Birdfeeding
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birdfeeding is a community started on January 1, 2023. It's all about birdfeeding, birdwatching, and other topics relating to birds. It also touches on nature in general, and observations that may effect bird activity such as local weather. Both text and image posts are welcome. Now is a great time to join as hungry birds are easy to attract with a feeder.Community resources include posts about birding events, nurseries that sell seeds or plants attractive to birds, bird identification apps, the benefits of birdwatching, and other useful materials. Check out the anchor posts from Three Weeks for Dreamwidth.
Recent posts:
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Gardening
International Respect for Chickens Day
International Migratory Bird Day
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Jun. 1st, 2026 10:56 pm![[staff profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user_staff.png){kind=small}
denise posting in dw_maintenanceQuick note that post-by-email and comment-by-email is (sometimes?) failing silently without actually posting right now! I'm pretty sure this is related to last night's shenanigans and will be fixed once Mark can finish the full fix for it, which he's working on, but if you've posted or replied by email in the last 24 hours, fish it out of your sent folder to check if it posted!
May Writing and June Plans
Jun. 1st, 2026 04:40 pmosprey_archerMy writing news for May: I have finished a draft of The Paper Bird! It clocks in around 15,000 words, which is a somewhat awkward length, but WHATEVER, I have a draft a draft is DONE a draft is COMPLETE it may be a terrible draft but it is FINISHED. And the length may end up changing in revisions anyway.
I am in that part of the composition process where you have no idea whether a story is good or how much it will need to be revised. I plan to let the story cool until after my birthday (which realistically means "after the Fourth of July weekend") before I start revisions.
June plans: I have two stories out on submission, two short stories out for beta, and one short story I need to revise before it goes out for beta too. Need to send out at least one submission to fulfill my One Submission a Month goal. Might send out more, as there are many interesting calls for submission this month, especially for horror stories. Presumably short fiction venues are gearing up for spooky season. So I might end up writing a new short story or two. Even if they're not accepted, they could strengthen the ranks. I've currently got nine unpublished short stories capable of making the rounds.
Also contemplating some possible longer projects, but so far nothing has leapt ahead of the pack yelling "WRITE ME NOW." So we shall see what might develop there.
I am in that part of the composition process where you have no idea whether a story is good or how much it will need to be revised. I plan to let the story cool until after my birthday (which realistically means "after the Fourth of July weekend") before I start revisions.
June plans: I have two stories out on submission, two short stories out for beta, and one short story I need to revise before it goes out for beta too. Need to send out at least one submission to fulfill my One Submission a Month goal. Might send out more, as there are many interesting calls for submission this month, especially for horror stories. Presumably short fiction venues are gearing up for spooky season. So I might end up writing a new short story or two. Even if they're not accepted, they could strengthen the ranks. I've currently got nine unpublished short stories capable of making the rounds.
Also contemplating some possible longer projects, but so far nothing has leapt ahead of the pack yelling "WRITE ME NOW." So we shall see what might develop there.
Knee bone connected to the shin-bone....
Jun. 1st, 2026 08:28 pmoursinTook my wonky knee to the GP this afternoon - the GP, as they are these days, appeared to be about 12 years old from my advanced perspective, but v competent, did a thorough interrogation and examination, and came to the conclusion that it looks very like a damaged meniscus -
- and guess what?
We treat that with PHYSIO! like what I am doing for other assorted bits of anatomy. They are sending letter to appropriate quarters and no doubt it will take 6 months at least to get an appointment.
***
An investigation into acts of self-pleasure among parrots and other birds has reached a climax, with the results providing welcome relief for vets and researchers, not to mention the birds themselves.
Bird keepers are often advised to discourage and even punish birds for masturbating, but the study found the activity was more common in the wild than in captivity, with researchers concluding it is part of a bird’s natural behaviour.
I am trying to recall what novel it was in which somebody mentions that the family have a canary (or maybe a budgie?) they have christened Onan because it scatters its seed upon the ground....
'Don't forget to feed pleasure the parrot!!!' (so that nature will not turn sour in its veins.)
