Have you ever been so excited for something that you cease to function until it's appropriate to start packing? Because I am a deer in headlights right now lol Leaving for Biggest Week on Thursday!!

Going to my neighboring township's meeting on data centers for this very thing tomorrow night (again! They couldn't fit us all in the building 2 weeks ago so they rescheduled to a school lol) WE GOTTA FIGHT

NCSP training weekend was a blast! Got to try all kinds of water rescue techniques for people and boats ♥️ Now I'm switching gears for Biggest Week this coming weekend!!! I CAN'T WAIT

Last felting session for a while- this weekend is National Canoe Safety Patrol training weekend, and next weekend I'll be at the Biggest Week in American Birding!! Worked on my chickadees a lil more- still have to decide what to put em on/in!

Thinking about my next subjects- I want to make a piece incorporating all 5 of the Chickadee sp I've seen, and another piece with a pair of Wood Ducks! Lil chickadees are gonna be really cute. Meanwhile sketching lots of woodies- don't make ducks often, but I've seen tons of wood ducks this year!

Had a buddy over who couldn't make it to the soil painting workshop. Paints are still good, so I painted this little Boreal Chickadee! So round! So cute! Saw my first one this winter in the Adirondacks during our hike up Whiteface Mt ♥️

Horned Lark is all done! My 2026 lil fuzzy flock is growing ♥️ #hornedlark #needlefelt

Finally some relatable hiking art 😆

Today was such a good day, I am so so grateful for Nurture Nature Center and everything they do 😭♥️ After talks, I grabbed lunch and worked on my Horned Lark outside. Then I got to paint with soil?! It was so much fun??? The soil scientist that hosted mixed native soils with gesso! I loved it!!

I got to go chat with high school students about Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, birds, and needle-felting this afternoon and it was awesome!! I also got to check out the Perspectives show (opening tomorrow) and I am obsessed with how they hung my birds! (Also peep my pop-up book) AND MY KESTRELS SOLD

Got to work on my Horned Lark a little more (a lifer for me earlier this month!). He looks so funny to me, what even are you doing with little horns, bub??? Gonna demonstrate needle-felting with him tomorrow when I present my raptors for the Perspectives show! #hornedlark #needlefelt

Explain your job with a meme/gif!

In other news, my boss saw my Perspectives birds and wanted to commission a Red-tailed Hawk for his son! It's been so nice making another flying felted hawk ♥️ looking really funny right now but I can see em coming together!

I just went to my first ever township meeting (for my neighboring township) because they're proposing a data center there. Hell naw. They were not prepared for the turnout of us angry locals and had to reschedule for a bigger building!

Heheheheehhehhhh Mr. Wolverine found me my very own pack raft at a great price. I cannot WAIT for the weather to stay warm so I can get some rapids in!

I feel like my art has been in social media jail for years now. Getting double-digits in likes on a post is really shocking?? Thanks for liking my fuzzies, you guys 😭♥️

Am I too late for #portfolioday ? I'm Melissa, or Dancing Vulture! I primarily #needlefelt birds I've seen on my adventures. Sometimes on bigger projects, I'll incorporate clay feet and beaks, or doll eyes! At the end of the day I just really love birding and making birds I see!

New bird started, who dis #wip #needlefelt #bird

It's 3:00 am!! Time to get up and go birding!!

Can't stop thinking about my favorite bird neighbors 😆 I can't wait to check up on them again this week! #greathornedowl #greatblueheron #doodles

Threw a couple more stitches in this today. I'll be surprised if I finish it in my lifetime, but I'm happy with how it's coming out for such an overly ambitious embroidery project. #embroidery #turkeyvulture

This week has been BRUTAL but today my little alien kitty from @littleguys3d.bsky.social came and my heart cannot handle the CUTENESS!!!! 😭😭😭♥️ That precious face, the magnet hands, the teenie tiny alien kitties??? WHAT The lil ones were an extra surprise to me. Obvs the black one is Opal ♥️

First paddle of the season!! Shot for a sunrise paddle, but got a nice foggy morning instead. Tons of mergansers, wood ducks, mallards, kingfishers, turkeys, blackbirds, robins, and song sparrows out. I'm so excited, river season!!!

I'm currently tidying up and packing my Hawk Mountain brigade... And I'm getting kinda sad about it! Dropping off Saturday, the show opens end of this month. I'm gonna miss these guys actually 😭♥️ #needlefelt #goshawk #broadwingedhawk #kestrel #redshoulderedhawk #osprey

I'm still looking for a job come May, so if anyone knows of anyone hiring around Detroit/Pontiac let me know. Also available for remote work!

