Not much to report, except that I am finally almost over whatever virus attacked me and just in time to get up at 3:00 AM tomorrow morning so I can participate in the Fermilab Christmas Bird Count. Until now we have had a mild winter…but it’s cold and windy today, and as luck would have it, tomorrow’s forecast is for the coldest day yet. Add (or subtract, really) another 10 degrees for the wide-open windyness of Fermilab and it will be a frigid undertaking. I am almost having second thoughts about schlepping the camera but I probably will. Perhaps it will be worth it.

House Finch, House Sparrow and an almost empty feeder

I didn’t do last year’s count because I was having trouble walking, so I am thankful that seems such a distant memory. I’m looking forward to being outside, actually, as I have been stuck in the office most of the last two weeks. And I haven’t been swimming lately either so I can use some exercise. Even trying to stay warm can be energizing!

Wanted to get out and see the crows this week but didn’t make it.

The frigid weather is mentally pushing me over the edge. I can envision sitting under a warm comforter and going back through the pictures from Colombia from this past spring. Nicaragua is only 2 months away.

Well all these photos were conveniently unattached to other posts, so they gave me a little inspiration to hang a few words on.

I must put in a word for Stewart Goodyear, the exemplary Canadian pianist and composer. This is the time of year when I usually find myself thinking “If I hear the Nutcracker one more time on the radio…!” But a couple days ago, I heard an excerpt from Stewart Goodyear’s new recording of his wonderful piano transcription/interpretation and I am smitten. I have been listening to it in installments and enjoying it tremendously. I think I prefer his version to an entire orchestra, that’s how good it is! According to this blog post, he recorded the entire thing on his birthday with breaks for birthday cake in between. Whatever motivated him, if anything could motivate me not to be a grinch, this is it.