Saturday, September 15, 2007

Birthday morning coming down

Today is my 43rd birthday, and I woke up at about 7:15a.m. I don’t think it’s fair that my body decided to wake up this early, but I can’t get back to sleep because I know I could be outside birding. It’s not like I have to go to work, after all; I figure I should take advantage of this sleep deprivation.

The sunrise after a stormy day yesterday:
It takes my breath away to look at such things so early in the morning.


I didn’t see any warblers or anything, but I did see some “regular” birds:
Northern cardinal
American goldfinch
Downy woodpecker (first one I’ve seen visit the suet since I put it back up)
Bluejay (the squawky beautiful things!)
Gray catbird
Common yellowthroat
Carolina wren
Chipping sparrow
Eastern starling

I saw this bird at the top of a tree and thought, “what the heck is that?” That’s how long it’s been since I’ve seen a starling in his jazzy fall outfit:


You see how light he is, though? I thought I had me some exotic bird for a minute there!

So I set off on a nice walk after doodling around the backyard and watching the birds I mentioned above (though I STILL haven’t actually seen that yellowthroat, dangit!). The traffic on our road was incredibly busy, and I was cursing it and wondering what was going on when I remembered: “Oh yes. Penn State home game.” The Central PA universe revolves around Beaver Stadium.

Note to self: Don’t go into State College today, no matter what!

I finally turned off the main road onto Shook Hollow, a nice road for walking:

I didn’t really see any birds other than bluejays, catbirds, and starlings here, but the walk was nice all the same. I did get some looks from the locals, though:
And what, may I ask, are you doing here?


Here’s my usual turn-around point:

It’s so cold this morning, with a brisk wind blowing through the trees and providing a nice background sound for the constant cries of bluejays and mews of catbirds. I’m in shorts and a sweatshirt, so I’m not too cold except when the wind gusts.

Some sights from my walk:
Is this a doodie? I mean a scat? From what?


Who lives here?


And here?


Where are these guys going?


The wind is cold, but I can feel the warmth of the sun as it peeks through the trees.


I made my way back home, and took a few more close looks at the nature around me:
Pure white beauty


The tomatoes, still giving me everything they've got


The coming mums


I pick some dandies for Niblet (he loves the flowers even more than the leaves), and he’s so happy to see me. I couldn’t get any good shots of him that weren’t blurry; the battery’s tired after so many photos. And so we come to . . .
The end

9 comments:

Splotchy said...

Happy Birthday!

What a lovely set of pictures.
It looks like you are having a perfect day.

Our family took a little nature hike in the forest preserve a couple blocks from our house, and saw a great blue heron by a creek.

I thought of you, O Great Birder!

Have a great rest of the day.

KGMom said...

Happy Birthday.
I am afraid we were among those contributing to the insane traffic.
Actually, it has gotten that going to games isn't much fun. We have gone for many years, but the expanded stadium has dampened our enjoyment.
Your walk along the lovely road you picture looks infinitely more inviting.

Fran said...

Happy Birthday o you of beautiful heart and mind, you of fine photos, you of great blog, dguzman!!

Plus you are funny as hell in your commenting in yonder world o' blogs!

Wishing you happiness, joy and birds a plenty.

Mary said...

Delia, these photos are beautiful!

Happy Birthday! You celebrated in the best way by taking a chilly walk to enjoy the views. I would consider that to be one of the best gifts I could give to myself.

Yay!

Mary said...

By the way, young chickie, 43 was a great year for me. My thirties were the best. Wouldn't want the 20's, though :o)

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

HAPPY BITHDAY DELIA!!
It sounds like you had a really nice morning. I haven't a clue on the little corn-cob pootie. I'll be checking back to see if any one id's it.

Mary C said...

I hope you had a nice birthday, Delia. I enjoyed your photos from your morning walk. Sounds like temps are cooling very quickly there in PA.

dguzman said...

Thank you all for your good wishes--it was a great day! Post is forthcoming.
Cool, Splotchy! I love great blue herons.
Wow, KGMom, you were at the game! It was a glorious day for it, eh?
Mary F, yeah, I'd take the 30s back any day, but the 20s can stay in the past. Those were some rough years.
Mary C, it was a lovely walk.

Susan Gets Native said...

Happy birthday, Delia!
I don't know about the doodie, or the hole in the tree (a downy?) but the stick nest looks like a hawk nest (Coop, RS or RT)
Good finds!