Dogs, Logs, Blogs

Arriving at Indigo Hill late yesterday were Sharon and Bill Stiteler of BirdChick.com fame, among other things. They came for a visit in the country and to shoot some video for the Eagle Optics website. The weather stayed in our favor and we spent most of the evening outside watching birds, tossing things for Chet Baker to retrieve (both Sharon and especially Bill are big fans of our dog Chet Baker), and enjoying the sunset. Oh and we talked quite a bit, too.

Spring evenings out in the yard, ahhh! Julie, Sharon, and Bill concur.

Liam and Non-birding Bill show their evil squints.

It was interesting for Julie and me to meet Sharon's husband, known to all in the birding blog realm as Non-Birding Bill. I can vouch that this is an appropriate moniker. As avid as Sharon is about birds, Bill is decidedly (and happily it seems) a non-birder. This afternoon I was trying to get him on a soaring osprey high over our meadow. He looked at me and smiled, saying "Really, Bill, don't waste your effort on me!" It's actually a bit refreshing to have a non-birder around--it allows us to talk about other things, like theatre, literature, technology--all things without feathers.

Liam never met a woman he wouldn't talk to for hours. This is how I know he's my son.

This morning we went for a long walk in the woods. Last night's rain made the footing a bit more slippery than normal. We all muddied our backsides, slipping down slopes and scrambling over fallen logs, but we did see some neat things (do we ever NOT see neat things when we take the time to walk?) First Louisiana waterthrush of the year, first wood thrush of the year, and the aforementioned osprey.

Now we're back at the house, bellies full of lunch, and getting that "siesta kind of feeling." But before we nap, we must BLOG! To see things from the other participants' perspectives, visit Julie's blog and Sharon's blog.

Bill loves him his Macs. He's got one for each knee.

There are at least three of us online at any given moment (am so happy I put in that wireless network). And last night, there were six Macs all being used at once (NBB was double-dipping using two Powerbooks at a time). What did we do with ourselves before our lives became ruled by technology? I think I remember churning some butter once back in the 70s....

Though the walk was strenuous, Sharon and Bill still managed to shoot some scenes and scenery.

I LOVE blogging about nature and our nature adventures and experiences. But that's no where near as enjoyable as the actual experiences.

The expedition rested briefly below Beechy Crash before tackling the Whipple Matterhorn.

Glory rays and another Indigo HIll sunset.