Winter birds

There goes Harvey, I thought to myself. I had just arrived at the park as Harvey pulled his van out of the parking space and headed for home with his little Yorkie, Kyle. Neither Harvey nor Kyle care to walk very far these days, as both are (at least) octogenarians, but they are out and about nearly every day, and ours isn't the only park they visit. Before each day's visit, Harvey faithfully fills his pocket with peanuts for, as he tells me "the birds, the chipmunks, and the squirrels," and as soon as he arrives and begins scattering his nutty treasure under the trees, the animals scamper and flutter to the feast.

I wait a while, until I see that the critter crowd has arrived, then I saunter over and stand four or five feet away, check my camera settings, and hope to capture some good bird and squirrel blips. Today was a good day. I came home with five satisfying pictures and three that I really loved, making up for yesterday's lack of results.

That's blipping for you! Some days you're "on" and other days you might as well have stayed home. This lady cardinal who posed for me today is my 1000th blip, so I am celebrating. Since joining Blipfoto in February 2008, I have discovered that any day I can get up and go out with my camera is a good day, even those days when the blipping is "off." The search for a daily blip is a satisfying and joyful experience for me, and if, like today, I come home with some images that make me truly happy, that's serendipity!

Thank you, Joe and the blip team, for creating and maintaining the best photo sharing community on the web, and thank you, fellow blippers, for all the times you've stopped by to take a look at my pictures. I appreciate all your visits, and I am especially thankful for the many wonderful comments you have left in my journal. A special bit of gratitude goes out to those who subscribe and those who have been my teachers. I have learned much about photography and about life from the wonderful pictures and journal entries you post day after day after day. Thank you...each and every one.