Big Bird

Yesterday there was a pileated woodpecker in one of my trees. He differs from the much larger, and probably extinct, Ivory-billed Woodpecker. His bill is black instead of ivory, and the pattern of his underside when he flies is a bit different. I didn't get a photo of him, of course; this one is from the internet, but that's how he looked.

Once my husband and I got lost while walking in the woods in North Carolina. While hunting for our car, we heard a loud, sort of unearthly bird call, looked up and saw an ivory-bill fly over, hooting as it went.

The woodpeckers I've seen (identified) while living here are the flicker or yellowhammer, red-headed woodpecker (the prettiest bird), pileated, and a tee-ninesy little downy woodpecker. I've probably seen a middle-sized hairy woodpecker but didn't know it.

*

While I was discarding books and cleaning up my office, my friend Joe W. made a profound observation that made me feel much better about the crowded mess in my house. He said, "I'm going to wait and let my survivors worry about all my stuff, when I kick the bucket." I thought, "Yeah, I can do that," for the remainder of my junk.

*

 

1:30 p.m.: Today I fixed a real lunch: a big pork loin chop, mashed potatoes, field peas and cornbread, and a cucumber and tomato salad.