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Zine Review: Birder Beginnings: Introduction to Bird Watching

Birder Beginnings: Introduction to Bird Watching
Sarah E. Hoffman
hoffmans99@hotmail.com
84acres.blogspot.ca

Birder Beginnings is a black and white comprehensive beginner’s guide to bird watching and birding, and boy am I ever a beginner.

The chaos of the house move delayed my reading this zine, but I’m almost grateful for it (save for the annoyance of the delay for Sarah). Since moving to a much quieter place, I’ve been hearing so many more bird calls and have a greater appreciation for this zine.

Birder Beginnings takes you by the hand and leads you into the world of birding. Sarah’s writing is informative without waffling, telling you things you don’t need to know, or distracting from the subject. The cut and paste style fits in very well with the guidebook style of the zine.

I was impressed by the amount of information that was packed inside. There are so many elements of birding – and bird watching; I now know there is a difference – that I simply wouldn’t have been able to even guess before. Sarah writes about how binoculars work, developing and advancing your skills, birding event etiquette, and plenty more. There are even events and various types of documenting the birds you’ve spotted.

There’s even a list for further reading, and you know how much I love lists for where to get more info.

While this may seem overwhelming, Sarah makes it clear at the beginning that all you require to start is the ability to enjoy nature.

The part I appreciated most was the ‘birds in your backyard’ section. The specific of breeds and seeds may not all be applicable in Australia, but the ideas and tips are. Even better, I felt like they were things I could implement fairly easily. I feel inspired and am looking forward to making the space I have bird-friendly.

As I mentioned, I am a complete beginner to all of this, but I feel like this zine has all the information anyone needs to get going for anything from casual bird watching to more involved birding.

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The Internet Saga

Hello, zine friends! I hope this post finds you well and having a smooth week.

My internet woes continue with promises made and then not being told when they didn’t go through. Wanderer has a long list if phone calls to make tomorrow however, and we intend to get things sorted out. (Our phone data is beginning to run short.) 

Far from the smooth transition I wanted, but what to do… 

I appreciate your patience in all this. Here’s crossing fingers for help, answers, and solutions tomorrow.  

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What’s Happening – Internet Hiccups

Hello, zine friends! I hope this post finds you well and that your start to the week has been calm and productive.

Things here have been coming along slowly. There have been several kerfuffles to deal with as we try to settle in here as well as arrange the last little thing back in Bendigo so we can get our bond back. Here’s what’s happening:

*The internet! We thought we had internet all lined up, but we popped instore today to find out that, well, nothing had actually been done. (Not happy, Nigel!) Yay for thinking to pop into the store or we’d have been waiting for a connection that wasn’t going to happen. Sigh. We’re still not sure when we’ll actually get a connection. Grr.

*Emails? For some reason, my phone sim won’t let me respond to emails on my plan. So if you need to get in touch with me fast, Instagram messaging is best. I still probably won’t respond straight away, but it’ll see a response faster than email.

*Pictures or it didn’t happen. Because we’re reliant entirely on phone data at the moment, happy mail and any other new photos have to wait until we have the data to upload photos. If the connection is going to be a while, we’ll get a temporary data thingy (technical terms only here at SGZ) so I can have some normalcy of posting around here.

*Sea Green Zines is open once more. My Etsy shop is now back up and running for your zine-reading pleasure. I do have limited stock at the moment until my printer is set up, but I’m otherwise ready to rock and roll.

I think that’s me for now. Wanderer and I are both pretty exhausted any way you cut it and looking forward to finding our new normal. I’ll be back as soon as I can with all kinds of zine appreciation because, let’s be honest, that’s what we’re really here for. Hehe.

Until next time…

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Brand New Day

Hello, zine friends! I hope this post finds you well and having a good week.

I have finally well and truly landed in South Australia, and I am just starting the unpacking process. The naps are many and the boxes are many more, but with no rental inspection coming up, I am comfortable taking my time. I’m relaxing in ways I didn’t think I could.

The bit of bad news (for me) is that Wanderer has had to make one last trip back to our former residence to wrap up a few more things. But once he is back, we can truly start our new lives here.

I was absolutely delighted to find mail in my new post box already! It made everything really feel like home. You all are the best.

