The Next Generation

She's a natural.

Though she still thinks the binoculars are a camera and which end to look through is only a matter of taste, I think my niece will figure it out quickly. After all, it has taken her aunt quite a long time to master the basics, and "Ynnie" still doesn't always know which way to point the ones in the lower right corner.

Yesterday produced another Anna's Hummingbird (male with glowing pink face and throat) and a closer acquaintance with the calls of Yellow-rumped Warblers. Now maybe I will understand how quickly the guru and the chaplain can shriek "yellow-rump" after one little chirpy noise.

This afternoon I think I'll mosey over to the pond, which after record rain and some flooding in our valley town has risen to its high water mark. Perhaps I won't mistake a heron for a cormorant this time. But I doubt the stilts will still be around.