Suddenly getting a number of watches and favs the last few days and not sure if I was featured or linked to somewhere?

Finally got around to updating he pronouns on my ref sheet. Wow that was necessary. Added a pronoun section as well.

Updated reference sheet

I should probably make more updates to it like with new artwork as I've commissioned some more excellent art in the last two years, but will have to handle that later. For now my reference is that plus the Aribis pained headshot which is manageable.

And for anyone curious, zhey/zhem/zheir is something I'm experimenting with as a draconic pronoun - I only really use it in reference to my otherkin dragon self and they/them is always fine as well.

But for me myself, they/them is always good and I go pretty exclusively by just "Cass" now, not "Cassander", even though I haven't changed my accounts anymore.

Apologies for being so quiet on here.

I'll be attending Fur the 'More for the fourth time this year in Tysons Corner, Virginia and once again will be hosting my panel.

Therianthropy & Otherkin - Friday, April 28 - 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM (Monticello - Panel 3)

Are you an animal or mythic creature "on the inside" - in a mental, psychological, or spiritual way? Come join us as we share and explore our experiences as therians and otherkin.

I'm going to be changing up the format a bit this year. Planning to quickly run through the basics for the first 10 or 15 minutes (for those new to therianthropy and otherkin and to get everyone on the same page) and then spend the rest of the panel in discussion since we've been getting more returnees and I'd like to cover more subjects and better address the needs of those attending.

I do think my old hybrid-style panel where we go through all the aspects of therianthropy and different people share their experiences with each part is valuable and has worked well before, but I think it's time to change things up since this will be the fourth year we've had a therianthropy/otherkin panel at Fur the More.

Special note! Fur the More is providing ASL interpreter services for events and panels this year. If this is relevant to you, please sign up via this page: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe5xYiwx-5XrPIlbwNfc533K9lXDjqGwJJRsoSlkhX3Di6R3Q/viewform?c=0&w=1

I will be at Anthro New England next weekend and will be hosting a Therianthropy & Otherkin panel at 7:00 PM on Friday evening in Panel Room 2. We'll probably be going out for dinner afterwards as well if you'd like that. Look forward to seeing any of you there!

Will also be around the con probably spending a lot of time with friends. Feel free to say hi!

So PoeticFurs has chosen me as their Poet of the Month for January 2017 and I'm flattered and honored. You can read an interview they did with me here: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/8018107/

I've never been a calendar dragon before!

Thanks to  PoeticFurs for featuring me.

-

Where are you staying?
With my very good friend,  Metonymy.

What days are you attending?
Friday to Sunday

How are you traveling?
Driving from DC. x.x

How is the best way to find you?
Hit me up with a message ahead of time and we'll figure something out? I'll definitely be at the Therian panel Saturday evening and probably a number of others.

Are there any panels you might be attending?
Yah. Lots of interesting ones. Here's my tentative schedule: https://mff2016.sched.org/cassander1

What do you look like?
Shoulder-length dark brown hair. Bearded. Often wearing purple. Might be in a Steven Universe shirt or wearing a skirt depending on how I'm presenting at the moment. My nails will probably be purple or something. Badge name: Cass.

Will you be suiting?
Nope! Might be trying to acquire accessories for my secret sona though.

Do you do trades?
Maybe?

Do you do badges?
Trust me, you don't want me doing your badge. Ha.

What is your gender?
Purple. Non-binary genderfluid. They/them or She/her.

How tall are you?
6'2"

Can I talk to you?
Sure!

Can I touch you?
Ask.

Can I visit your room?
Haha, I won't be staying at the con, so no.

Can I buy you drinks?
Sure.

Can I give you stuff?
Sure?

Can I hug or snuggle with you?
Ask! I usually like friendly hugs, though, but asking is always good.

Are you nice?
I try to be. But it's better to be good than nice.

Do you have an artist table?
Haha, no.

