I will never be a bird watcher. I don’t have the vision, hearing, or the patience that’s needed in order to make this a sporting activity.

My sister and my mother were both avid bird watchers. I liked going out with them for a short while – I like catching sight of and hearing hawks, birds that play on the wind. I also like catching sight of geese and sandhill cranes, birds that migrate great distances. But overall, I was too preoccupied to be a serious birder.

I saw a movie with Steve Martin – it was about competitive bird watchers. The bird watchers kept track of their findings – this seemed nonsensical to me, because being self-accountable is the antithesis of this sort of activity. It is only human, if you are that competitive, to cheat. Or, to think you saw something that you did not.

Recent BLBP book

I do watch and listen for birds nearby our place. The robins have departed, as have the swallows. It was quite the party here this summer, and it was a party.
They were a very visible and noisy lot.

What brings this to mind was that I saw a plain gray bird hanging on a branch this morning, as I was cleaning the goat pen. I do not know what it was – if I see it again, I will look it up.

We are now on the verge of fall, and winter will follow suit. I wish that summer would last twice as long as it’s going to. I will of course be glad to no longer be worrying about fire danger. But once again, dealing with putting on layers, and the darkness and cold, ugh.

In the winter, I’ll see magpies -- they stick around. And redpolls. And chickadees. And grouse. Some say the grouse are stupid, but I think it shows some intelligence, to drag a wing behind oneself, in order to focus the predator’s attention on the parent rather than on the baby birds.

It was a long day. As I said above, I did clean the goat pen. I’d like to think that after I do an onerous task like that, one in which the spent hay smells of ammonia, that the goats are appreciative.

I then took Tinni for a walk – because it’s been raining, the trails are wet, so we did the neighborhood walkabout. Those who live up on the corner of Sybarite have housed seven puppies in a small chain link pen. What, I wonder, are they thinking?

The answer is that they are not thinking at all. Dogs need to be socialized. They do not need to be confined.

I then, after this walk, went to town for a four hour BLBP meeting. We went over a strategic plan – its supposed to be a guide for future BLBP activities. Me, I emerged from this feeling overwhelmed because the one who is going to do the bulk of the work is going to be me.

Bird watching – I need to develop a better mindset about this.

Next: 214. 8/7/22: More about Rain