Post-grading giddiness

Eight-spotted forester moth

Turning in my grades this morning made me so giddy I wanted to run around in the woods, but it didn't even occur to me to first don fuzzy orange leggings. Leave the leggings to the eight-spotted forester moth!  

blackburnian warbler

My birding-and botanizing buddy joined me for a tromp through the wet woods where warblers a various types were singing in the treetops. We stood still as stones staring up and trying to catch a glimpse of them and we would probably still be standing there now if our necks could stand it. Finally we moved on, inventing more appropriate names as we walked: the Taunting Warbler, the Transparent Warbler, the Better-Luck-Next-Time Warbler.

Then I saw a flutter of feathers right in front of us--a male blackburnian warbler splashing around in the creek, ignoring our presence entirely. He's a tiny little thing--no wonder I couldn't see him up in the trees. Even big, bold, colorful birds (like the scarlet tanager we watched for a while) can becoming invisible amidst the lush foliage.

But we're no longer lost amongst ever-growing piles of grading, so we're moving out from the cover of our offices to make a splash on the big, wide world.   

scarlet tanager

 

 

mayapple blossom