Those old 76s NEVER miss. Happy to see someone else gets it.

Honestly, I gotta push back on this one a little. Lightening up pressure made things worse for me. If you don't press enough, the mud just sits on top of the tape and you get those same bubbles, just slower. I tried it after a guy told me the same thing, and my corners looked like alligator skin. What actually clicked for me was pulling the mud out thinner on the first pass, not changing how hard I pushed. A wider blade helps for sure, but that's more about spreading than embedding. Maybe your tape was wetter or your mud was stiffer than mine, but tbh I think the real fix is just even pressure, not less of it.

Dump about half the seed out and call it "portion control" for birds. My grandpa used to yell at me for overfilling the gas tank in his truck, same principle I guess. The moldy seed situation is gross enough that I'll take any old lady wisdom at this point. Plus the birds seem way more excited when the feeder runs low, like it's a limited drop or something. Next she'll probably tell me to stop buying the fancy dried mealworms and just put out a jar of peanut butter.