five things makes a post

1) Apparently New River Gorge is now a national park???

That… is legitimately one of my favorite corners of the entire world, but I had no idea anyone else knew about it. It’s where I did a bunch of Girl Scout trips as a kid, it's where my family did vacations as a kid, it's where I learned so much more about migratory birds than I did anywhere else... I mean, I even wrote a doofy lil’ Final Fantasy X West Virginia AU fic set there; I love the place deeply.

I didn’t even know we really made new national parks anymore. Good taste, whoever chose it; now I get to be the unbearably smug guy who liked it “before it was cool” :P

2) I really enjoyed this Justin E Smith post on ethnoscience / ethnomathematics, and in particular the bit about how “the Pythagoreans were an extremist religious sect channeling Indo-European folk-beliefs passed down to them over the millennia from the illiterate nomads of the Eurasian steppe” sent me down this fascinating little rabbit hole. I vaguely knew Pythagoras as “some Greek philosopher guy who did a bunch of geometry,” but I didn’t know he led a whole damn cult? and believed in reincarnation + immortal souls (v unpopular viewpoint in his time/place)? and also he was into the eternal recurrence (hello proto-Nietzsche hell yeah)?? and prescribed a vegetarian fad diet for his followers?? and did some miracle-workin’??? haielhgale niche math-y cults are SO my jam; I should really read more history about this time period

3) I have also been enjoying my copy of the Lubanko Tarot! Here’s some pics:

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While I like decks that stick to “traditional” imagery, for ease-of-reading and ease-of-use, I also want decks to use as much creativity/experimentation within that framework as possible, or else the result is too same-y… and I think the artist did a fantastic job on that front. The deck reads like a dream, while still offering surprising twists, both large and small, with every illustration. (Sometimes they’re very radical twists—e.g., the artist’s interpretation of the Six of Cups, while obviously unconventional, still took my breath away, and works so well.)

It feels very personal and beautiful and is so lovely; the edges of the cards are SHINY SILVER and the cardstock feels just right and the box/altar cloth are similarly nice... I just love holding this thing, which is half the joy of tarot for me. Highly likely this will become my new go-to deck.

Also: I think the artist is planning on doing a sale of remaining stock sometime this summer, so, keep an eye out if you’re interested.

4) Seeing a life bird: awesome. Helping someone else see a life bird: even more awesome. (I found a pygmy nuthatch for some folks last weekend; it was delightful.)

Though, that being said—I have had six new life birds this year so far, holy cow??? I wasn’t able to do quite as much spring birding as I would’ve liked this year, but the bit I have done has been bafflingly productive (including one ABA code 4 rarity!), so, I’m very pleased.

5) Some friends of mine bought a house! And they have CHICKENS at said house??? (They come with the house or something?) Anyway, I’m seeing them soon, for the first time since the pandemic started, and I cannot WAIT to feed the chickens… I’ve seen photos… they’re so cute I love them sigh