Magpies

It's 37 degrees outside, the sky is cloudy, and Ooch is demanding more food - but he needs to wait for a few minutes. It's cool and crisp and my kits have already had one adventure outside this morning. I stopped in at the library on my way to Ooch's house and returned 12 books that I had finished reading; then walked up here for half of my morning walk - the other half will be walking back home. I need to pick up a few things at the grocery store on the way home, so I have a supply of re-usable shopping bags with me.

I don't see many magpies at my apartment, but they are definitely in residence around the rest of Boulder. Walking from the bus stop yesterday, I saw 10 mule deer does and a couple of weanlings - and a flock of magpies. So I started singing, softly, The Magpie, and while the birds flew, the deer twitched their ears in a gentle rhythm. The only magpies I saw growing up were Heckle and Jeckle, the cartoon birds on TV; I expected real magpies to be all black with yellow bills (but I did not expect to see them smoking cigars). I was amazed to find that they are black and white and an iridescent green, with a very long tail. So much for TV teaching me...

The weather folks are now saying we'll get a mixture of rain and snow tonight, with little or no accumulation of the white stuff. Once our first snowfall is visible on the ground, or in the air, I'll take a photo of it and stick it up on the blog. Why? Because I still get excited about each season's first snowfall - I guess it comes from having spent 34 years in Florida, and never having to really battle snow or bad weather like my parents did. I need to give Ooch another spoonful of food - he seems to be picking up weight with me around. More coming soon...