Kristin Kuster
@kristinkuster
Mom, Composer, University of Michigan Professor of Composition
Every time we pop into our local party store, this sign makes me chuckle:
WHAT! I did not know this, thank you!! Here’s the mom + 3 growing babies from last year(!):
WHAT are we expected to do with this ridiculous, amazing, adorableness in our backyard rn! (Plus, look at mom at the end scanning for trouble.) 25 July 2026, Ann Arbor
On Wednesday they returned! TURKEYS IN OUR BACKYARD! Last year it was a mom & 3 babies. This year there are 6 babies!! Mom sat in the dirt under our bird feeder & ruffled in the dirt. 3 youngsters copied her & the other 3 looked oblivious. :) 22 July 2026, Ann Arbor
We were up north for a hot minute this weekend, & on the drive up the wildlife smoke was terrrrrible. Here’s the sunset over Grand Traverse Bay last night. 20 July 2026, Traverse City, MI
Because so much is shitty &/or going to shit, here’s some fragile gorgeousness happening on our back deck right now. (I’ve been watching their loveliness for 30 min., & I’m grateful they stopped by.) 16 July 2026, Ann Arbor
Because everything is slowly dissolving away—systemically slowly so that we become numb to the dissolving—here’s a very young buck just off our driveway yesterday. 13 July 2026, Ann Arbor
Because so much shit is dissolving before our eyes, here’s a cool dragon fly on our back deck for you. 4 July 2026, Ann Arbor
Today, the house wren babies all left our birdhouse that looks like an airstream. Here’s the last one to leave; after it fell, a sibling guided it by hopping it over to undergrowth in the woods. They were both the size of my thumb. 1 July 2026, Ann Arbor
Baby house wrens waiting to be fed in our ridiculous airstream birdhouse—my husband painted it silver & added the (painted) lights. Also, we love that it has propane tanks. 30 June 2026 (P.S. wish my husband @blucas24.bsky.social a HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODAY!)
There are few things as magnificent as watching rain come at you over a Great Lake.
Because so many things are shit these days, here’s an Eastern Bluebird for you. 2 of them are cleaning out the birdhouse-cabin rn. The yellow ‘G’ on the cabin is for my husband’s dad George, who started the cabin before he passed, & @blucas24.bsky.social finished it. 8 June 2026, Ann Arbor
Odd sounds coming from our front stoop; & because everything is shit, here’s a tiny video of a gorgeous Great Crested Flycatcher trying to get into our house. (& I’m breathing heavily cuz I didn’t want our friend to hurt itself! Thankfully, it eventually gave up.) 28 May 2026, Ann Arbor
Because everything is shit: here’s a house wren moving in to our airstream feeder right now. This one & its partner are bringing all kinds of twigs & needles in, setting up their little temporary home. (& yes, that’s a LOT of pollen floating around!) 27 May 2026, Ann Arbor
A few weeks ago we went to one of our favorite places, & it requires us to cross the longest bridge in the U.S. she is so spectacular & we love her so much. 18 May 2026, Straits of Macinac; Macinac Bridge.
We drove past here just now. TWO DAYS AGO it was $4.29. My husband @blucas24.bsky.social just said: “fuck these assholes & their gaslighting.”
It’s my first print copy delivered to my house, since I could pick it up in a box on the street in 1995 during my MM at CU Boulder in 1995! JOY JOY WONDEFUL JOY!!
Because everything is shit, here’s our 2nd narcissus to appear + a 3rd narcissus budding + a landscape light for you in our backyard. 30 March 2026, Ann Arbor
Because yesterday was amazing, while so much is shit, here’s the first flower friend to show herself in our backyard for you: a narcissus. 29 March 2026, Ann Arbor
We have so many new friends visiting our birdfeeders today! They’re all moving fast, & I’m not getting good pix. However! Because everything is shit, here’s a pic from yesterday—an Eastern Bluebird & a male Cardinal on our feeder in our backyard. 14 March 2026, Ann Arbor
Because everything is shit, here’s a groundhog for you. They have been waddling & zooming around our Adirondacks & firepit for a bit this afternoon. 14 March 2026, Ann Arbor
Because everything is shit, here’s a pic of some gorgeous eggs my husband @blucas24.bsky.social bought from his buddy in the trumpet section of the @detroitsymphony.bsky.social , who has a farm & hens & they are so much better than store-bought eggs it’s a lovely delight every breakfast-time.
Because everything is shit, here are some dried-up curling tall grasses from our backyard for you. Look to nature for all the wisdom(s). 2 March 2026, Ann Arbor
The Tall Grasses™️ in our backyard will rejuvenate sooner than later now (after we cut them down, obvs). & we are grateful for that/them. 1 March 2026, Ann Arbor
Because everything is shit, here’s another bird from our backyard for you. A bird. Having a bath. In a birdbath. 28 February 2026, Ann Arbor
Good morning. We haven’t seen her for far too long of late. 26 February 2026, Ann Arbor