There’s still plenty to do, as is the way with these things, but I am still on track on getting back to at least some level of normalcy here on the blog. I’ll get some pictures up of the new office space, too.

Until then, be well and zine well.

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What’s Happening – Nearly There

Hello, my wonderful zine friends. I hope the beginning of this week has (or will) greet you well, and that things are going smoothly for you.

Things are messy here, and I am very much looking to being on the other side of things.

Moving is hell, but I didn’t quite realise the kinds of hell I would experience. Sudden flu as the clock was really ticking. Barely controlling my own mental health and emotions in amongst experiencing some truly horrific as well as truly beautiful acts of humanity. What looks like the death of one, possibly two, friendships. Other friends I’ve barely spoken to for months showing up on my front door and asking how they can help.

I’ve never looked so forward to a proper sleep in my life.

Anyway, enough of my blathering on! What’s happening?

Today is the last chance to pack up all my things, as the moving truck arrives tonight. The big pack will happen tomorrow, and we’re on the road very early Wednesday morning.

Things will likely be fairly quiet here this week. I’ll try to keep things updated here for anyone interested, but I’m trying to be more gentle with my expectations of myself. I do have some lovely mail already to share next Monday as I start fresh in my new space.

I am looking forward to zines once again being the big focus in my life.

Big hugs and lots of sharpies to you all.

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Call for Submissions: Dear [X]: Coming Out Letters From Trans People

Submissions for Dear [X]: Coming Out Letters From Trans People are now open!

Dear [X]  is a collection of the letters trans people wrote to come out to their friends, families, partners, employers, or anyone else in their lives. Dear [X] is being published by TransActive Gender Center, a Portland-based nonprofit that serves transgender children and their families. Many youth who use our services are in the process of coming out, and for many reasons, we think one of the best ways to tell someone you’re trans is via a letter. We hope that this zine will help trans youth experiencing writer’s block with creating their own coming out letters.

What are we looking for?</p?

Have you written a letter to someone to tell them you are transgender, nonbinary, genderqueer, agender, Two Spirit, questioning, or any other non-cisgender identity? We’d love to see your letter, as well as any comments or pieces of advice you have for youth writing their own letters.  Trans youth who have come out may submit their own letters, but we’d like submissions from folks of all ages, too.

Some questions to answer along with your submission:

  • Who were you coming out to? What should we know about them for context?
  • What did it feel like to tell someone you’re not cisgender? What happened when you told them?
  • Was coming out via a letter easier than you thought? Harder? Why?
  • Would you do anything differently if you had the chance? What?
  • What would you tell others to include in their letters; what would you recommend they exclude?

Are there any guidelines/rules?

We recognize that “the trans experience” is different for everyone, and that mainstream trans visibility often excludes certain groups of people. Because of this, we welcome and encourage submissions from trans people of color, trans people with disabilities, trans folks whose first language isn’t English, and anyone whose oppression extends beyond their gender identity – topics like immigration, religion, diaspora, race, class, ability, and more are all parts of the trans experience, and it’s important to us that this zine reflects that.

Since this zine will be given to trans youth, please keep entries PG-13.

How do I submit?
Email your submissions to toby@transactiveonline.org by September 8th, 2017.

We know that these letters can get wordy, but since space is limited, we may have to edit down entries over 1500 words. Please use file formats compatible with Microsoft Word or Google Docs. You may include good-quality images for which you are the owner; blurry/copyrighted images won’t be printed.

Along with your letters, we’d like to include your first name, age (both at the time the letter was written and your current age,) gender identity, and location. You can share as many of these as you’d like to, but may exclude whatever you’re not comfortable sharing. Submissions should not contain anyone else’s information unless you have their permission. If you don’t specify, we’ll edit out any identifying information. You’ll receive a response by September 14th, 2017. We’re excited to read your submissions!

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Call for Calls for Submissions: Spread the Word About Your Zine/Distro/Library!

Zine Calls for Submissions

Share your call for submissions, let people know about your distro or zine library, announce your newest zine, let people know you are crowdfunding a zine project… If you have an announcement to make that has to do with zines, do it here! Sea Green Zines wants to be your megaphone. Even better? It’s an automatic shout out on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr when you advertise here.

Big fuzzy love hearts to those who have a .jpg call for subs, but all are welcome. Get in touch by emailing theauthor[at]inkyblots.com or comment below.