Side Notes

Just got back from chow (before the galley closed at noon) and as I was walking to the NEX to pick up some water (all the drinking water on base is undrinkable due to too much chlorine) and nonfat milk, I happened to spot a cardinal perched on one of the small trees in front of the galley. He was so brilliantly colored red, it was hard to miss. That and his cute little pin-drop chirp sounding off amidst the quiet of the snowfall. While walking back from the NEX, I saw a pair of chickadees dodging around the pine branches covered with snow... and at the same moment, a nuthatch landed upside down on the trunk of the pine.












This all reminded me of the lonely red-headed woodpecker I saw yesterday morning on the way to Open Learning on a tree near the barracks. It was the first bird besides a crow that I had seen in a long while. And speaking of crows... I think I saw about a thousand of them (not kidding) last night in Evanston. There was a main intersection (in a triangle) with trees and the tops of them were covered with cawing crows... as if they were black leaves on buzz-cut trees. It was kinda eerie walking by when they had settled down. Silent black dots against the sky with just a sliver of a moon in the background, making a smiley face.

Jp

And I just signed up for Skype this morning while running into my brother on Facebook. We were able to talk for a couple minutes... my connection wasn't good enough to keep the video from the webcams going, but it was sure a great sound connection... more people I know should sign up for it. :)

...thanks to Google for these lovely pictures.