Downy

It seems like its been ages since I've posted a woodpecker here on Blip, so I thought I'd go with this little male Downy Woodpecker today.  He was somewhat impatiently waiting for his turn at the suet feeder and had flared his feathers a bit to appear more menacing. Not that easy for a bird that only measures six inches to look menacing.

I forced myself to go to the gym for a weight workout today and felt much better afterwards (as I knew I would).  Plus, I had the place almost entirely to myself which made it much more relaxing.  

Once home, I put the hide out and spent some time being one with nature.  The usual spring contingent of male blackbirds are here every day now, singing from the trees and dining on seeds and suet.  So even though it was a chilly 37 F, it had the sounds of spring.  And, a nice even cloud cover which made shooting birds much more enjoyable.  I would never have taken this shot on a sunny day because I'd never have gotten the exposure to work with the sharply contrasting tones.  

I was reading my journal from this day last year, when Covid was barreling towards us.  Our Governor had just mandated that restaurants and gyms were to close down indefinitely starting at 8 PM that night - a drastic move at the time.  Little did we know...

I was listening to Public Radio (NPR) today and the local affiliate did a reading of 1700 names of people in our area who'd died of Covid last year.  After the reading of the names, people could call in with comments, memories, etc.  One man called in and spoke of the empty chair next to him where his mother used to sit - she had died on March 31 of last year.  You could tell he was fighting back tears as he spoke her name - it was heartbreaking.  It was also a reminder that every single person who we've lost to this virus has left behind an empty chair.  

So continue being safe, even when it's hard.  Be kind, because you never know what someone else's story is.  And dark chocolate ...

xo
Debbi