Speaking of marinating

Canada geese and white-tailed deer nearly went extinct. Now they’re considered pests in some areas. It’s possible for nature to bounce back, it just needs to be given a chance.

I agree though I’m gonna level with you - to me, a lot of people who climb Everest are like a lot of marathon runners, only with too much money to burn: they’re in it for the kudos and social media points.

I get people’s need for external validation, that’s just a human thing. Having said that, the big difference is in the environmental destruction, human exploitation and waste of resources involved in climbing Everest and rescuing people.

Let’s just wander mindlessly

Just like some climbers on Everest…

Another off topic Everest movie recommendation - The Summit of the Gods. It’s a phenomenal movie, go watch it!

Synopsis shamelessly stolen from ScreenRant: The Summit of the Gods follows a photojournalist’s relentless pursuit of the truth surrounding the first expedition to Mount Everest. His investigation leads him to seek out a revered climber who vanished during the journey, uncovering mysteries within the perilous world of high-altitude mountaineering.

Netflix is training AI on the work of the artists in the animation department. They’re absolutely not the least bad, they’re all equally terrible.

They look so indignant, how dare these people manhandle them! <3

Oh I’ll definitely be back with more photos, especially of the barn owls. They’re nesting in a church and the village is making sure they’re comfortable there. I think that helps but I think they also like the area because there are organic farms nearby. Great place for rodents!

Flowering tea is pretty cool: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowering_tea

We can point fingers at governments and companies all day long, but unless something motivates them to change they’re not going to. Right now the only real mechanisms we have at our disposal are our votes and our wallets. If people throw up their hands and can’t even be arsed to leverage either of those things, nothing will change. Telling ourselves it’s someone else’s fault and doing nothing is the pinnacle of being part of the problem.

Relevant Natural History Short

I shit you not, it is a real thing: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jizz_(birding)

Basically a bird you’ve been trying to see multiple times but it’s eluded you so far. Other useful terms:

• Lifer: A specific species of bird you’ve seen for the first time ever
• Jizz: The bird’s ‘vibe’, if you will. Sometimes you can’t see or hear a bird well enough but you can tell what it is by a combination of factors like the way it flies/moves, its behaviour, location, etc. That’s jizz.
• Little Brown Jobs/Birds (LBJ/Bs): Lots of birds are small, brown and look very alike. It’s hell to tell some of them apart.
• Windfucker: this isn’t an actual useful term, it’s the old english name for a kestrel. I just find it very funny.

Edited to format

Thanks to the ebird map I was able to pinpoint the exact spot I needed and saw a whole family of bearded reedlings last week! It’s truly amazing. A few other things I recommend:

• Merlin app (free) - Shazam for birdsong. Also has helpful photos for ID, and can narrow down birds to the ones most likely to be in your area

• Sibley birds app (paid) - digitalised bird ID book for birds in the Americas. Saves you from having to lug a heavy book around

• Collins bird guide app (paid) - similar to the above but Europe focused

• Birdingplaces website (free) - helpful if you’re looking for recommended spots to find birds. Each entry usually indicates recommended routes.

• Bird journal mobile/desktop app (free) - you have to sideload this one on mobile, and it hasn’t been updated in years. However, I find it’s the easiest to use if you want to make a record of the species you’ve seen.

Edit: I would be remiss if I didn’t also share guidelines for ethical birding:

https://birdlife.org.au/how-to/ethical-birdwatching-guidelines/

Tl/dr: Don’t get too close (especially around nests), don’t make too much noise, don’t mess with their habitat, don’t feed wild birds or use playback to attract them.

Do iiiitttt!! You don’t need expensive equipment, a decent pair of 8×42 binoculars is enough to get started (I like Bushnell’s). It’s a great way to spend time in nature and it can make such a difference for your mental health. That is, until you run into your first nemesis bird. Then there’s only rage…

I knew what this was going to be before I clicked it. Great comic.

Honestly, I’m ok with where The Owl House ended. It would have been better to have a longer season, but I’m ok with where it ended, I got the closure I needed. There are however other animation shows I’m pissed ended way too soon:

• Glitch Techs
• Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart
• Inside Job

These were all great shows that deserved better than what they got.

written by Jesus on punchcards

I just want to say thank you for that line, it’s beautiful. I’m absolutely going to steal it.

A lot of women don’t want to sit on the toilet seat, for fear they’ll get dirty or “catch something”, so they hover and proceed to pee all over the toilet seat. Also men’s toilets usually don’t get exposed to menstrual blood and products. I can absolutely believe women’s toilets are way more disgusting than men’s.

Underwater hockey is also a thing