My first bird watch walk

Naomi walking in Lafayette Cemetery, New Orleans. As the water table is quite high (even higher today) all graves are above ground

moth mullein all over on our walk

from wiki as no way I could get a shot of these though I saw several through binoculars: yellow warbler. Maybe I've seen these before but probably just thought they were goldfinches (of which there were plenty)

from wiki again: yellow throat which is another warbler seen around here

creepy cemetery. They were lucky the first 2 days that the rain held back. However today, they are sloshing through shin deep floods

I got lots of Swiss chard this year. I am going to sauté it for the Moms later today

A busy day today. I was on the road before 6 to get a 18 mile bike ride in before I was to meet up with my friend by 8 at one of the many nature preserves near me. This one I hadn't gone to before though it is connected to one I run by 2 miles south of my house. The county conducts some sort of nature walk each week at various locations. Just a mile away in yet another preserve, the Nature Conservancy had a bird walk too.

The other birders were dressed for the part with binoculars (the group leader lent me some) big hats some with mosquito netting covering their entire head, long pants, jackets. I did wear long pants (hot, hot, hot) but I clearly looked like a newbie. I do know the birds in my yard but I am unfamiliar with many of the meadow birds. The leader knew quite a bit and was very enthusiastic. She knew the bird calls. I have a bad memory for sounds. There was about 15 of us, maybe too many as we scare birds but more eyes for spotting. This is the end of the nesting season so birds are more quiet than when they are actively searching for mates. The time to go birding is early spring. She said they saw 40 species in the same time then versus our 27. New birds for me: flycatchers (there are several very similar species that could only be told apart from their song), yellow warbler, yellow throat, field sparrow, song sparrow, towhee. We did see the promised indigo buntings though as I had one in my yard last year, not new to me. She got very excited by the catbirds though as I think I have one parked in my tree outside my window, it was hard to get excited by that. And cranes are not rare any more around here.

Then back home to run.

It is my turn to host the Chosen Sisters. So far, it looks like the weather will let us sit outside. Trader Joe's was advertising a pizza crust made from cauliflower. I thought it would be cool to make a totally veggie pizza but alas, they are very popular and are sold out at both TJ stores here. So I am making an enormous frittata as for some reason, Steve keeps buying eggs and eggs. Wilted greens and some sort of Israeli couscous dish will be my offerings along with drinks. Two Moms bring appetizers, one brings a salad (I have a back up salad if the wilted chard doesn't agree with people) and dessert, which is usually my job when I am not hosting.

Yesterday, I took my friend battling side effects from her leukemia treatment to lunch and to go shopping. More solar lights for me. It was good to see her making plans for the future and having a bit more energy.

Maya is back from Florida; Naomi and her friend made a full day of sight seeing yesterday. I get updates quite frequently.

Hope I can stay awake.