Chapter 12, pages 7-9
🕑 Added 2022-06-27 18:30:55 +0000 UTC


Nicole take your face off that door it is FILTHY.
Thanks for your patience with these three pages! Boum and I were joking the other day that a cartoonist's free time is based on how many backgrounds they have to draw, except that it's not a joke it is a completely valid unit of measuring time. This past week the amount of free time I had was "one-page-takes-place-in-a-convenience-store."
These are also up a bit late because I found a nestling and young one-armed praying mantis today, so I've been tending to those two (I think the mantis will be fine on its own; the bird, unfortunately, needs its nest and I can't seem to find it!).
Time to put on my wildlife rehabilitation hat for the rest of the day. Wish me luck!


Comments
Theadora
Aww darn. 😣 But thank you for the update.
NJGR
I'd insert some excited gif if Patreon let me... but since I can't, I'm very much excited to see how this pays off! - - Neal
Danielle Corsetto
Thank you Theadora! I built a makeshift nest and placed it in a nearby bush, and it seemed to work! The starling I assumed was its mother came by, and while I never saw her feed him, she squawked at me pretty hard when I tried to feed him myself! Sadly, the baby didn't make it through the night, I assume because of its stressful time out of its nest + the temperature dip that night.
Danielle Corsetto
Neal, I love that you wrote this. :) It'll pay off (in a slightly different way) soon!
Theadora
Hope the nestling situation turned out OK. Here is a list of PDFs by our local wildlife shelter: https://www.stfranciswildlife.org/i-found-a-wild-animal and the one for baby bird specifically: https://www.stfranciswildlife.org/_files/ugd/62b3fd_a4ad3cef40f048b6b24734540523ffdf.pdf
Beth A. Kaplan
Someone needs to put a bell on Nicole...at least that way people will have some warning she's around the corner.
Ben Hatke
Oh gosh Nicole.
NJGR
Love how that silhouette on page 8 makes it clear how Miranda is inclined toward and listening to the bird calling. Even without knowing how much she listens, you can feel it just looking at the panel. The visual language of Miranda's chapters is so powerful. - - Neal
Lisa
Something tells me she's more likely to have 5 cats of her own. But I'm equally frustrated at her complete lack of respecting boundaries. Especially because her note showed that she apparently isn't completely oblivious to what she's doing.
Ruth Merriam
Is it wrong that I hope Nicole is seriously allergic to cats?
We found a baby black swift last week. We could not find the nest. We fed him with dried larvae. We found a bird shelter near us where they could take care of the bird, feed and help him/her to take the first flight. Hopefully, the bird will be alright. They had a 3 other black swift, a few swallows and a baby howl. The howl was SO cute... heartbreaking. We had a heatwave in France two weeks ago and the black swift nests under many roof were decimated. Babys fell from the nest trying to get some fresh air.
birb is a cutie - I hope it has a positive outcome, but commiserate if it is humane instead. I can't believe that you redrew the items in each panel! You masochist! It really does add something to the look/feel though.
Minzoku Bokumetsu
Angry birb!!
Minzoku Bokumetsu
MEOW MEATS
Andy Ihnatko
Ahh, Nicole…an embodiment of the “Chaotic Good” alignment. The next page could show her buying two weeks’ worth of cat food for Miranda, or streaking out of the store wth two cases of the stuff on one shoulder and Miranda over the other.
Amy Crook
i hope the adorable angy baby lives! and that miranda also lives XD poor thing, but man those backgrounds are great, esp the texture on the 2nd page.
Danielle Corsetto
*sheds tears that spell out the words "thank you"*
I will forever be blown away by these gorgeous backgrounds! We appreciate your sacrifice!
Laura J Testa-Reyes
Yeah at this age, they need body heat as well as regurgitated food.
Laura J Testa-Reyes
I believe you are right that it is a nestling. When I first looked at it, I thought it was larger, because of the picture, but looking again at its features, and short feathers, I believe you are right that it needs it mama as well as nest.
Danielle Corsetto
Nm, just looked it up! This sucker's a nestling still, booo.
Laura J Testa-Reyes
Nature can be quite cruel. In our area it is wild turkeys and deer that people hit with cars. :(
Danielle Corsetto
Btw, you said fledgling twice; do you know something I don't know? I was told that fledglings can be put back into the wild (they're learning how to Bird), but this looks like a nestling, which would need to be put back into its nest (which I can't find). If you have a reason to believe it's a fledgling, please let me know and I'll see what I can do for it!
Danielle Corsetto
Apparently the nearest one is 45 minutes away; I just emailed them. If nothing else, I asked them for a humane way to put the bird down. The last thing I want is for it to die slowly!
Laura J Testa-Reyes
Poor Miranda has no privacy at all. As for the fledgling, do you have a local wildlife rehab center? I know they have been very helpful in my area in the past. They know what to do with fledglings, and all sorts of babies.
Danielle Corsetto
I was proud of that. ;)
Cab
Delicious Meow Meat.