Just a Few Birds...

Sandhill Cranes migrate this direction every Spring, and there has been an annual festival near Othello, a town about 60 miles away, where people were given guided bus tours to the fields where the birds congregate.  I was planning to go this year, but it was cancelled.

BUT, last week I discovered that the birds have also been hanging out a mere ten miles away in ranch land outside West Richland -- hoorah!

So I took a little drive to see if I could spot any, while avoiding this danger:

I drove slowly up and down the road for several miles without seeing a thing, and then suddenly, this happened:

There were hundreds of Sandhill Cranes flying around in a big flock,  honking away!

It was hard to get good photos -- they were pretty high up, and moving fast, and my camera is only semi-pro, but at least you can tell what the birds are.

They swooped around for a good fifteen minutes or so, and then settled into a field, where they were way too far for photos.  Oh, well.

Truman (not shown -- hiding) and Pippin were wondering what I was doing, just standing outside the car looking up and paying no attention to them.

It was a fine time -- I've done very little birding here this Spring, and it was great to see the cranes without having to drive very far at all.

Here is a short and occasionally blurry video -- turn up the sound!  They make a lot of noise.

I never did see any cows on the road.

Hunkering Down

The Hounds and I are good at staying home for prolonged periods, and I am good at entertaining myself.  We are currently waiting for warmer weather so we can get out for walks -- look what happened over the weekend!

We had been enjoying several weeks of 50-60 degree, sunny days before this unexpected cold snap.

The Hounds were a little confused, but managed to cope.

Brrrrrrrrrr!  Little Pippin likes snow, and he had a good time running through it.

The normal 60-degree Spring days are scheduled to return tomorrow.

The snow all melted by the same afternoon.  I'm hoping to get out to a nearby spot where Sandhill Cranes have been hanging out.  Wish me luck!

Brief Check-In

I'm still here, but rarely have anything to post about these days.  I did get out to sketch with the local group last week -- not a very exciting venue -- the Country Mercantile store.  I've sketched inside it before, so this time I sat in my car and drew the outside instead. 

It's a fine place inside -- lots of gourmet foods to buy (I may have spent a little money there).

There was a good turnout of sketchers who shared their work:

And here is my effort:

The Hounds have not been neglected, either -- here are some recent pics.  Enjoy!

Pippin taking out a hedgehog

On the trail at Chamna Natural Reserve

A little doggie play time at home: