Another Rare Bird Here!

I can't quilt but I can enjoy the birds. I've been an avid bird watcher since high school when it was a required biology unit of study and I found I enjoyed it. Anyway, we came home from my granddaughter's 11th birthday on Sunday when I glanced out the window and saw a dove on the farthest feeder. Something different about him and then I realized it was a southwestern species: White-winged Dove. He flew before my husband could see him but he flew over twice afterwards when we were out looking for him. I got my camera out just in case and an hour later he finally came back to the feeders. I quickly took several photos of him through the window again digi-scoping. They're good pictures but not as sharp as they could be not shooting through the window.
This is the 3rd southwestern/western species I've had in my yard. The first was a Black-throated Sparrow in 1993. The second was a Say's Phoebe in 1997 and now the dove. Too bad digital cameras and digi-scoping were unknown then. The sparrow was the 3rd documented record for Nebraska. The phoebe is a resident of the western area of the state and appeared here for several years but were never able to establish a long-time residency. The doves appeared in Kearney several years ago and have been seen sporadically in various areas of the state since. This is the farthest northeast reported. He is pretty bird with the bright red feet and blue around the eye extending up from the bill.

Trigger Thumb

Thi a.m. I had surgery to fix my trigger thumb that developed quite suddenly in March. Not only was it catching badly (difficult to turn a page in a book) but quite painful the past couple of weeks. I worked to finish up most of my 'need to be done' quilt projects since I can do very little with it for two weeks and then gradually work back into doing things. I've discovered I can type fairly well, but slowly and only one-handed, but I almost get dizzy watching to make sure I hit the right keys and then still have several misses to correct. You can see from the photo that it's well bandaged for the next 3-4 days.

My new sunroom was finished just in time for me to sit in and read while my thumb heals. Lovely views of the surrounding farm ground, too.

Washington D.C. Trip

A lovely time of the year to visit, especially when my only cost was my airline ticket and food. I stayed with my sister in her hotel since her room was paid for by her job. For two days I did the usual tourist things. I always enjoy visiting the National Archives to see those documents that gave rise to the United States. Clear blue skies made for wonderful monument viewing and photographs. My only complaint was the hordes of high school students there on a supposedly 'educational' trip. They are rude in small groups but in great, mobbing numbers awful. They didn't listen to their sponsors, nor were they in any of those wonderful places to learn. They were obnoxious and purposefully disrupted others' viewing, interests. The Holocaust Museum was one of the worst. They had no idea what had happened nor did they care to learn about this atrocity.

After visiting the National Art Museum we walked up a different hill to catch the Metro back to the hotel. We came upon a wonderful little art gallery that had large fiberart figures inside. We decided to go in and were fortunate to meet the artist, Chris Maloney, and had a very informative talk with him about how he made his figures and some of his past. See for yourself by visiting his website: http://cmaloneyart.com/ . You won't be disappointed.

On a whim we made a visit to Alexandria, VA and although there were lots of people there they were polite and non-rude because of course, they weren't high school students. It's a lovely old town with lots of history (shopping, too) and I would suggest anyone visiting the area go there for a more relaxing time.

All my airline connections with Northwest were early and on-time so my flight was great, too.