Ready to Fly

The Osprey chick at the Montlake Fill is nearly adult-size now, and has been flexing its wings, trying to figure out how this flying stuff works.

Truman and Pippin were unimpressed, as usual.

 At Golden Gardens Park, we had a lovely Belted Kingfisher:

And at the Ballard Locks, we had another lovely kingfisher to admire.

Meanwhile, Truman and Pippin remained unimpressed by birds.

And here they are at the Shilshole Marina, being unimpressed by boats.

And at the Locks, unimpressed by the orca sculpture.

What can I say--mostly they are impressed by stuff that smells funny, stuff that I can't smell at all and often can't even see.  And Pippin likes to eat anything he finds on the ground--grass, weeds, sticks, the occasional rock--it's hard to walk anywhere without him chomping on something he shouldn't.  At the Fill this past week, I was preoccupied with the Osprey chick when one of my birder pals said, "Your dog is eating rabbit poop."

Ah, joy. 

Finally, here is a very cooperative Green Heron from the Fill, who kindly provided me with every pose I could want before flying off to parts unknown:

As for sketching, I got in a few drawings here and there, like this little garden area:

And this small P-Patch garden view:

And this view from the third floor of the hospital Audiology waiting room where I had my biennial hearing test:

I don't think the view from the Audiology waiting room will look quite this spectacular two years from now, for you see, I am taking flight, too!  For over a year I've been contemplating a retirement relocation move, and now I'm ready to go.  Last week I sold my house for a tidy profit, and by the end of this month, should be broadcasting from Richland, WA, where I grew up.  It is sunnier there, with fewer people and less traffic, and it is considerably less expensive.   A new adventure awaits!