Awwwww

I was all set to blip a new (to me) jumping spider species but then along came some baby downy woodpeckers with parents in tow and...well, who could resist?  Mama above, feeding female fledgling below, cropped tight. And, no, it's not your imagination that the baby looks larger than her mom!  Adult downy woodpeckers lose a significant amount of body weight while they are caring for their nestlings.  

And for those interested, the  Golden jumping Spider is in Extra.  First time for me seeing this species in my garden and I'm told it is a sub-adult male.  He was being extremely evasive so it wasn't easy to get shots.  I also saw my first katydid nymph, a tiny thing that was also very shy (not surprising since pretty much anything will eat it).  And I found a third monarch caterpillar in a different patch of milkweed - no doubt there are more that I just haven't seen.  

Last night we watched "North Country" which, although it's a bit dark, was a good movie.  It reminded me of when I first joined the work force in the mid 70's when sexual impropriety in the workplace was rampant.   It makes me shudder now to think of it, but thankfully times have changed.  

Had a nice FT chat with mom and dad this morning, both of them still in the throws of a cold.  The colds mostly seem to be head congestion and not upper respiratory, thank goodness.  

It's gorgeous outside here today but grass pollen is still extremely high so I had to limit my outings.  I'm inside now with the Air Con going.  

Dark with sea salt today.

xo
Debbi