... The Daisy's Tears

What a dilemma today. I went back and forth, back and forth. Not that I had a lot of good shots - I didn't. In fact, it was a pretty bleak day in terms of photography. I don't usually blip flowers because, frankly, there are so many of you who do them SO much better than me! But my other option today was a sick finch and after debating with myself, I decided it was too depressing to blip. I may regret that decision, but so be it.

About the finch .. the finch in the non-blipped picture has the "finch eye disease" which is an avian form of conjunctivitis. It has primarily affected the House Finch population, where some 20-30% of the population was infected at one point. According to Cornell Ornithologists, it now affects about 5-10% of the House Finch population. It is always fatal if untreated. And, it has shown up in other finch species in recent years (goldfinches, grosbeaks, purple finches, etc.) This is the disease that the finch I rescued last week had; it is also what Hope had (in addition to an injury of one eye, probably caused by her inability to see a predator). I spent several hours today trying to catch this little guy, but I narrowly missed him each time. I'll try again tomorrow afternoon, hoping for better luck. Both of his eyes are nearly closed meaning that he won't be able to fly much longer, so time is critical.

Now do you see why I didn't want to blip him? So upsetting to see things like this.

On a much happier note, I want say how very much I appreciate your comments, stars and hearts on my feisty nuthatch - thanks to all of you, he spent most of today on the Spotlight page. I'm sure he has no idea how cool that is, but I do and I thank you!

The day started gloomy and rainy, hence today's tearful gerbera. Someday, I shall perfect the raindrop shot - but for today, this is the best I can do.

Happy Humpday, blippers!