Mrs. Nutty

Some much needed camera therapy for me this afternoon netted this shot of a female White-breasted Nuthatch.  I blipped the male recently HERE but wanted to get a good shot of the female where you could clearly see the difference in the color of her "hood".  I think this photo does that quite well as you can see that her cap is a dark gray (and her nape is black) where the male is all black from cap to nape.  It's actually sort of hard to tell them apart in the field unless the light is just right.

Jax has been on two walks today as well as several rousing sessions of tug-a-war and chase.  He is now passed out just outside my office door on the landing.  Hubs and I took him to the park this afternoon where he met several dogs including a young puppy with her older companion dog.  Jax liked the older, bigger dog better - it's been my observation that he really likes big dogs better than small ones.  As is always the case, he got lots of compliments on his beautiful brindle coat.

I also had a nice email exchange with the adoptive parents of one of his siblings!  We exchanged pictures and some basic info.  Gunner (Jax' brother) looks more like a Catahoula in his coloring with more gray in his coat.  They are about the same size and general shape.  When the weather is better we will arrange a meet up so they can play together.  I wonder if they will remember each other?

Meanwhile, covid cases are skyrocketing all over the US.  We know more and more people who are getting mild breakthrough cases, including the son of some friends.  Fortunately, being vaxxed and boosted seems to afford a significant amount of protection against serious infection; however, those who remain unvaccinated don't necessarily fare quite so well.  Our hospital ICU's are full right now in my area and Emergency Rooms are backed up again.  We are continuing to limit our social interactions to only those who are fully protected.  Better for them, better for us.  It is hard to think back to 2 years ago when we were just starting to hear about a "novel" Coronavirus.  So many deaths since then, so much sickness, so much sadness.  Please stay safe!

Dark truffle today (thanks to my parents).

xo
Debbi