And now for a break from all the whining

I really miss my birding-and-botanizing buddy, whose eyes and ears guided me to many interesting birds and wildflowers before she moved to Minnesota. These days I'm pretty good at spotting growing things, but I still struggle to recognize bird calls in the wild and I can't keep my glasses on when I'm sweating so I have trouble seeing the birds I'm hearing. This morning, though, I was getting out of my car in the parking lot at Lake Katharine when I spotted a blur of red high in a tree right in front of me. I snapped some photos right away, not entirely sure of what I was seeing, and then I went on my hike through the woods, taking a different path from usual to avoid flooding and to get a look at the lake and the waterfall, which may be small but was roaring like Niagara. On the Calico Bush Trail I found a small patch of wild irises budding, which makes me want to go back in a few days to see the blossoms. Then I got back to the parking lot and saw another blur of color in the same tree, yellow this time, and suddenly I knew what I'd been seeing: a pair of scarlet tanagers, both hanging out in the same tree. Is there a nest nearby? If so, my weak eyes will never spot it.

You should have seen the mist rising from the base of the waterfall.

If only they could speak...