Neri

They look incredible!! I love the colour as well 😍

A green stag stands atop a hill, his antlers fill the top of the page and are filled with plants and birds. In the hill he stands on, a doe leaps over her fawn. Below them two foxes chase a rabbit who waits at the opening of a warren.

the hart of the forest #art

Series of photos (1 out of 4) showing two bluebirds -- the male on a post, facing away, his electric blue feathers on full display. And coming in hot from the sky is the LADY BLUEBIRD, less colorful and more blue-gray, who is about to fuck his shit up. I dunno if this is a mating thing, or if she's just trying to beat the shit out of him, but she's definitely divebombing his head. Maybe he's into that sort of thing. I won't judge. Whether this is a spat or a mating ritual (or both, no shame), who can say? I'm not a licensed birdologist. In this photo her wings are in, tucked back like an F-14 Tomcat, and she's just dropping out of orbit. Photo by me, Chuck Wendig

Series of photos (2 out of 4) showing two bluebirds -- the male on a post, facing away, his electric blue feathers on full display. And coming in hot from the sky is the LADY BLUEBIRD, less colorful and more blue-gray, who is about to fuck his shit up. I dunno if this is a mating thing, or if she's just trying to beat the shit out of him, but she's definitely divebombing his head. Maybe he's into that sort of thing. I won't judge. Whether this is a spat or a mating ritual (or both, no shame), who can say? I'm not a licensed birdologist. In this photo, she has made contact with the male, who is now like WTF as she is nearly all the way on top of him. Chaos reigns. Photo by me, Chuck Wendig

Series of photos (3 out of 4) showing two bluebirds -- the male on a post, facing away, his electric blue feathers on full display. And coming in hot from the sky is the LADY BLUEBIRD, less colorful and more blue-gray, who is about to fuck his shit up. I dunno if this is a mating thing, or if she's just trying to beat the shit out of him, but she's definitely divebombing his head. Maybe he's into that sort of thing. I won't judge. Whether this is a spat or a mating ritual (or both, no shame), who can say? I'm not a licensed birdologist. In this photo, she has made contact with the male, one leg out right on his fool head. He looks like he's about to fall off the post, which would be pretty embarrassing for a bird. Do birds ever just like, fall? I've seen my dog trip on stuff and that's pretty embarrassing. It's like, you got four legs, dog, have some grace, jeez. Photo by me, Chuck Wendig

Series of photos (4 out of 4) -- now it's down to just the male bluebird who is kind of doing this HOVERBIRB thing as he goes to leave the top of the post and go after the female, who is out of frame. Photo by me, Chuck Wendig

Take a bird, leave a bird.

Here are four bird pics -- the conclusion of the EPIC BLUEBIRD SAGA which wasn't really epic nor was it a saga but here it is, in four snaps.

Photos by me.

Portrait frame photo. At the lower portion of the photo stands an old wooden post, and a male bluebird stands upon it, facing away, his back and tailfeathers in full technicolor BLUEBIRDERY. Only a hint of his orange breast can be seen. He is looking up at a second bluebird -- the grayer lady, her feathers more a faded denim in color -- her feet are ready for landing, her wings are out to brake her descent, and spoiler warning, since I have another photo in this series, she is 100% going to land on his head. She is not landing on the post next to him. No. She is going to crash into him. Presumably on purpose, since birds don't seem to be especially clumsy. But maybe Trump's gutting of the FAA has also affected bird landings, who can say? Photo by me, Chuck Wendig

TAKE THESE BIRDS, IT IS DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE

(Translation: MORE BLUEBIRDS)

photo by me, taken the other day

Self Published Fantasy Releases – March 2025 Visit the post for more.

March has arrived and with it another Self Published Fantasy Releases List. Some truly epic books are dropping this month. Check it out!

www.robjhayes.co.uk/self-publish...

this thrush has vibrant burnt orange markings contrasted with dark blavk and some gray

Variegated thrush as arbiter of the border between light and dark. Mount Tabor, Portland.

a series of threaded replies: - my post: who up waning they gibbous - Papa Nurgle's favorite daughter's post: It's a waxing cresent tonight, JERRY - my post: who up waxing they crescent

i'm on bluesky for the scientific community

Cars will need fewer screens and more buttons to earn five-star safety rating in Europe Euro NCAP will release new testing guidelines in 2026.

Next year, the EU will require cars to have buttons & dials -- not just touchscreens -- to get a top safety rating.

This is a great move. Drivers can fiddle with knobs & buttons without taking their eyes off the road, but they can't do that with touchscreens.

