Life's a Stitch

Someone in my life, with whom I am very close, has a fear of birds stemming from an English childhood pigeon incident. You know who you are 😉 and it's best that you leave. I miss the birds of my east coast childhood. The red cardinals and the jays lighter in colour than our deep blue Steller's Jays. Still there is enough variety here to keep me bird enthused. These are the birds of my neighbourhood(s):

Eagle on the ground:

Same eagle in flight – reminds me of a story when my son was two, lying on the kitchen floor, looking out the skyight above him. "Mommy Mommy, airplanes!" They were, in fact, three bald eagles swooping above.

Steller's Jay:

And our new desert neighourhood bird, a Roadrunner:

While hiking in the woods the other day we saw a Pileated Woodpecker, but he wouldn't pose for me. And my most memorable neighbourhood bird sighting was a Barred Owl with a rat still squirming in his claws. A reminder of  how close to nature we live.