A Happier Day

Today was a much better day than yesterday.  I was up early and sat outside to enjoy my morning tea.  To my joy, the female Baltimore Oriole showed up for some oranges; and I saw the male late yesterday afternoon.  So I think they may have settled somewhere nearby for the breeding season.  Anyway, I wanted to include her in my yardbird list since she looks so different than the male.  

I dropped off five pots of phlox to a friend's brother's driveway. She lives in Delaware and he is heading down to see her next week, so will be taking the plants.  I had thinned out my phlox last fall and offered to pot some up for her for her garden.  Only fair since the original phlox was gifted to me quite a few years ago by another friend.  

From there, I headed over to a nice park for a walk.  I was lucky enough to come across some Rough-winged Swallows building a nest so spent a lot of time crouched in the grass watching.  Also saw some young Killdeer, looking quite cute and downy.  And back at home I just missed getting a shot of Mister Bluebird feeding his new mate a yummy morsel of arthropod.  He's a very dedicated mate from all appearances. 

Three miscellaneous shots from today on Flickr, starting HERE (killdeer, chipmunk, swallow).

In a first, this afternoon on the patio I actually stepped on a chipmunk!  Luckily I didn't put my foot down hard and he was undamaged - and apparently undeterred.  Never have we had this many of the little striped rodents.

A totally delightful break this afternoon to chat with Hillyblips - a bit of commiserating about how much we wished we were in Costa Rica and a lot of much-needed laughs.  Tonight I am having Zoom cocktails with my besties in NY/NJ/AZ.  And tomorrow will be another day.

Be kind, be safe, stay home.

xo
Debbi