Oooh, baby!

I got my first good look at one of the red-bellied woodpecker babies today when it came and landed on one of my perches on the deck.  I will post a shot in Extra so you can see what he actually looks like.  This shot, however, grabbed my emotions as I watched him investigate the wilted clematis flower and tentatively probe it with his long tongue.  Cuteness overload!!!  And look at that long tongue -  it will serve him well in finding tasty little insects under the tree bark.  And perhaps even some nectar from a flower...

It was a good day. MIL is getting settled back in at the retirement home.  Baby birds can be heard begging for food from what seems to be nearly every tree around our yard.  Chipmunks are scurrying around collecting seeds and fighting with each other.  The rain has even held off for most of the day.  And, icing on the cake - I found a very big Monarch Caterpillar in my garden today!  He appears to be just a few days away from pupating into his chrysalis form.  He's on a big patch of milkweed which is where I shall leave him. I am going to scale back a bit on my Monarch Project this year and try to just raise caterpillars that will become the migratory generation.  

And, day 3 at the gym for the week.  Virtuous.

xo
Debbi