Helloooo, Forty-Two

Another addition to my yearly visual yard bird list, a Black-and-White Warbler (male.)  And isn't it nice when a bird is named in a way that makes sense?  I actually almost missed this little guy because he was with two chickadees who also feature mostly black and white.,  But when he started darting about in that particular way of warblers, he caught my eye.  This distance was more than ideal so the image had to be sharpened and heavily cropped.  But it will do for today.

It has been raining steadily since we got up, and the current forecast for this 24 hour period is for 5-6 inches of rain.  On top of at least that much in last week's storm, this will certainly cause some of the rivers and streams to overflow and low areas to flood.  Fortunately, we are on high ground so we don't have to worry about basement flooding.  We are tucked in for the remainder of the day and night, and keeping fingers crossed that winds don't pick up.

A friend of mine who just got her first-ever mammogram (thanks to my persistent nagging and her front-row seat to my cancer this year) stopped by for tea this morning.  I also gave her a "starter kit" of 5 tiny monarch caterpillars, one egg and all the supplies she'll need to raise them.  We had a really nice long visit, sitting at the kitchen table watching all the birds coming and going in the garden.  

An otherwise uneventful day, which isn't a bad thing.  Decided to have another nibble on the dark with tart raspberries again today with a few almonds on the side.

xo
Debbi