Labor Day Monday

The little guy to the left is a mountain patch nose snake, who slithered across the back porch last week. Jake was not here, so he did not get picked up and cuddled. There was a Wilson's warbler on the back willow today, and hummingbirds are buzzing me as I write this. The day is beautiful -- it looks like it is raining in the mountains, but the weather station across the street says it is 80 degrees, 33% humidity, with a 10 degree wind.

Quincy shopped until she dropped today. No new shoes, but she did come home with hair extensions in 3 colors, none of which are found in nature. And a lot of new shirts. And an application for work with Barnes and Noble. With the way she reads, I am not sure that is really a money-making proposition.

Jake reports a good start to the semester at Willamette. The dilemma he is working through now is whether he should double major or opt for a minor. And what that subject should be (chemistry and biochemistry are the leading candidates). He needs to decide soon as these both will take careful planning if he wants to do a semester abroad.

The important lesson for the day is that the WiFi signal is strong on the back porch. Bird list while I have been blogging here includes: curve-billed thrasher, black-throated sparrow, miscellaneous hummingbirds, doves, cactus wren, lark bunting, and more doves. The quail have had a good year (Gambels and scaled) and there are still young coming to the feeder. No raptors recently, but Jake and I saw a golden eagle before he went back to school.

Enjoy Labor Day, one and all. I recently read Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, an excellent read and one which, in hindsight, seemed appropriate for Labor Day.