Preparing to Sit

This is what we'll be looking at tomorrow all day. I'm going to put a plastic bobblehead great horned owl on a pole and see if it ticks off any passing hawks.

Our pal Jen is visiting and helping us to prep for The Big Sit. She arrived last night bearing much food, which is a good thing because we'll have many hungry bird watchers here tomorrow throughout the day. Marci called, she's bringing pies. Steve's got the pepperoni rolls covered. Anne and Ric smuggled some bean soup across the border form Canada. I've made chili, Zick made her cosmically delicious squash soup. The cooler is stocked, awaiting only ice. The bags of chips are lined up (and getting pilfered by Phoebe, Liam, and visiting friend Tara--hope they don't find the Snickers bars--them's mine!).

The view up the final stairs, through the hatch, to the top of the birding tower.

Tonight The Swinging Orangutangs are playing a short one-hour gig in Marietta as part of a fundraiser for the restoration of our old downtown theatre. It will be fun, but I'm sure, even though the gig is short, the adrenaline from playing and the anticipation of the start of The Big Sit will mean a mostly sleepless night tonight. That's OK, though. We're aiming to have fun, and you can do that on very little sleep, I've discovered.

Check back on Sunday (tomorrow) for the lo-down on how our day is going. I'll try to post three or four times during the day. The goal is to beat the all--time record high species count of 65. Please keep your fingers crossed for a birdy day tomorrow. The weather looks great. The food looks yummy. The optics are cleaned and in place. The friends are already starting to pour in.

Prepare to have a good time, people.