A Sea Beyond prequel novelette!
Jun. 1st, 2026 12:02 pmswan_towerJune is going to be a busy month for me and publications -- as in, I think I'm going to have SIX THINGS COMING OUT. (Followed by two more in July.) Two are out today, though one, the flash story "I Cut Off a Monster's Arm. AITA?" in Lightspeed, is currently only available to subscribers; it will become free to read online on the 18th.
So the big news for today is "Non Plus Ultra," a prequel novelette I wrote for the upcoming M.A. Carrick Sea Beyond duology! It's free to read in Adventitious, and it tells the tale of how a sailor discovered the secret of passage to the Sea Beyond. I had a blast throwing all kinds of maritime weirdness into this one, along with the historical details that are the particular delight of writing this subgenre. Check it out!
So the big news for today is "Non Plus Ultra," a prequel novelette I wrote for the upcoming M.A. Carrick Sea Beyond duology! It's free to read in Adventitious, and it tells the tale of how a sailor discovered the secret of passage to the Sea Beyond. I had a blast throwing all kinds of maritime weirdness into this one, along with the historical details that are the particular delight of writing this subgenre. Check it out!
Bundle of Holding: Brancalonia (from 2024) & Brancalonia Bounty
Jun. 1st, 2026 02:18 pmjames_davis_nicoll
Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition (and compatible systems) knavish adventure in Acheron Games' Brancalonia.
Bundle of Holding: Brancalonia (from 2024)
An all-new bundle of recent Brancalonia supplements.
Bundle of Holding: Brancalonia Bounty
What are the best mobile-friendly styles?
Jun. 1st, 2026 12:56 pmnumb3r_5ev3n posting in dreamwidthlayoutsI did check the tags before posting this, but I didn't see anything. There are a lot of styles that look great on a computer, but condense the text/entry area to a narrow vertical column when read on a mobile device. Mobility seems to be the best one for mobile (obviously) but I kind of hate the way it looks on a computer. Does anyone know a decent theme which allows for some customization (like custom backgrounds) but looks decent and reads decently on a mobile device? Or is there something I can throw into the custom CSS section of the customize theme page to fix this? I'd love to use the 5 AM theme, but it kind of looks like crap on my phone. Thanks in advance.
EDIT: I have switched back to Practicality. Thanks for your feedback, everyone.
EDIT: I have switched back to Practicality. Thanks for your feedback, everyone.
Five Terrible or Useless Mentors in SF and Fantasy
Jun. 1st, 2026 10:10 amjames_davis_nicoll
Whether actively harmful or simply inept, certain mentors seem to do more harm than good...
Five Terrible or Useless Mentors in SF and Fantasy
June 2026 Patreon Boost
Jun. 1st, 2026 10:03 amjames_davis_nicoll
James Nicoll Reviews offers readers a relentless barrage of human-created reviews of human-created works. I am the John Henry of speculative fiction reviewing.
You can help fund James Nicoll Reviews in several ways.
Creative Update, April & May 2026
Jun. 1st, 2026 08:59 amalthea_valaraWhoops, I forgot to post this last month, so you get it now.
Fam, I just don't know. Last month was definitely a fallow month for me - only about 8 hours of time spent, and some of that was on digital work for Neocities. The only craft thing I finished was the Turkish Tiles coaster. Everything else was either dropped or wasn't working for whatever reason.
I do have to wonder if the lack of creativity is why I am feeling so discontent right now. But it's rough, when you are not happy with anything you are producing.
I also did not do a single day of creative writing in May, meaning my reporting figure for GYWO stands at a lowly 12 days. Embarrassing! But I'm dutifully checking in, and live in hope that GYWO will entice me to write more the second half of the year.
Part of the reason I was "off" last month was because Nerdopolis was, too. A new tournament started today, and already I have Ideas. Yarn has been ordered for some of those ideas, though I don't know how quickly I'll get it... certainly, I will not have time to complete one full Idea with yarn arriving late, but I can do a piece of it, maybe? Wish me luck that my ideas come to fruition nicely...
