #adoptdontshop
Two orange tabby cats curl up together on top of a bed on top of the fridge. They both look annoyed that I'm taking yet another photo of them, but Harris (in the back) looks particularly put out. The photo was taken at night, so the shadows are harsher than usual.
January 2, 2026 at 12:26 PM
etaylorc.bsky.social
Hate to butt into the #birdoftheday, but maybe this works for #reflection?

I do wonder what was in this water to make it look so oilslick-ish. This pic is cropped, but not altered.
The picture is mostly of the unsettled surface of a pond, reflecting mostly the blues of the sky, but with the green of a tree appearing fragmented towards the right side. About a third of the way from the left is a black duck and its reflection in the blues.
December 31, 2025 at 6:37 PM
etaylorc.bsky.social
I think I misunderstood this week's assignment, and was collecting ideas to send as options for the next cycle - starting the year off confused 🙃. Here is #WeekBforBuried, with ample proof that there's a dog in there somewhere.

#AlphabetChallenge #Dogs #AdoptDontShop #Cold
The picture is almost all gold tones, in low light. Most of the gold is blankets - above, a blanket is folded into wrinkled mounds; below, there is another fairly smooth blanket. Tucked into this mound is the face of a small gold and white dog, facing towards the right side, and looking generally skeptical about things.
December 31, 2025 at 4:44 PM
etaylorc.bsky.social
The best of wishes for a brilliant New Year to you all, from the pure hearts of my rescue dogs in Shanghai. And me too.

(The cats will probably have comments tomorrow.)

#HappyNewYear #Dogs #AdoptDontShop
The picture is a collage of 30 dogs, pictured individually in a grid with some spaces for text. The text reads: Wishing you Peace, love, and joy 2026 and hoping this year brings every stray home The pictures of the dogs are mostly closeups of their faces; most are smiling, with tongues out. The dogs are all mixed breeds, of every size, shape, and color. Left to right, top to bottom they are: Tucker, Xiaoyu, Shitou Botas, Tanner, Aimee, Banjo, Bea, Bruno Lucky, Rayo, Aubrey, Sabry Daijin, Big Lucky, Happy, Nash Shadow, Midge, Lumi, Howl Kichiro, Fuzz & Grizzle, J.R., Ingot, Wicket, Manman Hurong, Millie They all have different pasts, from feral-born to abandoned pets; hopefully they will have similar futures, in loving homes.
December 31, 2025 at 1:28 PM
etaylorc.bsky.social
Happy times long past, in the winter forests of Quebec.

#ForestFriday #EastCoastKin #Hiking #Nature #Outdoors #Photography
A narrow, snowy path winds through hills covered in a mix of mostly low evergreen trees and taller deciduous trees. The day is bright and sunny, but cold, and snow stays also on the branches of the trees.
December 26, 2025 at 12:00 PM
etaylorc.bsky.social
Bit of my WIP New Years flyer from and for my rescue guys. (They use 0 in China, but mostly in things like phone numbers and license plates - in non-official things often it's a complicated non-Arabic-numeral character.)(So post-able 0s are hard to find.)

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekZforZero
Crop of a larger image with the number 0 in gold on the left. On the right are several small photos of dogs with big smiles. I will post the whole thing later, with more description.
December 25, 2025 at 10:40 AM
etaylorc.bsky.social
A tiny break in the monsoon season sky - cloud #scape over #AngkorWat at a stupidly early hour.

#Cambodia #SiemReap #Clouds #Photography #EastCoastKin
The well-known silhouette of the very top of Angkor Wat (temple and palm trees) sits at the very bottom of the image; most of the pic is of the sky - bright blue, but mostly covered with clouds in bands that range from dark grey to pure white.
December 19, 2025 at 10:55 AM
etaylorc.bsky.social
This year hasn't been great for me, so here are 12 of my guys rescued and/or adopted this year. Their lives are better, at least. Green checks mean adopted. Mini bios in the ALT.

(No pics of the newest, or the turtles.)

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekYforYearPast #Rescue #AdoptDontShop #Dogs #Cats
Top to bottom, left to right. Age is when I got them. Happy, ~1 year old. Living outside a restaurant; they said they loved him, but left him alone for a month. I took him to the vet - they never wanted him back. Ricky, 5-6 weeks old. Hanging out with Happy in the bushes. Anan, 3-4 months old. Found her running in and out of traffic. She turned into a lovely girl, with a foster turning into a foster fail. Minuet, ~1 year old. Found her hiding under a bush along a busy road. She had advanced wet FIP, and was probably thrown out by a breeder or a pet shop because she was sick. Devon (Rex), ~1 year old. Found huddled next to a tree on the sidewalk along the same busy road as Minuet, a few minutes later. Also probably thrown out by a breeder or a pet shop because she was sick. Chichi. I caught his mother ~12 hours after he was born. Long, sad story about both his mother and about why he was adopted and named Chichi, but his life is wonderful now. Viva, 3-4 months old. Found in a tiny cage outside an empty shop literally next to the road. Living her best life in the UK now. Schatzi, ~2-3 years old, and mom to Chichi and 7 other puppies. I had seen her looking okay in early summer 2024, then less okay as the summer waned; then she disappeared for a while. She reappeared the day before she gave birth, and I caught her the next day. Now living her best life in the UK. Harley, ~1 year old. Appeared in a wooded highway underpass area just as the dog beat team was coming to kill them all. We got a bunch of them first, including him. Adopted with a fellow underpass rescue, and living well in Europe. Midge, 3-4 months old. Found her in a garbage can. She didn't get in there herself. Tucker, ~5 weeks old. An old man ran up to me and handed me a puppy. Unclear if he had found him in the gutter, or was going to leave him in the gutter if I didn't take him. Chandi, ~1 year old. Found hiding under a car. Lost, or abandoned, or dumped, no idea.
December 17, 2025 at 1:54 PM
etaylorc.bsky.social
China doesn't officially do Christmas (even less so since the post-Covid exodus), but it sneaks in, especially in areas with more expat stuff. This mall had a lot of international restaurants, including a French cafe.

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekXforXmas #UrbanGaze
The picture looks almost straight up from below a very tall skyscraper and a small metal Eiffel Tower, against a clear blue sky. The skyscraper has curved corners, with bands of blue glass and grey metal. It is positioned such that it appears to rise from the bottom left corner towards the top left, with the weight of the building in the top left. The Eiffel Tower is less dramatically angled, and has a a subtle decoration of a large red band, with gold ball ornaments, spiraling up to a star at the top. At the bottom are hints of the mall itself, as well as a gold-tone metal structure that might have been an abstract boxed present (I don't remember).
December 11, 2025 at 12:01 PM
etaylorc.bsky.social
One tiny corner of a huge Christmas market in Vienna, many years ago.

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekXforXmas #TravelMemories #ColorADay #RedWed
The photo is of a market stall displaying and selling hundreds of wooden ornaments hanging from bright red strings. The ornaments are dolls with moveable arms and legs, shaped like girls and boys and Santas, painted in bright reds and greens. There are a few other shapes mixed in that look like rocking horses and gingerbread trees, and a few other things.
December 10, 2025 at 1:20 PM