The Sunny Side

Ring-billed Gull

I try.

I really do. I understand just how fortunate I am.....to be in reasonable if not great health, to be ambulatory, able to see adequately, to hear quite well, and to be surrounded by loving people, literally living my own dream...that is in the country, on a farm.

However, after a week, or however long it's been of curtailed everything and a continuous onslaught of terrible news and terrifying headlines, I got up this morning grumpy. I didn't cheer up much as the day went on.

We stole a few minutes...literally...down at the Crossing, but had to come home to take care of Peg because school is...rightly...closed.

No biggie, although I miss the luxury of lots of time to wander and peer. However, just a short while after we came home friends emailed that there were two Wilson's Snipe and an American Pipit being seen down there. Peg was still asleep, having had some late nights lately. We just couldn't go.

We did go down later when we could but the birds were gone.

I was not feeling too sunny.

However upon checking my email I discovered that because I turned in over a thousand eBird lists last year Cornell gave me the rest of the year's free access to their new site Birds of the World.

I immediately typed in Wilson's Snipe and had me a good old time learning a lot more than I knew before. I didn't do more than dip a toe in the well of information available. There is an incredible amount of detail.

Talk about a sunny side!

I feel much better now. 

Hope you are all safe and well.

Gadwall

Update: When the boss was done with his work and Liz was home from hers, he took me back down to the river and we found the bird! Well, one of them anyhow. Life bird for me, a Wilson's Snipe!