It’s not much fun having a bad cold.  Besides feeling like you’ve been run over by a truck, if you’re made to stay home and rest it can be really boring.  And when it came my turn to be sick this season, I spent the day sitting there pouting, staring out our back window at Leitner Creek with my head propped up in my hands.  But soon, because I had to sit still for more than five seconds, I began to notice details outside that I’ve rarely paid much attention to.

It was a busy day in the thick green foliage surrounding the creek.  There were doves hanging out on the bird feeder, bobbing their heads and picking at the seed and as you might expect, a couple of squirrels were scurrying around on their daily commute, jumping from tree to tree.  Just past them in an Oak tree, I noticed an unusual looking “green flycatcher”.   When it quickly flew off I leaned forward and started searching the trees, because it was really getting busy outside.  There on a cypress tree was a large Pileated Woodpecker, working its way around the trunk, searching for bugs and on a feeder right in front of me, a pair of beautiful Painted Buntings, apparently having just arrived for the winter, were comically burying their heads deep into the feeder.   A flash of bright red caught my eye and there, further down the creek, was a pair of Cardinals flitting around on a cocoa plum bush. Continue reading →