Will you be going to parties?
No plans yet but if I get invited maybe?

Will you be performing?
Nah.

If I see you, how should I get your attention?
Wave? Just say "CASS!" Or just set up a chocolate trap and I'll probably fall into it.

Where will you be most of the time during the day/s?
Probably going to a lot of panels since they look interesting. See the link to my schedule above.

I'll also be hanging out with my very good friends,  Metonymy and  dragonhead, a lot.

And of course I must thoroughly hit the dealers den, artists alley, and art show!

What/where will you be eating?
I have no idea.

Can I come with you for food/fun/etc?
Ask.

Can I look in your sketchbook?
Maybe? Sometimes I do sit around and write or edit my work so if I'm doing that you can ask.

Can I take your picture?
Ask first. No unless I give you permission.

What's your goal(s) for the con this year?
Meet  Metonymy's amazing, famous savannah cat, Griffin. Everything else is bonus, really. Haha.

I gonna be there!

Will probably be at any enby or therian/otherkin events they have - not going to be hosting anything myself, just attending.

Anyone else going? This will be my first MFF.

I'll be attending Fur the 'More again this year in Tysons Corner, Virginia. (Washington DC metro area - just off the Spring Hill metro stop on the Silver Line, near the Beltway) and hosting my usual panel:

Therianthropy & Otherkin - Friday, April 8 - 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM (Panels 1 - Madison)

Do you feel you are an animal or mythical creature "on the inside" - in a mental, psychological, or spiritual way? Come join us as we explore topics relating to our experiences as therians and otherkin. (No recordings, please.)

You can click on the link above to see the panel in sched and use that website/app to manage your con schedule. We also got bumped up to the largest panels room this year which is cool. Let's fill it up and talk about our experiences and get to know each other.

There's also going to be an event on Sunday led by a therianthropy researcher, so feel free to check that out as well.

I hope 2016 is awesome for every one of you. Thanks for watching! Sorry for the quietness - trying to finish editing my manuscript so haven't had much to post. There's some art of me in the works, at least!

~Cass

Let's play Undertale together!

Mic will be on and I'll be voicing all the dialog. Nom some noms. Drink some drinks. Let's have some fun. :)

Will be streaming Undertale on Black Friday staring at 7pm EST, 6PM CST, 4PM PST and going until we all drop. Come join us!

Mic will be on and I'll be voicing all the dialog. Wine will be flowing. We're gonna have a blast.

You like rats, cats, or crocodiles? Posting good stuff.

http://www.furaffinity.net/user/nem.....sthepessimist/

I should post something on here, right? Sorry about the writing drought. Working on my manuscript. Once that's ready there will be more here.

Basics...
Name: Cassander
Nickname: Cass, Cassie, Kassandros, Κάσσανδρος
Location: Maryland (DC area)
Age: 30's.
Height: 6'2"
Zodiac sign: Gemini/Monkey. But astrology is dumb. :p
Pets: Would love to be one or have one! (switch)
Favorite thing about yourself: My expressiveness. (writing)
Worst habit: Depression/anger/possessiveness.
Fun fact: I like birds.

Identity, Sexuality & Personality...
Gender identity: Dragon (non-binary)
Sexual preference: Female
Romantic preference: Female
"Kinsey Scale" score: 0 (as male - 6 as female)
Relationship status: Divorced.
Myers/Briggs type: xNFP (ambivert)
Hogwarts house: Ravenclaw


Routine...
"Early Bird" or "Night Owl": Evening Owl
First thought in the morning: "Coffee."
Last thought before falling asleep at night: "So lonely. :("

School/Work...
Do you work or are you a student: Work but always studying and learning.
What do you do well: Be emotionally open and supportive with those I'm close to.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years: Probably still alone and miserable.

