Eligibility post! This year my story "House Brilliant" appeared in the far-future SF anthology Our Dust Earth from @aanpress.bsky.social
Under a bloated dying sun, descendants of humanity find that a fragment of our own time endures.. Capturing four posthuman tongues in English for this was so fun!

Pretty yellows! These American Goldfinches were delighted by the seed pods on this evening primrose. (Until a Black Phoebe sailed in and chased them off) 🪶

Nice view of this Belted Kingfisher with her rufous cummerbund and a bit of rust salted into the chest-band

The local Barred Owls have successfully fledged a kid! 🪶

Beeeeeeees!!

"To those who have preceded me in the study of the posthistoric world, and.. permitted me to examine artifacts surviving so many centuries of futurity, and most especially to those who have allowed me to visit and photograph the era’s few extant buildings, I am truly grateful." #GeneWolfe

Our Dust Earth arrived in the mail today! Great to see House Brilliant in print, and looking forward to reading all the other stories in the collection. Such a fun project! @aanpress.bsky.social

Flicker on a snow day! This is our local Red-shafted/Yellow-shafted intergrade, "Blackstache". He is totally unrepentant after being caught drumming on the eaves.

What happened when my son asked, "So Dad, what is a reptile actually?" Turns out, a bit tough to describe phylogeny while driving in traffic! But, sketched this out when we got home, mostly from memory... Can't forget the dinosaurs! And the tuatara... and the birds...🪶

Undisputed star of the day, this Common Poorwill was incredibly mellow and accommodating to many birders who got a great look this afternoon. There were, literally, oohs and ahhs from the audience! A pretty rare find here in Portland, and such a treat to see! 🪶

Night Heron peek-a-boo.🪶

This slightly lost Northern Mockingbird turned up in Beaverton, Oregon this afternoon. Just the second one I've seen in the Willamette Valley. 🪶

[NOT the cloud tops of Jupiter!] Geology and ornithology all in one, at Devil's Punchbowl State Natural Area on the Oregon coast. More in the alt text! 🪶

Now cleverly attempting to disguise himself as a duck...

Pretty amazed that I was able to get these photos just by digiscoping with my cellphone camera. Such a cooperative pose from this fellow!

Ran into this goofy cartoon alien from planet Histrionicus down by the riverside the other day. Is the invasion already underway? #Birding #Birds