#aurora is happy now

[ladamedemartel]

*mariah carey voice* it's TIIIIIIIIIIIMMMMMEEEEEE

[shey-pancake]

After a long long time, I finally reveal the scrapped ilustrations I did for the first version of my fnaf au S&AR. before I disconnected it from "Springtrap and Deliah"!!

[abirddogmoment]

We're learning about grouse hunting together!

I was really undecided on whether I wanted to hunt with Rory for realsies because I don't have a shotgun and I don't really care to get a shotgun (I have a gun license from my time up north). I have a small air rifle and a tactical slingshot (both legal for hunting small game in my area) so I've been taking those for walks in hunting areas, along with all my permits and stuff, just to see what we see.

This grouse woods is in the same corner as my swamp, just a different part of the rec area. You can legally hunt small game during the open season with dogs with some restrictions (certain distance from the parking, some trails close for hunting on a rotational basis for maintenance, etc.) but it's not terribly popular so it's a really good area to learn. We are looking for ruffed grouse and rabbit, both of which are super common out here.

With pointing dogs like britts, you generally don't want to shoot any game unless they're pointing steady (*except when doing gun conditioning, but that's a specific training set up) - it makes sense because a shot bird is the ultimate reward and you want to make sure you're reinforcing the behaviour you want, which is usually a safe steady point. Rory isn't pointing steady yet so there's really not much for me to do on these walks besides reinforce good manners (recall, how far she ranges, etc.).

There's a really well known saying in pointing dogs, which is wild birds make bird dogs. Wild birds flush (fly away) much more reliably than farmed birds so the chances of a dog catching a wild bird is really minimal compared to farmed birds. It's super important to get young bird dogs on wild birds as much as possible so they learn all the important skills: how to navigate terrain, what habitat holds birds, what each bird species smells like, how far they can range, and most importantly, that they need a person to actually get a bird.

(Most of these skills can be taught with planted birds in training, but planted birds may be more habituated to people and dogs so they might not flush reliably. Once pointing dogs learn that they can catch birds themselves, it's much harder to foster a strong stop and point. You might see people using these tip ups, which protect the training bird from the dog. You'll often see training dogs on long lines (called check cords) or with a flank collar to reinforce not getting too close to the bird, but you have to phase those out quickly so the dog doesn't become dependent on them. You also have to be really careful with scent trails when setting up planted birds or you might end up with a dog that follows your scent instead of looking for birds organically. And of course, you have to train without birds sometimes so the dog doesn't get discouraged about not finding birds quickly because sometimes there just aren't birds out there. Lots to consider when setting up training!)

Anyway I've been trying to get Rory out on wild birds as much as possible (with the caveat that we don't run wild birds during nesting season) so we're wandering the grouse woods lately. My early recall training is really paying off because she's been super reliable in terms of good manners, it's wonderful to see!

We've been out four times (1-2 hours each) so far since the season opened. The first two times we're mostly just a pleasant walk in the woods, Rory didn't really know what we were doing so she was just vibing (THIS IS TOTALLY FINE, SHE'S NEW TO THIS). We had a couple chance grouse encounters and I could see the wheels turning, I encouraged her to sniff around where the grouse were sitting before they flew off and I watched her start to connect the dots.

(It's important to remember that dogs don't know what they're looking for until you show them. Most bird dogs are naturally birdy, but they don't know which birds are good and which birds are boring! You have to show them which birds you care about - this is easiest if you can run with an experienced hunting dog, but you can do it alone like I am by making a big deal about any interest in the "correct" birds.)

The last time we went out to the grouse woods, she did a couple of really nice whip-arounds when she caught scent she liked and followed scent off the trail I was walking! This is the behaviour I want to see so it was awesome to watch it start to click! She trailed a moose (don't want that, she found some moose pee to roll in so whatever), a pileated woodpecker (again, don't want that but it was cool to see), and two separate grouse. The first was on the wrong side of the fence so I couldn't do anything about it but she held a really nice point (the photo) and I gave her a ton of chicken and praise for it. The second was a quick point but it flushed really far away so there was no finding it again. Both birds weren't visible when she found them, they were true scent points and she was strategically looking for them so that was super cool!