Do you…?
Drink: Sure.
Smoke: Ew.
Do Drugs: Alcohol, caffeine (coffee/tea), ibuprofen and other medicines as needed.
Exercise: Lots these days! Hiking, walking, strength training.
Go-to comfort food: Losing weight so no more comfort food for me. Pizza once a week. Club soda. Maybe will have ice cream and tortilla chips again occasionally when at my goal weight.
Nervous habit: Depressed tweeting.

What is your favorite…?
Physical quality (in yourself): My speaking/reading voice.
In Others: Femininity in its many forms. Curves. Long or cute hair. Fitness/athleticism. Individuality.
Mental/emotional quality (in yourself): Principles, Compassion, Openness to Experience.
Food: Tasty vegetarian food. Spicy.
Drink: Water, club soda, coffee, tea, wine, good beer, tequila, fine liquor.
Animal: ALL OF THEM.
Colors: Purple. This also works as my gender.
Artist/Band/Group: Heather Nova.
Author/Poet: Sappho?
Actor/Actress: Sean Bean? Lots of good actors.
Blogger: Nambroth? Cause chickens.

As far as I can tell, the porn ads have been removed - on mature and adult art pages, the ad slot is filled with an ad for FA United as far as I can see. Is that what everyone else is seeing?

I am still uncomfortable with the direction this site has been going and the change in ownership. It took far too long for this porn ad "mistake" to be correct and if it really was a mistake, it should've been fixed immediately and a profuse apology should have been issued. Instead it looks more like they tried to see what they could get away with and decided too many people were leaving. We'll see.

So yes, I'm staying for now, but not enthusiastically so. I hope things get better in the future.

Since the porn ads have remained for several days now and it looks like they might not be removed soon, I should probably let you all know that I will not remain on this site if this policy is not reversed in the next few days.

I appreciate everyone who has watched me here and commented and fav'd my art and posted art and writing for me to enjoy and just... well, many years of awesomeness. Y'all have nothing to do with this.

But obviously I will not be associated with the porn industry. That's not a difficult call. I feel terrible for all the artists who make a living through this site and I am quite angry at Dragoneer who has betrayed the entire community pretty badly.

Some of my other accounts:

https://www.weasyl.com/~cassander
http://cassander42.deviantart.com/

I mostly use a private twitter account, but might use my public one more since FA is no longer around:
https://twitter.com/thatcassander

I'm not entirely sure what I'll do. I suppose the best case is that a miracle occurs and FA escapes Neer/IMVU or everyone leaves FA and goes to Weasyl. Barring that, I don't know. Keeping an eye on what others do. Tumblr is not an option - I've had terrible experiences with hate groups attacking me there in the past and tumblr encourages such things with their policies.

Any of y'all play Final Fantasy XIV? Thinking of trying it and not sure what server to join.

I'll be attending Fur the More this weekend. Will be hosting the following two events and attending various others and generally hanging around the con. Come say hi!

Therianthropy & Otherkin
Friday, May 29 - 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM
Panel 2 (Montpelier)

Poetry
Saturday, May 30 - 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM
Panel 4 (Mount Vernon)


Characters

Lily - ring-billed gull x house cat gryphon
Winter plumage visual reference and description: http://www.furaffinity.net/full/8865619/
Summer plumage visual reference: http://www.furaffinity.net/full/10239326/


Clem - gray catbird x silver tabby house cat
Survives by his wits. Loner by circumstance. Orphan. Wrong side of the tracks.
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/15891970/

Cassander - electrum dragon (reference a bit outdated)
Physical and personality description: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2574758/
Visual references:
http://www.furaffinity.net/full/5641443/
http://www.furaffinity.net/full/6842527/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/8924072/
http://www.furaffinity.net/full/4111938/
http://www.furaffinity.net/full/4769598/
http://leccathufurvicael.deviantart.....rush-335768081 (3D bust)
http://www.furaffinity.net/full/9730325/ (flight profile)
http://www.coinnews.net/wp-content/.....tater-Coin.jpg (electrum color reference)

I'll be attending Fur the 'More this year in Tysons Corner, Virginia. (Washington DC metro area - just off the Spring Hill metro stop on the Silver Line, near the Beltway) and hosting two panels:

Therianthropy & Otherkin - Friday, May 29 - 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM

Do you feel you are an animal or mythic creature "on the inside" - in a mental, psychological, or spiritual way? Come join us as we explore topics relating to our experiences as therians and otherkin. (No recordings, please.)

