9/6/24: monarch migration

it's been a while, hasn't it?

college will *really* suck up your time. pair that with a new webcomic project and you're basically cooked! but i'm back, because i wanted to share a little hope with you all.

i have the fortune to go to school in a ruralish area in northern ohio. while central ohio will always be my home, i'm starting to get quite attached to lake erie. i like the fog, the snowier winters, and the remarkable amount of birds of prey. (no barn owls yet... but someday! :3 ) as the nights get cooler, i get more and more excited to watch the seasons turn.

while the leaves haven't quite started changing yet, you can just sort of feel the trees waiting for the sign. the older trees always change first, used to the old calendar. and before even they turn red and gold, before the advent of canada geese and the complete disappearance of cicadas, you'll see monarch butterflies begin their migration.

growing up in the columbus area, the only time i ever got to see monarchs was the newly-hatched ones in the springtime, and only if i was very lucky. if you see a butterfly there, more often than not, it's the cabbage moth or the eastern tiger swallowtail. i saw a red spotted purple on an afternoon hike once. but over the past few days, i've had the pleasure of seeing two migrating monarchs, fluttering south! one was high in the air and moving too fast for me to get a good picture, but the other was kind enough to pose on some goldenrod.

why am i so excited about two measly butterflies? well, migratory monarchs are actually considered endangered by the IUCN. if you'd like to help them on their journey next year, plant some native wildflowers and steer clear of pesticides and associated treatments. one of the biggest drivers of their extinction is the loss of habitat, and you can help! even if you don't have monarchs in your area, you'll be supporting native bees, other butterflies, and even hummingbirds! if you like to birdwatch, going pesticide-free will reduce bioaccumulation and bring more songbirds and birds of prey to your doorstep - you see a few dead bugs, but that poor sparrow has got to eat a hundred of them, and that poor hawk has to got to eat ten sparrows.

but now i'm just rambling :) i'm heavily considering putting out a zine about supporting native plants and animals so i can get all these thoughts out of my head. if i can find the time, that is... i've got the quite the busy day! i'm going grocery shopping with my roommates, then hitting my friend colin's place to help them make cannolis and teach them to make collages in photoshop with joy. (my friend joy, that is. although i'll be quite happy about it, too ^_^)

i tend to struggle with collage - i get way too hung up on finding just the right image. it really helps to have someone else there to sort of guide the process. but after watching bits of old patricia taxxon videos with my friend luna and seeing what she did with her editing, it really inspired me to get back into it. i scrolled through pinterest and had luna stop me whenever she found an image that she really liked and wanted to use. then, i'd copy them into photoshop and start editing. the end result looked pretty good for taking less than an hour, if i do say so myself!

i also cooked up these bad boys, which are secretly fanart of marsha and todd from my webcomic. shhhh!

when i hit colin's place, i'd like to make collages for june and florence. i think i could get some *really* interesting results trying the luna collaboration strat with him and my friend dylan. i'll also hit up the mountain goats server and ask them to send me a random picture they like from their camera roll.

well, in any case, i've got things to do and places to be. maybe i'll see you all soon, maybe not!