A similar sentiment I said to myself two days ago as we put off yard work and laundry to explore one of our favorite walking spots and later a favorite birding spot. The sun was shining! With the wet, cool summer and start to autumn we've had, you just can't take sunny afternoons for granted. On this trip, we did not see the Sandhill Crane trio of mom, dad and this year's colt we'd been watching throughout summer, but I'd already said goodbye and wished them safe travels a week before. (Yes, I talk to wildlife. I recently said "hi momma" to a cow moose munching on a tree in someone's front yard as her calf foraged nearby.) We did see scaups and yellowlegs and grebes and gulls and, of course, Mallards and magpies. I am always happy for sightings of our avian friends, but in both places I was also focused on flora - underbrush, trees, leaves, mushrooms, moss, lichen, cattails.
What made an afternoon like this even lovelier is that folks out and about also seemed happy and delighted with a clear, nearly cloudless day. Most everyone said hello or smiled in greeting. It was a delightful way to spend the day.
