Goldfinch
I just saw a female American Goldfinch at the feeder outside my office window, though she was promptly chased away by a pinheaded Mourning Dove who was too big and unwieldy to eat out of the feeder. The fact that this extremely common winter bird (though they aren't usually seen right here in the city) is a lifer for me just goes to show what an amateur birder I truly am. I haven't added a lifer to my list since July, though, so I'm happy.
The tenor of my e-mail and various comments elsewhere seems to be, "SELL THE RACCOON PENIS BONE! SELL THE RACCOON PENIS BONE!" Nah, I think I'd rather have it as a memento. Someday I can show it to my adopted Ethiopian grandchildren (whom I won't get until they are about 25 and know how to make kitfo) and bore them with the story of my extremely tangential involvement in one of the great literary scams of the twentieth century.
Today I think we are finally driving out to St. Bernard Parish to see just how bad it is. While not as many people have heard of it as of New Orleans, it is if anything more important to the economic recovery of South Louisiana, being a major spot for oil refining, sport and commercial fishing, and other industry. Since much of Dead Shrimp Blues will be set there, I don't feel I can put off seeing it any longer.
The tenor of my e-mail and various comments elsewhere seems to be, "SELL THE RACCOON PENIS BONE! SELL THE RACCOON PENIS BONE!" Nah, I think I'd rather have it as a memento. Someday I can show it to my adopted Ethiopian grandchildren (whom I won't get until they are about 25 and know how to make kitfo) and bore them with the story of my extremely tangential involvement in one of the great literary scams of the twentieth century.
Today I think we are finally driving out to St. Bernard Parish to see just how bad it is. While not as many people have heard of it as of New Orleans, it is if anything more important to the economic recovery of South Louisiana, being a major spot for oil refining, sport and commercial fishing, and other industry. Since much of Dead Shrimp Blues will be set there, I don't feel I can put off seeing it any longer.