Poetry - Saturday, May 30 - 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM

Let's discuss the challenges and joys of writing poetry in the furry community. Share your tips, tricks, and constructive feedback with other poets. If you would like some friendly critique, please feel free to bring one of your poems with you!

1. A friend asked me whether I believed an otherwise good and decent person could believe that corporal punishment was acceptable in some cases or if this meant that they were a cruel and terrible person. The answer is that yes, of course I believe the same person can be both caring and cruel in different contexts. The language I used in my earlier post was emotional and over-the-top and did not represent my full, rational thoughts on the subject. Faced with the horror of such wide acceptance in my country of a practice I consider to be heinous, I became very angry and appalled. I was venting.

2. None of you has asked me to be your moral adviser. So to a large degree, this is a case of "Who am I to judge?" If I actually want to make a difference in the lives of the victims of this crime, there are much better ways than ranting.

3. This does not mean, however, that I will be silent on the issue. I do believe there is a culture of acceptance and looking-the-other-way on this issue that enables child abuse in a very similar way that rape culture enables rape, sexual assault, and other forms of violence. So when the subject comes up, I will speak about it. To help clarify, I will now share my thoughts in a more rational and measured manner here. It is not my place to judge anyone, but I can explain what I think, why I think it, and why I believe that this is a terrible thing that is happening.

4. I just compared tolerance of spanking and other forms of physical violence to rape culture, but, in fact, these are not really separate issues. Tolerance of spanking is part of rape culture. Spanking a child teaches them that it is okay for others to touch them (in an erogenous zone, no less) without their consent and that it is okay for them to do so to others. They are taught that they cannot trust those they love. I have little doubt that the acceptance of spanking is a contributor to rape culture.

5. Spanking is a sex act. When you spank someone, it leads to a flow of blood to the genitals and stimulates the same nerves involved in sexual activity. You wouldn't fondle a child's nipples as a punishment, would you? I imagine you'd be horrified if a relative did that. Spanking is basically the same thing.

More on spanking as a sexual act:
http://www.slate.com/articles/healt....._children.html

6. What does spanking teach a child?

a. I should stop doing whatever I am doing out of fear of violence.

b. It is okay to touch someone without their consent.

c. It is okay to be touched without my consent.

d. Violence is an acceptable way to solve problems.

e. People who love me will hurt me.

7. This isn't just my opinion. There are numerous studies supporting the conclusion that corporal punishment is harmful to a child. LicoriceThePuffin helpfully linked to a few of them in response to my last journal, but there are definitely many more out there.

http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/art.....ticleid=518458

Forty-four percent of the mothers reported spanking their children during the week prior to the study and they spanked them an average of 2.1 times that week. The more spanking at the start of the period, the higher the level of anti-social behavior (ASB) 2 years later.

When parents use corporal punishment to reduce ASB, the long-term effect tends to be the opposite. The findings suggest that if parents replace corporal punishment by nonviolent modes of discipline, it could reduce the risk of ASB among children and reduce the level of violence in American society.

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=2540224&fileId=S0954579400006040

A total of 273 boys and girls from diverse backgrounds served as subjects. The findings were consistent with a socialization model in which higher levels of severity in parental punishment practices are associated with higher levels of children's subsequent aggression toward peers. Findings indicated that children who had been spanked evidenced levels of aggression that were higher than those who had not been spanked, and children who had been the objects of violent discipline became the most aggressive of all groups.

http://www.cmaj.ca/content/161/7/805.short

Among the respondents without a history of physical or sexual abuse during childhood, those who reported being slapped or spanked "often" or "sometimes" had significantly higher lifetime rates of anxiety disorders (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.43, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04-1.96), alcohol abuse or dependence (adjusted OR 2.02, 95% CI 1.27-3.21) and one or more externalizing problems (adjusted OR 2.08, 95% CI 1.36-3.16), compared with those who reported "never" being slapped or spanked.

