Back to Regularly Scheduled Programming

Back to birds today - a photo subject that always helps to quiet my mind and takes me away from all the things that cause me stress.  It is a temporary fix, but an extremely effective one.  We have had overcast skies all day, which added to the enjoyment since I could concentrate on framing the birds without having to worry about where the sun was.  I love the soft, nearly monotone palette of this - no editing other than a very light vignette and a small crop.  The subject - a female Purple Finch showing a bit more yellow than what I usually see.

Had a nice long FT chat with my parents today - both looking great.  Mom's trigger finger incision looks really good and seems to be healing very well. She sees the surgeon tomorrow for the final sign off.  We had some lively discussion about politics, the election, the stock market and the weather.  

And speaking of weather, we are finally getting some much needed rain!  We have not had rain in 36 days and have severe drought conditions in much of the state.  That coupled with gusty winds and warmer than usual temps have created the perfect conditions for wildfires, something we almost never see.  Fortunately, none are near us at this time, but we live in a heavily wooded corner of the state so well aware of the danger of fires.  Anyway, we may see 1/2 - 1 inch of rain overnight which won't be enough to correct the drought but may help to contain some of the fires and dampen things.  

Ran some errands this afternoon which included finally getting my annual flu shot.  I get the stronger dose recommended for seniors (and the immune-compromised) - hoping I will have an easy time of it.  Waiting until next month to get my Covid jab so that I will be fully covered when I travel this February.  

Hubs and I watched "First Man" last night which was the story of Neil Armstrong's historic flight into space and walk on the moon.  I was very interesting although I think it was longer than it needed to be and got bogged down in some of the scenes from inside the shuttle.  

Dark with coconut today 
Deb