Purple!

I decided to head out to a wildlife area that I hadn't been to since last summer.  It is always a good place for birds and bugs and almost never people on the trails.  First thing I heard when I got out of the car was the distinctive sound of Purple Martens.  Sure enough, the small marten "condo" in one of the fields was full and Martens were swooping all over catching insects to feed nestlings.  And in the condo was one pair of Tree Swallows too.  The two species cohabitate very well together.  Anyway, seen here is a male who has some sort of very tiny bug in his beak (barely visible even on a large screen).  The males are uniformly purple and the females are a duller brown with pale bellies (see Extra).

In addition to the Martens, I saw/heard another 20 species and also saw a nice assortment of arthropods.  Unfortunately, pollen is still very high which diminished my experience a little owing to a runny nose and persistent cough. Very happy I was able to score an appointment with an allergist next week!  Everyone I know here is complaining of bad allergies this year.

Jax and I spent some time on the patio - him trying to keep the squirrels and chipmunks away and me enjoying his antics.  I also enjoyed watching the mama wren feeding her nestlings in the box near our patio.  The youngsters will fledge soon - already some of them are sticking their heads out waiting for tasty snacks to be delivered.  Hopefully I will get to see some of them leave the box for the first time.  It's always very entertaining.

Last night we watched a movie called "Mending the Line" which we both enjoyed.  It is really a story about three broken souls and how they fix each other, in part through the zen of fly fishing (which is where the title of the movie comes from).  

I think plain dark today.

xo
Debbi