(Even better: Tesla will hate this)

Hey, artists, in case you were wondering if your work matters: I'm a scientist working on climate change and biodiversity, and I would not be who I am today without The Lorax, The Secret of NIMH, Watership Down, The Last Unicorn, and The X-Files. I know I'm not alone. Thank you for all you do.

Turning Farmland Back to Peatland: Can It Slow CO2 Emissions? Farmers have long drained peatlands for agriculture, but the dried-out soils release vast quantities of CO2. To halt this process, new initiatives in Germany are not only rewetting peatlands but also…

German farmers are transforming peatlands into carbon-capturing marshes. A series of new initiatives in Germany are not only 'rewetting' peatlands but also creating markets for the native grasses, reeds, and sedges they support. https://buff.ly/41oPUyK
#ShareGoodNewsToo

Black cat with a yarn label around shoulders

Someone came out of the yarn room

I'd be interested! 👀

MY ACCOMPLISHMENTS THIS WEEK

1. Consciousness
2. Respiration
3. I petted several cats
4. Consumed pizza
5. Strategic AND tactical napping

ME: The great thing about writing fantasy is that you can make stuff up!
ALSO ME: *spends twenty minutes reading about isopod pseudo-lungs to make sure it’s accurate*

Kitty Cuffs Socks pattern by Anna Lange These socks were originally meant to be vanilla to test a new-to-me yarn. Then I thought that would be boring, so I went for contrasting cuffs, heels and toes. And then I couldn’t stop myself and adde...

For reference the pattern is Kitty Cuffs Socks and can be found (for free!!) on Ravelry: www.ravelry.com/patterns/lib...

A knitting work in progress, made in green and white yarn. The cuff is green and the pattern below it is a repeating motif of cat heads.

I finished the first colourwork pattern on this sock and I am OBSESSED. it is so cute. I will need approximately ten pairs

This is a very good reminder to keep your cats indoors. (Er, unless you're leashing them or keeping them on a cat patio.) I know that cats are very special little libertarians who demand their freedom to roam, but keeping them indoors keeps them and you safe. Please and thank you.

Bookshop.org Now Sells E-Books, Huzzah And Hooray Did you knooooooow that you no longer necessarily have to be tethered to Amazon for your e-books? I mean, okay, you didn’t need to be technically anyway — obviously you can buy e-books …

Briefly at the blog -- if you want another way free from Amazon for your e-books, Bookshop-dot-org now sells 'em.

A Publisher’s Marketplace deal memo: “T.R. Moore's The Gods Must Burn, a debut fantasy about a disgraced war hero sent to conquer a foreign island, only to unwillingly gain godhood when he saves a forest spirit—divinity that comes with a mandate to protect the island’s fierce, beautiful god from his own people, before they burn the island down, to Amy Borsuk at Solaris, for publication in early 2026, by Allegra Martschenko at Ladderbird Literary Agency (world english)”

✨ THE GODS MUST BURN ✨ is on your bookshelf SPRING 2026

Over the moon to announce that my Princess Mononoke-inspired, enemies to lovers eco-fantasy will be published with @solarisbooks.bsky.social next year! Dreams really do come true!

Really, really, great and insightful essay from Cory Doctorow today that I've been struggling to summarize much longer than the "just a minute" I told the dog when she asked for her walk.

So I'm just going to say, "this is worth your time and attention."

pluralistic.net/2025/02/05/p...

White House pauses all federal grants, sparking confusion The Trump administration has put a hold on all federal financial grants and loans, affecting tens of billions of dollars in payments.

I think some people hear “grants” and think that without them, scientists and government workers just have less stuff to play with at work. But grants fund salaries for students, academics, researchers, and people who work in all areas of public service.

“Pausing” grants means people don’t eat.

using this as an excuse to post cat pics.

also this is just painfully true. Itzel tries her best, though

Guess which one is which

A dense repeating pattern of hand drawn green mugwort plants and cicadas and beetles over a dark reddish purple background

This one really cemented "hey I want to draw patterns" as a goal. My best friend told me about a dream she had featuring a blue beetle, and I was inspired to make this!

Cicadas, Mugwort (to promote visions), beetles.

Drawn in Procreate 💕

Who's to say 😶‍🌫️

moments after biting me (and she'd do it again) #cats

Ambitious retellings of classic tales and idiosyncratic approaches to historical fantasy abound this year, along with intriguing signs that the grimdark aesthetic may rear its bloody head once more.
www.bookpage.com/?p=199569

My printer is 'not detected'? Really? Then how do you 'detect' that it needs ink? Oh, I saw that pop-up. Didn't think I'd call you out, did u

Krissy: I found a pile of cat puke over here

Me: Look for another one, there are always two, like Sith