Well, well, a new year is upon us. For many of us, that means reflections on the past year and new resolutions to tackle. I, like many others, find that I give up on resolutions quickly. The first of January and through the month typically brings out LOTS of new runners and exercisers and by Groundhog Day, the streets and gyms have quieted back down. As I understand it, that’s because resolutions scare our brains into fleeing. That is, we try to tackle something so large and complex, we trigger our ‘fight / flight’ mechanism and soon determine that hiding under the covers will be much safer. So, I go about my attempts to grow and improve on the philosophy that if I improve just a little bit each and every day, week and month, pretty soon I’ve improved a lot.
In book news, I have not released a new book, yet, however have started work on a second edition of Belize. I am planning a birding tour of Belize in late fall and this book will be a companion to the tour. Once again, you may say “Laura, you have no knowledge of or experience in running a tour”. And to you I say, yes, my friend, that is true. But I didn’t know how to…buy a house, build a technology solution, or write a book…until I jumped in and did it. So I’m breaking it down, learning the ropes and taking it small. The first tour will be a pilot with people I know who will give me honest feedback and not strangle me if it’s not perfect. Then the second tour will be better etc.
And in birding news, December did not bring a TON of new birds…ok almost none…but it gives me the chance to go through the memories of the year and find some favorites. Some of the birds I will share here are literally from my back yard and some are from my camera roll from the year gone by (sniff). So on a day when, in Ohio, we have gray skies, spitty mist and thirty something degrees, I will jump in my time machine and go back to better weather days.
Enjoy!
Merlin says Eastern-wood Peewee or Willow Flycatcher. These are tricky to id…feedback welcome, this is from central Ohio in May
A Palm Warbler sporting its lovely chestnut colored cap in spring
An Osprey with a particularly intense expression and cool lighting on its tail feathers
Green Heron on a summer morning, oh how I miss you!