Birds I'm Watching: Warblers at Point Reyes (September 28, 2013)

I went to Pt. Reyes this past Saturday (September 28, 2013) joining a local Audubon Society group that went out looking for migrating warblers. Pt. Reyes is well known among birders as a place that sometimes traps stray warblers heading south to wintering grounds in Central and South America, usually first-year birds that get lost. Birders here get excited when eastern species normally not present show up in the trees at the Outer Point. On Saturday, we got to see two such birds--a Blackburnian Warbler (pictured above) and a Prairie Warbler, both birds I'd never seen before. These are life birds no. 417 and 418 for me. These were in the trees at the ranger residences at Chimney Rock.

For more about local bird watching, see my website Sonoma County Bird Watching Spots

Art I'm Making: New Collage

I'm a bit surprised at my own productivity, lately. I've been making new collages at a pace of about one a week. I finished another yesterday that I'm pleased with. Unintentionally, it looks African. It would seem to have textile influences, but it was simply a matter of assembling pieces of a cut-up monoprint that I made with black and sepia ink. These things tend to have a life of their own. They can quickly veer off in unexpected directions. The artist's job sometimes is simply to be a shepherd and, ultimately, to be the one who decides whether a new creation lives or dies. This one will live. The photo here makes it look somewhat darker and blacker than it actually is. Photographs of art rarely do the original justice, but this shot is enough to give an idea of the actual work.

Rain: Overnight Drizzle (September 29-30, 2013)

It's been drizzling all night and into the morning today. It will be of little consequence to the plants, but I'm a bit concerned about the grapes in the back yard. It's just about time to harvest. If rain persists, they can start to mold alarmingly quickly. I'll be checking them a couple of times today. We may have to pick whether they're completely ready or not.

Looking at the rain gauge on the morning of the 30th, I see that we got a quarter inch of rain. That brings our total so far in the 2013-2014 rainy season to 0.85 inches. It's a start.