Back to birding..

I have a renewed appreciation for those of you who manage to successfully capture those tiny little warblers with your camera's lens!! Quick Draw McGraw ..I'm not. I've never seen birds move so fast and disappear so quickly. Attempting to get a decent picture of any warbler certainly put a dent in my Friday morning patience so to help myself regain my calm... I took some pictures of all the color that was blooming around me.. the Tickseed Sunflowers were everywhere..stunning little bits of color and light..extremely radiant, I think, when seen in the open fields....
so pretty against all those shades of "calming" green..ahhh...see it's working...

As I walked along the mowed path near the nature center a tiny movement caught my eye. OMgosh, a warbler that wasn't hanging out at the top of the trees!! I recognized this little bird right away, even though I haven't seen a Nashville Warbler since one visited me outside my study window in December of '08! If it had been sitting still I don't think I would have seen him at all... he blended so well into the yellow-greens of this bush...

That grayish head and that white eye ring looked so familiar..and he certainly was busy.. eating whatever insects these little warblers eat..

and when he finally decided to take a break...he chose to do so with his back to me, but hey, I was just thankful I wasn't having to break my neck to see him.

I was happy that I snapped this shot of him as it showed his underparts pattern.. the yellow from the throat to the breast and then the white belly and then the yellow under his tail. It just confirmed to me that I was correct and he was a Nashville. What a thrill .. to see another Nashville...hopefully this little guy will make his way to his winter residence safely..I certainly don't want to see him feeding outside MY window during the snowy and cold month of December!
I'll end this post on a who am I ...question. I saw this bird for 4 seconds..if that..I managed one picture of it and it was gone..I've looked through my Warbler book photos and.. maybe.. I might have a guess.. but I know I have lots of blogger bird experts out there who will lend me a hand on this one!!

a tough question to answer...

Only two showed up in this litter..when usually 9 or more are seen....but our breeder will likely try again later this year. This gives us more time to wrestle with all the pros and cons..but time is running out and we have to make that big decision to get on the "I want a new Brittany Spaniel list" or not. His Brittanys go fast...he has had this lineage going since the mid 60s and he only breeds every 7 years.
...oh, they are just too darn cute at 3 weeks of age...I'm already smitten with this guy... but 16 years is a long time..and now that we are retired there is travel to think about..a chance to just up and go..whenever..you know?? I don't have a puppy sitter..and I hate to kennel.

thoughts like.. how could we live without an orange and white critter watching our every move...that nose waiting at the door as you open it..bringing the leash and every toy in the toy box, saying play with me...walk me...creep into our conversations..but thoughts of puppy life and puppy training....time out from birding??? Sigh, I just don't know...
Gee, what do you think...our first Brittany lived to be 16, her nephew, just turned 12..neither dog ever had a sick day in their life..but oh my, what a commitment!!! what do ya think...?