She's still in heat and super sensitive right now so I wouldn't shoot over her anyway, but I'm getting pretty accurate with my slingshot so I'm hoping we can connect on something this fall - both for her pointing steady and me aiming properly. She gets more steady and more sure of herself every time we go out so it's only a matter of time!

[nepotuska]

I thought Tumblr could appreciate the photos I took yesterday at my first ritual <3

Bonus photo of Phantom going ✌️ he's such a cutie 😭

[narryffdreaming]

sometimes life is soSO crazy

almost a month ago this really random thing happened in my life and i never posted/talked about it here of course but it somehow led me to being hired to co-direct this christmas play with someone who then ended up telling me "i have this idea but no script" so i volunteered to write it and he then said "ok yes thank you. so im not sure about this or that but one thing I know is that the characters name is aurora"....... AURORA!!....... i mean, how crazy is that?!!

this was like a week or so ago, so i wasnt going to bring it up or anything, but yesterday&today we were testing makeup/wardrobe and it was such a surreal experience. like i was so excited and taking pictures of everyone, and then someone ask me "how does it feel to see your characters come to life?" and it just... it kinda hit me for the first time what was really happening and idk guys. idk.

i know my fanfics arent big here i know ive never been able to properly finish a story and i know i keep promising one thing and doing the complete opposite.... but i will never be able to express how thankful i am for having this space to play around with characters and explore how deep i could go when writing a plot and background story and all that. this isnt broadway i live in the middle of nowhere so of course im not gonna try to make anything look bigger than it actually is, but im just very thankful for aurora and lia (and maisy and all the harrys and nialls) and the so many more that you never saw but exist on a google doc anyway. i really am.

thank you to those of you who encouraged me and who were here and who stuck around when things were different and i was different too. life got chaotic unfortunately but somehowwwww i still got here and damn im really really trying to be better and enjoy every little moment to the fullest <3 i reallyyyy am.

[the-mountain-flower]

If marriage in Aurora is at all like in our world, then it's possible that, as an honorary emissary, Erin can officiate marriages (at least in Asera).

I am surprised I haven't found any fics that make use of that yet

[brighter-star]

Colour study I made with my roblox avatar (Because I love that goober's design so much), I also made an alternative version bc of a suggestion from my friend to swap the colours around

[macaroonkitti]

WOOOO LOOK WHO I HATCHED

[wildbasil]

i finally saw the aurora borealis tonight 🥺🥺💚💕

[mspegasus17]

Aurora Borealis in Northern Germany.

[kwilooo]

I never get to see the Aurora Borealis where I’m from so this is pretty amazing

[narnianvalkyrieofberk]

I have once again been left to my own devices for too long.

[shey-pancake]

After months of working on this comic, I finally finished it.

I present to yall, my Christmas comic (that I wanted to post on december from last year ;;), with the dorks I will never get enough of loving them!! the scrunklos on the christmas night :] 💜

Just to clarify, this comic was just a special edition, for the holiday, these comics are separated from the canon storyline of the AU fic, but still official of the universe

I hope you guys liked it! It was really fun to do a comic again, but if I do another, I will remind myself to start 3 months before (or even more lmao)

Spanish version cooming soon !!

・・・・・・・ ★

BY THE WAY!! I DID A VIDEO DUB ON MY CHANNEL OF THIS COMIC! (and in english) if you are interested on watching this comic but with the character voices <3

[artemis-pendragon]

Watching the aurora like yessss babygirl shake ur ionized ass work that magnetic pole hell yeah bitch ur literally glowingggg

[the-ninja-legacy-whip]

“Think of The High Priestess as the calm center inside of you that is untouched by your external world. Trust that she is always there when you need her.”

Upright, the Priestess represents Intuitional Insight, Sacred Knowledge, Subconscious Mind, and Tenacity. 

When Reversed, the Priestess is indicative of Secrets, Silence, Personal Disharmony, and Detachment. 

[avian-hearts]

my little area for dark cacao is turning out rlly nice! <3