diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 0fa2ddd..b8dd126 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -14,14 +14,14 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
       - name: Setup Conda Environment
-        uses: conda-incubator/setup-miniconda@v2
+        uses: conda-incubator/setup-miniconda@v3
         with:
-          miniforge-variant: Mambaforge
           miniforge-version: latest
-          use-mamba: true
           python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
           environment-file: ci/environment.yaml
           activate-environment: test-environment
+          mamba-version: "*"
+          channels: conda-forge
 
       - name: Run tests
         shell: bash -l {0}
@@ -38,8 +38,6 @@ jobs:
         include:
           - os: windows-2019
             cibw_archs: "AMD64 ARM64"
-          - os: macos-11
-            cibw_archs: "x86_64"
           - os: macos-14          # The macos-14 runner is arm64, while up until macos-13 the runners are x86_64.
             cibw_archs: "arm64"
           - os: "ubuntu-20.04"
@@ -64,7 +62,7 @@ jobs:
             pipx ensurepath
 
       - name: Build wheels
-        uses: pypa/cibuildwheel@v2.16.5
+        uses: pypa/cibuildwheel@v2.20.0
         env:
           CIBW_TEST_COMMAND: python {project}/selftest.py
           CIBW_BEFORE_BUILD_LINUX: yum install -y freetype-devel
@@ -74,6 +72,9 @@ jobs:
           CIBW_ARCHS: "${{ matrix.cibw_archs }}"
           # disable finding unintended freetype installations
           CIBW_ENVIRONMENT_WINDOWS: "AGGDRAW_FREETYPE_ROOT=''"
+          # we use libpng/libfreetype from homebrew which has a current limit of
+          # macos 14
+          CIBW_ENVIRONMENT_MACOS: MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET=14
       - name: upload
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
         with:
diff --git a/README.rst b/README.rst
index 53f782f..19da976 100644
--- a/README.rst
+++ b/README.rst
@@ -93,3 +93,14 @@ ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES
 WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN
 ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT
 OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
+
+Additional Patches
+------------------
+
+The AGG C++ vendored source code in this repository is no longer compatible
+with some modern compilers and coding styles. The aggdraw project has had to
+apply additional patches over time to fix compatibility or to retain backwards
+compatibility with previous versions of AGG to get the same end result. Some
+patches may be documented in README files, but all future patches should appear
+in the `patches/` directory in the root of this repository and were applied with
+commands such as `patch -p0 patches/tags_pointer_type_fix.patch`.
diff --git a/agg2/font_freetype/agg_font_freetype.cpp b/agg2/font_freetype/agg_font_freetype.cpp
index 0af06f6..ce95a38 100644
--- a/agg2/font_freetype/agg_font_freetype.cpp
+++ b/agg2/font_freetype/agg_font_freetype.cpp
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ namespace agg
             v_control = v_start;
 
             point = outline.points + first;
-            tags  = outline.tags  + first;
+            tags  = (char *)outline.tags  + first;
             tag   = FT_CURVE_TAG(tags[0]);
 
             // A contour cannot start with a cubic control point!
diff --git a/aggdraw.cxx b/aggdraw.cxx
index 0561ddb..f98a0b1 100644
--- a/aggdraw.cxx
+++ b/aggdraw.cxx
@@ -1549,7 +1549,7 @@ const char *draw_frombytes_doc = "Copies data from a string buffer to the drawin
                                  "Parameters\n"
                                  "----------\n"
                                  "data : bytes\n"
-                                 "    A string containing packed image data, compatible with PIL’s tostring method.\n";
+                                 "    A string containing packed image data, compatible with PIL’s tobytes method.\n";
 
 static PyObject*
 draw_frombytes(DrawObject* self, PyObject* args)
@@ -2587,7 +2587,7 @@ const char *mod_doc = "Python interface to the Anti-Grain Graphics Drawing libra
                       "    >>> p = aggdraw.Pen(\"black\", 0.5)\n"
                       "    >>> d.line((0, 0, 500, 500), p)\n"
                       "    >>> d.line((0, 500, 500, 0), p)\n"
-                      "    >>> s = d.tostring()\n";
+                      "    >>> s = d.tobytes()\n";
 
 #ifdef IS_PY3K
 static struct PyModuleDef moduledef = {
diff --git a/patches/tags_pointer_type_fix.patch b/patches/tags_pointer_type_fix.patch
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ad4173a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/patches/tags_pointer_type_fix.patch
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+--- agg2/font_freetype/agg_font_freetype.cpp.orig	2024-03-06 10:16:58
++++ agg2/font_freetype/agg_font_freetype.cpp	2024-09-10 21:13:37
+@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@
+             v_control = v_start;
+ 
+             point = outline.points + first;
+-            tags  = outline.tags  + first;
++            tags  = (char *)outline.tags  + first;
+             tag   = FT_CURVE_TAG(tags[0]);
+ 
+             // A contour cannot start with a cubic control point!
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 0af10ad..67c261a 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -165,9 +165,8 @@ def _get_freetype_with_pkgconfig():
         Extension("aggdraw", ["aggdraw.cxx"] + sources,
                   define_macros=defines,
                   include_dirs=include_dirs,
-                  library_dirs=library_dirs, libraries=libraries
+                  library_dirs=library_dirs, libraries=libraries,
                   )
         ],
     python_requires='>=3.9',
-    tests_require=['pillow', 'pytest'],
     )