Up in the Air

 Our first adventure last week involved a hike up Badger Mountain (elevation = 1593 ft), one of the many treeless mountains in this area.  (Not far away is Rattlesnake Mountain, the highest (3531 ft) treeless mountain in North America.)

There were several hang gliders heading downward as we arrived -- looked like tons of fun, though hiking up with all that gear did not seem as thrilling a prospect.

Also up in the air, flitting out from the sagebrush to catch insects, was this Say's Phoebe, a member of the flycatcher family.

There are fabulous vistas of the Tri-Cities area.

Pippin came along, though Truman stayed home, as he can no longer handle long walks without his stroller.

Our second adventure involved a search for migrating Sandhill Cranes, which stop over in this area every Spring and Autumn for food and rest.  They reliably hang out in the fields of a cattle ranch a mile or so outside of West Richland, which is where I found them last Spring.  This year I lucked out on my first attempt:

There were cranes on either side of the road, close enough for decent photos.

This bird had an altercation with its neighbor, and briefly flew up in an intimidation move:

Some of the cranes took to flying from one field to the other, allowing me to get some nice flight shots:

Landing shots were trickier, as it was hard to get focused on one bird as it came in, but after several failed efforts, I managed to get a couple:

And I also got one good shot of the birds taking off:

Always a treat to see these large, stunning birds.  

In other, more earthbound news, I drew just one picture that I liked well enough to post -- this toad with its huge mouth gaping, apparently intent on eating what appeared to be a stone -- or perhaps it was merely expressing its displeasure with having the stone in its way.  We'll never know.

And finally, my pursuit of Good Omens home decor continues, with these new Funko Pop collectible figures of Aziraphale and Crowley:

They stand four inches high.  Crowley, the former serpent of Eden, holds an apple, while the angel Azriaphale holds a book -- The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, which figures rather prominently in the series.

The detailing is rather good -- you can read the book title, and Aziraphale has his bow tie, pocket watch, and gold ring.

While Crowley sports his snake tattoo:

And you can see his snake eyes behind his sunglasses:

I do seem to have a special sense of how to decorate a home.  I see no reason to give up toys simply because one grows older, and no reason not to have some fun and whimsicality about one's living space. 

These two are currently standing in front of the TV, though they may wind up moving around from place to place.  We shall see!

Have a fun and whimsical week out there!