The female half of the table (minus Laura, who hadn't gotten there yet, and minus me who's taking the picture)--L to R: Susan Gets Native, Birdchick, Beth the Lurker who owned up to her lurkiness AND positively ID'd lifer Lynne as Hasty Brook, said Lynne of Hasty Brook, and KatDoc of Katdoc's World (all links in the sidebar).
The male half of the table, joined by Birdchick who's everywhere that birders are!--L to R: John of DC Birding Blog, Birdchick, and Jay Davis of Birdjam.Well, my whirlwind trip to Cape May included getting lost on the way there AND on the way back, but I made it there and back again in time to have my breakfast with The Kid. More on that later; first, the birdy roundup.
I should go ahead and confess that I got ZERO pictures of birds, even though I did end up with two lifers: a black-crowned night heron (spotted by KatDoc) and a lesser yellowlegs (spotted by me, and confirmed by the Hawkwatch Platform person). Both were too far away to get decent pix of.
I did get some pictures of these lifers, however:
Lynne, doing a Lifebird Wiggle (TM BOTB) after seeing her first black vulture:
Kathi, rolling up her Ohio State sleeves and preparing for what would turn out to be a Penn State victory--sorry, KatDoc!:
and John from DC Birding Blog! (not John Riutta, who didn't attend--my bad)
Sweet sweet birders, all of them!I also saw a life reptile, a black/rat/something snake that no one could ID with any certainty:
He was very zig-zaggy: 
Here are Laura from Somewhere in NJ, Jay, and Susan outside the Grand Hotel:
and lest you think I only got pictures of others, here's one that someone took of me and a certain nerdy Birdchick:
Wow!So--I made it back Saturday night/Sunday morning, in the rain and the fog, getting in at about 1:30 a.m. On Sunday, I had breakfast with Em (whose pic doesn't go on the blog or it would be mobbed by her fans). We had a great time, and she thoroughly approved of my new digs and my new wheels. It was, however, a bittersweet experience for me; I loved seeing her and talking with her about how her life is going, but I was reminded of how much my life has changed in just a few short months. My sense of loss was palpable. Still, she told me I'd always be her "other mother," and it felt good to know I'd see again in her just a few weeks (Thanksgiving). And, ever the wise one, she told me that life just goes like it goes, and we can't change things once they've happened. That's one smart kid.
17 comments:
Looks like fun. And that kid is wise beyond her years, she must get it from you.
Delia: So glad you made it home safe and sound. It was too, too short of a visit this weekend. We will have to make up for it in West Virginia next spring.
~Kathi, still recovering from the OSU loss to that other school
Got lost both going and returning? Hmm--you are directionally challenged, I take it.
Glad your weekend was great.
And so glad you had a good time upon return.
Directionally challenged AND vertically challenged! I'm glad you got home safe too. I wish I could have spent more time with you but I guess I'll just have to wait for West Virginia.
Glad you had a good time with Em. She's a smart cookie.
I was totally smooshing my boobs into Jay's side in that picture. Did I get a sponsorship? Hell, no.
Bless Em's sweet little heart. I'm glad you two still have each other, even if it's different now.
I enjoyed meeting you last weekend, and hope to see you again sometime.
So glad you got away and had a really good time. That Em is quite a young woman...wise beyond her years.
Thanks for including me in the Saturday night get-together. It was fun meeting all of you and a lot of giggles. Looking forward to New River in the spring.
Beth the Lurker
Susan may not have gotten what she wanted, but Jay sure looks happy!
;-)
I'm so glad you made it this year Delia, if only for a day. What I've heard about your trip here and back sounds like quite an adventure in itself. I hope it was worth it for you, despite it being less than wonderful weather and less than birdy in Cape May.
I'm glad you made it to waffles with Em and wish the best for you both as you find your way together with the new challenges life has tossed in the path ahead. It'll work out okay, you know. Maybe somehow better than okay.
--Laura, who's body language says lots about her opinion of the smooshing of boobs for sponsorship purposes.
I was wondering about the weekend! Yay- a good time in Cape May, as if Cape May could be bad.
And your time with Em- she is precious and wise.
Laura comment cracked me up!
Glad you made it. I love your photos and look forward to meeting everyone!
Em is a good young lady.
I read Hasty Brook all the time and followed the link from there. It sounds like you all had such a fun time. What a wonderful experience and so much fun to read everyone's take on the trip!
Sounds like a fun weekend for all of you. Even though it's not a bird, the photos of the black snake were pretty cool too.
I wondered what all the shaking and rumbling coming from the East was ... now we West Coasters know!! Birder party.
(I'm sure this word verification word is Batflu!)
Wikipedia says it's a black rat snake.
Non poisonous, eats rats. Duh!
Says it will release a foul smelling musk if you try to pick it up, so... don't do that.
You know me. I'm a 'splainin' fool.
You know I'm jealous, don't you? Really jealous that you got to Cape May and I didn't.
Very cool that you got to connect with such good folks, including Em (c:
Thanks, everyone, for your kind comments! Can't wait to go to New River in WV next year to get more tales of
--getting lost (let's hope not!)
--finding birds
--making birdy friends
--getting kisssed by hot birdchicks!
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