Watching TV with Mousey the Rat

Rats are nocturnal. This makes watching vampire shows more fun.

I got new markers and experimented. The color blue is growing on me.

My Pepper Screamed At Me

I am vegetarian, so I found it incredibly disconcerting when I cut open my peeper and it screamed.

I love the names hugin and munin you have my respect-

Hugin and Munin have burned their way into my heart. Thank you.

I respect skill, but skill is not soul.

Something happened the other day that really bothered me. I was on the train, and a girl spontaneously decided to sit and paint with me. She wasn't familiar with watercolors, but I had art supplies, and she had passion. I had skills, and she had an innate love for what's beautiful. And when people passed by our table, they saw the art she created, the jerky strokes of the student artist that smoothly transitioned into the graceful strokes of an accomplished artist as she learned the secrets of the brushes I loaned her. And... the people that passed by called ME talented. They glanced over the painting she created that showed the beauty, talent, and innocence of youth, and called MY watercolor sketch of geese the work of talent because it was ... a fairly faithful representation of geese. My painting? Did my painting have soul? Maybe a little. Skill? Yes. But talent? No. I was just painting what I saw. This stranger-girl I met on the train painted from her soul. That is true talent. I hope someday that her talent is as recognized as my "skill" is recognized.

It's OK. She doesn't read very well.

She is definitely allowed. They like her there.

(Munin is my African raven.)

Thanks @moosegoose150 these are great examples!!!

You're right about stepping back some to make the flight angle less steep. And definitely make sure your bird views you as a safe haven with treats!

Also, I would have slept outside too, lol. And you're right, it probably is overkill.

How to Get a Bird Back When it Flies Away

(This applies to corvids, parrots, and some other birds.)

I have heard people say that if your bird flies away you'll never get it back, but if you know what to do parrots and corvids are some of the easiest birds to get back.

Here are a few ideas about what to do:

Watch direction of flight so even if it flies out of sight, you know what direction to start looking in. Depending on the type of bird and how frightened it is, the bird may fly miles before landing.

If a bird is frightened, it is likely to fly in a fairly straight line away from whatever upset it.

DO NOT LEAVE YOUR BIRD even if you have waited for hours below it and it hasn't flown down to you. If night falls, and you are unable to stay with the bird, make absolutely sure you are back before dawn when the bird will wake up. The bird is very likely to fly somewhere new at dawn, or start looking for you. I can't stress this enough: you need almost unreasonable amounts of patience. It may take your bird many hours (perhaps even days) to fly down to you, but don't lose hope. (If you don't know for sure where the bird is, make sure you start looking for it again at dawn.)

Have someone else go get treats to lure the bird down, or its cage if that is available. (If the bird likes its cage, that can act as a lure.)

Things you can do to prepare for this ahead of time:

Teach your bird to come to its name.

Teach it to fly down to you. ("Stepping up" and flying upwards to you are not equivalent to flying down. Flying down takes different skills.)

Record its calls, so you can replay them for it when it flies off. If you can't see the bird or the bird can't see you, you can replay the recordings to help call it to you.

If your bird has unclipped wings, but never flies because its wings were clipped so young that it doesn't know how, either keep its wings clipped or teach it to fly. Otherwise it may spontaneously fly off your shoulder when its outside and not know how to fly back to you.

Aurora, as seen from my house... something I never dreamed could happen.

The Lights took over the whole sky, consuming stars, and setting fire to the horizon. The Gods came to earth, and I watched the sky burn for hours.

(above) This is Whitehorse mountain beneath the Northern Lights, the mountain I can see from my cabin, with a glacier on its summit that will likely melt away due to climate change.

This is the view through the trees from my front door. I can't believe how lucky I am to be able to look up and see this.

When I read the "geomagnetic storm warning" I was very confused at first, and when it was explained, I was cautiously hopeful... perhaps I'd see some color in the sky. Since I'd dreamed of seeing the Northern Lights as a child, I fought to keep my expectations low. I checked the weather though, to make sure the sky would be clear. It would be. I walked outside that night to see if I could glimpse something, and I watched in mild horror as clouds obscured the stars... there weren't supposed to be clouds... I cried a little inside. Then I realized... the clouds obscuring the stars were... could it be? red!!!! I ran uphill to the clearing next to the gravel road by my property and saw light rain down, falling to earth in curtains of glimmering beauty that outshone any expectations I'd ever dreamed of. Silver, red, green... at moments seeming to be a bridge leading to the center of the sky itself, at others setting the mountains on fire.

A note... what I saw could not be photographed, but these pictures remind me of it. No photos could have prepared me for the entire sky transforming into the shimmering silver-red-green ever-changing rain of a historic cosmic storm. But these pictures remind me of something that happened when physics met art, and created a new piece of my soul. I've finally seen the Rainbow Bridge to Asgard.

Right. But a raven, you should get one of those. Two. Get two. If you're unhappy with your messy house, move into the mother-in-law's mini house out back, or your tool shed. Give your house to the ravens. They deserve it more than you.

parrot owners fascinate me bc all of the online discussions they have are seemingly just lighthearted goofy pet sharing like cat or dog people except the minute someone brings up the prospect of getting a parrot of their own every single parrot owner is like "no. don't do it. this is equivalent to having a child or getting married in terms of significant life decisions. this will literally haunt your bloodline forever. you will never be living in a clean house ever again." fascinating to me

Rawzom the Raven

(King of the Raven Tribe, based on a story by @olivescales)

This is fanart I painted for a story written by @olivescales which you can find here on their blog. Their story, "The Forgotten Legends of Chima," is based on "The Legends of Chima." It has action, adventure, and mystery, as well as realistic characters with unique personalities, so I've been having fun reading it.

Media: water-soluble oil paint on Claybord

I feel like that dragon is contemplating mischief. Someone should give it a puzzle toy before it finds its own entertainment.

(do not tag as furry)

Dandelions on a Roadway

Dandelions are such unappreciated springtime glories. Here they are, springing up along the gravel road by my house, unbidden but very much loved.

We're back in Washington! Yay!!! Here is Munin hanging out on a rotten stump. She really has a thing for rotten stumps.

(Munin is my African raven.)

The Journey Begins!

Wow. I see that I made this post a month ago, yet we are only leaving now. We will probably be starting out this afternoon. The trip should take about two days (rather than a month, as it would for the average hobbit on horseback.) We will need to go over Caradhras* using the Redhorn Pass** which is always a little worrisome to me because the weather can get pretty extreme there. If we leave today we shouldn't encounter any snowstorms on the pass though.

*Siskiyou Mountains between CA and OR, **Siskiyou Pass

(The above picture is not my art. I got the picture from this article.)

I'm going to be posting erratically for the next two weeks (I think?) I am leaving the land of Mordor for the Shire, and am trying very hard to avoid the Nazgul. Wish me luck.

(Here "Mordor" refers to California, and "The Shire" refers to the state of Washington. "The Nazgul" refer to the highway patrol.)

Wait, is that Leeroy Brown??? Bad bad Leeroy Brown, baddest man in the whole d*mn town, badder than old King Kong, meaner than a junk yard dog?

I take it all back. Nab that son of a pussy.

Cats like me; anyone vulnerable to explosives fears me.

Wait, wait! Maybe the crow is just trying to preen his heinie. Interspecies relationships are valid. We shouldn't be judgy.

Cats like me; anyone vulnerable to explosives fears me.

Sh*t

Cats like me; anyone vulnerable to explosives fears me.