More can be found here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpor....._home#Research

8. In much of the developed world, spanking and other forms of corporal punishment are simply not acceptable. It is illegal to spank a child in school in each and every European country. All forms of corporal punishment are illegal in all circumstances in a majority of European countries and in many other countries around the world. The list grows with every passing year.

Spanking a child is illegal in all circumstances in Germany, Poland, Romania, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Austria, Hungary, Latvia, Estonia, Croatia, Albania, Macedonia, Greece, Israel, Cyprus, Turkmenistan, New Zealand, Uruguay, Venezuela, Togo, Costa Rica, Moldova, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Tunisia, Kenya, Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Honduras, Malta, Cape Verde, Nicaragua, Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporal_punishment_in_the_home#Where_outlawed)

As an example, Sweden's law says this on the matter:

Children are entitled to care, security and a good upbringing. Children are to be treated with respect for their person and individuality and may not be subjected to corporal punishment or any other humiliating treatment.

I will also note that major, mainstream international human rights organizations consider all forms of corporal punishment to be human rights violations:

http://www.refworld.org/docid/460bc7772.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpor.....#International

9. No one likes to think that their mother or father or aunt or uncle are capable of doing such bad things. And it's disturbing to think that otherwise good people can do something harmful out of ignorance. I get that. Often, people will think something is okay or not that bad simply because it is common practice. And yet we know that terrible things can become acceptable to whole societies. Throughout much of the world today and in the past, it is and has been acceptable and normal to treat whole classes of people differently just because of their religion, race, or sex. I mean, that's obvious - you don't really need me to tell you that. I believe this is one of those cases.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs.....r-parents-did/

I wish this were from the Onion, but apparently America is populated by abusive sociopaths. This is unacceptable. Something must be done to stop these monsters from raising children.

There's an exhibit of Central American ceramics at the Museum of the American Indian here in DC. It's about to close, actually, and I finally got around to reading the booklet about the exhibit which features essays on indigenous Central American cultures. In one of the essays, even before I came across the word "therianthropy" itself, I started to notice many parallels to the practices and beliefs of modern furries, therians, and otherkin.

Although the article is interesting itself, it's something of an overview or survey of the subject. The references would probably be good places to look for more information.

The article is called Authority in Ancestral Central America and starts on page 45 (page 46 by the PDF's counting): http://www.latino.si.edu/PDF/Reveal.....al_America.pdf

Here is one especially interesting passage, but I recommend reading the whole article for context and because there's interesting stuff about appropriating the other in for various ends. Also draws very interesting parallels between various forms of ancient and modern cultural appropriation.


Authority from Nature

The power of mimesis and connections through kinship are frequently evidenced in representations of the imaginary transformation of humans into animals: therianthropy (Figure 75). Humans could be thought to manifest the powers of those animals through “becoming” or imitating them. Expressions of this concept are varied and complex, from ideas of animal ancestors and clan founders to accessing animal co-essences or alternative identities (alter-egos) through trance or dreams. Animals frequently figure into creation stories, which were used to provide justification for a specific social order (Figure 76).

