Monday, April 1, 2013

April Fool

I got David good this morning when I said "There's a fox in the yard!"  he ran to the window and looked out "Where?" , "By my car", "I don't see it", "April Fools!"  

I took off early to go back to Prairie Ridge and get further tutorial on bird banding.  Today was better, less nerve wracking and I got some good one-on-one time learning from an expert.  I got to remove the birds from the nets, tricky to get the fine netting away from their feet, wings and necks, but not impossible, I felt much calmer by the time I did the 8th bird than I had with the first. We had a blue jay, cardinals-which bite hard, mockingbirds who were scrappy, field sparrows-so tiny and calm, white-throated sparrows-also biters, eighteen birds in all this morning and just three of us working, two of us learning and Keith giving instruction.  It was great to have a chance to work that way, calmly and handle lots of birds.  I feel much more confident.
Back at home I roamed the yard taking it all in.  The warm temperature made a lot of things pop today, like the deciduous magnolia above, Susan.  I love its funny windswept look, its scent of cinnamon, its fat curving buds, like witch fingernails.     






   
   This white one has just started opening today too, it has no scent and is of unknown parents.   I've been watching its round buds, like bullets pushing out from their fuzzy cases.  I was patiently waiting for today, when the first flower emerged.  Something whacky is going on with the formatting for this post tonight and I'm too sleepy to sort it out, so, without further ado, I am going to close for tonight.  Sweet dreams!       
  
   
 

 
  


 
       

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