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Bird no. 735. Small swords #ainktober . This one’s a bit of a stretch on the prompt, but it feels good to make something simple and silly. Did you know hummingbirds can’t walk? Their feet and legs are so small they are only good for one thing: holding onto that branch! . Thanks to Janelle Shane (aiweirdness.com) for the AInktober prompts! (at Chilliwack, British Columbia) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3Tq98NlEfu/?igshid=1nh4wulqtw6wb

#ainktober

Bird no. 734. Forest of beast #ainktober . #fishstrips (at San Francisco, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3RMf6XFJty/?igshid=190a7epw7nfqb

#ainktober #fishstrips

Bird no. 733. Astral Egg #ainktober . I'm a little upset to discover that the whole reason I thought lizards lay eggs in birds nests can be traced back to the Bolivian Tree Lizard in a Simpsons episode. As far as I can tell, it is not real life? . #punkd from the past. (at San Francisco, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3OfwIxl3Wx/?igshid=3pi6dxasctux

#ainktober #punkd

Bird no. 732. Spaghetti #ainktober . I've been away from home since the end of July (😅), and I'm starting to miss my local comfort foods. Hotels don't always have kitchens, and Airbnbs aren't always set up for cooking (or leftovers!). . One of my comfort foods in Montreal is frozen pizza. You can sometimes get it for 5$ at the drugstore by my apartment, and I like to take it home and make a fancy salad to go with it. . It feels silly to say, but it makes me feel safe. You feel? . Is there any particular food that you turn to in a time of (emotional) need? . "Spaghetti" is another one from Janelle Shane's #ainktober prompt list (aiweirdness.com). (at San Francisco, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3L5EFhF8HO/?igshid=hnildg255oci

#ainktober

Bird no. 730. Indian RINGneck #inktober . I'm throwing my hat in the #ring for inktober this year, and since I'm on the road, we're "inking" on the iPad. . There are a couple other prompt lists going around that I'm excited about, it was really hard to choose today! . If you're in the market, check out @sabtastic and @aholmesartstudio - they've put together great lists. I'm hoping to do some of theirs along the way too 🎉 . I love inktober because it's a moment where everyone seems to be doing something similar, and you get to see the different ways people imagined the same prompts. I also love having the daily company. . Are you doing a drawing challenge this month? Which one? . #shouldaputaringonit #inktober2019 (at San Francisco, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3Gmv2MlJpa/?igshid=m7ew0n31hmnf

#inktober #ring #shouldaputaringonit #inktober2019

Bird no. 729. Good egg . Burning out for me looks like working twice as hard for half as much. . Wanting so badly to make something "good" that I forget how to work backwards from feelings and observations. . Spending hours on things that don't matter and avoiding the things that do matter. . How do I recover from burnout but still do everything? . ...That frame of mind is part of the problem, isn't it 😆 (at San Francisco, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3EP-T-FJ3x/?igshid=1d0lmd9ltmim5

Bird no. 728. Shapely . Long travel day today, but saw some cute friends in the park. Isn't it funny how their shoulders can either be rounded or fancy and pointed? Two very different looks 😆 . Riding the BART has always felt so magical to me. I've grown accustomed to the (underground) subway in Montreal, and this is a breath of fresh air. . Literally, sometimes when the door opens, fresh air just comes in 😆 . The sun hits the dirt on the windows, bathing everything outside in a romantic sepia wash. . It streams inside the train and glows on cheerful babies and tired travelers and proud cyclists and stylish teens. . The rolling hills are covered with old pastel-coloured houses and neighbourhoods dotted with trees. . You're flying over highways and train tracks balanced on columns weaving into the sky. You're whizzing past dog parks and peaceful sun-bathed back-alleys. The city hums. . You're underground sometimes, but never for long. . That magical sunlit feeling is almost enough to block out the deafening screech of the train against the tracks 😆 . It reminds me of when I used to live near here - even if I had a time machine, I don't think I could revisit that moment as perfectly as I just felt it. . Is there any ordinary magic that stood out to you today? (at San Francisco, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3BV_a1FaYR/?igshid=1l0dejenyoyar

Bird no. 727. Once home, no longer. . I'm thinking of all the places I've called home, and how strange it is that someone else calls them home now. Different furniture, different art on the walls, different books on the shelf. . Weird. https://www.instagram.com/p/B2_Ah0lFvTi/?igshid=175ir9b1sqnyv

