Vincent Gonzalez

Open the Yard

Fri, 04 Sep 2026 20:23:14 GMT

My morning routine is simple, I wake up, stress about the day.

I walk to the back door where the cat is waiting. He looks at me, slow blinks, turns his head to look out as a reminder it's time to open the yard.

Before I open the door, I admire the lil guys peacefully enjoying the feeders and the mulched yard. Sparrows, thrashers, finches, towhees, and doves gorge on any seed they find or flick through debris looking for snacks.

I open the door, the small birds' wings flutter into action and they lift out of the yard. Save for some regulars or those brave at heart.

I step outside and the cat follows me out. I turn the valve to my water hose to water some of the potted plants. I move to refresh the bird baths, removing feathers, leaves, and debris.

By this point, the word is out and a small flock gathers on the power line that cuts across the yard.

I walk to turn off the water and as my back is turned to the yard, I hear the sound of fluttering wings mixed with a whispered cooing.

I turn around and the gathering is eagerly waiting, some pacing, for they know I have one trick up my sleeve. A handful of seed reserved for them.

I grab the seed and walk toward the fellas.

If I am too slow, one may choose to land on my hand and eat the seed while the others wait. This will cause one of the others to fly up to knock it down so it has to eat with the rest of them.

I throw the mixed seed, they go wild. Wings in the air. Aggressive cooing. Scrambling.

It's a nice morning.

Throughout the day, I stand at the backdoor to watch how the birds use the yard. The small birds return and hog the feeder while the rest cycle through the baths and the sunny spots.

I envy the birds.

IMG_3931

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 18:20:23 GMT

Soon I will have better control of my lines. These pastels are so creamy.

Calavera

Mon, 31 Aug 2026 04:29:11 GMT

anchor points

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 19:32:39 GMT

what about tomorrow?

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 15:34:33 GMT

A new napkin for Hmmburger.

cause and effect

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 23:44:04 GMT

Bandwidth Exceeded

Mon, 17 Aug 2026 23:19:02 GMT

On Hmmburger, I posted a short diatribe about what I am feeling is an extremely annoying part of the online experience now. Generative content for thumbnails is a turn off from engaging any further with the media that is attached to it.

Legitimately, just use stock photos. Support someone out there who is making a living creating one-off images, even if you'll never know their name. Go to Unsplash if you need something for your media's thumbnail, it's much better than a slop machine

I don't think this is something that can be put back in the box and our constant feedback of what we don't like becomes data to tweak the machine to further allow its encroachment.

Another awful usage of these generative machines, is for flyer creation which has been reported by 404 Media. It made sense businesses would use these for the current internet ecosystem, but when I saw it used for innocuous internal flyers where the stakes weren't even present, it felt gross and unfunny.

I was reminded of how we used to make fun of flyers with bad clip art and comic sans, but man, those were way more human than what we're plagued with right now.

click to read on hmmburger.com

fella

Mon, 17 Aug 2026 05:15:09 GMT

I was thinking about how I wanted to paint. I brought out some semi-hard pastels and had a good time learning how they work. I forgot how soft and semi-hard pastels can be a bit messy.

an untrained eye

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 21:19:51 GMT

I have returned to the physical sketchbook with the goal to finish this nearly filled sketchbook. Mostly so that I can feel less guilty about starting a new sketchbook.

design by committee

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 20:56:18 GMT