Interpreting depictions of therianthropy is always difficult because it is often impossible to distinguish among animals being portrayed with human characteristics, humans being portrayed with animal characteristics, supernatural beings, or people wearing costumes (Figure 77). This is further complicated by differences between etic (outsider) and emic (insider) interpretations. While an outside observer may interpret someone in costume as imitating an animal, a member of the group might interpret them as actually being that animal (or a person-animal, since these separate identities are rarely clear). Whose perspective is correct becomes, ironically, a matter of authority. In therianthropy, manipulation of this ambiguity itself becomes a source of power. In Classic Maya culture, the concept of a way, a spiritual co-essence that is part of a person, represented in animal form, may be related to an alternative animal identity that a person such as a ruler can actually become. The power of alterity was manifest in appropriating aspects of this animal “other” through the use of things associated with it. Maya rulers, for example, would wear jaguar skins to represent their possession of jaguarlike strength, cunning, stealth, dominance, and knowledge of the ecosystem (and of human society). Jaguar figures adorning incense burners used in ritual (Figure 78) made explicit the connection between the authority of association with this animal, and the authority based on ritual practice.

In Costa Rica, warriors portrayed in stone sculpture are shown wearing broad belts of what appears to be crocodile hide, which may have served both as practical protection and to indicate possession of a crocodile’s ferocity and toughness. Skins, claws, feathers, bones, and many other animal parts were worn to represent appropriation of power from those beings. The ability to successfully appropriate these qualities could become a source of authority (Figure 79). Detailed, empirically based knowledge and understanding of predators in the ecosystem (jaguars, crocodiles, harpy eagles, king vultures, snakes, sharks, among others) provided inspiration for costumes and symbols of authority, like a shell pendant from Panama depicting a crocodilian (Figure 80). It is difficult to know for sure, but these may have been as significant for the wearers as they were for their audiences, conferring an internal sense of confidence and power while at the same time communicating externally to others that same perception. We see the confidence of people of all kinds occupying positions of sufficient authority to have been memorialized in shell, jade, gold, stone, and especially in the highly malleable clay that formed the most common medium for human representation (Figure 81). Through material culture, authority was made visible in ancestral Central America—even when its sources were invisible.

If y'all are interested, I'll post the first two stories of deer encounters from the last two weeks as well.

Another Sunday, another hike filled with animals. Was out for 3 hours and 40 minutes. Thankfully, my knee is still okay. Yay for building up leg muscles!

It was in the 50s (which counts for warm these days) and all the animals and people were out to enjoy it.

Turkey Vultures

I actually saw these guys - 3 or 4 turkey vultures - on the way back from the cafe around 10:30 this morning. They were flying up a thermal over the next building over. Unusual to see them in the city. I wonder if they roosted here in Silver Spring or if they had gotten an early morning snack? They do get up before all the other soaring birds due to their low wing-loading, but I'd be surprised if they got up so early that they left their roost and came to Silver Spring, ate, and were getting back up into flight. It's possible, though. And I've never seen them roosting here.

Hawk vs. Crows

On my way to the park through a residential neighborhood, I heard increasingly loud cawing behind me and decided to take a look at the crows. There were five American Crows chasing a Red-Tailed Hawk! They all landed in the upper branches of a tall tree and the crows continued to harass the hawk, cawing incessantly at her and occasionally leaving their perches and making fly-bys past where she was perched. Though they never got within five feet or so - I'm calling her a female because she seemed big to me, but I have no way of being certain without seeing her next to male red-tail.

One of the crows even flew off in my direction and landed in a tree above me and cawed loudly... at me? At least I got a great look at him through my binoculars. Whether he was trying to recruit more crows or yell at me, I do not know know, but he soon returned to the tall tree and continued harassing the hawk.

I wondered how long she'd put up with this mobbing and indeed, after 5 or 10 minutes (guessing?), she spread her wings and took to the air... and flew toward the area of the tree the crows were concentrated and perched right next to them! This startled them a bit and scattered them momentarily but they soon resumed their harassment.

Not long after, a loud military helicopter of some sort made flew overhead and the crows finally quieted while it passed - perhaps they thought it was a more dominant bird that would get them? I've seen smaller woodpeckers quiet down when a pileated starts calling. But once the helicopter was out of earshot, they once again started cawing their heads off.

