What a sap(sucker)

I stepped out on the deck this morning and was totally surprised to see this young female yell0w-bellied sapsucker at one of the peanut feeders. She was surprised, too - but hunger beat out fear...or maybe she sensed she had nothing to fear from me? Luckily, I had Big Daddy in hand so I was able to get off some shots of her at the feeder and then perched on a nearby branch. This is cropped and slightly sharpened. Generally I am not a fan of sharpening, but this image needed just a little bit of help.

Busy day with a meeting that got dangerously close to contentious. Calmer heads (mine) prevailed, though, and the meeting ended on a better note than it started. Back home to take care of some paperwork and then outside to potter. My daffodils are all budded up now and they will probably start blooming in the next day or so - almost 2 weeks later than usual. One this day last year, I had my first bee of the season. But it is still too early for them this year - soon, though, soon...

Thanks for you comments and stars on my Dark Lord yesterday. Difficult though he may be, I wouldn't trade him for any other cat in the world.

Tomorrow I am off to Wallkill NWR - hiking, birding, bugging, fresh air. Woohoo.

Happy Hump Day...

Debbi