Speaking of Nerdopolis, I'm worried about the state of it. One of my jobs as Rogue Leader is to update the list of teams playing each tournament, because the Rogues (individual players) need to know what teams are out there for Nerd Cred tie-ins. Well, two more teams did not return this tournament, including a long-established team. Makes me sad. Back when we started, we had a TON of activity, but it's definitely been slowing down the past few years. Less teams, less players on the teams, less submissions being made. I hope it continues for a while, because I do love it. Even if I don't create something myself, I enjoy the challenge of THINKING about it, and love to cheer my teammates on. It's such a large part of my life, and I would be lost without it.
Fam, I just don't know. Last month was definitely a fallow month for me - only about 8 hours of time spent, and some of that was on digital work for Neocities. The only craft thing I finished was the Turkish Tiles coaster. Everything else was either dropped or wasn't working for whatever reason.
I do have to wonder if the lack of creativity is why I am feeling so discontent right now. But it's rough, when you are not happy with anything you are producing.
I also did not do a single day of creative writing in May, meaning my reporting figure for GYWO stands at a lowly 12 days. Embarrassing! But I'm dutifully checking in, and live in hope that GYWO will entice me to write more the second half of the year.
Part of the reason I was "off" last month was because Nerdopolis was, too. A new tournament started today, and already I have Ideas. Yarn has been ordered for some of those ideas, though I don't know how quickly I'll get it... certainly, I will not have time to complete one full Idea with yarn arriving late, but I can do a piece of it, maybe? Wish me luck that my ideas come to fruition nicely...
Speaking of Nerdopolis, I'm worried about the state of it. One of my jobs as Rogue Leader is to update the list of teams playing each tournament, because the Rogues (individual players) need to know what teams are out there for Nerd Cred tie-ins. Well, two more teams did not return this tournament, including a long-established team. Makes me sad. Back when we started, we had a TON of activity, but it's definitely been slowing down the past few years. Less teams, less players on the teams, less submissions being made. I hope it continues for a while, because I do love it. Even if I don't create something myself, I enjoy the challenge of THINKING about it, and love to cheer my teammates on. It's such a large part of my life, and I would be lost without it.
(no subject)
May. 31st, 2026 10:00 pmdenise posting in dw_maintenanceRobby has managed to put in a temporary fix for the site errors and things failing to refresh or not showing up where they should! The permanent fix is going to need Mark's experience, and unfortunately -- seriously, this literally never fails -- Mark has been on an international flight all day, because of course he has. (Never. Fails. He and I are not allowed to both take vacation at once.)
The site will work just fine with the temporary fix in place, things just might be a little slow here and there. We'll keep you updated.
rec books to me?
May. 31st, 2026 08:02 pmalthea_valaraWhoops, forgot this in my earlier post: my library's Summer Reading Program starts tomorrow, and I am a sucker for free stuff, so I am going to take part.
Goal is to read a total of 20 hours or four books during the program. For reaching the halfway point, you get a clothing item. For finishing the full challenge, you get entries into a drawing for cool prize packages.
Last few years, I did the 20 hours instead of four books. I'm thinking of trying four books again this year. I do want to read more, but it will definitely be a challenge to read that many!
One of the books WILL be Murderbot audiobook (audiobooks count), but I'm open to suggestions for other titles!
I mostly read romance these days, or lighter science fiction/fantasy. Favorite authors include Courtney Milan and John Scalzi. I do like manga, but it would feel like cheating to read four manga issues, so... opting out of manga for right now.
Goal is to read a total of 20 hours or four books during the program. For reaching the halfway point, you get a clothing item. For finishing the full challenge, you get entries into a drawing for cool prize packages.
Last few years, I did the 20 hours instead of four books. I'm thinking of trying four books again this year. I do want to read more, but it will definitely be a challenge to read that many!
One of the books WILL be Murderbot audiobook (audiobooks count), but I'm open to suggestions for other titles!
I mostly read romance these days, or lighter science fiction/fantasy. Favorite authors include Courtney Milan and John Scalzi. I do like manga, but it would feel like cheating to read four manga issues, so... opting out of manga for right now.
