An Egg to Match the Sky

HURRAH! I ran my usual roaming check around the yard today and found the first egg of the season, and what an egg it is!

Lucy's first egg - beautiful blue
The first egg of the year is from Lucy, my Easter Egger (Americana?). I was told she may well be a hatchling from this past year and as such I had expected her first egg to be smallish, but her egg - which may or may not be her first ever - is not small. Also I didn't know if she would lay green or blue eggs so a nice Robin's egg blue egg is a happy surprise.

Am wondering when my other four 'slackers' will get around to laying their first eggs of the new year. My French Faverolles Adele and Babette will lay their normal pinkish beige eggs and my new French 'Black Copper Maran' pullets will lay dark brown eggs. I am going to crow when I get my first Maran egg. Happy days are here again. No more store bought eggs till late this year when the winds grow frigid.

Half Day of Birding

After far too many days indoors I ventured out in search of Short-eared Owls in Elk Grove today. Boo hoo! I struck out, not scoring any owls but will try again sometime next week. Can't complain though, I did get nice shots of a v. cooperative Say's Phoebe, a species that has previously thwarted my efforts to photograph it.

Say's Phoebe
Being only a few miles north of the Consumnes Wildlife Area I had to drive over for a visit. I decided to traverse the board walk through the marsh. There were plenty of noisy Marsh Wrens and Song Sparrows in the reeds. I tailed the little Song Sparrow below then, just as I snapped the shot, it turned its head.

Squandered shot: DAMN IT ALL TO HELL!
This handsome Cinnamon Teal drake admired its own reflection in the marsh ala Ugly Duckling. If he's waiting to turn into a swan he's got a long wait ahead of him.

Who is the fairest of us all? QUACK!

Flocks of Greater White-fronted Geese, and ducks of the Pintail, shoveler and Green-winged Teal persuasion slept or dabbled in the marsh. Overhead, were scads of noisy croaking Sandhill Cranes I thought would have headed north to the tundra by now. I shot little groups of them but if only the sun wasn't back lighting them! *whine, whine, whine*
Sandhill Cranes soaring above
I took the short leisurely hike along the wooden boardwalk at Consumnes and was rewarded with several shots of this American Bittern. It played "I can see you but you can't see me", and I must say I beg to differ with it.

This bittern slunked along in the reeds by the viewing platform

I looked for it on my way out and it
struck this "You can't See Me!" pose
Eventually it decided I could see it, and it scuttled into the reeds
Leaving Consumnes I drove the scenic route along the Sacramento River. I was actually there looking for an old birding spot where I once found Long-billed Curlews, Lazuli Buntings and Blue Grosbeaks. No luck there either, but I'll find the spot eventually and will have the photos to prove it!

Baby Fix!

Drove over to the Bay Area today for a baby fix. Here's the deal, the fraternal twin boys are the sons of my buddy Barbara's foster son James. His adorable widdle 10 day old boys are named Wyatt and Virgil. Names sound familiar? Anyway, I got to cuddle and play with the boys who are so young that playing with them amounts to holding them and gawking at their teeny fingers and toes. Cool! Hey, how come babies don't have puppy breath?


Virgil (l), with brown hair looks like his Dad,
Wyatt (r) has black hair and looks like Mommy
Thank heavens Angie's Mom came to stay and help with the boys for their first few weeks. I thought they were pretty kind to let me visit while the boys are so ensie. Talk about hectic! The babies need to be fed every two hours, day and night.


Grandmother, Mom, other Grandma Barbara w/Wyatt, Uncle Eric w/Virgil

Uncle Eric and Daddy James holding Wyatt
who, despite photo is not eating an apple
I had fun visit. Barbara with Eric, drove up from Monterey. It's been ages since I got to play with a v. young baby. I got to cuddle Adan when he was a newborn and he's away at college now - told you it was a long time!