Bird no. 726. Remaining calm in the face of things. . I carry so many worries about missing the bus, not getting Everything done, what snack should I bring, mortality in general, etc etc eTC . The worries make me snap with frustration when my pants are too tight, when I hear somebody chewing, when I'm too hot, when my bag is too heavy, when I'm tired. . As you can imagine, I'm hard to be around sometimes 🤣 When my back was bad, nearly everything made me snap. . For a long time, I thought I was just a terrible person. I thought I was selfish for being impatient and weak for being trampled by my feelings. . I think about it differently now. . It's more like, I have this cup and everything goes inside it. Everything I'm touching and everything I can smell and see and hear, everything I just did, and everything I'm doing now, and everything I'm going to do later. . When my cup is empty, when I'm not feeling stress, I can listen to chewing no problem. . When my cup is full, and someone is even just breathing, I can hardly stand to be in my body because of the violence I feel inside. . With a full cup, I have a really hard time keeping up with the things I need to do. . Caring for myself empties the cup out. Getting enough sleep. Eating vegetables. Going into the forest. Flossing. . I'm working on becoming more resilient in the face of those worries, but giving myself a solid foundation of things like "Sleep" really helps. . How do you empty your cup? https://www.instagram.com/p/B28q-V0lIbC/?igshid=gflui9nrejwz

Bird no. 725. Where they at?!!?! . Would you believe it?! Today is the 2 year anniversary of birdstrips!! . If you've been here a while, you might recognize this as the annual re-draw of my first-ever bird 😆 . You know I love to do a drawing challenge for my birdday, but I need a raincheck - it's hectic as heck over here and I want to be able to give you my full attention! . Thank you for another year of joy and vulnerability and growth ❤️ 🥂 https://www.instagram.com/p/B26MJuFl7Z9/?igshid=ykljzxrgjxq2

Bird no. 724. 🎉 Tattoo Ticket!! 🎉 . I'm so excited to finally put this up! . With this tattoo ticket, you've got my blessing to tattoo any of my existing artwork on that bod of yours. . You can find them available on a sliding scale at the link in my bio, or at shop.birdstrips.com! ❤️ https://www.instagram.com/p/B23nMufFpnu/?igshid=2ldcsopbyb5b

Bird no. 723. It's oKea to take a break . Since I can't bring myself to break my 723 (and counting!) bird streak, I take breaks in other ways. . I try to go easy on myself when I have less time or energy. I go small sometimes when I have to, and I go big when I can. . I'm glad for the times I've sat down and made something anyway, even when I didn't have any ideas, or I didn't want to, or was too tired. . I've seen greatness come from both ends of the motivation spectrum, which completely debunked needing to be "in the creative mood" for me 😆. . So even though I'm always working on something, I'm learning to make some breathing room within this thing. Everybody needs breaks. . I'd like to think this bird is taking a well-deserved break from ripping the rubber off cars. . How did you give yourself a break today? https://www.instagram.com/p/B20634JF2yy/?igshid=4ehd3aevcjlh

Bird no. 722. Happy to see you. https://www.instagram.com/p/B2yO7JJF1oL/?igshid=1tykvqsx5nigb

Bird no. 721. Birds of a feather. . Every time I've finished a chapter of my life, I've torn it out of the book and thrown it into the wind. . I'm not one to keep in touch or hold on tightly to the past, always looking forward and never over my shoulder. . I've come to think of chapters as short stories instead, full of lessons and lovable characters who go on to star in other stories I'm not a part of. . I feel like I've flown in a thousand flocks. . I've been on the move for so long, pressed onward by a sense there was More in the world for me. More fulfilling relationships, more rewarding career, more growth, more learning, more... something. . I hoped I would know it when I saw it. . After all this time, I'm starting to get a new sense. . I always thought looking back was the same as living in the past, but maybe you can honour who you've been without wishing you were still there. . Looking back might even be an important part of moving forward. . The way old friends are coming back into my life lately makes me think, there might be room to reconnect to things I loved in the past. . Like all this time I've been building a flock of my own, and I just had to look behind me to see it. . Maybe some of those pages are worth keeping after all. . Is there anything from your past that you would like to rediscover as it is now? https://www.instagram.com/p/B2vznrhF45L/?igshid=n71uye2x9mpn

Bird no. 720. To what do I owe this deep and unrelenting tiredness . Did you know we're coming up on two years of birdstrips this week? How should we celebrate? 🎉 https://www.instagram.com/p/B2tSLQDlpNY/?igshid=d5rgbqskydcq

Bird no. 719. Definitely only a little bit dead . 😴 https://www.instagram.com/p/B2qMiJhlpig/?igshid=1jo8xue4dbll2

Bird no. 718. I brought you some fluff . Can you believe it? I'm almost 5 months free from that terrible apartment! . My mental health is recovering in a big way, and I'm finding it so much easier to care for myself lately. Because of that, I'm also finding it easier to care for others. . This recovery is the product of the people who have invested time and energy in me. Everyone who helped get me out of that apartment, who connected me to the support I needed, and who listened and shared their own struggles with mental health and despicable landlords (and neighbours). . I'm grateful, and excited that I have energy to give again. . How do you invest in the people you love? What do you do to bring out the best in them? . Who have you invested in today? . Is there anyone who brings out the best in you? How do they do it? (at Kamloops, British Columbia) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2oB7FOlEIq/?igshid=z2t114t7b8eq

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