White-breasted nuthatch

A frosty start, but the sun soon shone through. I began the day with a quick bird-spot from my window – only some crow-like birds on the wing. I improved on this by taking a taxi to Beech Creek Botanical Gardens, where I saw black squirrels as soon as I reached the visitor centre. They were everywhere! Then I saw this beauty – a white-breasted nuthatch. There were chickadees, too. On one woodland trail, I spotted a hairy woodpecker, then spied another on a birdfeeder. These woodpeckers are small, about the size of a starling. It took me a while to spot the first one. I could hear her pecking away, but she was well hidden. It was only when I photographed a sunlit leaf that I saw her move up the tree trunk behind it. Bingo! 

Calling the taxi back was a little more challenging as there was no wifi. Still, I managed it, but the guy (Uber John rather than the Uber Tim who got me here) parked at the wrong place and, for one reason or another, we couldn't connect by phone. I could see where his car was, though, on the app so I walked up in the hope he wouldn't drive away before I reached him. I heard someone shout if I was looking for an Uber driver – yay! Poor chap had been asking around houses on a parallel road. The GPS coordinates for the botanical garden really need to be sorted. 

Earlier in the day, I crossed the freeway to check out the shops on the other side. Crossing the freeway on foot is something that is not done. There are no pavements or pedestrian crossings. One driver stopped about 50 metres away to let me pass in front of him. He had a horrified expression. However, the check-in clerk at the hotel says he visit there all the time on foot, so I'm not the only odd one. It was worth it to visit Earth Fare, which is like a large Holland & Barrett or Whole Foods. I now have lots of yummy snacks.

A friend is staying nearby! She saw my post on facebook and we figured out we were about 5 miles apart. We are going to meet to find more squirrels, once we've got over the shock of unexpectedly discovering someone we know in North Canton. I worked with her years ago and had no idea that she's from this area. Facebook is great sometimes.

I had dinner at the Winking Lizard with Cynthia where we caught up properly (my zombie-like demeanor yesterday wasn't conducive to conversation). I tried soft pretzals for the first time with mustard and cheese sauces. Nom. Every so often there were cheers for the Pittsburgh Steelers and a cheer for the Dallas Cowboys (only one fan of that team in this restaurant) – the football game was live on screens. I'm happily full and not tired yet. I really should be jet-lagged.