So excited to announce that the PBS Kids Zine has officially launched for digital purchase! Proceeds go directly to the PBS Donation Fund, check it out (along with a teaser for my page)! pbskidszines-shop.bigcartel.com

wouldn't it be funny if EVERYONE blocked this Attie AI account @ bsky.app/profile/atti... before they could do anything with it

Saw a serious treat today while out on a stroll- this Great-Horned Owl in an old Great Blue Heron nest! A male GBH actually came over to the next tree and started placing sticks and displaying?? The GHO was unfazed. Gonna peek in on this situation periodically to see how things unfold...

My lol Timberdoodle is all done! It felt so so good to revisit one of my favorite birds after all these years. Now he's hanging out with his new buddy, Ms. Snow Bunting ♥️ #needlefelt #woodcock #snowbunting

These lil guys are activating my 90's kid alien obsession and I am emotional just looking at them!!

Had a spooky vet visit last week, followed by my poor girl feeling under the weather after her vaccines for almost 2 days. Her blood work came back healthy though, and we had a nice day cuddling, yelling at squirrels, and stealing my water. Opal remains the queen bean ♥️

My little timberdoodle is coming along! He looks so proud of himself 😆 I'm really happy with how he's coming along. More work left for sure, but I'm happy to have captured that full PEENT posture! #needlefelt #woodcock #wip

Winter's over- it's only appropriate to make my official Bird of Spring, the Woodcock (or Timberdoodle, my fav name). Went through old pics and realized I haven't felted one in 9 YEARS?! Please enjoy my current WIP and this trip down memory lane! #woodcock #needlefelt

Still hurting and feeling pretty haggard (that's what happens when we go from 30°- 60° -30° in 3 days...) but the field work demands sacrifice. If only it would stop raining!!

Bluesky feed: What's that? Having a bad day thanks to chronic pain? .... How about now? Oh I'm much better now 😍 Preordered!!

Okay body, I'm gonna need you to get all the pain out today because tomorrow is a big day of field work Ty very much

Today I was given the opportunity to take a free cobweb broom workshop! It was so much fun, I would love to make another one! Opal isn't feeling well today (vaccines yesterday 😭) but she popped up to inspect my handiwork. I think it passed!

It's the last day of winter here, and I just finished my Snow Bunting ♥️I wanted to capture their skidaddle, so she's not the -MOST- stable little bird in my flock, but I love her anyway. One of the highlights of this winter. #needlefelt #snowbunting #birdart

I... don't wanna work I just wanna felt little birds all day

I love when they take an already tediously long training and make it nearly inaccessible through the world's slowest website, apparently. Yay Defensive Driving!

Wind and cold be damned- going for a lil lake hike today! Hopefully it's not totally frozen over so we can get some ducks!

Well this is impossible to take a good picture of, but my hawknado is complete!! 110 lil felt birds hung from the same mesh fabric I used for my cicada wings in an embroidery hoop with embroidery floss. I'm so happy with the result! Doodled Red-tailed Hawk elements for my pop-up book next...

Help I still have 2 Perspectives pieces to finish but I'm already daydreaming about the next birds I want to felt (it's a Snow Bunting and American Woodcock if you were curious 👀) I haven't felted a Woodcock in YEARS and I'm excited to revisit them with my new Who Cares How Long It Takes mentality

The weather this week has been so beautiful. All I wanna do is relax with all the windows open in my nice clean living room and play that goofy new Pokemon game... So I will !! Sorry gym, I'll get back to you this weekend lol

Timberdoodles are here! Couldn't get any pics- they were too fired up to stay still. One landed right behind me while I recorded this! Sound up!

@bug-jar.com ❤️

Everybody participating in the next group show at my fav gallery is making a pop-up book. They hosted a workshop on different styles. The one I'm making, we didn't get to practice so I just threw a quick and dirty practice panel together and omg. Can't wait to do the real one, these are so fun!!

Was getting ready to start stringing up my hawks. Embroidery floss, embroidery floss everywhere, but not a single sky blue-esque color in my collection. Fudgeeee Guess I have to go to the craft store this weekend 🥺

Because I still can't believe how many of these guys I made and just how small they are- Dancing Vulture Designs wrist tattoo for scale 😆

One of these things is not like the others~ I'm so happy, my 109 tiny Broad-winged Hawks (and 1 Turkey Vulture) are done! Next step will be to start putting together the kettle! But first, a break ❤️ The alcohol marker hack really saved my life with this project!