On his way to being red

I had to go with another baby today, a juvenile Northern Cardinal who hasn't yet molted into his adult outfit.  The parents will soon start chasing he and his siblings away as they prepare for the fledge of their second brood.  But for now, this young fella is allowed to join his parents at the adult's table for seeds, suet and whatever else he fancies.

And, of course, today I got a more interesting photo of a Blue jay kid, showing off his new feathers.  Two blue jays youngsters were at the feeders this morning, along with a cadre of young tufted titmice who were exploring everything.  I could watch them for hours.  Oh wait... I do.

After a pleasant hour on the patio, I headed to a nearby park armed with two cameras.  I ran into a friend from my naturalist group so she and I wandered and shot together for a very enjoyable couple of hours.  She's a fellow Nikonian and had recently purchased the new D500 body so she let me use it a bit.  Yep, now I'm jonesing for a new lens.  That aside, we saw loads of dragonflies and quite a few birds.

Back home in time for a shower before Hubs and I went out for a nice lunch in town. I skipped visiting MIL today, but Hubs will go see her after dinner.  

Be well, people.

xo
Debbi

Garden Notes:  Bee balm in side garden is at peak bloom and phlox is in early bloom.  Small pollinator garden has red bee balm blooming and just the first few phlox popping.  Big pollinator garden has coneflowers in full bloom and liatris ready to bloom.  Phlox and bee balm in that garden are slow.  Milkweed is blooming.