I kept watching cause I wanted to know how things would end between this flock of quite agitated crows and this stubborn hawk. I must have watched them for twenty or thirty minutes in total? Finally, the crows gave up and moved to a neighboring tree and settled down for some quiet. So yeah, the hawk won. I must admit I was surprised. As much as I like crows, I must admit I was rooting for her.

Two Does, One Buck

Soon after I made it into the woods, I was startles to see a young buck standing 20 feet away or so off the right side of the trail. They may lose their stealth advantage when walking on fallen leaves, but not if they are standing still. He seemed a little agitated and retreated a ten feet or so after I started looking at him so I decided to move on.

And that's when the doe and I startles each other. She was on the left side of the trail maybe 10 feet away? We both spooked a little, but neither one of us ran. Another doe that was standing near her did retreat a bit more into the brush. It was interesting to see the difference in temperament between them. One was clearly disturbed by my presence while the first went back to browsing on plants.

And here I was standing directly between a buck and two does in the rut. Perfect! The buck, however, seemed more afraid of me than concerned with the does and he ended up retreated further. Even after I decided it was wise to keep on going down the trail and give him room to get back to them, he fled away on his side. To be honest, it's possible he's not even sexually mature. No idea how old any of these are, though, but he isn't the biggest buck I've seen, that's for sure.

A family with young, loud kids came up the path soon after so I didn't feel too bad about disturbing them. But not long after, I saw a group of deer - four maybe? - gallop across the trail and over a ridge. So many deer! The great thing about late fall and winter is that you can actually see stuff in the woods. The wonders of tree nudity!

Junco Hot Springs

Okay, okay, so there were no hot springs. But there were a whole hoard of dark-eyed juncos skittering about the gully of a tributary. And when I focused my binoculars on a nice little series of pools (puddles?) in the rivulet, I saw a series of juncos pause to bathe in the water. They were so insanely cute. And they reminded me very much of anime characters bathing. It was like an all-junco version of Love Hina. I need to get a powerful camera so I can take shots like the one I saw in my binoculars cause it would've made a super-amazing photograph. I'm not kidding.

I actually wasn't sure what these birds were at first because they were not peeping the way I recognize which is why I had to get my bins out to check on them but it was totally worth it.

Pileated Palooza

As I got to the bridge crossing Rock Creek (there are many - I was taking a different one from usual today since I was going on a different, longer route), I heard the familiar cry of a pileated woodpecker. They sound like a cross between a crow and a turkey and they're quite unmistakable once you know what to listen for. But soon after, I heard a response from a different direction and in a different voice. And I turned around on the bridge and started watching the trees (I was in a big open area by the creek) with my binoculars ready. And indeed, there was a third. I saw one briefly before it vanished behind a trunk and I mostly heard them keep calling rather than see one until I saw some movement flash through my bins fortuitously and I saw one land on a tree and drum on it. That was cool. It also seemed to stop the commotion. And a few minutes later I heard foraging sounds (the birds pecking to find insects rather than to make loud sounds) so I figured whatever was up had been resolved.

I did get to see that bird fly through the trees a few more times. Pileated woodpeckers flying between trees never, ever gets old. It's like watching an actual microraptor come to life. Dinosaurs! I am so, so thankful that theropods never went extinct. I really wish pterosaurs had survived the Yucatan meteor as well, but ah well, at least we have birds. I love seeing Dinosauria and Theropoda without the extinct crosses on Wikipedia. Certainly pileated woodpeckers are more similar to actual raptors than anything in Jurassic World is gonna be.

The Herd

I had planned to take a completely different route this time and give the deer from previous weeks a break but I started wondering if perhaps they'd start getting used to me and if I continued to return, perhaps I'd learn more about them. So I guessed correctly where the spur trail that leads to the Pearl Trail comes out on the main trail and found it easily and started off into the woods away from all the people on the main trails. And as I headed toward the place where the trail of pearl ribbons begins, I saw a large buck.

