From the Stands

Heavy rains kept some of the AOG athletes under wraps today...but not your intrepid reporter!  (Actually, I stayed under the canopy for most of the time, to protect my gear...)  I was able to snag a rare interview with a member of the Team Cardinal as she prepared for the Ladies Seed Cracking competition this upcoming week.  Team Cardinal is a shoe-in to win the "footless" competition which requires the athlete to completely crack the seed and extract the meat without any use of feet.  Although Team House Finch and Team Goldfinch have their best athletes in this event, the odds are heavily in favor of Team Cardinal.  

When I asked Carolina Cardinal how she was feeling about the competition, she just smiled and gave me a supremely confident look.  Which wasn't all that easy to do when one considers that she was totally drenched and not looking her best.  Nearby, her romantic interest from the Men's team was singing "who's the fairest in the land" from a nearby perch.  And everywhere we turned, there were members of Team Hummingbird zooming by, practicing their various tricks and routines.  At several points, little shouting matches broke out and some colorful language was heard.  But far be it from me to report them.  

If you'd like a few glimpses of Team Hummie (oh, yes, I know you do!), please check out...
Ursula doing the Flying Cross
Attila-the-Hummie doing some Speed Pollinating

(In all truth, there were at least a dozen hummingbirds zipping around me, some so close that I could feel the breeze created by their wings.  Magical.)

In other news... We had a nice long FaceTime chat with my parents on their new iPad - it was so great to feel like I was sitting there at their kitchen table with them in Oregon.  After talking with them, I went out for a while to cover the AOG then inside to lay down for a bit.  I'm still feeling kind of crummy, so lacking my usual energy.  However, I really think the radiation fatigue is mostly all gone now.  

Check out all of today's AOG coverage HERE - remember to check back as reports will be coming in from the west coast of the US later.  And remember that tomorrow (the 11th day of the AOG) will be tagged #aog2111.

Dark with orange today...

xo
Debbi