Great Egret

Egrets are quite common here. We see them at Spring Lake and marshes and even flying around in the canyon, but it's rare to be able to get this close to one, especially with a dog in tow. We went for a walk in the lovely Juilliard Park again today after our coffee at Cafe Frida. and we found this splendid specimen standing motionless (on one leg!) next to the water. It didn't seem to be stalking anything but was just standing motionless except for its head which slowly turned from side to side. I'm sure it knew we were there, but also that we were just admiring its pristine whiteness and remarkably mobile neck and meant it no harm.

We stopped off at a store in Montgomery Village on the way home so that I could try on a turtleneck sweater that Emily, the woman I have gotten to know who works there had set aside for me. There were two women paying for a huge pile of new clothes in some kind of complicated transaction that was taking a long time. When asked for a name, the younger one spelled out her last name, an unusual spelling of a fairly common name and I wondered if she was related to a big developer in the area who built and operated a pricey retirement home in town. It burned down in the Tubbs Fire and he was tried and found responsible for abandoning the residents, some of whom were bedridden or in wheelchairs. They were all rescued by family members, but one woman died of a heart attack. As if that weren't bad enough, he went on to try to recall the city attorney who prosecuted him. He had no backing and financed the entire effort with his own money. 

I couldn't proceed with my Klee inspired quilt without a trip to the fabric store. It's sort of an abstract version of a skyline (the painting is called 'Castle and Sun' and I needed something very specific for the 'sky'. I had something specific in mind, but when I got there they didn't have any. After much wandering around...I seem to have to walk around the entire store three or four times before I'm convinced I've seen everything, and on the fourth trip around I found something that I thought could work. As it turns out I think it will be perfect if I can figure out how to do it right and as I was cutting the first piece I noticed that the name of the pattern printed on the selvedge was 'SKY'.

It's nice to have at east two brick and mortar stores in this town that carry things I want to buy and have good service. It's taken some time but maybe this is just another sign that the post-Covid economy is finally recovering. Speaking of which, there was an announcement in the paper that the new, updated Covid vaccine has arrived. One more thing we need to do.