Posted in Writing, tagged #talkingturkey, #ThingsILike, @CornellBirds, fun, home, notwinter, Thoughts, winter, yay on April 25, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Today is officially the first snow-free day for the front yard! Here’s a last shot from yesterday:
Say goodbye!
In other news, my recent bird post must be getting some seriously wide distribution, because a turkey decided to stop by to boost my spirits. This is officially the worst photo ever, but that dark blob up in the tree is a Meleagris gallopavo!
The cat was not amused;)
Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #yearofthebird, genre fiction, home, inspiration, Motivation, quotes, science fiction, sff, speculative fiction, Thoughts, writing on April 12, 2018| 1 Comment »
My bird feeder is half full.
It’s an extra large “squirrel proof” version that almost lives up to its name. It’s tall and has a red metal cap and four weight-sensitive perches designed to give smaller birds a chance against the jays and cardinals and squirrels in the neighborhood, and mostly it works. Watching birds come into the yard is fun and satisfying for both humans and felines. Except that there’s a lot less to watch these days.
I haven’t refilled the feeder since last year. And it’s still half full. Where are the birds?
I’ve been wondering this every time Mr. Man and I are out and about. We live in an established suburb and when we first moved into our house the yard hosted raccoons and rabbits and groundhogs and once, a fluffy orange fox. Now only the squirrels and a few birds remain. The city is going through a burst of expansion, so perhaps it’s no surprise that the decline in surrounding farmland is taking a toll on the wildlife. Still, this shift feels new.
* * *
A New York Times article* brought this to a head for me. It’s not the first report I’ve seen on the topic, unfortunately, but we do (with apologies to The Day After Tomorrow) appear to be reaching a critical de-avian-ization point. Agricultural practices in particular have done a number on the insect population. Is it any surprise that birds will follow?
Insects and birds are all part of that delightful staple of elementary school classrooms, the food web. The next obvious questions are, “What’s next?” and “How long until it affects us?”
Public policy is one way to improve the situation. For example, the Farm Bill helps preserve habitat on private lands and provides an often much-needed economic buffer for farmers and other land owners. Don’t have acreage at your disposal? You can still make a difference by creating bird-friendly (and pollinator-friendly) yards.
But before we can make a better world, we need to envision that world.
* * *
“We’ve all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That’s who we really are.”
― J.K. Rowling
One of the best things about speculative fiction is that it allows us to test drive ideas, to spin them into the future, to weigh the potential positives and negatives without actually having to live through that AI or medical or environmental apocalypse.
It reminds me of something I said to a friend facing a life-changing decision: “Whatever you decide, do it on purpose.”
* * *
“We are our choices.”
― Jean-Paul Sartre
Some of the most terrifying words in the English language are “unintended consequences.” Fiction, particularly of the speculative variety, can help steer us through those dangerous waters, between Scylla and Charybdis.
Have a goal, consider the consequences. Then act on purpose.
Making sure that we aren’t on the list of species in decline by protecting the species around us? That seems like a terrific goal.
And maybe next year I’ll have to refill my bird feeder more often.
. . . . .
* tl;dr: Bird populations in France are experiencing “precipitous declines in agricultural regions, even among common birds well adapted to human activity” and scientists point to “the loss of insects, the major food source for many birds, as a likely result of pesticide use.” And before American and Canadian readers breathe a sigh of relief, “A report two years ago said that the problems for about a third of North American birds were urgent.” Ruh-ro!
Posted in Likes, Other, tagged arts, creativity, design, Illustrator CS5, Thoughts, tips&tricks on April 8, 2018| Leave a Comment »
I can’t draw, but I do love designing things like maps and logos and books and fun gifts. I use software to make it all work and shortcuts can be a terrific time saver. That’s why I’m excited to report that I recently discovered a very helpful trick for aligning objects in Illustrator.
I came to Illustrator from Freehand and found myself tripping over simple things. This particular tip fixes an issue that’s been bugging me for years, so I wanted to share in case I’m not the only one. (Maybe you already know this trick? Good for you, now give me a sec to share this bit of wisdom with those of us who have been less fortunate;)
I use Illustrator CS5 so ymmv, but here’s the gist, paraphrased from this useful article:
Select the objects you want to align, then (here’s the important bit) click once on the object or guide you want to use to control the alignment of the other selected objects. No shift key needed, just a straight click. The Key Object will show a heavy border outline around it. Align as usual.
It should look something like this:
Enjoy!
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