After hanging at home this morning, helping Marian get off to visit friends and family to the north for the weekend while I go to Neah Bay with Bruce and Ken, I got out for a morning walk and some birding at Swan Creek County Park about 11 AM. It was starting to clear, after a foggy early morning, and though not terribly birdy was a nice walk. I was trying to get a photo or two to try to sketch a bird from. I read Amy Tan’s book THe Backyard Bird Chronicles, and was impressed by her sketches and journaling. I decided to by the book by her sketching mentor, John Muir Laws, and give sketching a try on my upcoming trip to visit Jean and Brett. While I’m waiting for grandbabies to be born in Costa Rica I expect to be spending a lot of time on decks with great close up and repeated views of some cool birds, so what better way to pass the time than trying my hand at sketching. Anyway, my hope was to get a photo from which to try my first sketch. The Hutton’s Vireo above was my best to try. Other cool things were stumbling on a Cooper’s Hawk so close I didn’t fit it all in the frame, and if flew before I could zoom out of adjust the exposure properly.

Jean called while I was walking and she is doing great, having a food prep day with a close friend to prepare some freezer meals for after the baby comes, and to get ready for a gathering of friends in a baby shower like event they call a blessing. Sounds cool.

Overall a nice morning walk.