Bird's the word

Lately I have been feeling...tense. Alot of it has to do with Taylor's departure and trying to re-accustom myself to life minus his calming presence. I also realized that the lack of naturalness (think I just made up a word) in Lubbock is contributing to my chronic anxiety. This irritating state of mind first materialized when I moved back to Chicago post-Utah. Once I experienced a taste of the wild places that still exist in this patchwork country of ours, I couldn't bring myself to live in a place where development is lord and master. So, how do I assimilate a sense of nature into this chain-store ridden, three-lane street paving, conformist urban wonderland? Well, it just so happens Texas is an ideal place for spotting migrating birds in fall and winter. And Lubbock just so happens to contain a variety of man-made ponds and even a few natural wetlands from which these birds can be spotted. So, with binoculars and bird book in tow, I made my way to one of these aforementioned ponds. In two days time I have identified more species of water birds than I've ever encountered, even while working in wetlands in Lockport for two years. Most are species I've seen before but there were a few that were brand new to me. Either way I was thrilled to sit back and observe such a diverse group of birds coexisting in the same scrap of water. To give you an idea of the variety, here's a list of what I saw:

American coot

double-crested cormorant

great blue heron

green heron

black-crowned night heron (adults and juveniles)

great egret

pied-billed grebe

hooded merganser

mallard

green-winged teal

gadwall*

Northern shoveler*

American widgeon

redhead

wood duck*

canada goose

common snipe

greater yellowlegs*

killdeer

*= first time I've seen in wild

combined for a total of 19 species! I'm going to check out another place this weekend. I'm hoping to add common goldeneye, northern pintail, ring-necked duck, lesser scaup, bufflehead, eared grebe, and snow goose to the list by the end of the year. I hesitate to admit getting caught up in birding, but what's a reptile lover to do in winter?

Housemates

We took these pictures awhile ago at an open mic night. I just wanted to introduce you to two of the best roommates ever, Bekah and Amanda...

Yes we can

What a couple of weeks it's been. There's alot to cover. Let's get started:
After all the anticipating and counting down, Taylor finally arrived! In the next few days I showed him around Lubbock, cooked him food, and showed off my line-driving skills in our 16-1 softball victory! We drank wine, we watched movies, we reconnected and remembered why we're willing to put up with the heart-wrenching ups and downs of a long-distance relationship. But nothing compared to when we high-tailed it out of Lubbock and made for the mountains of West Texas (there are mountains in Texas, believe it!). Here, we were back in our element. Hiking and camping, seeking out wildlife...it's this shared passion that really connects us. It was the greatest weekend I've had since we traveled back to Utah this past Spring. We climbed peaks, walked along washes full of fall colors brilliant enough to rival Vermont, encountered rare and new creatures (birds and reptiles alike), saw springs forming an oasis in the desert, explored the overwhelming caves of Carlsbad and ate enough New Mexican food to satiate our post-hiking hunger. It couldn't have gone better. Click here to see all the pictures from the trip. And as sobering as the return to Lubbock was, we had the election to look forward to. Champagne was had as we witnessed an event that will most likely stay with us for the rest of our lives. After all these years of cynicism and doubt regarding our country's stability and place in the world, to have people come together like they have behind Obama and his vision for our future is inspiring. How lucky we are to be part of this election.