Not just one buck, either. He had a doe behind him who was sniffing at his tail and following him. And there were another couple bucks on the top of the ridge and one walked over toward the other. One couple started walking away from me and I could tell the deer were noticing my presence and beginning to leave despite my standing still. Well, some of them, at least - the two bucks and a few does with them were remaining where they were but mostly they were all looking at me. About 8-12 deer in all, perhaps more? It was quite a gathering.

And I realized I was disturbing them and they looked so lovely together and it seemed they were splitting up because I had come and I didn't want to do that so I decided to walk off around the part of the trail that led to where they were standing and try to go around them. But this meant walking through fallen leaves which made me even louder and apparently disturbed them more, alas. They kept leaving. Eventually, when I got back to the trail further ahead, I back-tracked a bit and saw a buck and a doe standing there but most of the others had gone. So I continued on and picked up the Pearl Trail.

Lone Doe

I wondered if these were the same deer I had seen in previous weeks - they weren't very far from there - but kept going to see if any deer would be in that spot where I had encountered them the two previous weeks. When I got there, there was a single doe and she was a bit timid and ran off into the woods. And that was it. No more deer, but lots of woodpeckers. Dozens of little hairy woodpeckers, perhaps some other birds as well.

I am starting to wonder if deer have a theory of mind. These deer live in the trees very close to roads. They don't seem to mind people being nearby at all. But if there's a human looking at them, that gets their attention. And they behave different if I look at the ground or if I stare at them. And maybe if I stare at a doe vs looking a different direction. I know this is all behavior based, but is it possible that they understand i have a mind and don't mind me when i am not focused on them but are okay with me when I'm not? Or is it all based on location and behavior?

It was kind of unusual to see a doe alone. I kinda wonder if she had already gone into estrus and come out of it and so the males have no interest in her now? Or maybe she just prefers to be alone? Or she has a friend/sister nearby that I didn't see?

Robin Hill

As I continued walking on the sorta trail sorta not that is the path of pearlescent ribbons, I came across part of the trail that followed a steep hill, hugging a contour of it basically. And on this hillside were dozens, no hundreds! of robins. They were everywhere and they scattered as I walked past them and just... I mean, robins are really common, of course, but there were so many. It was impressive.

Dog Kisses

When I finally got back to the main trails, there were lots of people and their dogs out. And one guy who was running at a good clip had his part-border-collie (I'm guessing) running in front of him and she came up to me and kissed my hand. So cute.

Other Birds

Other birds I saw included blue jays, cardinals, and wrens, including one that dropped just in front of me into the leaves by the trail and I managed to get a good look at. They were mostly being their normal stealthy selves, though.

That was long. Whew. Sorry!

A couple people who were going to stream with me won't be able to, so I'm afraid I'll have to cancel the event I had planned for Thursday.

I'll still be streaming myself at times on Thursday, so feel free to look for my stream.

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/15080204/

So I have this (kinda late minute) idea for an all-day streaming party this Thursday. Both for those who won't be spending the day with family and those who need a break from said family. So why not have a place people can meet up whenever they're free and do art and writing together?

I'm calling it Dragon Wings cause dragon wings can hug and provide shelter and, okay, maybe cause they're the only thing I know how to draw.

The idea will be that we'll take turns streaming and move from one stream to the next along with a home base. If there' downtime between streams, that's okay - we can hang out and listen to music and talk in those times and share stuff we're working on and whatever meals we're eating or drinks we've having and such.

If you would like to stream art or writing or some other creative pursuit (any platform is fine, really - we'll have a home base as well) for a time on Thursday, please send me a note on FA. Include how long you can go and what times you'll be available. (Please make sure to put times in EST or mention your time zone.) I'll try to provide some semblance of a schedule, but things will probably be flexible.

Dragon Wings will last from 2:00 PM to 2:00 AM on Thursday, November 27. More information here.