Bye bye blackbird

Tonight's visit to the pond was a much more sedate affair than yesterday's. The geese kept to themselves, the swallows flew around at treetop level, and the otters were nowhere to be seen. So I looked around to see what else I could photograph, and as I looked at the water I was struck by the combination of the reflected mountainside with the reeds:



I noted that the mama goose was still on her nest, barely visible through the reeds; in fact, I very much doubt I'd ever notice her at all if I didn't already know she was over there:



After a while, I noticed that the red-winged blackbirds were a bit more active than usual this evening. They worked the reeds at the pond's edge, were doing a lot of calling, and at one point I watched two males chasing a female in and out of the bushes and trees at a breakneck pace. And as I stood at the edge of the pond, one of them perched right in front of me for a bit to do some preening—it was neat to watch:









In other news, Mom and Dad were once again kind enough to have me over for dinner tonight, so today's post concludes with a few Kaylee pics.

Getting a piece of cracker from Mom:



Clearly she found our company very stimulating:



Dealing with a soda box—you never know when one of those things might snap and turn on you:



And perched on a chair, keeping a close eye on the neighborhood: