Bird Year

In 2013, I intend to identify at least one hundred species of birds.  When I bring it up, most people are like, "Isn't that really easy?  Aren't there like three hundred species in just Seattle?"  I have three responses:
1. I don't know how easy it will be.  I've never done it, goof.
2. There are lots and lots of species in Seattle, but that doesn't mean it's simple to track down the rascals.
3. I don't just have to see these birds.  I have to identify them.

I keep the bird list on my phone.  Every weekend, I add new species.  Here's my unscientific, not-exactly-in-order List of Birds I've Seen and Identified (Sometimes With Help) in 2013 Thus Far:
1. Harrier
2. Snow goose
3. Bald eagle
4. Short-eared owl
5. Western meadowlark
6. Hooded merganser (picture of a happy h. merg. couple on the right)
7. Bufflehead
8. American wigeon
9. Eurasian wigeon
10. Northern shoveler
11. Mallard
12. Double-crested cormorant
13. American robin
14. Killdeer
15. Good ol' American crow
16. Common goldeneye
17. Coots, coots, coots
18. Dark-eyed junco
19. Northern flicker (Pic of one of these guys on the left... imagine it hammering annoyingly on our metal chimney cover. One did that this morning.  Silly dummies.)
20. Chestnut-backed chickadee
21. Ruby-crowned kinglet
22. Pine siskin
23. Stellar's jay
24. European starling (ewwww)
25. Spotted towhee
26. Varied thrush
27. Anna's hummingbird
28. Black-capped chickadee
29. Great blue heron
30. Red-tailed hawk
31. Barrow's goldeneye
32. Red-breasted nuthatch
33. Wee flock o' bushtits! (See that li'l posse on the right? Those are bushtits! Their sweet, pure souls contrast their giggle-worthy name.)
34. House finch
35. Bewick's wren
36. Common merganser
37. American goldfinch

Boldies = birds new to my life list
Italies = birds I really, really love

Get ready for some serious 2013 bird tales, friends.  And if I finally see the Swainson's Thrush instead of just hearing it, get ready to sip some champagne with me!

The Year of Nothing Big

The past half a decade, I've been earning degrees, getting hitched, buying houses, paying vet bills, and so on.  It's been busy.  So last year, husb and I were like, "Let's not do anything in 2012."  Do nothing we did.

This made time for reading.

My favorite book of 2012 wasn't the best written, wasn't the most exciting, and wasn't the most respectful of my wholesome spirit.  None of that mattered when you have characters like Tyrion Freaking Lannister.  This  little man exemplified all that is perfect about Game of Thrones - characters who are cruel and loveable, beautiful and confused, courageous and doomed.  Also, ale.

I started book one over the summer.  House, pets, and spouses were neglected until I finish the fourth in the series.  I held out on investing in book five because it's hardback and we're not the Gates family, but a few handy connections and pdf conversions made it possible for me to finish book five last month.  These characters and their stories have consumed my every thought.  (Exaggeration.  Not every thought.  But seriously, if I spoke about direwolves every time they popped in my mind, I would lose friends.  Good friends.  Friends who put up with my deep and eternal Harry Potter love.)

I'm not a fantasy weirdo and dragons don't do it for me, but man oh man, Thrones has consumed me.  Print a character tree, a map of Westoros, and get your literate butt reading.

2013 in your face

Guess what I'm going to do in 2013.  No guesses?  You're so silent.

I'm going to blog.